British filmmaker Daniel Emmerson is currently filming a 60-minute documentary film about EFL – to be released on DVD in Spring 2008 to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of sponsor Tefl.net (hat tip to TESall.com). Based on a quote from Tefl.net founder Josef Essberger, it sounds like the film will include parts of both native speakers and local teachers and in a variety of countries. Apparently the director has been in Krakow filming teacher training courses and will soon move on to South East Asia.
I am probably swayed by my immersion in the online world of EFL, but it is surprising that there is not more out there about this field, which I like to think of as filled with adventure and intrigue. Indiana Jones and the Korean Hagwon Crusade and such. For feature films, there is The English Teacher (made by a friend of EFL Geek) with an EFL teacher in Korea as the protagonist.
I will find it interesting to see how they portray all that is EFL – and I hope the fact that the director is at least in some capacity working with Tefl.net will mean that a good variety of locations, types of jobs (university, kindergarten, etc.), and teachers are included. I think it surprises many TEFL newbies and other uninitiated folk that a) it is actually a job, and b) it is very different from language classes at home.
I will be looking forward to seeing on the screen experiences in different countries. Different jobs in the same country differ, of course, so I think even those who have worked in different countries have a hard time comparing all that is out there.
If Daniel Emmerson would like any suggestions on what to incorporate, here’s what I’d like to see:
- A lower-level class at an eikawa school in Japan
- A higher-level class in a university in Saudi Arabia
- A kindergarten class in South Korea (do levels exist in kindergarten?)
- A hagwon in South Korea
- Adult business students in Czech Republic, ideally a group including a high ranking boss and a few receptionists who speak better English than their boss
- A class of teenagers in Spain – any level
- A class in a mountain village in South America
- An “English language village” in Taiwan
- An international school anywhere, but in at least two countries to compare
- Classes for call-centre staff in India
- ESL classes in at least two English-speaking countries
- A (non-English) language class in the US for comparison purposes
- Pre-college age teachers who volunteer in China for a month through an organized program
- VSO teachers in Eritrea or maybe Sri Lanka
- Peace Corps volunteer teachers in Central Asia
- Independent volunteer teachers for CasaSito in Guatemala
I’d also suggest some comparing and contrasting of:
teachers at the beginning of their first year and at the end
- Teachers who decide to continue for a second year and teachers who don’t
- DELTA and Master’s training
- Career teachers and “do it for a year or two” teachers
- The lives of two friends or classmates with similar educational backgrounds and career goals: one teaches EFL and the other works another job at home – how are they still similar or different after a year?
And finally, the last half of the film dedicated to EFL bloggers, of course.
This may be getting on the long side for a 60-minute documentary. Any other suggestions?
{ 2 comments }
An interview with me! And then a look at the lack of regulations and standards in an international industry that is more about money and superficial appearances than it is about education.
I may fight you for that interview, EFL Geek, and watch out because I’m mean!
I think the regulations and standards would be a VERY useful angle to take.
On the one hand, I do think the cultural exchange that can happen through EFL can be a good thing and might still say – even though it’s a business, that’s a good thing. But in the end, the character of that cultural exchange can turn out to be not be so positive when people – both teachers and students – realize how much of a business it is.
Comments on this entry are closed.