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In the United States I taught ESL (English as a Second Language) to refugees with a non-profit organization. My students were from many countries such as Sudan, Somalia and Russia. But most of my students were indigenous Vietnamese, called Montagnards. They were my favorite students as they showed up for class and had a genuine desire to learn the language and culture. They realized the importance of learning the language in order to assimilate and acquire a job.
From this experience I developed a desire to visit Vietnam and to teach within a culture that I thought held a high regard for teachers and acquiring intelligence. So, I set my sights on Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Sai Gon, for a teaching job.
I began teaching this past January. The school at which I teach has placed me with teenagers. An age group I have never worked with. In the States I taught adults. Adults have a longer attention span, a broader curiosity and a respect for teachers and learning that is not present at American high schools (and many universities).
I thought that I would be teaching adults, or atleast within a culture that held the same regard as a my Vietnamese students in the States. I was wrong.
The patrons at the private school I teach are tired, resentful, privileged children who seem to have little desire to speak or hear English. Which is why I was hired, to teach them to listen to and speak English; something they are not taught in traditional language classes at their day time school.
Each teacher is assigned a TA for each class. They are Vietnamese English students at a nearby University who are trying to get their foot in the door of teaching English. The problem is that most of these TA's want to teach classic white board English, while speaking Vietnamese to the students. This clashes with my responsibilities and the theoretical technique of teaching language through immersion.
I find it frustrating and quite frankly, I feel it is a waste of my time.I didn't travel 8,000 miles to take a job babysitting teenagers for two hours and having lingual competition with my TA and looking like the Mean Queen to my students. It is enough having to challenge the students while yelling for them to listen and speak English.
Walking home from work, while strategically avoiding motorbikes on the sidewalks along with the piss and puke, I can only think to myself, "What the hell am I doing here?"
Perhaps it is partly culture shock and in time things will even out. In the mean time, it takes every ounce of energy I have left after teaching to talk myself into staying and learning about my new home and to learn the language. And to maneuver between these damned motorbikes.
Aside from this, there is little or no support system here. And dating....well, that's a non-issue as men of all nationalities come here to date the Asian women. Western women dating in South East Asia is non-existent. So, having a mate to rely on for support is a dream perhaps waiting for me back home. A place that may be closer in my future than originally planned.
March 26, 2008
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I had a similar experience teaching in Korea to kids. Jsut baby sitting going through the motions, though lucky for me I had no TA to butt heads with.
But now I'm here in HCMC, looking to start something fresh. I haven't yet applied for a teaching position, but soon the money will run out and I'll have to get work. Good luck. |
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I am an English teacher in Hanoi, VN and I have had that problem intermittently- my teen students becoming easily bored and going through motions.
However, VN really is a beautiful country and I often gain much of my students' attention by talking about it. They really love to hear about American culture and the topics I address for discussion include differences between US and Vietnamese cultures and customs. I don't have a TA, but it could help me some as I am having some trouble explaining English concepts in Viet... just as long as they know their place.. I wouldn't wanna end up like a TAA. |
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To Benjamin, above.
I can definitely relate to your posting, as i am one of those who regard Hanoi as a second home. My school has an opening this October. If you're interested in joining us, please email me at lena.bucatariu@gmail.com |
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I know exactly what you mean. I've been teaching for 7 months here in Vung Tau City. I've noticed that most of the adults who learn English really do work hard and devote whatever time they have left in their long days to learning. They are the ones who usually get left behind at the lower levels because they have difficulty adapting to new grammar rules and pronunciation. On the other hand, the teens, who are perhaps just the right age because they can grasp the concepts but still have flexible tongues, waste their parents money and just sit around using their phones or scribbling on their notebooks. Fortunately, there are a few who do their best and can even be depended upon to help me out when teaching adults or younger kids.
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