RF Duncan-Goodwillie - The English Teachers

He raises an eyebrow and nods slightly in my direction, paying a quiet but good-humoured compliment.

But that wasn’t the case for me. Suddenly I saw myself going into language teaching. And that’s how it started.

RFDG: Why did you decide to work in Moscow?

GCB: Lots of reasons. I’d been teaching in Brazil for a long time and for the last few years had been trying work abroad. After I took my TESOL* and CELTA courses I saw an opportunity and started applying. The problem is you have very few opportunities if you’re a Brazilian citizen.

The first jobs I applied for and had a positive response I couldn’t take. Some were in Europe and you have to have a European citizenship, so it was not possible. All the others were in Asia or the Middle East and most of them you have to be a citizen of specific English-speaking countries. I applied for a job in Siberia and had an interview, but the interviewer and myself realised it wasn’t going to happen because Siberia is so far from Brazil and the ticket would be too expensive. But it opened a window. I realised it was possible to come to Russia to teach, so I started applying for jobs. I applied here, had an interview and was offered a job. And here I am.

*Note: TESOL generally describes any non-CELTA certificate in teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

RFDG: If you could choose where to work, where would you go?

GCB: The Middle East.

RFDG: Why?

GCB: Well, I like different things and think it would be really different. It’s a completely different society and way of thinking. I’m not sure if I would survive in such a dry place, but I think I would be able to overcome it. I’ve also been told the wages are higher (smiles). And if not the Middle East, then here as I’m in love with Moscow. I would also love to teach in Western Europe. So, if I could pick it would be one of these.

RFDG: Why did you pick this school in particular?

GCB: Frankly speaking, I applied via a platform and you just select a country and there are a bunch of schools. Accidentally, I bumped into BKC-IH. I’d taken a few training courses in IH London and these were two of the best course I’ve taken in my life. I mean really useful, really nice. The tutor was just fantastic and I left very impressed with the school. When I received an email inviting me for an interview I thought I wouldn’t get a job there as I thought I wasn’t up to the task.

I was interviewed by an ADOS.* who was very nice. I was a bit nervous because the first attempt at the interview I missed due to the time zone. But they found another time and another ADOS. It went quite smoothly and I was told I’d get an answer in a week. I was happy with that. Just getting an interview meant I had some kind of worth.

A week later I was offered a job and I thought, “Should I leave Brazil? Should I go that far and leave my house, family and job here?” I still have a family there. But I was taking a shower and thought, “It’s International House. I want to go.” And I got out of the shower and the decision was taken like that.

*Note: ADOS is an abbreviation of Assistant Director of Studies. They are usually English teachers with some management and administrative responsibility, and supervise the work of teacher. A Director of Studies (DOS) does this in smaller schools or oversees schools at a strategic level.

RFDG: What was so impressive about the training sessions with IH?

GCB: Generally, you don’t remember names of courses, but I remember these two. One was “Current Trends” and it was really about that subject. We really discussed things I’ve recently seen in my academic life and new things. It was not a joke. I checked later on and they were right. The other one was called “Practical Teaching” and again it was that. Practical techniques all the time. No discussion on theory but hands on all the time.

*

Setting the scene: The first thing that stands out about Max is how tall he is. Standing a good head above me, I’m thankful when we sit down so I don’t have to crane my neck. The second is how energetic he is. His enthusiasm is infectious and rapidly fills the room we have borrowed for the interview, its narrow windows overlooking rooftops in the heart of Moscow.

ML: I’m 23 and recently moved to Moscow. I always dreamed about living in such a big city. It was boring in a small town, but living here I have many possibilities and I’m into working in such a big company like the one I’m in now. I originally wanted to be a teacher and now that I am, I’m truly happy.

RFDG: Why did you choose to be a teacher?

ML: I never thought about being a teacher before I went to work in a summer camp. While I was there it was almost like something magical happened. I fell in love with teaching children and I realised I wanted to dedicate myself to teaching them and teaching in general.

RFDG: What did you enjoy about it?

ML: I liked that children respect me and I can share my knowledge with them. I also like the feedback I get from the classes.

RFDG: If you hadn’t become a teacher, what would you have done?

ML: I think I’d be a photographer. I’m really good at it.

*

Setting the scene: I meet Edward at a school in bustling Chistye Prudy as the afternoon traffic and pedestrians go about their business. By contrast, inside it’s a quiet day with only a few students coming in for classes and placement tests. We don’t get our choice of rooms and we’re sitting in a smallish classroom with a high and narrow window looking out onto the courtyard below. There’s not much sunlight on this side of the building and the air is cool. A welcome break from the erratic central heating.

EC: I studied Literature at university. I had aspirations to be a lecturer but found that difficult. I was working in jobs like security, but I took an education certificate and slowly started getting some supply work in Further Education Colleges. Then I got a job at an International Sixth Form. I was working in Leicester at the time.

I was teaching what they called foundation English to West Africans and some Chinese students who wanted to get into university in England. It wasn’t TEFL; they were meant to already be fluent English speakers. Unfortunately, the school collapsed due to economic problems and I was without a job after two years. I thought it would be my future, but it suddenly fell from under me.

Then I did supply teaching which was absolute hell, but I tried to persevere. And then I got a job at a semi-rural school which I thought would be quite nice, but it wasn’t. The discipline issues and the hostility from the pupils were beyond belief. It was meant to be long term but I only stayed for two months.

RFDG: Was teaching there similar to being a supply teacher elsewhere?

EC: I got it through being a supply teacher. The idea was if I could hack it then I would stay on, but I couldn’t and I didn’t.

RFDG: What kind of discipline problems were there?

EC: It was just war. For example, someone putting a condom in my pocket and saying, “Look in your pocket.” Another time someone tried to headbutt me.

RFDG: Didn’t you get any support from the head teacher?

EC: They were trying but they had their own issues. I was supposed to know how to deal with that kind of thing, but all I had was an adult education certificate. They tried to help but not as much as they could. I was more or less told I’d probably get ill or I could leave. So, then I was without a job and had no ties; I’d just studied there. Maybe going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. Then I came across a website that was offering a bit of volunteer teaching and volunteer work in different locations.