passin'through
- 2009-08-23
Passin' or passing - take your pick. I was thinking at the time of my students who have such a hard time with reduced speech in terms of their listening skills, so just tossin' it out there to see if it floats.
It seems as though English could be a life long study. Well, for some it actually is a life long study. Personally, though I write often - short stories and etc., I'm never totally convinced I haven't made ridiculous errors.
Recently, during a brief trip back to the States, I was looking through some of my old college papers and was shocked to discover how many simple errors I had made that weren't detected by my professors. Or perhaps they just didn't want to bother with the small stuff. Hard to say, but my point is that if we endeavor to improve our writing and, in the case of English teachers, our craft, we eventually come to the realization that what we learn in school is just a beginning point; that is, there seems to be no end to what we can learn in regards to the proper use of English. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that English, like nearly all languages, is constantly evolving. I guess what surprises me, though, is that I've met very few teachers in the field of ESL/EFL, professional and non-professional alike, that take it seriously. Perhaps, in their minds, good enough is good enough.
But when is good enough really good enough? I suppose when we examine the question from a standpoint of communicative competence we have to look at it through a different lens than if we examine it from the standpoint of proper writing. Or, as my Chinese girlfriend often says when I correct her English, "Well, no matter what, you understand my meaning." Can't argue with her logic, but when I try to apply that logic to the mish mash of writing I see here and in other forums, I can't quite wrap my brain around it.
Well, although I was just passing through, I'm now curious to know, DH and all, what your take is on this. Another question I have, even though the answer seems obvious to me, is whether as EFL teachers we should hold ourselves to a higher standard than what I often see displayed by FT's here in China. Don't we have a responsibility to improve our own skills as much as possible so that we can improve the skills of our students?
Daren Helps
- 2009-08-22
Well at last someone who knows their English. Well done nobody just passin through, or did you mean passing through.
Thanks one and all for your replies.
Regards Darren Helps.
passin'through
- 2009-08-22
" I have worked in foreign countries teaching EFL....not ESL for ten years and I can tell you from experience, there are many people who call themselves teachers of English who cannot put a decent sentence together."
gonegold
This sentence would be laughable if it weren't so darned pathetic. I wonder, gonegold, if you are even aware that the above statement actually lumps you in with those "who cannot put a decent sentence together." Better stick to blowing a real horn.
passin'through
- 2009-08-22
By the way, there are at least 12 English errors in your post, and those were discovered in seconds by doing a quick count. There are some great online writing tutorials you could check out if you'd really like to improve. I doubt you'll bother, though.
gonegold
- 2009-08-21
What is a Ph.D? The definition is a Doctor of Philosophy. If a person refers to someone having a Ph.D in music for example, they have not described the degree in the proper manner. I have a Doctorite in Music but I do not have a Ph.D. As for all the decussion regarding the legitimate TESOL Certificate......in Canada and the USA, only recognized schools by the government are legitimate recognized certificates obtained by a person. I have worked in foreign countries teaching EFL....not ESL for ten years and I can tell you from experience, there are many people who call themselves teachers of English who cannot put a decent sentence together. I did not work in Asia because I had to but rather, because I wanted to do so. Along with teaching at the University level, many students do not care regarding their profiicentcy but are only concerned about a high mark which they wanted handed out like it were candy, so as to enter the top Universities in South Korea which by the way, are listed at 156 in the UN's list of good universities around the world. There are many private business schools in Western Countries that only want to take your money and provide little good training regarding teaching English as a Second Language. And yes, South Korea has a long way to go before it has reasonable perfection of teaching methods. An English speaking person cannot teach English through Korean. The Ministry of Education in Seoul is paranoid regarding its students losing their Korean Language via only English teaching in the classroom. They are also paranoid regarding the retention of their culture. The new President of South Korea is in the process of doing away with private money making don't care about the foreign teacher attitude and hiring qualified foreign teachers to work in their Universities, High and Elementary Schools. That is a good move but they still have a long way to go in the treatment of qualified foreign teachers. Having worked in the Ministry of Educationd system, they still want to control what the Foreign teacher teaches.....they are nothing but paranoid.