Tag: TEFL miscommunication

More Intercultural Miscommunication in TEFL

Do you remember last week’s post?  We talked about a misunderstanding between a new teacher and his employer. They had a misunderstanding due to the employer’s inability to  appropriately express her urgency in the conversation causing the new teacher to assume he was about to lose his job.

Check and Check again!

I want to relate to another story that says “New teachers – pay attention, check and check again!”

Another new English teacher-to-be, in the middle of her visa process, understood her employer to suggest that all the cost involved in the visa process will be covered by the school – even the cost of visa-related things she needed to do back in her home country. This happened in spite of a contract that specifically stated only the expenses in China would be paid.  And – this was not true.

You are entering the non-native world now

It is important to remember that you will often communicate with non-native English speakers while you are looking for an English teaching job abroad. Misunderstandings can be common, it can even happen between native speakers.

The truth of the matter: Miscommunications might be problematic

When problems occur, you are confused or it seems just too good to be true, try to clarify the situation by using the strategies suggested in the previous post.  Rephrase what the speaker said and ask if that was what they meant, you might be surprised!

When you are upset or confused seek the help of a colleague to clear things up.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Communicate – it is your job as a teacher. Practice good communication skills all the time.

TED’s Tips™ #2: I hope that you can see that this post, as well as the previous one, had potentially unhappy and confusing results for the people involved and it was, in fact, solved so easily.

Could this be the very thing that determines who is successful abroad and who is not?

Teaching Internships in China

 

Cultural Miscommunication in TEFL

Back when I used to place people in jobs in China, a man I was working with became upset over a conversation with his new employer.  He was busy with the visa process but had some delays in getting his health exam (required in many countries) completed.

He told me that his new employer was possibly going to fire him or cancel his contract if he did not complete the health exam by the following Wednesday.

I would say you have a big problem if you have quit your job and you’re ready to travel halfway across the world and this pops up .  . . a BIG problem.

Everything did not seem quite right, so I checked with the non-native speaking employer. I got a very different message from the employer, it was “hurry up!”

 Where did the miscommunication slip through?

What can one do in such a situation – where did the good communication break down and how can you avoid it?

I will tell you where it broke down. Non-native English speakers often find it difficult to express themselves strongly.

They don’t how to make a point assertively and still on target.  It is necessary for them to learn these things (did you know this from your TEFL training?).  Almost every experienced Business English trainer will have spent a lot of time on teaching this exact topic.

What happened was that somewhere in the conversation, the boss implied more than what she intended and teacher-to-be seriously thought that he was going to lose this job.

Don’t read too much into it

Don’t take things too seriously. The example of the teacher-to-be could have been a huge disaster, not only for him but also for the employer as the school would have been without a teacher for the new semester.

TED’s Tips™ #1: If you want to be a language professional, you need to learn how to read between the lines and listen between the words when you are talking to non-native speaker supervisors and colleagues (and your EFL students!).  If something is unclear, not making sense, exaggerated or inappropriate, learn how to interpret these situations.  Or you are unsure – use Tip #2 below.

TED’s Tips™ #2: For clarifying and understanding it is wise to check the suspect statement by repeating it back to the speaker.   Rephrase it and ask if that is what they meant. If is still confusing, ask again and rephrase again. You are the person with the skills, you are the teacher.   Try to see these conversation problems as a challenge and turn them into solutions.

Don’t sweat the small stuff and let it stand in your way of your new life teaching English abroad.

Teaching Internships in China

 

 

What TEFL Training Courses Don’t Teach You #4

Miscommunications and Misunderstandings When You are Looking for a Job

It doesn’t need to be a big deal. Pay attention!

If you remember last week’s post we talked about a misunderstanding between a new teacher and his employer. The misunderstanding came about due to some miscommunication when the employer – a non-native speaker – had some difficulty expressing urgency in her message, causing the new teacher to assume he was about to be fired!

Clarify Clarify Clarify

I want to relate another relatively similar story that says “New teachers – pay attention and clarify, clarify, clarify!”

Another newbie English-teacher-about-to-be in the middle of their visa process understood their employer to suggest that everything that cost money during the visa process would be paid for by the school, including things he needed to do in his home country. This, in spite of a contract that specifically said the expenses in China would be paid.

You are dealing with non-native speakers

Please understand, when you are seeking a new job teaching English in another country, that many times your communication will be with speakers of English who are NOT native speakers. And remember that even native speakers can have misunderstandings and miscommunications. So why would we expect our communications with non-native speakers to be problem free?

We should, in fact, assume that those communications might be problematic.

Whenever anything seems to be “too good to be true” or a rather surprising problem, seek to clarify the situation using the strategies suggested in the previous post (#3). Rephrase what the speaker said and ask if that was what was intended. You will often be surprised!

If something upsets or confuses you, ask a colleague to help sort it out.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Our Job is Communication. Communicate! Practice good communication skills all the time.

TED’s Tips™ #2: I hope you can see that this post and the previous one had very unhappy potential and both could have been solved easily.

Is this possibly the difference between people who are successful abroad and those who are not? You tell me.

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What TEFL Training Courses Don’t Teach You #3

They don’t teach you how to apply what you have just learned to your job search skills.

This is important. And the next post on this same topic is important. But only if you are looking for a job or are thinking of looking for a job teaching English abroad.

A man I was working with recently became upset over a conversation with a new employer. He was in the process of getting his visa paperwork set up, but had experienced delays in getting his health exam (required in many countries) completed.

When he contacted me she reported that his new employer was possibly going to fire him or at least cancel his new contract if he did not complete the health exam by the following Wednesday.

Wow. Big problem if you have quit your job and are packed and ready to head across the world.

Well . . . it didn’t quite sound right so when I checked with the employer – who was not a native speaker – the message was different. The message was “hurry up!”

How did this miscommunication happen?

Where did good communication break down and how might you avoid or solve such an event?

Where it broke down was that non-native speakers of English often don’t know how to express themselves strongly. How to press a point assertively and appropriately. They need to be taught such things (did they tell you that in TEFL Training?) and almost every experienced Business English trainer will have spent considerable time on exactly that topic.

Somewhere in the communication with the boss, the boss implied or somehow communicated more than what she intended. And the teacher-to-be took the English quite literally and seriously and assumed that he was about to be fired.

You can’t do that!

(take things too seriously) Do you see how easily this could have become a disaster to the new teacher? And even a major problem for the employer as they would have found themselves short a teacher come the new semester?

TED’s Tips™ #1: If you intend to be a language professional, you quite need to learn how to interpret what is said to you by non-native speaker supervisors and colleagues (and your EFL students) and to seek clarification if something doesn’t seem to make sense to you or seems to be an exaggerated or inappropriate response to a situation.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Check the suspect statement by repeating it back to the speaker and then rephrase it and ask if that is what they meant. If it is still confusing, ask again and rephrase again. YOU are the teacher and the communication may well need to be sorted out and you are the person with the skills (we all hope!) to figure it out. Consider it a challenge!

Don’t let these little things get in the way of your new life teaching English abroad. They are too easy to avoid.