In response to Re: The problem of helpless helpers in the teaching profession (MikeK)

Yes I agree, except good teachers shouldn't have to work in bad places because that's a waste of their real qualfications and talent.

I don't know if I'd necessarily agree it's a waste, my point is that no matter the place a good teacher can teach their students well and in my opinion, that is never a waste. If the students are engaged and learning, I don't think that's a waste of my time/talent/qualifications.

Why should decent teachers wishing to develop a career in teaching be forced to learn the hard way by falling for bad places BS, lies and downright chicanery?

They shouldn't, which is why I advocate for opinions based on actual experience on this board, rather than a blanket generalisation of all private schools. Highlight the bad places, discourage teachers from going there. Praise the good places, recognise when something stands out from the norm.

And how many good teachers end up disillusioned or burnt out from "kicking against the pricks"..

Oh, I completely agree, I could only manage two years before a combination of a slide in the ethics of the management team and having to work with tourist-teachers ended my time teaching in China. I'm much happier being in a nice school in Europe!

In my opinion it would be better that bad places are only able to employ bad teachers and then possibly after complaints from concerned parents then their Ministries of Education will have to act to close the Training Centres in favour of regulated State Schools.

Ah, you see this is where we differ, slightly. I don't believe that state schools are the pinnacle of educational standards we should all strive for; I have worked in state schools in the UK and in China and, especially in the latter, there are massive problems with regulating standards. The same can be said for the UK (to a lesser extent) and America when it comes to classroom standards. And I don't think bad teachers should be employed anywhere!

I fully agree with the need for an independent regulatory body who monitors the standards of English teaching. Most countries in Europe have a regulatory system (for example, AISLI in Italy and NABSS in Spain) and a good private school will be a member of the relevant organisation for their country. Unannounced inspections will be held, along with audits of paperwork (lesson planning, on-going testing and exam procedure) and teachers observed with feedback sessions after. These schools will do rigorous checks on their staff to ensure they are fully qualified and usually a face-to-face interview will be held (not via the phone or by skype). So long as private schools are monitored, they can be just as effective as the learning in state schools, if not more so.

In Italy (for example) state schools do not employ native speakers to teach English, but nationals who have obtained a B2 language certification (either an FCE pass or an IELTS at 5.5/6). These teachers will go to an AISLI membership private school to gain this certification and will then teach Elementary (A1) to Intermediate (B1) to the children in the state schools. However in Italian state schools once this certification has been gained, there is no follow-up. In some cases the teachers gained their qualifications many years ago and since then have rarely spoken English with a native speaker, resulting in some very dubious pronunciation and use of English. So ESL teaching in good private schools in Italy is often far superior to the ESL teaching in state schools. The same is true for Spain and for Greece.

The crux of the matter is that without independent assessment and regulations, there will always be unscrupulous people who seek to profit from a market as in demand as ESL (especially in China) and so there will always be some very unethical places operating. I don't think the solution is to close all private language schools and move them to the remit of the state, as the state is in many cases just as open to abuse as the private system. My solution would be:

Tighter controls on who qualifies as a 'teacher'; relevant degree + (ideally) PGCE and/or a TEFL/CELTA should be the minimum requirement in any country to teach the English language, if this were adhered to then the standards of teaching would rise dramatically as it would get rid of all the tourist-teachers who are the lifeblood of the bad private school.

An independent regulatory body with the power to close under-performing schools.