As some of you might remember, I �ve mentioned that at the school where I work, I am both coordinator & teacher. This is because we don �t have enough teachers, and unfortunately good teachers are very hard to find, and those who are good, are working elsewhere. Another reason is that the General Principal of the school �s only interest is reducing budgets so he does not authorize hiring another teacher.

 

Well, getting back to the main point is that we have our students divided into 3 levels: basic, intermediate and advanced. Being the basic level with the most students, therefore we have 2 basic groups. So... I have 2 teachers for basic, one for intermediate and myself for the advanced.

 

This works ok, I guess, but I �ve heard comments from my teachers that kind of bother me. When we sit down to review the results and students � grades, I often hear "jokingly": "Well, it �s easier for YOU because you have the advanced students! Ours don �t understand, don �t work, misbehave, etc".....

 

What they don �t seem to understand is that although I have the advanced students, whom I don �t have to teach colors, numbers and ABC, most students speak freely, but make many grammar mistakes, and I have to help them correct these habits and take them to a higher level of the language. Most do not read properly, and I work hard on that issue, and if they work in my class, if they do not misbehave or cause me discipline problems, that �s because I have proper group control, because I plan my classes in a way that I have them working the 50 min period, no time to fool around, and well, they are interested in the activities I prepare.

 

But, well, even though I KNOW that their level of the language (the teachers �) is not very high, that �s the main reason I CANNOT give them my advanced groups, and I take the beginners. To me it �s not acceptable that the students should have a higher level than the teacher. The students would not be progressing or learning more, they would just be stuck at where they are, or even go backwards.

 

But I can �t tell them straight out, that their level is not high enough, because I don �t want them to feel bad or that I think only I �m good enough for the advanced group, etc. So, I �ve thought that if I prepare a test for them to take, with the results it will be obvious to them, that they need to do something about it, take some course, etc, in order to up their level, and therefore have the possibility to assist higher lever students.

 

What do you think? Do you have such a test in mind?

 

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

 

Yes, advanced students need the challenge of the best teacher the school can offer and a class with such students needs a lot more preparation on the teacher �s behalf. 

I �d say give your teachers a test for advanced level and test them in different areas not just grammar but the use of English so to speak. It would be a good idea to give them writing tasks like different types of essays. Last year when I attended professional development courses in our "in-service training institute", during one of the classes we watched a movie with lots of quotations in it, which we had to write down while watching, and then eventually chose one of them and write a discursive essay (fortunately we didn �t do it in class but had to bring the paper the next day - I �m very meticulous when it comes to writing and the process usually takes a lot of my time) In that way the teachers will see their own areas of need and decide for themselves if they are fit for teaching advanced level students.

On the other hand I do agree that it is extremely hard to teach ruthless unmotivated students with very little language knowledge and you have to be a real master to be able to make a change for them.

Sophia 

P. S. Maybe you could use some of the mock IELTS test materials from here http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/ielts

I think regardless of our level, a teacher NEVER stops learning, and should always be willing to attend workshops, conventions, or self-learning, but we always have to be updated. The thing is, here teachers always have a good excuse (reason) not to do this: family, children, work, etc. And I know all these reasons are valid, but it �s also valid that the school requires teachers to be well prepared and if it was your decision to be a teacher, then it �s your responsibility to be well prepared.

 

Thank you both for your opinions and suggestions!

 

Also, dear Sophia, you mentioned one VERY important thing: "it is extremely hard to teach ruthless, UNMOTIVATED students with very little language knowledge..."    

 

If we KNOW these students have a very basic, or NO knowledge of the language... and to top it off we, teachers, don �t MOTIVATE them.... I think here, it �s more on the teacher �s side to do something. I don �t say this out of the blue, becasue as coordinator, I am also responsible for the grades of ALL the groups, not just my own. So when I see that students from the basic groups are having trouble, first I talk to the teacher to find out what is the problem, and the reason. More often than not, it �s because of the student �s difficulty to understand. So, it �s been 2 years in a row now, that I have implemented a program to tutor these students, having an extra class once a week with them, where I personally try to help them overcome their difficulties, and so far it has worked. The teacher tells me where they are having problems specifically, for example understanding the simple present, then I work with them on that. The problem is, that with me they work fine, no extraordinary discipline problems. Their only complain is having to stay one more hour after school. I tell them, hey, as soon as you get your grades up, you don �t have to stay any more, it �s up to you! What I want to say is this, the teacher must motivate the students in the classroom. I can �t do this for them. And they also need to have group control. You wouldn �t believe that it is THE STUDENTS who tell me that the problem is the teacher cannot control the group! One boy even said to me, "I can �t even THINK in the middle of all that noise".... unbelievable!

 

Thanks again for your suggestions!

 

I think if you are the coordinator you have the right to COORDINATE the department in the way you think is best, and you don�t need to give any explanation about your decisions. However, you could do something like a week swapping courses, and they might realize that your work with the advanced students is not as simple as they think it is . . .

In my case I really enjoy teaching elementary and intermediate ss,I enjoy more intermediate ones as I am able to interact a bit more as they have more tools. But It feels so rewarding when I see someone able to make a sentence on his own, like a baby doing his first steps with his arms open ready to embrace you. .  Anyway, you should explain to them that each group has its pros and cons.

Good luck!

Miss E

 

I also know that I really don �t have to give explanations to them, but I �d rather we work as a team, and see they see me as a friend who can help them, and not feel things are imposed on them.

 

Anyway, thank you all for your comments!

 

Conducting such tests may be a way forward but it may also backfire. They may well be interpreted as a roundabout way to criticize the teachers or their methods.

I agree that if you are the coordinator you have a right to allocate the teaching assigments as you see fit, and when it provokes such comments you could always explain that each level presents its own challenges and difficulties. You may well have to approach the matter directly and explain your reasons which are valid, but soften the blow with offer of help and support. Refer them to sites such as this one, or have them do one on ones with you in which you can helped them raise their level of English. Suggest ways in which they can sharpen their language skills, by watching the news in English for example, or using the �English internet � rather than just Spanish.

You coukd always offer to attend one of their lessons, say once a month, and they can attend one of yours (if the time table allows for that) so they can benefit from your teaching experience and can also see that �the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence �.

If all else fails then you can have them take a CAE test for instance and mark it yourself and be ruthless with the marking, then you can point out that this is the reason you are teaching the advanced groups, because they are already beyond this level so how can the teachers expect to improve them?

 

I hope this helps a little

Good luck, I �m sure things will turn out fine

Hugs from England

Frank

 

Frank, I like your suggestion about peer observation, I observe their class and they observe mine. I carried out this kind of strategy at another school where I worked in the past and it worked really well because I had teachers not only observe my classes, but observe each other, this way, they would benefit from each other �s ideas, or also spot something that is not quite right, that could be improved. this way it would not only be me who pointed out something, but each other.

 

But in this school, the principal doesn �t authorize me to do this, she claims this would make the teacher feel under scrutiny, uncomfortable and would not perform well because of nervousness. Or make them feel they don �t have freedom to teach how they want. Nevertheless, I DO go to their classes once in a while, but not so often, because this means I have to leave MY group alone, working on a task in order for me to leave my classroom. That sets ME behind in my work with them. So, I don �t have the chance as often as I would want to observe their classes.

 

Cheezels, I get  your point about hiring teachers with low level of the language, but unfortunately there are not many good, well prepared teachers in the region where I work. It �s a small city. Sometimes we have to hire whoever is available. But, contrary to what you may think, a teacher who has all the qualifications, does not always prove to be a good teacher. For example, one of the teachers who unfortunately I had to fire, had a Masters in English language teaching. But, he had absolutely NO group control, his classes were a total disaster. On the other hand, the teacher that has the intermediate groups, does not have a veeeeeeeeery high level of the language, does not have any certification in language teaching, but has excellent group control therefore, his students ARE learning and they actually like his classes, are interested and therefore the results are good.He tries his best and it shows.

 

So, you see, there are pros and cons about demanding high qualifications, that �s not what I meant about them having a higher level of knowledge of the language. Unfortunately the school does not have the policy of having all new teachers take a test, to see at what level they have. I placed them in the level I considered appropriate, based on the interview I had with them, where I more or less could tell where they stood. Based on their lesson plans, I can tell in the written form, what level they are at in grammar, writing, etc.

 

And finally, our dear General Principal, WOULD NOT authorize any kind of test for the teachers that would consist of a cost to the school. It �s not REALLY that the school has no budget, it �s that HE does not want to spend 2 cents on the school. So what I was looking for is some kind of written test I can just print out for them.

 

Thanks again for all your comments, ideas and suggestions!!

 

Have a great day!