next »

[farm_boy]

Yes, that's a very broad question, and yes, I'm a bit of a troll.  But here's why I ask:

Years ago, in the early 90's, I taught English to adults in a South American country.  They wanted to learn, and they actively participated in class.  All I did was show up to class and explain a bit, and they thought I was great.

But sometimes I think maybe it didn't really happen, that maybe it was just a dream.  After teaching for the past 18 years here in the U.S. I can't imagine of having a classroom of students who want to learn.  Even when I teach a class of Spanish majors--the discipline I'm stuck in right now--there are only 2 or 3 out of 25 that really want to learn, and my gen-ed classes this summer have achieved new heights of hostility and rudeness.

So.  Have any of you oversees veterans (in any geographical area) seen any decline in student attitudes during the past few years? 

I'm just curious.  My goal is early "retirement" so I can return to South America and teach students who want to learn.  Hopefully they aren't yet extinct.

[pigou]

Are you sure your story is not suffering from selection bias? You were teaching a vital skill to adults, who most likely realized how important it is that they are well versed in English. That's very different from teaching Spanish to 18 year olds. Isn't it possible that the Spanish majors were simply decent at it in high school and needed something to major in? There are a LOT of students who just want a degree and don't really care what it's in. They won't have much interest in learning, and it's possible that you're stuck with a disproportionally large number of them. If you walked over to the math or physics department, you'd probably find more dedicated students - simply because you don't just pick those majors because they sounded easy. Anything that seems like an easy route is going to suffer from such biases.

[embitteredhistorian]

What are six billion people on Earth like?

[pedanterast]

As usual, the problem is your defeatist attitude, which I assume to be a by-product of very low self-esteem.  I live in South America and have for many years and I can assure you that students here are in no way more motivated than in the US.  In fact, I would argue the reverse.  But you are a person who has made a choice to be miserable, so you are in the wrong career field.  I would suggest law enforcement or perhaps a job in one of Adam Smith's pin factories.

Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Lord These People Won't Let Me BE
Looord Have Mercy On Me
Wo-oh-oh-oh is me!

There is no honor in deliberate poverty!

[helpful]

As usual, the problem is your defeatist attitude, which I assume to be a by-product of very low self-esteem.  I live in South America and have for many years and I can assure you that students here are in no way more motivated than in the US.  In fact, I would argue the reverse.  But you are a person who has made a choice to be miserable, so you are in the wrong career field.  I would suggest law enforcement or perhaps a job in one of Adam Smith's pin factories.

Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Lord These People Won't Let Me BE
Looord Have Mercy On Me
Wo-oh-oh-oh is me!

There is no honor in deliberate poverty!

HOF!

[farm_boy]

Pigou,

Thanks for your perspective.  I'm sure it does vary greatly by discipline.  Unfortunately, mine is foreign languages, and many of my majors have confided that they thought they were going to be doctors but they discovered they couldn't do the math or science, so they settled on Spanish (because everyone knows that Spanish is easy).

Embittered historian,

They consume and defecate.

Pedanterast,

??

I think maybe you posted your non sequitur in the wrong forum.  You probably clicked the mouse on the wrong part of the screen.  I do that all the time.

Helpful,

Wikipedia tells me that HOF is either a town in Germany or "Hall of Fame"

[pedanterast]

No, I posted the right thing in the right place.  You need to figure out something else to do for a living.

[mingus]

generally fine, but they tend to behave in foreign ways

[farm_boy]

Gee, the fishing here in the CHE forums isn't as good as it used to be.  I guess it goes with the times.  In the past I could always post some vague comment regarding cultural trends and lots of people would bite, posting their take on the issue.  This thread so far has caught only one keeper (Pigou, who posted a fine comment).

Apparently I did snag a bottomfeeder, though, who apparently goes from room to room insulting people.

In all seriousness, I would like to hear of experiences with changing classroom behaviors--or lack thereof--of adult students in foreign classrooms.  My interest is Latin America, but comments from any locale would be welcome.  For example, do some Asian students still stand up when the teacher enters the room, or is that just a folk legend?

[prof_smartypants]

They'd be fine if they could only speak the language proper-like.

[pedanterast]

Farm Boy, I have been on this forum for years and I have listened to you whine and b*tch and snivel about your situation for years and it just tends to nauseate me.  If you want to teach, then do so.  If you do not, get the f*** out of the profession because I really don't want your lack of enthusiasm for your job to reflect on the rest of us.  ¿Entiendes?

[duchess_of_malfi]

Farm Boy, I have been on this forum for years and I have listened to you whine and b*tch and snivel about your situation for years and it just tends to nauseate me.  If you want to teach, then do so.  If you do not, get the f*** out of the profession because I really don't want your lack of enthusiasm for your job to reflect on the rest of us.  ¿Entiendes?

Man is most happy when's own actions
Be arguments and examples of his virtue.

[witness]

If my experiences in Turkey are any guide, my uni students at three institutions have been a mixture of the good, the bad and the indifferent.  The good were often very good, the average respectably average, and the bad ranged from the not really up to it academically, to the don't do any work, don't give a f*ck variety!  They could all be a pain in the rear at times, but they were ok really.  For the most part, all categories were almost universally friendly, polite, and charming youngsters. The instutions are another story.  I also taught EFL at a couple of language schools and the students in those were great, although I guess the 'selection bias' aspect that an earlier poster mentions is a factor. They were adults ranging from early 20s to late 50s and all their becasue they were keen to learn.  They were a delight.

Nice to see those fellows of wit and wisdom Ronson and Embitteredhistorian chipping in here.  They are half the reason I visit the forums at all.

Not so nice to encounter pedanterast; you're a real charmer, aren't you?!  ıf you really must be spiteful and unpleasant, you might at least also be funny as you go about it.

[farm_boy]

Thank you, witness, for your 2 cents.

Yes, pedanterast is a real hoot!  It is interesting that I am supposedly corrupting the profession, while he posts about commercial sex in other rooms here.

[tinyzombie]

Asking what "foreign students" are "like" is unhelpful, I think, at least in terms of getting a useful answer: obviously it will depend on any number of factors that aren't represented in the breathtakingly generalized nature of your question, OP.