Comments on: The TESOL scene in Singapore http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/ declaring and bringing heaven here on earth Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:31:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Lynn http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-173848 Lynn Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:27:54 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-173848 Dear Dr Richardson, I would like to know more about the TESOL jobs in Singapore and whether I would be able to get a job easily. I am a Singaporean but have lived in Australia for about 8 years now. Your honest advice is appreciated:) To be honest, I find I struggle with pronunciations now and then and my grammar isn't that good either. I am still working on it though. What do you look for when you employ ESL teachers? thanks so much for your time. Kind regards, Lynn Dear Dr Richardson,

I would like to know more about the TESOL jobs in Singapore and whether I would be able to get a job easily. I am a Singaporean but have lived in Australia for about 8 years now. Your honest advice is appreciated:)

To be honest, I find I struggle with pronunciations now and then and my grammar isn’t that good either. I am still working on it though. What do you look for when you employ ESL teachers?

thanks so much for your time.
Kind regards, Lynn

]]> By: Dr. Alan Richardson http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-122760 Dr. Alan Richardson Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:22:25 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-122760 Hi and yes, the standards in some schools are certainly shocking. This has led to a big change in government supervision of the industry in Singapore, including now a harder look at international schools, where standards may be becoming more variable. Like you, I often became sadly disillusioned when teaching English in the private school sector and this impression of the industry was fortified when I worked as Director of Studies/Academic Director in several institutions. This drove me to eventually open my own school - not easy but you can do it by sharing with others (or better still sharing rooms with an established school, as I did). My school is running a programme to train TESOL teachers. The course for a Diploma in TESOL includes issues of ethical behaviour and the school-teacher interface, obviously also how schools may behave. We have to prepare our TESOL Diploma holders for reality. White versus non-white teachers? Clearly, it should make no difference and in the UK, where I come from, such discrimination would be totally unacceptable. Spoken varieties of English differ widely throughout the world. The students we teach need exposure to a range of spoken English. Whatever your English variety and ethnicity, we each contribute in the classroom with our personal model of spoken English. CDs with good course books provide 'standard' English pronunciations and many others besides, to complete the students' exposure. We need to move the debate on this onwards and treat with contempt the discrimination shown by schools. It is 2010, not the 1950s. I value in my school the fact that we have no 'corporates'. Academic and corporate functions in a typical private institution are often artificially separated, to the detriment of the whole operation. I don't want business men anywhere near my school, academics can actually manage. We do manage, after all, complex classroom situations and student learning all the time. If a good academic job is done by a school, students appreciate it and the necssary healthy financia; 'bottom line' of the school as a business will follow. Hi and yes, the standards in some schools are certainly shocking. This has led to a big change in government supervision of the industry in Singapore, including now a harder look at international schools, where standards may be becoming more variable.

Like you, I often became sadly disillusioned when teaching English in the private school sector and this impression of the industry was fortified when I worked as Director of Studies/Academic Director in several institutions. This drove me to eventually open my own school – not easy but you can do it by sharing with others (or better still sharing rooms with an established school, as I did). My school is running a programme to train TESOL teachers. The course for a Diploma in TESOL includes issues of ethical behaviour and the school-teacher interface, obviously also how schools may behave. We have to prepare our TESOL Diploma holders for reality.

White versus non-white teachers? Clearly, it should make no difference and in the UK, where I come from, such discrimination would be totally unacceptable. Spoken varieties of English differ widely throughout the world. The students we teach need exposure to a range of spoken English. Whatever your English variety and ethnicity, we each contribute in the classroom with our personal model of spoken English. CDs with good course books provide ‘standard’ English pronunciations and many others besides, to complete the students’ exposure. We need to move the debate on this onwards and treat with contempt the discrimination shown by schools. It is 2010, not the 1950s.

I value in my school the fact that we have no ‘corporates’. Academic and corporate functions in a typical private institution are often artificially separated, to the detriment of the whole operation. I don’t want business men anywhere near my school, academics can actually manage. We do manage, after all, complex classroom situations and student learning all the time.

If a good academic job is done by a school, students appreciate it and the necssary healthy financia; ‘bottom line’ of the school as a business will follow.

]]> By: hashleye http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-118481 hashleye Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:29:16 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-118481 Hi, Your article is very interesting.I'm on the same field too.I don't have teaching certificates but i acquired 9 yrs in teaching ESL and you are right ESL is not just by teaching its by skills and technique.Now because of the demands,I'm looking for a good school that will provide tesol but must be accredited by other country. I've been in Singapore too but their English is very poor.I'm looking for a TESOL school there, I dont have a choice coz my brother live in Singapore so to minimize my expenses, I choice Singapore to study TESOL.Can you recommend good school that I can used to seek for a ESL job in other country. Thank u Hi,
Your article is very interesting.I’m on the same field too.I don’t have teaching certificates but i acquired 9 yrs in teaching ESL and you are right ESL is not just by teaching its by skills and technique.Now because of the demands,I’m looking for a good school that will provide tesol but must be accredited by other country.
I’ve been in Singapore too but their English is very poor.I’m looking for a TESOL school there, I dont have a choice coz my brother live in Singapore so to minimize my expenses, I choice Singapore to study TESOL.Can you recommend good school that I can used to seek for a ESL job in other country.

Thank u

]]> By: Sue Banks http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-97849 Sue Banks Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:36:03 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-97849 Hi, I have found this article interesting to read. I am also looking for a TESOL job in Singapore but have little direct experience in the field. I wondered if you could recommend any useful job hunting sources? Thanks, SB. Hi, I have found this article interesting to read. I am also looking for a TESOL job in Singapore but have little direct experience in the field. I wondered if you could recommend any useful job hunting sources?

Thanks, SB.

]]> By: Graeme Priestley http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-56926 Graeme Priestley Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:16:40 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-56926 Love your work. As a struggling ESL teacher myself I was very interested in what you have written. I have been teaching in Cambodia for some time and I understand your frustrations. I like you am also at this time trying to find an ESL teaching job in Singapore. I have lived there before and was quite shocked when I first arrive at the extremely poor quality of English being spoken in Singapore and this was by local English teachers. In this respect it is not only the ESL market that needs a standard. PS good luck with MOE I found them generally useless. Anyway good job hunting and I hope to see you there soon. Graeme Love your work. As a struggling ESL teacher myself I was very interested in what you have written. I have been teaching in Cambodia for some time and I understand your frustrations. I like you am also at this time trying to find an ESL teaching job in Singapore. I have lived there before and was quite shocked when I first arrive at the extremely poor quality of English being spoken in Singapore and this was by local English teachers. In this respect it is not only the ESL market that needs a standard. PS good luck with MOE I found them generally useless. Anyway good job hunting and I hope to see you there soon. Graeme

]]> By: Louise Vause http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-36504 Louise Vause Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:18:28 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-36504 Its OK i found the accrediting body in Singapore. On another matter. I found your article interesting cos i am at present working on accreditation with NEAS in Australia and know the standards you mention in your writings. I am very interested in the professional development of ELT teachers and though internal support and mentoring is a healthy standard to maintain. There does not seem to be much in the way of professional development options for an academic manager to draw on to be able to support and mentor ELT staff. TESOL.org have a leadership development certificate program that offers two strands. Strand 1 leadership in professional organisations and strand 2. leadership development for professional growth. You are given two years to complete the program and the workshops that you attend are posted all around the world. This seems costly for an ELT centre to send their staff to and impractical from the viewpoint that the ELT centre would need to bring in someone temporarily as a teacher. So there seems to be very little out there and i wonder why that is? Its OK i found the accrediting body in Singapore. On another matter. I found your article interesting cos i am at present working on accreditation with NEAS in Australia and know the standards you mention in your writings.
I am very interested in the professional development of ELT teachers and though internal support and mentoring is a healthy standard to maintain. There does not seem to be much in the way of professional development options for an academic manager to draw on to be able to support and mentor ELT staff.
TESOL.org have a leadership development certificate program that offers two strands. Strand 1 leadership in professional organisations and strand 2. leadership development for professional growth. You are given two years to complete the program and the workshops that you attend are posted all around the world. This seems costly for an ELT centre to send their staff to and impractical from the viewpoint that the ELT centre would need to bring in someone temporarily as a teacher.
So there seems to be very little out there and i wonder why that is?

]]> By: Louise Vause http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-36473 Louise Vause Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:53:17 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-36473 What is the name of the accrediting body in Singapore for ESL schools? What is the name of the accrediting body in Singapore for ESL schools?

]]> By: John Tenny http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-21367 John Tenny Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:28:35 +0000 http://www.stillhaventfound.org/2008/07/06/the-tesol-scene-in-singapore/#comment-21367 Hi. Here in the states there is a Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) that is widely used as a basis for professional development of classroom teachers with a significant population of second language kids. Does such a set of 'best practices/techniques' exist there? Or in AU? I've written a software program that gathers objective data on teacher/student classroom behaviors, and am working on the SIOP set. I take the language in their standard/indicator and try to develop tools to track whatever is indicated (use of visuals, student talk time, etc. You can look at the software here: <a href="http://www.ecove.net/" rel="nofollow">eCOVE Software</a> or read about my approach here: <a href="http://data-based-observation.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Data-Based Classroom Observation</a>. It's used for lots more than ESL, and (if properly done) empowers teachers to become self-directed professionals. Peace, John Hi. Here in the states there is a Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) that is widely used as a basis for professional development of classroom teachers with a significant population of second language kids.

Does such a set of ‘best practices/techniques’ exist there? Or in AU?

I’ve written a software program that gathers objective data on teacher/student classroom behaviors, and am working on the SIOP set. I take the language in their standard/indicator and try to develop tools to track whatever is indicated (use of visuals, student talk time, etc. You can look at the software here: eCOVE Software or read about my approach here: Data-Based Classroom Observation. It’s used for lots more than ESL, and (if properly done) empowers teachers to become self-directed professionals. Peace, John

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