Teachers and students.

0 views

August 31, 2007 · Filed Under Work

Last night, an ex-student and friend of mine and I got together for a pint and a chat about our summer holidays and the three-week language course he did in Dublin. As he was feeling rather nostalgic about his Irish experience, we drank, yes, you guessed: Guinness.

Between sips, it was very interesting to hear his reactions to the course and he has agreed to write something on this for my other website. However, what struck me was his response to a question asked by one of his summer course tutors. The question was ‘What is more important, a highly motivated student or a highly motivated teacher?’. The teacher was expecting an answer that indicated motivation levels to be about 50:50, whereas my friend said 40% student, 60% teacher. This apparently left the teacher a little flummoxed, although I don’t really know why. As my friend pointed out, well motivated teachers can motivate their students, but well motivated students cannot really motivate a teacher (and should not be expected to). Hence, in part, the 60% weighting towards the teacher. The other part of the 60% reflects the students’ perception of a teacher. A teacher, especially when dealing with adult learners, needs to be able to, almost, give off an aura of confidence and competence, otherwise the students’ will question whether they can really learn something from this person. In street terms, it is this ‘respect’ thing and it is understandable. And this is why my friend wants to be taught by someone who appears to be worth learning from. This sounds perfectly logical to me.

Good teachers who are obviously interested in their subjects, come across as being well-motivated and motivating. I know this from my own learning experiences. But there is also a collateral effect, if you like, in that well motivated teachers can create well motivated students. Well motivated students may even develop a greater level of interest in subjects being taught and go off and read up on these things. Bingo, job done. The students are teaching themselves, or at the very least learning how to learn.

Generating enthusiasm and interest is something I attempt to do in my own teaching. This is the teacher as a facilitator thing. It does seem to work and attention levels in-class are higher as a result and I continue to be asked for advice on how to develop language skills outside the classroom. This is encouraging.

Alas in the majority of the real world, teachers are not valued highly enough by society - which translates into them being poorly paid and thus possibly poorly motivated. Then there is the fact that poorly paid professions do not good people attract. And you have a big problem. Mix this with disciplinary problems at secondary school level and the problems are magnified considerably. Not good. Our youth are our future. They are an investment. Invest well and positive yields are more likely. Do not invest and you get no return on equity.

The point of all my blathering? Good teachers are worth their weight in Platinum. Good students know this. Our leaders, in general, do not, or do not want to know. After all, there is no profit in teaching, is there? Er, well, ever heard of something known as ‘research and development’, Mr Politician, sir? Or would you rather just add a nice new set of missiles to your country’s armoury?

Short termism ain’t good.

Share:

Tags: efl, English, Language teaching, teaching language, TEFL

Comments

6 Responses to “Teachers and students.”

Andy on September 1st, 2007 10:29 am

I agree that the weighting should be in favour of the teacher but maybe even as high as 70%. The problem with teaching in general, and language teaching in particular, is the level of pay and the unreliability of work attracts, in the main, people who are transient, who lack the motivation and, unfortunately, often lack the skills.

What amazed me, during my time as a language teacher here, was the willingness, on the part of some ’schools’, to allow ‘warm, mother-tongue bodies’ to stand in front of students, whilst professing their school’s high standards.

But, then, it all comes down to money in the end, I guess.
EriK on September 2nd, 2007 4:09 pm

Good blog, like kirai’s one!

Besos from Spain
Alex on September 3rd, 2007 11:15 am

Thanks for the Spanish besos Erik!
Alex on September 3rd, 2007 12:00 pm

Andy - you are so right about the ‘warm, mother-tongue bodies’ bodies thing. And professing high standards would be OK if some form of real training were offered. While some schools do attempt some form of training - it is usually badly organised, poorly attended and not at all regular - mix that with ‘unpaid’ on top of irregular work and low pay and you get teachers who are unwilling to be ‘trained’. The better teachers, who enjoy teaching, tend to train themselves and feed off each other, but once these people have got themselves up to scratch, they often find better jobs and teaching quality slips in the chain and private language schools once more.

I know for a fact that it is very difficult to find good teachers in Milan, whereas finding ‘teachers’ is quite easy, and certain schools are not all that choosy. The victims of this mess are the students and companies who are, on the whole, unaware that they are being fed a poor quality service. Certain schools, read British Council, do employ experienced and qualified teachers, and they pay quite well well too. However, the, realistic, rates they charge are seen as being too high by many companies and individuals, who are also put off by large classroom group sizes. Enter Mr Flash salesman and a bit of flash marketing. Substantially lower prices (and lower pay rates for teachers) win the game. After all, an English teacher is just and English teacher, right?

Things are changing a little, in that whereas English language courses seemed to be offered almost as a way of keeping staff happy - companies are starting to realise that language skills can produce a return on investment, often in terms of new business development. And bright career minded individuals know all too well that a lack of language skills often means greatly reduced career advancement opportunities. This means that good independent teachers who work methodically can find work, but they lack the resources to go up against the slick salesmen tactics of the bigger chain schools.

What teachers need is a form of ‘agent’, a bit like those who represent a film star! This agent would sell the teacher, not the image of a school. However the saturated market and its artificially low prices would prove to be a major obstacle to such a system.

Perhaps a form of teachers association would raise awareness of the importance of good teaching and help transform the market or even exploiting networking systems such as Linked-In could make a difference.

Just a few thoughts.

Regards,

Alex
Caesar on September 3rd, 2007 10:26 pm

A good teacher imparts more than just the subject but also a mindset encouraging growth and success.
Alex on September 4th, 2007 11:32 am

Good to see that you are still around Caesar and what you say about teachers is one hundred percent true.

Regards,

Alex