English language teachers’ new role?
Look, we simply don’t get paid enough to have to deal with this kind of crap, OK? We’re in this for the sheer fun of it, the ‘alternative’ lifestyle and the chance to experience exotic locales. The last bloody thing we need is someone trying to turn this into a bona fide profession. However, that’s exactly what is in danger of happening if bloody CLIL takes off, according to those Craptus TEFL loving buggers at the Guardian…
‘As education authorities around the world set ambitious targets to raise English skills, this is the time for English language teachers to share their expertise and views on how to combine content and language in the same lessons, say leading Clil experts David Marsh and Peeter Mehisto. They call for more cooperation across the curriculum and highlight the issues that will be raised at our special debate Clil: Complementing or Compromising English Language Teaching?’
So, all you long termers, are you scared at the prospect of actually having to have expertise in a particular field other than that of merely speaking the language of the country you were born in? I’ve been teaching content based learning for the past five years and let me tell you, you have to put in the background reading or you get eaten alive in the classroom. That’s right, linguistic superiority just doesn’t cut it in CLIL. It’s a brave new world folks, are you ready for it?
Read more of the Guardian article…
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Ready and already doing the job, but that’s why they hired me and not someone with general English teaching skills/experience.
Me too, it can be a bit tricky knowing your event horizon from your point of singularity (yes, I sometimes have to teach elementary astronomy) but it can be very rewarding.
I feel there are those in our profession who simply won’t be up to it, however. Anyone agree with me?
If teaching business to adults falls under the CLIL rubric then I’m happy to do it, but if it involves teaching, say, history to kids, I’ll have to leave the tent and go for a walk. Elementary astronomy, though, now that could be a clincher…
CLIL will sort the true teachers among us rom the backpackers.
It seems the linguistic imperialism that Phillipson tried to make us all feel guilty about is actually coming to pass. It’s like an episode of Heroes, only without the cool superpowers…
In the quest to obtain added value from English language training, governments around the world are undermining academic discourse in the languages spoken by their populaces.
The price of globalisation: marginalisation of world languages and, eventually, underqualified English teachers.