OK, I feel the need to vent. Teaching in a language school in another country and culture is an extremely frustrating process.
The main reason for this is that the schools are in the business for the money. Management at the school I'm at does not care one iota if students learn English or not. As long as they're paying the monthly fee, they will continue to pass students to the next level year after year.
For example, my Teens 5 kids have been in the teens program for 5 semesters, or 2.5 years. Many went to the Children's program for up to 4.5 years before that. 90% of my students don't speak English. They don't understand basic greetings like, "How was your weekend? Did we already do this page? Where were you last week?" I am presented with a classroom of blank faces every single time I ask a simple question.
The tests are set up to include all these extra points for things like class participation, homework, and "online activities". I asked my coordinator what to base "online activities" on since I didn't have an internet connection in my room until last week. I was told if I used to internet to prepare a lesson or if I showed a youtube video on a grammar point, they all get points for online activities. So they all get 5 out of 5, basically.
If a student just does basic level work and comes to school, they automatically get 15 points, which can bring them from a 75% to 90%. So mediocre work gets a A here.
Students show up to school when they feel like it, and if they do decide to show up, they saunter in 20 minutes late every day. Half my class each day is 10 minutes late each day. Every day, half my kids don't come at all.
I have a student who has been in class 5 times in the last 9 weeks. That's 5 out of 45 days. I asked my coordinator what to do since it's impossible to reteach half a semester to him one on one, and she said he's going to make up all 3 tests and 2 projects. She told him to come last Saturday when I was giving makeups for midterms to take all 3 tests he's missed without having a chance to prepare or do the workbook pages or have extra time with me. I explained this to her but she didn't understand what I was saying. So now his grade is based on how well he can guess on a test. He doesn't speak or understand any English, as evidenced by his speaking test. He got 2 out of 14.
All of these kids will be passed onto Teens 6, and eventually they will finish all the programs unable to speak a word of English.
The other side of this incompetency in language schools is that English teachers in Ecuador don't speak English! What kind of bullshit is that! No wonder these students can't speak English. They think if they throw an English book at them they'll figure it out, I guess. I have met countless "English teachers" that can't follow a very basic, slowly spoken conversation or answer a question. It amazes me. I can't imagine teaching a Spanish class, and my level of Spanish is much higher than these teachers' level of English.
And at my school which is staffed by 90% Spanish speakers, they speak Spanish with their classes. I hear them all the time. They explain in Spanish, they give directions in Spanish, and they answer Spanish questions in Spanish. My students are finally learning to stop asking questions in Spanish to me. I'm the first native English speaker they've had in 2.5 years.
For me, I want these kids to learn and progress. To see them not progressing is very frustrating. I need to learn to let it go. I can't change the system, and it's set up for failure, unless students are extremely self motivated. I need to stop taking this failure personally and just learn to show up and wait for this experience to finally be over.
--Frustrated in Loja, Ecuador
The main reason for this is that the schools are in the business for the money. Management at the school I'm at does not care one iota if students learn English or not. As long as they're paying the monthly fee, they will continue to pass students to the next level year after year.
For example, my Teens 5 kids have been in the teens program for 5 semesters, or 2.5 years. Many went to the Children's program for up to 4.5 years before that. 90% of my students don't speak English. They don't understand basic greetings like, "How was your weekend? Did we already do this page? Where were you last week?" I am presented with a classroom of blank faces every single time I ask a simple question.
The tests are set up to include all these extra points for things like class participation, homework, and "online activities". I asked my coordinator what to base "online activities" on since I didn't have an internet connection in my room until last week. I was told if I used to internet to prepare a lesson or if I showed a youtube video on a grammar point, they all get points for online activities. So they all get 5 out of 5, basically.
If a student just does basic level work and comes to school, they automatically get 15 points, which can bring them from a 75% to 90%. So mediocre work gets a A here.
Students show up to school when they feel like it, and if they do decide to show up, they saunter in 20 minutes late every day. Half my class each day is 10 minutes late each day. Every day, half my kids don't come at all.
I have a student who has been in class 5 times in the last 9 weeks. That's 5 out of 45 days. I asked my coordinator what to do since it's impossible to reteach half a semester to him one on one, and she said he's going to make up all 3 tests and 2 projects. She told him to come last Saturday when I was giving makeups for midterms to take all 3 tests he's missed without having a chance to prepare or do the workbook pages or have extra time with me. I explained this to her but she didn't understand what I was saying. So now his grade is based on how well he can guess on a test. He doesn't speak or understand any English, as evidenced by his speaking test. He got 2 out of 14.
All of these kids will be passed onto Teens 6, and eventually they will finish all the programs unable to speak a word of English.
The other side of this incompetency in language schools is that English teachers in Ecuador don't speak English! What kind of bullshit is that! No wonder these students can't speak English. They think if they throw an English book at them they'll figure it out, I guess. I have met countless "English teachers" that can't follow a very basic, slowly spoken conversation or answer a question. It amazes me. I can't imagine teaching a Spanish class, and my level of Spanish is much higher than these teachers' level of English.
And at my school which is staffed by 90% Spanish speakers, they speak Spanish with their classes. I hear them all the time. They explain in Spanish, they give directions in Spanish, and they answer Spanish questions in Spanish. My students are finally learning to stop asking questions in Spanish to me. I'm the first native English speaker they've had in 2.5 years.
For me, I want these kids to learn and progress. To see them not progressing is very frustrating. I need to learn to let it go. I can't change the system, and it's set up for failure, unless students are extremely self motivated. I need to stop taking this failure personally and just learn to show up and wait for this experience to finally be over.
--Frustrated in Loja, Ecuador
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