RF Duncan-Goodwillie - The English Teachers

RFDG: Given that teachers’ books are so comprehensive, is having experience so important?

AD: To be a good teacher? Yes, of course it’s important. If you are experienced but you haven’t done any professional development, it’s not enough. You can’t just say, “I have been teaching for 10 years. I am experienced.” No. It’s not enough. Experience is not only about years of teaching and numbers of classes taught, it’s also about professional development and what you have done.

RFDG: Can you tell me what’s bad about where you work?

She lets out a little laugh at the question before explaining her reaction.

AD: Last year I had my performance review with the management. They asked me the same question. And I said, “No.” There was the same moment of silence as right now because it’s hard for me to think about something like that. I love it here. Otherwise I wouldn’t do it. I don’t do what I don’t like. When I was in my previous job I had a bigger salary, much better working conditions and hours, but I didn’t like some other things so I wasn’t going to do them. I’m here now and I like it.

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Daniel Saraiva San Pedro (DSSP)

RFDG: Why did you decide to work with International House?

DSSP: Because I did my CELTA with IH and I thought they were much more professional than other places, even though the approach was similar. Also, IH is everywhere. It’s in a lot of countries. And I liked my tutors and CELTA trainers, and the possibility of doing DELTA and developing professionally. I think it’s a reputable school.

RFDG: How would you describe where you work?

DSSP: Basically, I like it. I like where I work mostly because of the people who work here. They are friendly and real professionals. Most of the people who stick around for longer than one year. After two or three years working here you can see how many people come and go, and because it’s such a big company you don’t get to know people personally. The ones who stick around longer, you see they are good people and they are ready to help. They took me in. The Russian staff as well are really nice.

It’s not the only thing. Professional development is another reason. Maybe the main one. I’ve been developing a lot, even though I don’t have a background in linguistics. We might complain that we have to go to mandatory training once in a while but they are useful. And there are discounts for DELTA and other courses.

RFDG: What’s bad about where you work?

DSSP: It could be more organised in terms of communication and defining roles. Now I’m an ADOS and I feel like the role is not well-defined in my mind. It’s been six months so I am more aware, but we have to deal with so many different people and departments, and schools, admins, students, parents, scheduling. Sometimes communication gets lost.

Teaching-wise, maybe when we have to work long hours with short breaks between long classes. And we have to round off classes and get ready for the next one, the logistics of going from one school to another. That’s hard if you are always travelling. Short notice covers can be stressful.

RFDG: You mentioned the CPD opportunities. Are there any other opportunities here?

DSSP: I think if people see you have worked here and developed it will look good.

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HB: It’s a private language school in Moscow. It’s not dissimilar to most language schools in that it’s a profit-driven company where the issue is always how to maintain quality while also delivering a profit. I’ve worked in the state sector in the UK a bit as well and there is a different vibe. There’s a lot more paperwork in the state sector and so in some ways in the private sector you do get a lot more flexibility.

In theory, you’d think it’s a lot more rigid because they want to deliver profit, but actually teachers have a lot more autonomy than in the state sector where you have a lot more parameters. There are a lot more targets that you have to meet and a lot of fitting in with the other initiatives you’re doing. And a heck of a lot of paperwork. They aren’t lying about the paperwork, it’s horrendous. So yeah, it’s quite flexible in that sense.

RFDG: If it’s so similar to other schools, why work here and not somewhere else?

HB: Well, I ended up specialising in teacher training and we have a big training department that allows me to do not just CELTA but other courses.

RFDG: Are there other good things about it?

HB: I like my colleagues. That’s quite important.

RFDG: For different reasons or do they share common features?

HB: They’re all quite enthusiastic. Working in a private language school the wages are not particularly impressive. People are here because they generally like teaching and they like to improve teaching and the quality of it. I work in teacher support rather than the straight end of teaching.

RFDG: Are there any downsides to where you work?

HB: It’s not well-paid. Long-term security and a lot of the protections you would normally have from your working environment are not there, so it’s inherently not very stable. It’s inherently part of the gig economy which I don’t really approve of. I mean TEFL has always been like that, so it’s always funny to read and hear people talking about how dreadful the rise of the gig economy is because that’s what TEFL has always been like, at least in the private sector.

I worked in the state sector side of things. In the UK there was a marked difference between what you can expect if you get a full-time job and a contract in that environment, and what it’s like working in the private sector for TEFL.

RFDG: So, the low pay is more a feature of the broader context rather than the company you work for?

HB: Yes, because private language school teaching in London is not well paid.

RFDG: You mention there are more courses for you to teach here which is obviously good.

HB: More training courses that I’m interested in teaching.

We laugh. It’s an important clarification.

RFDG: Are there other opportunities you’ve benefited from?

HB: Obviously, to live in Moscow. This is why we came back to be honest. It wasn’t the job, it was to live in Moscow with my husband and children, and they can experience life in Russia.

RFDG: Is that more important than experiencing life in the UK?

HB: Yes.

RFDG: May I ask why?

She sighs theatrically.

HB: It’s to do with the trials and tribulations of being stuck between two cultures and trying to decide which to prioritise and which aspects to deal with. For example, the language aspect and so on to work on with your children. I don’t know yet if we made the right decision. We’ll see.

She laughs.

RFDG: Hopefully, it’ll pan out.

HB: Well, it’s always a choice isn’t it? There are issues to do with school and issues to do with minority language issues and bilingualism.

RFDG: And it’s easier to do that here?

HB: Well, sort of, yes… ish. It’s also connected to living in London. Personally, I don’t like living in London very much. I like living in Moscow and my husband has family here.