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November 29, 2005
Workplace Issues - A Dystopian Future for ESL?
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future." ~ George Orwell
Hello readers,
Any science-fiction fans out there? Ok, forget Orwell's thought-police and NewSpeak for the time being.
In Ridley Scott's bleak film Blade Runner, the futuristic world society of planet Earth has evolved into one with a distinctly Asian cultural flavor. In the short-lived television series Firefly, the future is one where the English language has become synthesized, to certain degree, with the Chinese language (especially for profanity). In the also discontinued series prequel to Star Trek, Enterprise, a multicultural crew of near-future Earth denizens (who routinely speak English) frequently employ the services of their star linguist in an attempt to communicate with the "other" (who are not interested in the English language in the least). So, even in fiction, it seems, Western civilization critiques its own history with linguistic imperialism.
It comes as no real surprise then that . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 03:49 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (3)
November 25, 2005
Lesson Planning - Using Halloween for ESL Class: Anytime!
"There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world." ~Jean Baudrillard
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Posted by lhobbs at 05:32 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (3)
November 24, 2005
Lesson Planning - Impromptu ESL Teaching Demonstrations
"It usually takes me three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech" ~Mark Twain
Hi friends,
Have you ever been asked to give an extemporaneous speech or to perform on the spot? How embarrassing is this if you don't feel prepared?
Presently, this is exactly what's happening in some ESL schools when job applicants are "invited" to an employment interview. Like the ESL students who are often asked to demonstrate their English language abilities (so that they can be properly placed), potential ESL teachers can also be expected to be held to a similar standard by demonstrating their teaching ability. Plus, if the ESL school has organized these interviews wisely, they could theoretically charge students for a pre-semester session of ESL classes while getting some free labor from their ESL instructor applicants (let's hope that schools aren't really doing this!) . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 05:28 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (2)
November 23, 2005
Workplace Issues - ESL Jailbirds and Stool-Pigeons
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there" ~Charles Bukowski
Dear Readers,
ESL Inmates? Sounds like the title for a new blog on the horizons.
Your ever-present ESL advocate here, Lee Hobbs. As usual, I am on the case scouring the net for relevant ESL articles that might spark your interest. Patricia Dean's highly informative blog, ESL School, takes the perspective of the ESL employer, advising them with employer-related woes. I try, where possible, to offer you at least a counter perspective, that is the perspective of the ESL teacher/employee so that the discourse can continue on various levels of engagement. Check it out; it might give you some insight too on how the management world is presently thinking about us, their most important asset! Don't forget to leave her some comments.
In PD's most recent post, found here, she writes, and I quote:
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Posted by lhobbs at 05:41 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (1)
November 20, 2005
ESL Italian Style
"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." ~Anna Akhmatova
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Posted by lhobbs at 11:56 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (2)
November 17, 2005
ESL Vitas, Reference Letters and You!
"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles." ~Niccolo Machiavelli
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Posted by lhobbs at 04:02 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (2)
November 16, 2005
Workplace Issues - When ESL Students Evaluate their ESL Instructor
"There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it." ~ Dale Carnegie
Dear Readers,
It's that time of the semester again: the end! Student evaluations of the teacher! You know, have a fellow teacher come into the room for 15 minutes, hand out #2 pencils and multiple choice grade sheets while you go do the same for another “strange” class. It seems so mundane yet so much might be hanging in the balance with the pencil scratches of those students.
Are you like me, wondering what your students are going to say about you now that you are out of the room? Do you expect the ones who expect to get "As" to give you high marks while the ones who know their grade is in danger to score you, in retaliation, with a negative evaluation score?
And, don't get me started on newly popular websites like "rate-my-teacher" or . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 01:13 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack (1)
November 14, 2005
Lesson Planning - Encouraging ESL Students to Talk
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names" ~ John F. Kennedy
Hello everyone,
Ever wonder what to do on the first day of class? Nervous about remembering new students' names? Well, the first day of class is the perfect opportunity to satisfy both of these apprehensions.
In the last newsletter (here), I offered one of the first-day-of-class lessons I like to use in the ESL classroom . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 04:20 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (4)
November 12, 2005
Q & A - How Do You Impress a Potential ESL Employer?
"Only strong personalities can endure history, the weak ones are extinguished by it" ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
I recently came across an enlightening message in a post (here) about what ESL employers are looking for when hiring a teacher. I thought that there might be something there worth of discussion for us, the ESL "employees."
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Posted by lhobbs at 08:07 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (6)
November 11, 2005
Teaching Spots - Zakopane, Poland
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~ Annie Dillard
A Slavic Garden of Eden & A Winter Wonderland
Fresh, homemade cheeses sold from baskets on the street, colorful costumes and energetic, country dancing. Horse-drawn buggies, honey vodkas and mushroom picking in the forest. Long, scenic hikes with breathtaking views and mountaintop taverns with locally made brews. Friendly faces, Belgian waffles and fresh, fruit-filled crepes around every corner.
Dear readers,
This is my picture to you of . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 10:22 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (1)
November 10, 2005
Comments on "ESL Instruct" - October
"He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Hi friends,
Thanks for taking the time out of your already busy schedule to provide feedback on the most recent edition of ESL Instruct.
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Posted by lhobbs at 05:04 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack (4)
November 09, 2005
ESL Classroom Observations
"This inescapable duty to observe oneself: if someone else is observing me, naturally I have to observe myself too; if none observe me, I have to observe myself all the closer." ~ Franz Kafka
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Posted by lhobbs at 03:33 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (3)
November 08, 2005
Workplace Issues - Plagiarism in ESL Part II
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal ideas from many is research." ~ Anonymous (of course)
Dear Readers,
Even this quote must have been attributed to someone. Here are just a few additional comments on "Plagiarism in the ESL Classroom," a topic begun a few days ago on this blog.
Thanks to everyone for all your comments on my previous rant. Since copyright infringement and the issue of legality floats over the implications of plagiarism, I found it interesting that one concerned reader of this blog (I won't say who!) sent me this discussion today online here with thanks to Kenneth Burgess.
Burgess summarizes . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 06:02 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (1)
November 07, 2005
Workplace Issues - Evaluating Student Work in ESL
"True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information." ~ Sir Winston Churchill
Dear Readers,
Perhaps one of the most daunting aspects of teaching, particularly a class with writing as its focus, is how to fairly evaluate a student’s classwork assignments. Of course, I’m speaking for myself, perhaps some of you out there actually like this part of the job (sickos!)
I’ll be honest, I really can’t stand the process of grading papers (although I do love reading them and providing helpful advice). Evaluation, it seems, is a necessary evil and has got to be done (so says the institution) but why does it have to be so stressful?
Distinguishing between the various . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 03:34 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (1)
November 06, 2005
Workplace Issues - ESL & PowerPoint Presentations
"Professors known as outstanding lecturers do two things; they use a simple plan and many examples." ~ W. McKeachie
Dear Readers,
If my memory doesn't fail me, it seems that the business types latched on to this technology first, the publishing field being no exception. The administrative branch of the school system used it to “preach” their new policies to the faculty branches.
When their use first became prevalent in teaching, I thought that they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I still use them a lot, not only for course lectures but also for conference presentations, etc. If you suffer from stage-fright, it certainly gives your “audience” something to look at besides yourself! Even more importantly, as the quote suggests, they keep any “lecture” you feel compelled to impose upon your class "simple" by sticking to a planned outline and even entertaining with the ability to use graphics, examples and even “quotations” as writing prompts. I shouldn't even have to make a comparison to the expense or making (and trouble of making) overhead transparencies, the older method.
Apparently, students are now being prepped to . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 02:39 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (2)
November 05, 2005
Workplace Issues - Plagiarism and ESL
"The more laws & order are made prominent, the more thieves & robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu
Dear Readers,
What a day.
Today I had my first “plagiarizer” of the semester. With the accessibility of the internet, plagiarism in papers has become easier and easier for students to do and, at the same time, simpler for instructors to detect. Even though I always demonstrate this simple procedure to my own students, there always seems to be someone determined to try and slip through the system.
My colleagues tell me that . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 01:38 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack (3)
