Final Posting!?

Per the Johnson questions.

The major milestone in my journey as an ESL teacher until now. Probably the first major decision was just the decision to become a teacher. I was unsatisfied with my work as a banker. I knew that I enjoyed working with kids, and a friend of mine was in Korea teaching English. He recommended that I should try it, and so I did. The biggest decision was just deciding to do it.

The next major milestone was the realization that I enjoyed teaching, but I didn't like the unstable aspect of ESL teaching. My first public school job could not renew after the first year due to budget cuts. My following job at a hagwon turned out to be less than ideal. The owner was the worst supervisor that I have ever had. I should never have to fight to get a pay check. And my third job was much like my first job, the contract wasn't renewed due to budget cuts. I realized that I needed to get some type of professional credential, so I could get some type of stability.

During the same time, I also realized that I really needed some formal training. I realized that I had some serious deficiencies. I would periodically check the CELTA website for training opportunities. They had an online component, but I could never find a school that had the online component with the onsite component that would work with my schedule. So finding this course and taking it was another big decision.

Relating to my personal life and values:

I've always felt that if I do something, I should do the best job possible. And "doing the best job" means paying attention to what students have to say. I think the other person will take a positive experience from the interaction. And if the students have a positive expectation from the teacher, then they are more likely to positively interact in class. Obviously, it's important for the teacher to care about what the students are trying to say.  That's why dialogic discourse is so important.

Obviously, conflict of values occurs with any interaction with people from other cultures. With my students, one of the culture clashes is that in the USA, finishing homework is extremely important. However, in Korea, students rarely finish homework that I assign them. Also, students expect the teacher to tell them exactly what they need to do. In the USA, students are expected to be given a lot of latitude. So as a teacher, I have to conform my teaching style to the expectations of the students.

Marginalization: Probably they way that I am marginalized is probably the same way that most foreign English  teachers are marginalized. Conversational English just isn't given as high a priority as reading English is. This is obvious in the way that students treat the class. They never bring their books, and sometimes, half the students seem to fall asleep. The big part is that English speaking isn't tested on their exam, so the students have very little reason to care. The way that I try to combat this problem is by making the lessons varied and interesting. I never do overt grammar or listening activities now, they are all part of the process of getting to the end goal. At my old school, that's how my lessons were set up; they were very compartmentalized. There  was a listening section, a grammar section, and then a speaking section. Now, I try to integrate it all into flowing river, one section flows into the next.