| Q |
As an academic
director for a large EFL organization, you must work incredibly long hours.
Does it ever get to the stage where you wonder what your apartment looks
like? |
| A |
Well, Phil, we’ve actually just moved into a new house.
As you know, we were living “oop north” near Ladprao, but the commute was a
bit of a stretch. We’re now on the Skytrain route, so getting to and from
work is less of a pain. As regards the job itself, it certainly is a busy
one, whether I am organising something centrally, or visiting one of our
eleven centres. There is an awful lot to get done, but it does all get
squeezed into a relatively normal working week, and I do manage to get
evenings and weekends with Michelle, our son, Damon, and the dog, Bez. |
| Q |
How
would you summarize your duties and responsibilities? |
| A |
My job title is actually
Academic Operations Manager. I think the cover-all description would be that
my job is to support our centres and the EF organisation in Thailand from an
academic point of view. The majority of my work is connected with supporting
the centres through their Directors of Studies (DOS) and Centre Managers so
that they can offer the best to their students. |
| Q |
Many
teachers who have risen to the lofty heights of academic director have then
gone back to being teachers again (me included). What about the old argument
that you can actually make more money being an hourly paid teacher? |
| A |
I think that is certainly
true in some situations but it’s not all about the money, is it? We are
looking at two quite different roles which have different attractions and
require different skills sets. I think there are many who move into a DOS
position based on experience as a teacher. I don’t think it is always a
logical step. Being a good teacher is not necessarily the same as being a
good DOS, though there are certain similarities. Some of these people simply
do not enjoy the role, and therefore go back into teaching. The role
involves many pressures, and is sometimes a thankless task. |
| Q |
What
do you think of ADs who ‘bump up’ their own salary by stealing teaching
hours from needy teachers? That goes on quite a lot here doesn’t it? |
| A |
I’ve not had any direct
experience of this in Thailand, but I am sure it goes on. To be honest, any
DOS who increases their teaching load purely for financial gain is not
looking at the bigger picture. The DOS’s role is to support teachers and be
active in terms of professional development. Why “steal” a group from a
teacher when you can better help them by allowing that teacher to gain more
classroom experience and, through observation and feedback, to grow as a
teacher. Furthermore, I don’t think this kind of attitude will help in terms
of keeping teachers. Needy teachers would move on fairly quickly if this
were the prevailing state of affairs, wouldn’t they? However, there are
reasons for the DOS to teach. The DOS should be the most experienced teacher
in the school. It is their job to deal with any classes with which, in their
professional judgement, other staff members may have difficulty. This very
often means examination or business courses, or more specific needs
students. Part of the DOS role is to be a model for teachers. This involves
having teachers observe your classes. If the DOS does not teach, then
teachers can’t observe. |
| Q |
Is the
standard of job applicants going up or down in general? |
| A |
In general, I don’t think it
has changed that much over the last year or so. The number of applicants
seems to be diminishing, but the standard is, on average, still the same.
Unfortunately, the majority of applicants are unsuitable. |
| Q |
When a
new teacher arrives and starts a teaching career in Thailand, what are the
most common problems you have to deal with? |
| A |
There are a lot of issues
here, but really it is a case of ensuring that the teacher is as comfortable
as possible with the move to a new country. Many of the people we see have
relatively little overseas experience, and there are many things that we
“old hands” can forget. We have to be sure, also, that the communication
between employee and school is as clear as possible, and that the centre’s
policies are as transparent as possible. Most of the problems that come up
are connected to a lack of clear communication. |
| Q |
Do you
find that new teachers become too dependent on you and start coming to you
with the most trivial problems? |
| A |
A DOS certainly plays a
“mother hen” role to a certain extent. I have found myself “in loco parentis”
from time to time, and often with teachers older than myself. One of the
traps a DOS can fall into is the belief that if something needs doing, it is
often quicker and smoother to do it yourself. This just leads to further
expansion of a job description that is already full. |
| Q |
How
much teaching did you actually do yourself before you took up your place in
the academic director’s chair and what’s your favourite age group to teach? |
| A |
I was a full-time teacher
for a couple of years in Korea before becoming ADOS and then DOS about 6
years ago. I don’t think I need to remind anyone of teaching schedules in
Korea, but our minimum was 30 a week, starting at 6:30 in the morning and
finishing at 10:00 at night. Everything since then has been a veritable walk
in the park. In EF, with whom I have been working for over four years now,
the DOS has a maximum teaching load to ensure they have enough time for the
other parts of the job. The usual would be between eight and twelve teaching
hours per week. As I mentioned above, this includes specialist groups to
which other teachers in the school might not be suited.
I’ve taught across the board, and don’t actually have a favourite age group.
I used to prefer young adult classes, but since having a son I have found
that I can deal with younger learners equally easily – I think most of the
skills one acquires being a parent can and should transfer into the
classroom. |
| Q |
What
qualities are important for you to have and for anyone thinking of taking up
this extremely demanding role? |
| A |
In terms of my current role,
the key part of the job is support. This often involves providing solutions
to problems, or training when there is a gap in knowledge about certain
aspects of the operation. Being able to communicate effectively is essential
in both these areas, and 50% of the people I deal with are not native
English speakers. I still use a lot of what I learnt as a teacher.
Flexibility, I suppose, is the other absolute must. I have to be able to
turn my hand to almost anything, whether it be managing, teaching, training,
fixing photocopiers, marketing… and the list goes on. |
| Q |
Have
you ever been involved in a good old slanging match with a teacher in full
view of the Thai staff? You’ve always struck me as a very easygoing guy, but
has an EFL professional ever squared up to you and questioned your
parentage? |
| A |
Never. Certainly, I have had
differences with staff members, but it has never been on a personal level,
and I would never take part in any form of argument in front of other staff.
There are situations in which you need to fight to remain calm, but I always
seem to manage it. Then I go home and stick pins in my collection of little
dolls. |
| Q |
How do
you make sure that in the classroom, teaching standards are being maintained
and the teacher doesn’t spend thirty minutes of every lesson telling
students about life back in the old country? |
| A |
I’m not dealing directly
with teachers much in my current job, but as a DOS this is a huge part of
the job. Teachers fall into the behaviour you outlined for a combination of
reasons. It could be a lack of confidence with a group, a lack of training
in terms of the materials which should be used, a lack of planning, or
laziness. The first three can be remedied easily enough. The last one hangs
a large question mark over that person’s future as a teacher. |
| Q |
Thailand is a great place to teach English or man, I’m outta here? |
| A |
Thailand certainly is a
great place to live. The ELT industry is growing rapidly, but not addressing
many of the “teething” problems that have led to the current state of play.
The majority of players seem to me to be reactive rather than proactive. I
think it is our job to pass on our experience from other regions with a more
mature industry to help the companies and schools in the Thai market. |
| Q |
The
Ministry of Education are allegedly about to streamline the process of
applying for a work permit, etc and making the whole much easier. Is much of
your working day spent dealing with red tape? |
| A |
Not nowadays, but I have a
lot of experience in this area. The whole process certainly does need
streamlining. The way it stands presents a barrier to employment for both
employers and employees where it should be a simple administrative process. |
| Q |
Whenever I’ve popped in to see you, you’re beavering away in front of the
computer. What’s your favourite website and would I need to become a member
to fully enjoy it? |
| A |
Much of my job involves
producing procedural documents, hence the “beavering”. Our teacher-training
programme is constantly being updated, and the web provides a multitude of
resources. We also have our own EF Intranet so that we can keep up-to-date
with what is happening in other EF regions. To qualify for the Order of the
Brown Nose, I should mention that ajarn.com and the TIT board get hit on a
regular basis. In terms of recreational surfing, though, I check the news on
the brilliant
www.whatreallyhappened.com
site or The Guardian, but I have gone off the latter since they blocked free
access to the crosswords! |
| Q |
Finally Hugh, the school you work for has branches all over the world. Have
you got your sights set on an office overlooking Lake Lucerne or perhaps a
two-minute stroll from the central market in Marrakech? Will you ever tire
of the Land of Smiles? |
| A |
Funny you should mention
Marrakech. Before coming to Thailand, I worked for EF for 3 years in
Morocco. It’s probably the most fascinating country I have visited, and
Michelle keeps nagging me to go back, but I can’t trust her to get “just a
few things” in the souks! As for the next move, who knows? It could be
Florida, Spain or back to Blighty… |
| |
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