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teacher from a Callan Method school once asked for a job at a semi-
government school which claimed in its brochure that all its teachers
had degrees in English. They accepted her, even though she told them
that she had no A levels, let alone a degree. What TEFL does in
practice is quite different from what it says it does.
The problem with any employee who is over-qualified for the job he
is doing is that he is unlikely to stay in the job for long. He looks
upon it merely as a stop-gap. It is better, therefore, to have someone
who is less qualified and stays in the job longer.
All the above applies to TEFL in general. In the case of a Callan
Method school, the situation is even more simple and straightforward.
With the Callan Method being scripted word for word, the teacher
needs no qualifications whatsoever - students can even teach each
other with the Method. This means that Callan Method teachers can
be chosen for their ability to teach rather than their academic
qualifications. The Method is foolproof, which is one of the reasons
for its existence: it saw the need for protecting the student from
inexperienced teachers, with or without degrees or training.
It is the case in some countries that a private language school can be
set up in two ways. It can either have the official recognition of the
government, in which case its teachers are usually required to have
degrees, or it can function quite legally without this recognition and
employ whatever teachers it wishes.
The only advantage of being officially recognized is that it is good for
business, as it gives the public more confidence in the school. A
Callan Method school, however, does not need this, as its guarantee is
the public s greatest safeguard.
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In some countries it is difficult or complicated to obtain a visa or
work permit
The teacher might find that in some countries he wishes to work in it
is difficult or complicated to obtain a visa or work permit. The
school directors in such countries should try to improve the situation
by presenting the facts of the case to the government of the country.
The directors would not necessarily be asking the government to
change its rules just for English teachers, but should point out to the
government that if the country wishes to have mother-tongue English
teachers, it should make the granting of visas and work permits for
such teachers much faster and easier, especially in countries that find
difficulty in attracting English teachers.
English teachers are not taking jobs from the native population, as
they are doing work that the natives cannot do, or at least not as well.
In fact, the teachers are providing a public service that the government
is unable to provide effectively enough at its state schools and
universities. For this reason, the private schools of English ought
really to be given government grants, subsidies or tax concessions.
The directors and their teachers could even send articles to national
and local newspapers putting forward their problems. It can be very
expensive and time consuming for teachers and schools to obtain
work permits and visas.
It could also be pointed out that England, America, Australia etc. play
host to millions of legal and illegal foreign workers and immigrants
from those countries where a relatively small handful of English
teachers are teaching. Consequently, it is only fair that in return such
teachers should be helped as much as possible.
In order to overcome local difficulties, some private schools set up a
company in England (America, Australia etc.) and employ their
teachers in England and send them out on a contract; even, as
previously stated, paying their wages from England.
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CMO agency
Although the Callan Method Organisation (CMO) has little or no
connection with any teachers or private schools that use its Method, it
does run an agency to put teachers and schools into contact with each
other.
If, for example, a school in Tokyo is looking for a teacher, it can
contact CMO who will put it in touch with a teacher in, perhaps, Rome
who would like to teach in Japan. Conversely, if a teacher in, say,
France, wishes to teach in Brazil, CMO will put him in touch with a
school there which is looking for a teacher, CMO will supply the
school with the teacher s record of employment and the teacher with
the school s record.
The teaching of English as a foreign language attracts teachers from all
walks of life - ex-army officers, bank clerks, scientists, telephonists,
university students or ex-nurses - looking for a working holiday abroad
or a break of a year or two from their normal work.
It is clear from this that among such a mixture of people there will be
some who are unsuitable for the job, because they do not care how they
teach or how they behave (especially being abroad). If a doctor
misbehaves, he is struck off the list, but if a TEFL teacher misbehaves
and is sacked, he can soon get himself a job at another school. He
could be sacked from half a dozen schools in various countries without
anyone knowing it, as there is no international governing body for
TEFL. When applying for a job at a school, he can always pretend that
he has been teaching privately to account for the gap in his career.
Nine teachers out of ten teach and behave well, but the tenth one
presents a problem.
The same applies to schools. Most schools treat their teachers well, but
the occasional school treats them badly, and the teachers do not
discover this until they take up employment at the school.
The CMO Agency goes a long way to solving these problems. If a
school sacks a teacher, it will inform the agency, which will then
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record the fact on the teacher s record of employment for other schools
to see. It will record the reasons for dismissal and the Director s
assessment of the teacher. It will also record anything which the
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