TEACHERS DISCUSSION FORUM
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#1 Parent SHALINI - 2004-06-17
Re: From a Student's Perspective

your subject is interesting, please could you respond to my discussion that was posted on 15th june as i am doing a dissertation on it and do not have enough info on ESL.

#2 Parent Mike B - 2004-06-16
Re: From a Student's Perspective

This is good to hear, specially as I am one of the over 35's, but there is also the caveat that older doesn't necessarily mean better.

Many of the older EFL teachers came into this field as a way to get out of some other career they were bored with, I am 41 but I only have 8 years teaching experience.

And another point, SOME older teachers are also old-fashioned teachers, they aren't prepared to admit that there are new tricks they should be learning.

Most of us less-young teachers are, of course, damn good!

#3 Parent boots43 - 2004-06-16
Re: From a Student's Perspective

Out of the mouths of babes.....

Thank you, Mike, and thank you, Soo-Jin.

Mike - 2004-06-16
From a Student's Perspective

There have been a number of posts here regarding Ageism in Korea. One of the students in my TOEFL essay writing class produced this essay on that topic, which I thought was worth sharing on this discussion board. Maybe later in life this student will be opening her own Language Institute, so there may be hope for older teachers in Korea. I quote that essay completely unedited and word for word here :-

"When you go to the academies that teach English, you can see many foreign teachers. Most of them are young. When the foreign teachers apply for the jobs, they need to be under 35. This is the limitation that the academies want. But I think teachers over 35 are also great. They have more education and they have better teaching techniques.
One important reason is that older teachers have more knowledge. They went to universities and they attended many teaching lessons over years. They had more time studying than teachers under 35. When they have more knowledge, they have more to teach. Then the students can learn a lot of things in the short time. It will help students improve their English skills.
Another important reason is that older teachers have better teaching technique. They have taught in different academies for a lot of years. Of course, more that the teachers under 35. They can understand how they need to teach to make the students understand the lessons they give. They have met such a lot of students. They will know the ways to make students to focus on class more. The more you experience, the better you give those lessons. The students will learn better and easier. One said that "Age is just a number". I agree. It doesn't matter if the teacher is old or young. It is parents who say wrong things about the ages of the teachers. The important thing for teachers is their abilities to teach the students. That will make the students study harder. More experienced teachers will make the students to be more focused in the lessons. Therefore there should be no limitations about the age of the teachers in every academies." ( Lee, Soo-jin )

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