RF Duncan-Goodwillie - The English Teachers

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N: It’s a branch of an international company. We’re a language school with many departments doing many different things, which is what makes it interesting for me because I can be involved in a lot of different things. I guess every year has a specific focus, so I’m always trying something new.

RFDG: Are there other good things?

N: There is never a boring day, which is sometimes good and sometimes not. Since I came here I have developed a lot in many different areas which wouldn’t have been possible in many other places. Schools are smaller and more specialised elsewhere. I got my current job almost by accident.

I was thinking about what to do but I didn’t want to leave and there was a job opening so I applied. It was funny because it’s teacher training in some ways, which I never thought I’d do because I hate being in front of people. I’m an introvert. I could never have imagined doing what I do now. But once my first presentation was done, I realised that I survived and actually I quite like it and I’m good at it.

RFDG: What about the bad things?

She sighs in a manner similar to John. Another person who has had their patience tested.

N: A lack of communication between different departments. Things are improving and we are working on it, but this is what gets me down the most. Sometimes I wish some people would just do their jobs. Of course, we are a team and we need to realise that one department’s actions do have an impact on my part of the school.

RFDG: Is this lack of communication a feature of your workplace or Russia in general?

N: I don’t like generalisations, so no, I don’t think it reflects the country or the city. I think it depends on who you work with. I don’t know much about managing people or the corporate culture. I’ve seen similar things elsewhere.

RFDG: How about the people you like to work with – what are they like?

N: They are dedicated to what they do. To their students or subordinates. I like to work with people who care and there are enthusiastic people here, which is good to see. It’s not only experienced teachers, every year we have different people and you can see everyone’s progress. Also, when you meet a person who knows what they are doing or who is dedicated to it, it’s always fun to talk with them.

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ID: It’s a state university. The same one I graduated from. I teach students aged 18—20 something part-time. In my free time I teach privately.

RFDG: What are the good things about where you work?

ID: The schedule. I’m free to decide when and how many classes I’d like to have. It does have disadvantages, too, but I’m happy being in control of my time and this is the major advantage.

RFDG: Are there minor advantages?

ID: Yes. First of all, I really enjoy the academic environment I’m in. Working in private language centres, courses, schools – I did that but I was a bit bored. With students you are supposed to push for some sort of achievement, a higher level, and I can’t do that anywhere else. I don’t teach kids. I don’t teach teens. I mostly teach adults, but with adults it’s hard because you can’t impose your own agenda on them because they know very well what they want.

With students I’m sort of in more control. Of course, I should comply with the government requirements and they are quite rigid. I have to deliver the programme in accordance with everything those in the Ministry of Education implemented in the programme. But I think I am more free to do what I want and there is less control compared to private language schools.

RFDG: Do you think the imposition of an agenda happens more frequently elsewhere?

ID: I would say this is a special trait of those public education establishments. When you are a teacher, just teaching groups or individuals, there isn’t much that depends on you. You can’t even choose your own coursebooks if you aren’t happy. But in this environment, while I can’t do exactly what I want, I am more independent in my choices as long as I have this agreement with the head of our department. She gives me the room for decisions, room for initiative, so I am quite independent in my choices and it’s something I enjoy.

RFDG: Are there any bad things about where you work?

ID: Basically, I work at a state university and the state pays us to implement the programme to give the students the state diploma – the official paper that shows the standard set by the government. If you graduate from an unlicensed university, the diploma is considered to be less valuable.

The government knows this very well and they use this to implement their own agenda in their programmes. Right now our university is going though this accreditation process where the people from the Ministry of Education come to the university and check all the documents, check the teachers, check the classes and whether they really do what the government wants them to do. I found that they sometimes want really strange things.

For example, I teach a course of simple English language practice. It’s not translation, it’s not something more academic. It’s something like a general English course you would find in every school and they want us to teach students the etiquette of the country they are studying the language of. They want us to teach them some other things which I think are unrelated to language, like tolerance, cooperation and problem solving. Negotiation.

I could say, “Yes, of course I am teaching them the proper way to talk to English language partners” but I’m supposed to show that these competencies are being checked in the exams. So, I have to include a question or a task in the final exam so they can show they have mastered etiquette.

From my point of view I’m supposed to be testing skills and use of English, but “Etiquette”? “Tolerance?” How do I teach that? And this is really a problem and I don’t find it convincing. So, when I’m considering whether I should make a new move next year this is really the point which concerns me the most. I don’t really enjoy this idea that we have to teach something non-language related in classes.

RFDG: Some people would argue that language is bound in its context and culture. Would you disagree?

ID: I don’t disagree with that. The problem is, how will you test it? How will you develop an exam to test these points reliably? Would I give them a situation and ask how they will react and give them marks in accordance to what they choose? It doesn’t really make that much sense to me. This is what the government wants… at least this year, because the standards keep being reviewed and developed and changed almost every year. So, this year I teach them one thing, next year maybe something different.

RFDG: What do you think has caused this policy?

ID: There is this trend of the government taking more and more control of whatever is being done at schools – the public ones, of course. It’s very evident they really want to make sure they know exactly what’s happening and they don’t allow ANYTHING which is not in the programme into the classrooms. So, they have some rules about not bringing any literature which is not included in the programme. It mustn’t be inside the university.

I was considering starting a book club because I have lots of literature I don’t really need. I thought maybe we could put a bookcase in there with whatever books I like for the students to take on their own initiative. The department said I wasn’t allowed to do that because it is something officially not allowed. As you know, Russia is a multinational country, hence this idea of tolerance; that you have to tolerate different nationalities. It’s about nationalities and religion, it’s not about… let’s just say “sexual orientation”. This is a problem and something I disagree with.