TEACHERS DISCUSSION FORUM
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#1 Parent Beth - 2014-12-21
Re ethics in education

What OB earth are you talking about?!

Foreign learners need certification in English to get jobs and to get in to universities in English speaking countries, exams to test that ability, standardized exams that work from an international scale so every student from every country can be measured on the same scale, is the fairest and most accurate way of testing ability for use in real world situations.

It is not a one size fits all syllabus, it is an international scale of ability! Something you clearly are not aware of!

Can they use present simple and continuous, past simple and talk about daily activities and routines? Ahh, they're an A1 level. Now this student can use the present perfect and j/y/a/f/s, they're closer to upper A2. Most people using English in their jobs require a B2 certification, so international exams are available to test for this level of fluency. It is nothing to do with profit and everything to do with giving an international certification of English ability!

I do not ignore my students individual learning objectives at all. I have recently restructured an entire class as they need to take the PET exam in March, instead of June or they risk losing their jobs due to new EU laws! As such I am very much aware of their learning needs!

And what is best for students is to gain complete r/w/l/s fluency and no, the student may not always know best how to acquire that. I have had beginner students in the past demand to learn the past before learning the present and not been happy when I refused. Two years later however, they have thanked me because they now realise that the solid foundation they have been taught, leading to actual fluency, is better than simply parroting set responses to set phrases, that they had wanted initially. So yes, qualified and experienced language teachers know better than most students on how it is best to teach a language.

The learning objective for any student studying ESL is to acquire fluency in English to a desired level. Their existing ability is what determines how you progress from that point. Hence level testing. If they are a beginner, they go to a beginner class, if they are pre-int, they go to a pre-int class. This is a fairly easy concept to understand. Language acquisition is gained in layers, building and adding to what each learner knows over time. You do not teach past perfect to a learner who can't yet use present continuous!

I have favourite books that I like to use in class, but they are my favourite because they are good, effective and rounded course books! I don't get any money for recommending a student buys that particular book from amazon! What a ridiculous thing to say!

Capitalism? Education costs money. Simple fact. Universities charge tuition fees, state schools receive government funding, who in turn takes it from tax payers. Teachers have to receive a salary. You make it sound as if it is solely for profit and no actual learning takes place. As if it is all one big con. It's not. It is offering language teaching and certification to those who want it. Nothing in this world is free. If I want to study a new skill, it costs me. If I want to sit an exam, I have to pay for it. The same is true for ESL teaching. Or do you teach for free? Because unless you do, your assertions that it's all done for profit are hypocritical.

Accurate level testing is not a solution?! What planet are you from?! If the books are unsuitable it is because the level is out if kilter with the ability of the students, which means level testing has failed. If the content of the books is at the right ability level, but the content is inappropriate, then adapt the content! Again, that is your job!

You are simply looking to blame your own shortcomings as a teacher on the material.

#2 Parent martin hainan - 2014-12-21
Re ethics in education

he only reason syllabus/books would be unsuitable for a class is if the
students haven't been accurately level tested, in which case it is a problem with the
class, not the books or the syllabus.

There are many reasons any syllabus and specific textbooks would be unsuitable for a class. Accurate level testing is not a solution to any of them.
Text books and testing are profit centers for the business of education. The most common syllabus flaw is that 'educators' completely ignore student individual objectives for language learning, confident that they know what is best for the students. These teachers polish their one-size-fits-all syllabus, administer their standardized tests, and sell their favorite books. Their language learning philosophy is capitalism.

#3 Parent Beth - 2014-12-20
Re ethics in education

What you like to call "rubbish pretend schools" oh please! You wouldn't know a decent school if it smacked you in the face! You think ESL exams, internationally used exams to measure English ability for education and employment criteria, are "scams". You think an oral exam administered and created and graded by yourself is all the assessment your students need! You wouldn't know a CEFR syllabus from Adam!

Criticising what textbooks and what syllabus, without even asking which are being used, is ludicrous. The only reason syllabus/books would be unsuitable for a class is if the students haven't been accurately level tested, in which case it is a problem with the class, not the books or the syllabus.

You teach conversation classes, Silverboy. You haven't got the first idea what is required for teaching ESL from beginner to advanced level! As this entire post proves.

"Frustrating to know you are providing crap classes" the only person responsible for the standard of a lesson is the teacher. If the text book you're given isn't great, supplement it. That's your job. You don't just teach directly from the book and then bitch about the materials. Take some responsibility yourself! You are the teacher, the buck stops with you. Now I suppose you'll say "why should you waste time gathering additional materials" because that's part of your job, because if you truly cared about your students you'd be doing it anyway.

If the school is truly doing something unethical, then it would be helpful to know what it is. Then actual advice can be given, rather than just randomly bashing private schools. Especially considering the OP doesn't know what classroom management is or involves, so his ability to judge what is or isn't educationally important for students may not be that reliable.

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