Brenda Townsend Hall Profile and Articles

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1). Native Speakers?
In a recent poll, I asked readers if they thought English language teachers should be native speakers. The result was interesting, as the vote from those with an opinion was close with 48% believing they should be native speakers and 41% saying no. I don’t know what you think about this but I’ve always had mixed feelings.

The first question I would raise with those who believe being a native speaker is an essential prerequisite for an English language teacher is, which nat...

2). Older Teachers
I met a retired engineer the other day and she told me she was half way through a TEFL training course. She wanted to know what I thought her chances were of finding a teaching job when she has completed the course. Well, I can't disguise the fact that there is a lot of age prejudice in the world of ELT. I think all sorts of reasons combine to make this a profession dominated by young teachers.

3). English Teachers And Culture Shock
I was talking recently to a young woman who had just returned from a teaching post in Korea. She said her first months in her job were a nightmare because of the unfamiliarity of everything. It made me wonder how teachers can prepare themselves to cope with culture shock.

Anyone who leaves their familiar environment for a prolonged spell is prone to the stress of culture shock. Although we know on a rational level that we are going to meet unfamiliar routines and customs, ...

4). Dangerous Liaisons
We've all met them. They're young, handsome, newly qualified and out to see the world. John is just one more young man using his English teaching certificate to help him travel before he settles down. He's done a stint in Mexico, in China and now he's in Eastern Europe. Of course all his female students adore him. But John is too professional to become entangled with a student.

5). The Hallmarks Of A Professional Teacher
Have you ever wondered what the qualities of a really professional teacher are? I know that all teachers want their students to like them, but being liked isn't the be-all and end-all really, is it? I mean teachers have to make some unpopular decisions sometimes.

Teachers can be popular just because they are friendly and helpful, but to be truly professional and effective they need other qualities.

6). Language And Culture
The native/non-native-speaking-teacher issues open a whole can of worms of how standards are regulated. I still think the key point about teacher selection is to find the best person for the job. If the non-native speaker fits the bill, then surely that's all that matters. As for regulation, well I agree that students should be protected from sham schools that take their money but don't offer a professional service. Each country, it seems, has its own regulatory system, some ...

7). Is A Degree In ESL Worth It?
A recent poll asked whether English teachers should have a degree of some type. Approximately 64% of the respondents thought they should have a degree for teaching ESL: quite a high "yes" because, as always, there were some "don't know" meanings that makes the "no" camp very small.

I am generally in favor of teachers being first educated to degree level.

8). Do You Know How Your Students Want To Learn?
Learner power is the topic of this article. I wonder how many school directors think about asking their students how they want to learn. The idea of conducting a needs analysis to find out what students want to learn is nothing new, but I’m not sure if we are quite so used to trying to find out their preferred learning styles. I mention this because it strikes me that so many teachers come from the same mould, having qualified through courses based very much on progressive western views of educational practice.

9). To Teach Business English?
Mid-career crisis? Have you got what it takes to teach English for business?

Teachers often ask me what direction they can take after a few years of teaching general English. To continue as an ordinary classroom teacher seems like stagnation, so choices have to be made about how to develop both professionally and personally. Specializing in English for business can be a fruitful move if the teacher is able to transfer existing skills to the business context.

10). Choosing A Timetabling Software
Recently, I was asked for information about timetabling software. I don't feel I can recommend a particular product as each school will have different requirements, but I thought it would be worth discussing some of the issues involved in choosing software appropriate to your needs.

I think the first consideration is ease of use for those who need to operate the system.

11). An Acronym By Any Other Name
I don't know about you but I loathe acronyms. Yes, I know they have a convenience factor but they also seem to me to be potentially sinister, redolent of George Orwell's Newspeak. Our field has its fair share of them and woe betide anyone who uses one wrongly. Never, for example, say ESL or TESL when you mean ESOL or TESOL. Why? because you might unwittingly.

12). How to Safeguard Payments as an International Writer
Freelance writers operate on a basis of trust. Whether accepting commissions or sending off unsolicited material to likely buyers, they probably conce

13). Health Matters
I guess nobody likes thinking about what can go wrong with the recruitment process. We all like to think we are reasonable employers, offering a fair package in return for a professional job. Yet, we do operate in a market that is prone to certain complications. Think about it. We recruit mainly young teachers who travel a long way from their home and friends, perhaps to a country they don't know anything about.

14). How Long Is An ESL Working Week?
It seems that some schools combine long hours with revolving days off so that teachers find it hard to recharge their batteries, let alone keep up the quality of their teaching.

As so often this comes back to cultural norms. Many teachers come from a background in which it is normal for the working week to run from Monday to Friday leaving Saturday and Sunday free.

15). Entre Nous
Non-native speaker to non-native speaker

In thinking about the ways English is evolving, we have to recognize that it is frequently a lingua franca between non-native speakers. This has strange implications for teaching. I have been told that it is not worth learning any standard form of pronunciation because “the people I talk to wouldn’t understand” and I’ve been asked to simplify verbs to eliminate tenses! Of course, as English has developed from a highly synthetic lang...

16). Forewarned Is Forearmed
The teacher can represent a coveted trophy or a sympathetic ally to an impressionable young student. If the society is not tolerant of such relationships, the student may be further stimulated by the idea of "forbidden fruit". But two things seem to me to be important messages from this story and some of the experiences people have recorded in their comments.

First the teachers themselves must not stumble blindly into different cultures and then flounder because they don't...

17). Better Late Then Never
Whenever I talk to teachers I don't usually have to wait long before they start listing their concerns about students. I wonder what would come top of your list of teachers’ complaints about student behavior. My guess is that punctuality would come pretty high. It doesn’t sound too difficult on the surface to insist that students should come on time to their lessons but in practice there may be factors that make the lateness habit difficult to break.

18). Can You Get Teachers To Love Admin?
I recently discussed a recurring issue following this question from an employer:

“My teachers do an excellent job in the classroom and feedback from students is positive. But when it comes to administrative duties, I find they are lax. Registers are sometimes forgotten, lesson records are sketchy, and reports on students are late and not very full.

19). Shedding Light on Cheaper Solar Energy
Renewable sources of energy are the key to solving two of the worlds most pressing yet seemingly irreconcilable problems. On the one hand the developi

20). Teaching Contracts
I often hear teachers complain that employers issue contracts and then ask them to do more than the contract requires. From the other side of the fence, employers sometimes feel that teachers are too rigid in their interpretation of the terms of the contract. It is certainly a tricky area, so what can you do to make sure that the contract offers proper protection for both teachers and the employer? My suggestions are as follows:

The first point to consider is your own attitude to the contract.

21). Your Passport To The World - Teaching English Abroad
Teaching English in a foreign country can be an incredible challenge... and it can also be one of the most fulfilling experiences you'll ever have. Living abroad, absorbing the culture of another people, and using your native English knowledge to enlighten your students are all wonderful aspects of this rewarding career.

But before you take the plunge and sign up for a job overseas, there are a few things you should consider about yourself and your intended path.

22). Quality Assurance
I was talking to a DOS [Director of Studies] recently who told me how she hated having to do lesson observations. It wasn't that she had any objections to the idea of a quality check but she found that teachers were very defensive and clearly didn't welcome her presence.

It's a difficult issue, isn't it, because the school needs to ensure that students are getting top-quality teaching but teachers, understandably, feel reluctant to open themselves to possible criticism.

23). How Well Do You Communicate?
I've noticed how many schools have difficulties that, when analyzed, are essentially communication problems. All organizations have to communicate externally and internally. As external communications affect enrolments, more effort is often put into external communications: PR, advertising, attendance at fairs and conferences, etc. than internal communications.

24). New Intake Of Teachers
Many new teachers will be preparing to set off for exciting new locations to take up teaching positions in September. I have already posted some entries about culture shock and how the teachers need support during their period of adapting to a new way of life. But the truth is that a proportion of teachers will have accepted posts from schools they know little about and they run the risk of being exploited by unscrupulous employers who know that they are vulnerable.

25). Strategies for Getting Published
Aspiring writers can't be blamed for balking at the apparently insuperable hurdles to becoming a published author. Modern technology has made the

26). Materials On A Limited Budget
Since the London bomb attacks, I have been thinking a lot about the courageous people there who have to go about their daily business despite the threat. I worked in the capital during the years of the IRA bombings and my greatest fear was of just such an event, as I used the transport system daily. Will people ever learn that violence is not a solution?

Recently.