Is a good teacher really a good investment?
Amongst the doom and gloom that is the Lets Japan blog since the collapse of Nova became fact and there became nothing left to speculate about, comes possibly the only glimmer of hope that doesn’t involve thousands of refugee teachers flying home on their specially discounted (UNHCR?) flights-
one company that arranges to match up students and teachers without the use of a language school is offering its services tariff free for a limited period.
If any students who use that service are overjoyed at the prospects of a flood of fresh raw cheap meat I don’t know, but I’d be willing to bet that students and schools all over Japan are asking themselves the question that starts this post more than ever, especially now it is clear that Nova’s troubles had little if any connection to the poor standards of education it was offering and more to do with a fkwit business plan and too much time spent in the jacuzzi with girls in bikinis Kent Brockman-style. The question is: Is hiring a better teacher worth the cash?
Let’s imagine that a teacher whose only teaching experience is 1 month at nova before it collapsed is reduced to only charging 3000 yen an hour so they can get any cash at all before the Vegemite runs out and they starve. Why then would any student pay 5500 yen for an hour with me when they could get nearly 2 hours elsewhere for the same price? Could they really learn twice as quickly with me? Well, yes, but only if-
-they really need specific english for specific purposes
-they are very high or very low level
-they are studying for an exam like IELTS
-The increased confidence they get in my teaching due to my price, experience and ability to answer their questions gives their motivation a boost
- I can give them tips on how to study inside and outside class that makes their use of time much more efficient
-Something I do or mention inspires them or at least nothing I do puts them off in any way
With the rest, quite frankly, they might be better off spending their money on two times one hour a week with a noob instead of one hour once a week with me. In fact, there are some students who even do better with a noob:
- Students who want to explain their country to someone who doesn’t know it very well yet
- Students who are tempted to slip into L1 once they know their teacher understands it
- Students who are more interested in socializing with the teachers than whatever goes on in the class
In conclusion, I can understand why teachers think their schools and students are stupid not to pay them a professional wage for a professional job, but coming to terms with the fact that many parts of the English language learning community are actually perfectly sensible putting their money elsewhere is, I would say, the beginning of the process of finding real solutions to our personal and collective problems with the lack of professional conditions and professional jobs.
More evidence coming up…
November 8th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I quite agree. Someone who just wants bog standard general English conversation would get more for the yen with a cheap and cheerful NOVA teacher. Expensive teachers with MAs and diplomas are really only wise for fussy individuals who actually want to know why the grammar works like that, or need to know something specific like how to pass IELTS, how to write a research paper, and so forth.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
If there are thousands of out-of-work teachers suddenly in Japan, there must surely be many more thousands of students suddenly left without courses. Sounds like a good opportunity for at least some of those teachers to get some good freelance work. (???)
November 9th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
You make a very good point.
A few years ago, with much less experience & certification under my belt, I was charging €50/hour in Germany. I did well; worked with a lot of students, generally on business small-talk or IELTS speaking prep [online resources are stupidly easy to come by].
These days, were I back in Germany, I wouldn’t get out of bed for less than €100/hour. Would I have as many students? Doubtful. Am I a more effective teacher? Undoubtedly. Worth twice as much money? Possibly. Able to facilitate twice as much improvement in language competence? Unlikely, but possible under a number of conditions you listed.
Herein lies a key issue in modern EFL; the underqualified can provide a service. The qualified & experienced can provide a much better service. But is it worth the extra student investment to compensate the time & money we’ve invested in our career?
When I started out, I could teach English. To a bare minimum competence, but I could do it. Now, I can do it much better. But, when it comes to the paying customer (which students, ultimately, always are), just *how* much better?
November 18th, 2007 at 10:50 am
great post, as is the follow up one. I really do like this quote though
“With the rest, quite frankly, they might be better off spending their money on two times one hour a week with a noob instead of one hour once a week with me”
lol.