Teacher's responsibility

Dear all

I am teaching an ielts exam group which lasts for 2 months. And I am very disappointed at the end of the group. Students expectations are that they will improve the score, but it rarely happens as i think it is not enough time to advance in 48 academic hours, it is just enough to know about strategies and put them to use. Then, they are adults and don't do the assignments and how can i make? force? to do them. I think it is their choice. All in all, everyone is unhappy: they and I. What do you think about the situation? How big is the teacher's responsibility? 80% ?

uchitelka said:

Dear all

I am teaching an [STRIKE]ielts[/STRIKE] IELTS exam group [STRIKE]which lasts[/STRIKE] for 2 months and I am very disappointed at the end of the group. I don't understand the underlined part. How can you have got to the end of the group/course if you are sill teaching them (you started with "I am teaching")?

The students' expectations are that they will improve their scores, but [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] this rarely happens as I think 48 academic hours [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] is not enough time for much of an improvement. [STRIKE]to advance in 48 academic hours,[/STRIKE]
You say "This rarely happens". I take it this isn't the first time you've taught this course.

It is just enough to [STRIKE]know about[/STRIKE] learn some strategies and put them to use.

[STRIKE]Then,[/STRIKE] They are adults and [STRIKE]don't[/STRIKE] won't do the assignments. [STRIKE]and[/STRIKE] How can I [STRIKE]make? force?[/STRIKE] make them [STRIKE]to[/STRIKE] do them? I think it is their choice. [STRIKE]All in all,[/STRIKE] Everyone is unhappy - [STRIKE]they[/STRIKE] them and [STRIKE]I[/STRIKE] me.

What do you think about the situation? How big is the teacher's responsibility? 80%?

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Sorry to hear that you're having some problems with the group. The problem with teaching adults (and some kids) is that if they don't want to work, they won't work. If they have no incentive, why should they?
Why are they taking IELTS?

I must make one important point, though. As their teacher, it is your responsibility to ensure that your own English is of a very high standard, preferably near-native. It is clear from the number of corrections I have had to make to your post above that that is not the case.

Why did you change "they and I" to "them and me"?

In this context, the object pronouns are colloquial.

People's expectations are often a but unrealistic and they expect to make huge leaps in IELTS scores in a short time. However, if they are not studying for an exam that is designed to help them study in English, then they may be missing the point somewhat. Are they actually planning to use IELTS to further their studies?

If this is a course you will be doing again, then build this into the planning, by making it clear what you think can me achieved in the time and how they can help themselves by doing the work and by acquiring the skills that will enable them to continue progressing after the course through better self-study. Find out their current level and their desired grade and make it clear how long you thinks this will take them.

emsr2d2 said:

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Sorry to hear that you're having some problems with the group. The problem with teaching adults (and some kids) is that if they don't want to work, they won't work. If they have no incentive, why should they?
Why are they taking IELTS?

I must make one important point, though. As their teacher, it is your responsibility to ensure that your own English is of a very high standard, preferably near-native. It is clear from the number of corrections I have had to make to your post above that that is not the case.

Click to expand...

OK, Asked for advice and support, got humiliation. Nice, isn't it?

uchitelka said:

OK, I asked for advice and support, I got humiliation. Nice, isn't it?

Click to expand...

I had absolutely no intention of humiliating you but our purpose on this forum is to ensure that people use correct English. It would be very remiss of us not to correct errors made by teachers simply because they are teachers.

The first part of my post was the start of my attempt to help. Without knowing why your students are taking the course (voluntarily or being forced to take it by the employer, for example), it's hard to know where to start. Tdol followed up with some good advice and queries.

I'm sorry if you were disappointed with my response but I still want you to be prepared to have your errors corrected in exactly the same way we would correct anyone's.

uchitelka said:

OK, Asked for advice and support, got humiliation. Nice, isn't it?

Click to expand...

Well, I don't intend to "humiliate" you and want to offer some constructive advice instead.
First of all, a teacher's English should be much better than that of his students. You do not seem to be native speaker, neither am I. Teaching high-level English for an exam like IELTS either requires native speaker competence or at least a high level of proficiency in English to teach an IELTS course successfully. In this respect, I agree with the poster emsr2d2. There is some concern for the quality of teaching, that's all. It's not to humiliate you. Perhaps you will find a way to work on your proficiency to grow as a teacher?

Second, the problem you address looks to me like a problem of motivation. Your students either have unrealistic expectations or are forced into such a program by whatever circumstances and put themselves under pressure of time. It cannot work. The first thing you should tell them is that success in their endeavor depends on them in the first instance and that they need to adjust their learning behavior accordingly. Different cultures have their different and traditional learning styles, and when preparing for IELTS, which is a language proficiency exam according to Western cultural standards, they need to adapt to these standards or leave it. In case of failure, they are the only ones to blame (themselves).

Hope that helps.