The great teaching abroad CPD dilemma
With the limited reading time you have available, should you:
a) read up on the culture of the students you are teaching?
or
b) concentrate on just improving your general TEFL knowledge and techniques?
Which will help you more with your classes in a new country in the short and long term? Will the experience of getting to understand the educational background, language etc of one group of students make it easier next time you have to do it, or will it all seem like a waste of time that stopped you doing an MA in TESOL when you next move continent?
I’ve recently switched from (a) to (b), hence the comparative lack of posts about teaching recently. It sure is more interesting to read about Korean history than to slog through 100 activities Alan Maley would do with a ridiculously up for it group of Advanced students if he actually taught anymore (two randomly chosen unread books from two very different shelves in my living room), but does the history book count as CPD as should I just leave it for the pile of toilet reads?
Thoughts? Dreams? Emotional reactions? The space for these is below:
December 10th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
I think the history book only counts as CPD if you plan to become part of Korean history. Mind you, I think the Alan Maley activity book only counts as CPD if you’re Alan Maley.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:41 am
I find personally knowing the history of the country you are currently teaching in is extremely helpful. I’ve found it to be a great way to get students attentions. Especially when you know a history fact that they have a hard time remembering. It shows that you in fact care about their culture and say actually want to stick around.
It also deepens your appreciation of the culture you are in, and if you are a big traveler helps glue everything together when you travel. Instead of seeing a bunch of temples and random castles and can actually be a story.
December 11th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Hi there,
I actually think it all depends on how long teachers have been teaching.
This would be my starting point. Novice teacher? Then read up on TEFL. But don’t forget to ask colleagues about socio-cultural aspects and tips. Experienced teacher? Opt for an understanding of the socio-cultural / psychological aspects of the country in which you’re teaching. That’s how I would go about it. I think that the TEFL books, articles etc take on a different perspective once you understand a bit more of the culture in which you’re teaching.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:36 am
I don’t know how much culture you can learn from a book, nor how much reading directly improves your classroom teaching. I hate to employ a cheesy axiom, but as far as culture goes “You have two ears, two eyes and one mouth – use them proportionally” and you should figure it out. Look at it from another perspective – which tells you more about modern Britain, a biography of Sir Walter Raleigh or a trip around Tescos, a pint in Wetherspoons and a couple of hours of Saturday night telly?
December 11th, 2009 at 7:58 am
How about going for pramatics and sociolinguistics so you can cover both?
December 11th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
“I don’t know how much culture you can learn from a book” There has to be thousands of anthropologists and sociologists that hope it is more than you are suggesting.
I had an interesting conversation about this once (this was pre-internet when I still conversed with people) when someone told me that I couldn’t learn anything about the mafia by reading books, and then proceded to tell me everything I needed to know about the mafia from his real life experiences teaching English in Palermo. My reply was “So, if you put what you just said in a book, would that stop it being true?”
Interesting questions though, especially when it comes to reading and improving teaching. Maybe it’s related to Valeria’s good point- when you are a beginner teacher one chapter of Harmer can really make a difference.
Good point Vicki, to which I’d add books about the education system in the country you are in, my favourite of which so far is “Preschool in Three Cultures”
December 11th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Completely off topic, or maybe not…
My first ever presentation at a TESOL conference…setting, Vientiane Laos.
Subject: Storytelling in the classroom, using translated versions of local tales in minimum resourced classrooms.
Who was front and center?
The keynote speaker, Alan Maley
Not much feedback later on, but the wine did flow at the dinner…
en fin
December 11th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Quite true Alex… as an Englishman I highly recommend “Watching the English” by Kate Fox, which my wife read with increasing dismay as she realised how lower-middle class I am. But, and as an old Japan hand you’ll know this, there are plenty of books that are full of %£$@ and for the newcomer it is often impossible to distinguish the good from the bad.
December 12th, 2009 at 3:01 am
To those newcomers, may I suggest avoiding all books by this geezer:
http://www.boyedemente.com/
Huge Watching the English fan too. In fact, my Japan blog started as a kind of tribute to it
http://japanexplained.wordpress.com
Troy- as far as I can see, almost completely off topic! Are you scanning and skimming skills letting you down??