Teaching English as a Second Language

“anyone done this? have any thoughts/experiences to share? im thinking about getting into this, its been on my back-burner a long time, and a newspaper article i saw today got it on my front-burner again. i think this has the potential to be a very fulfilling career: travel, meeting new people, challenging, using my degree, culture, the works”

“I know a Canadian who teaches English in Thailand. Absolutely loves it. Pays very well for Thai standards.”

“A good friend of mine did it in Japan for a couple years. Said it was one of the greatest experiences of his life.

Go for it, C!B!”

“Watch Stripes for a good primer on doing this.”

“As long as you get to post here throughout the day I say go for it!”

“Grem Lin.

I believe he teaches French Canadian kids English...”

“KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish -- and that's what got him suspended from school.

"It was, like, totally not in the classroom," the high school junior said, recalling the infraction. "We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on restroom break. This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "

But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his father and leave the school.

Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372148/”

“The Principal was correct. Zach had been asked not to do it, but he did. Conversing with someone in front of others in a manner that cannot be understood by the others, is unpolite and disrespectful.

Years ago I joined a tour group going from Panama to Colombia. We met at the airport, where I discovered that all the others were "Black Panamanians." Not to worry. When I first went to Panama I decided that I was the foreigner there, even though I lived and worked in the Canal Zone. To me all the people living there were Panamanians. They were not black, yellow or any other color or race. This atttitude helped my life there immensely.

Well, all the others on the tour spoke fluent Spanish, English and a third language that had been unique to the Canal Workers that had come from Africa. Most of the time they used their third language. But, whenever I entered their area, they would immediately switch to English out of respect to me. Needless to say, the trip was a great experience, the best trip of my life so far.
last edited: 12/09/05 8:03:39 PM”

“Constipated people don't give a crap.”

“Sounds like you had an MRE for supper.”

“You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me!”

“that principal is an ass and their policy of english-only is toromierda”

“According to the article, when the dad asked the principal to produce the written policy, it didn't exist. That's why the suspension was overruled. She was just being a #&%!$head.”

“… and I agree with nowslimmer. It is impolite… but a reason for suspension? No way José.

(whoops, I mean Joe.)”

“in nowslimmers position, it would have been impolite for a group of people to exclude one person by talking a language he couldnt understand. but the school situation is a couple of kids. what, teenagers are not allowed to have private conversations in the hall? hermano grande is watching you”

“Wait a minute! I want control returned to the principals.

There may have been a reason for the rule. And the student had violated the instruction, which he apparently knew about.

Total-immersion is one of the best ways of learning a foreign language. They may have had some Spanish-speaking students who were having difficulties learning English. The school may have been trying to provide an environment of Total-immersion for these students.

Also, since all the facts are not known, why are stones being thrown?
last edited: 12/10/05 9:43:30 AM”

“The school may have been trying to provide an environment of Total-immersion for these students.


lets tweak that a little bit

The school may have been trying to provide an environment of Totalitarianism for these students.

there. thats better”

“¡Mierda del toro!”

“"Total-immersion is one of the best ways of learning a foreign language"

i sincerely doubt that was why he was suspended. just a bunch of adults afraid of a teenage insurrection”

“this was in kansas, so maybe the principal was afraid they were having a pro-evolution discussion”

“Naw, probably the reason is that he stated to the Principal what is in my previous post.”

“LOL @ CB!

I currently teach at a school that is 90% Arabic students. There is an ESL teacher on the team, and she does not use Arabic to teach. The kids must use English at all times when they are in the school. I've never seen anyone get in big trouble for having a hallway conversation in Arabic, but it is considered rude and disrespectful to do so. I don't know that the administration in my school would go so far as to hand out a detention, though if they've been warned several times, it would be considered a severe case of disrespect, and maybe they would get a detention. School administration and teachers have to know what's going on with the kids at all times, because you never know when a fight is going to break out after school or something more serious. Its the administrations job to know what's going on, and protect every kid in that school. As far as I'm concerned, if they're in an American school, they better be speaking English.

The exception of speaking Arabic is when parents come in to the school for teacher conferences or the like. Many of the parents don't speak English. The vice principal, two office secretaries, and a handful of teachers speak Arabic, so there's always someone around to help the parents.”

“Naw, probably the reason is that he stated to the Principal what is in my previous post.”
nowslimmer

naw, the real reason is xenophobia”

“if the teachers want to know whats going on with kids all the time, maybe they should learn to speak spanish”

“Why CB? English is the language of business in the world, the kids should learn English. Its the language spoken in this country, they should learn to speak it. If I went to a non-English speaking country, I wouldn't expect everyone to learn English just for me.

I don't think immigrants should lose their language, it ties them to their culture. There is no problem if they speak it at home or in within the context of a cultural event. However, in an American school, or a business, they need to speak English.”

“so, if you believe that everyone in america should learn english, and you believe in total immersion, and you believe that it should be enforced, then it follows that police should be arresting people in their homes and on the street for speaking anything but english”

“Whoa, didn't you read my above post? I said there isn't a problem if they speak it at home. People shouldn't lose their native culture or language. They should, however, embrace the culture they are living in. I don't want anyone arrested for speaking a different language, but if they're gonna function in our Americianized English culture, they better speak our language.”

“i did read your above post. i just followed your basic premises to their natural conclusion.

my point is, sure, we should encourage them to speak english, but the suspension was a severe over-reaction
last edited: 12/10/05 12:49:01 PM”

“whats lost in this is that the suspended student SPEAKS FLUENT ENGLISH! so fluent, in fact, that he is quite conversant in the umm...like....whatever-speak that is quite popular with todays kids. total immersion is pointless with this kid, and i suspect it would be with many others.
hell, if this kid is mexican, which i assume he is, his people were on this continent first. this whole "if you live in america, you better speak english" attitude is nothing more than arrogant ethnocentrism disguised as "looking out for peoples best interests"”

“Since we don't know the whole context of the situation, we can speculate forever about it. I agree, from reading the article a suspension was overboard. But if that was the last straw in a long line of disrespectful actions, I can see how the adminstration might come down hard on the kid.

Just my humble opinion.”

“i dont think it was disrespectful. it was a natural response”

“Well, I can aruge that point too. Students "natural reponses" to someone irritating them is to strike that person or call them a name. Either way, that's disrespectful, and can't go unpunished. So, if a student's natural response is to speak in a different language, they have to learn that's an unacceptable behavior in that (school) environment.

Again, if it only happened once or twice, the punishment didn't fit the crime. It was an ongoing problem that the student had been warned about several times, then the detention/suspension was appropriate. Well, a suspension was proabably going too far. There had to have been something else going on for the kid to get suspended.”

“hitting someone or calling them a name is defineitely disrespectful. speaking in ones own native tongue isnt. invading a continent and telling the locals they have to speak your language is”

“Isn't that what is happening in the US right now? At least it seems like we're being invaded and have to respect other peoples' languages and cultures. At times I feel like a foreigner in my native country.

---

This is not necessarily a bad thing. I have to view it as changing times.
last edited: 12/10/05 1:49:09 PM”

“nowslimmer, when youre forced to learn chinese or spanish due to the large influx of chinese and mexican immigrants, come see me and we'll protest together”

“I had to learn some Spanish when my Mother-in-Law and two nieces moved in with us. Where were you when I needed you? Also, there was the time I came home and found a 4-member Chinese family living with us. I did not have to learn Chinese, but Spanish was in order. Now I could use some knowledge of Chinese, since I may go with them to China one of these days.”

“When I was in high school they *taught* Spanish as an elective . . . WTF?”

“LONDON (Reuters) - The dominance of English as the world's top language -- until recently an advantage to both Britain and the United States -- is now beginning to undermine the competitiveness of both nations, according to a major research report.

The report commissioned by the British Council says monolingual English graduates "face a bleak economic future" as multilingual competitors flood into the workforce from all corners of the globe.

A massive increase in the number of people learning English is under way and likely to peak at around 2 billion in the next decade, according to the report entitled "English Next."

More than half of all primary school children in China now learn English and the number of English speakers in India and China -- 500 million -- now exceeds the total number of mother-tongue English speakers elsewhere in the world.

These new polyglots, and the companies that employ them, have significant competitive advantages over their monoglot rivals, including a vital understanding of different cultures, in a world faced with rapid globalization.

"The competitive advantage of speaking English is ebbing away," said the author of the report, linguistic consultant David Graddol. "Once everyone speaks English, advantage can only be maintained by having something else -- other skills, such as speaking several languages.

"At a corporate level, the UK and U.S. economies have been enjoying a huge benefit from having so many English speakers elsewhere in the world," he told Reuters on Tuesday.

"They can outsource overseas to India, for example, allowing them to cut costs and boost growth."

But Graddol said there were mounting disadvantages for U.S. and British companies if they stayed monolingual.

Companies from other countries could use exactly the same methods to cut costs. And those foreign competitors could also trade and take orders in other languages.

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=11289455&src=rss/domesticNews”

“Why do all your posts have a "U.S. sucks compared to the other countries" undertone to them?”

“Take it that way if you like.”

“I like.”

“This is just plain stupid. Of course if you have more capabilities, in any professional aspect, you have more options.

So, if you speak more thyan one language you have more options or potentially bring a greater value to your employer.

Who doesn't understand common sense, or, when it points to someone other than a WASP having some advantage, needs to have it pointed out for some reason?”

“If you speak 3 languages you're Trilingual
If you speak 2 languages you're Bilingual
If you speak 1 language you're an American.

Apparently, Americans need to have it pointed out to them, wanderer.”

“I know a guy who knows over 60 languages. He's a court interpreter.”

“I agree with s-rge. before i read this thread, i was a flag-salutin, pick-up drivin, god-fearin patriot. now i am just a godless, america-hating communist driving a volkswagon beetle”

“Not Americans, BM, just Violin. To everyone else it's obvious.”

“My wife and I taught ESL in South Korea for a couple of years. We enjoyed it (both the teaching and living abroad) and it was very financially rewarding for us. I was under contract at a school, while she freelanced. So I got the paid apartment , health insurance, and base salary. She on the other hand made about 50 $USD/hour doing private lessons. The only reason we returned to the states was for her to finish her undergrad. Only two years back stateside now, and she'll finish her MA in Fall, and I'll complete my masters in ESL this Spring. We are going to start working on our PhDs next. I am going back to Korea this summer to present at a couple of applied linguistics conferences, and too start my doctoral research.

I highly suggest teaching ESL abroad to anybody with a bit of a wanderlust.
last edited: 2/22/06 9:58:20 PM”

“due to family circumstances, i need to remain stateside. what do you know about teaching in the u.s.?”

“One of my daughters is using her fluency in Spanish full time. She handles complaints from unhappy, often irate, Ford customers. Most of her days are very active and busy.”

“If you are interested in teaching ESL in the states, your best bets are in the public school system, community college, or 4-year university. Other opportunities do abound however they may be difficult locating. (For example, a friend of mine teaches English writing to incoming international students attending seminary).

Members of TESOL.org have access to lots of posted jobs in the US and abroad. Many in the US will require an MA, while those abroad usually require a BA/BS and/or a certficate.”