Foreign language education in this country is abysmal. It makes me want to scratch my eyes out. These horrible, horrible "teachers" are ripping people off. I've always said that too many English teachers in Brazil think that teaching English means "reading the answers and phrases in the book in a formal voice." Oh, and it helps if you've got some American and British flags hanging up.
Here, have a gander at a program on Canal Cultura (like PBS in the US) called "Inglês com Música". This program was apparently started in 1969, and no one has thought to reexamine teaching theories since then.
http://www.univesp.tv.br/site/programas/ingles-com-musica
Once you get past the singing part, which seems fun enough, the "cheecher" comes out you can see the program for what it really is.
The worst part is that the teachers I had to watch at the English schools I worked at used methods that were very, very similar: i.e., they talk out of their asses about nothing in particular, throw in some cutesy English phrases and immediately translate them into Portuguese, and the students stare silently and politely. Sometimes the teacher spontaneously pauses after saying an English phrase and expects the students to realize that they need to repeat it. Some figure it out and parrot the phrase back to her, with no idea of what they're saying. Hooray for rote memorization and the outdated audiolingual method!
Then the teacher hands out some useless and non-sequitur worksheet that they printed off of the first website that came up in their Google search for "English class activities", without explaining anything or letting the students speak in class. Then the students silently complete the worksheets while gossiping among themselves in Portuguese. Then the teacher corrects them with a bunch of Cs and Xs next to each answer (C for correct and X for incorrect) and hands them back the next day with no more practice or explanation.
And my students wonder why they've had a hard time speaking English.
OMG this video is depressing.
Are you a Brazilian who has studied English with better teachers and better methods?? Please, say so in the comments. Show me that English education here is not completely hopeless.
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Danielle - I always learn from you.
ReplyDeleteAs an American with a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology, more than twenty years of senior management experience running small and mid-sized nonprofits and am an enthusiastic entrepreneur in the public sector...
Here in Brazil I am allowed to be an English teacher. This is something I have NEVER spent a day studying. I'm just the guy who speaks English.
In reality I DO NOT REPRESENT myself as an English teacher. I tell students that I can help them POLISH their English for that international conference, or to help you pass that interview.
I have met a gazillion English teachers here who cannot hold a conversation. But I am witholding my judgement.
It has been my experience, however, that school teachers here are less than I would hope for my own children. - but hey, they get paid shit - what should you expect?
Sigh.
Ohmygorsh, I'm learning so much English from this show entirely in Portuguese!
ReplyDeleteI'm a Brazilian whose teacher held him back after classes to ask questions... about English...
ReplyDeleteI guess there you go...
I have to agree with you. :(
ReplyDeleteI have SO many students - all of them in fact!! - who have studied 'English' at various locations, for several years! but CAN NOT speak. Can't even construct a phrase verbally.
It's so sad.
My first job was with an English school and at training I was teaching everyone how to say Halloween. They couldn't say it! I couldn't understand a word they said in "English". They all passed. A monkey could have done my job at the school. I quit shortly there after.
ReplyDeleteDanielle,
ReplyDeleteThis half ass produced show is horrible...they really could have done better use of public television money.
I have to say, there are great English schools in Sao Paulo where I grew up.
My parents placed me a "Pink & Blue School" a method designed for children, I started when I was 6 years old, studied there until I got into High School.
There are great teachers and great schools but they come at a high price.
"Cel Lep", "High Point" and "Cultura Inglesa" are definitely the best schools with great methods and the best teachers in my opinion, the first two teach American English while Cultura Inglesa British.
Good teachers are very expensive in Sao Paulo, the English teachers at public schools are about the same level of the one you saw in this poorly produced bad idea for a show.
Ray
I wrote a huge comment yesterday, then five seconds before sending it, the power went off...
ReplyDeleteThis video looks like a lot my five years of English classes. And one of my teachers didn't know what the word tutorial means. Too bad.
I have a lot of horror stories, if you want some, e-mail me. lol
Hi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI've just found your blog and I'm enjoying reading it.... I've read some of your posts and I like your humorous take on the Brazilian way of life, especially on small towners since I am one of those. :)
Well, I'm a Brazilian (currently living in the US) and I think I had decent English teachers back in Brazil (not in Elementary/High School, oh no!!! That was my worst nightmare), but then when I was in College I signed up for classes at an English School (in Belo Horizonte) and I learned English in one and a half years (It took me a while to get the pronunciation down, but I did it eventually, after moving here lol). I studied like crazy, true, but I gotta give my teachers some credit too. After I moved to Chicago and went to school here I realized my Brazilian English teachers make pronunciation mistakes, and can't pronounce "th" the way Americans do. Overall, I think they did a good job. And I'd say speaking a language well requires actually living in a country where said language is spoken, especially if you're going to teach it to other people and some English teachers in Brazil just have never left the country. :/
If I may make a comment. We can all probably agree that there are "good" English teachers and "bad" Engish teachers. Whilst the notions of what exactly qualifies one as a good teacher or bad teacher might be somewhat nebulous or subjective we might all agree on at least a couple of characteristics. My list might include near the top - knowledge of the English language, current linguistic theories on language acquisition and human psychology 101. Your list might be different.
ReplyDeletePeople have been successfully learning second languages for a very long time. I would venture to say that some of them/us did not always have what some people would classify as "good" teachers. Their teachers may not have had a recognized TEFL qualification, been familiar with Promethean software, IWBs or Chomsky's UG etc. but they/we were "good students" and were successful because of this fact.
I have worked with many teaching colleagues who IMHO were less qualified than I am. However, I am not sure it always mattered. The students liked them (usually much more than this frumpy old lady)and that motivated the students.
I believe that I as an EFL teacher can benefit by continually trying to learn more and more about teaching English, but weather this automatically translates into my students being better at learning English - hmmm, Im not sure.
The situation even worse in China. students learn English at school but can't speak... i really want to practice my oral English. Could you give me some advices? TKS very much
ReplyDelete