Naked Us (!)

[nomorealurker]

Did anyone see this prog last night on BBC1 at 10.40pm?

In brief...a late 30's couple plus 2 kids (4 yr old and 1 yr old) sold up in Preston,UK, bought a camper van/tent and moved to france. The woman always had a dream of teaching English but had never done that before.

After travelling around for 3 months looking for work they went to Bordeaux.

A miracle happens! She gets a (part-time) job via an expat with a 'top private school' teaching english to french teenagers. No, she doesnt speak French. No, she's never taught before. No, she's never had any previous experience with teenagers. Yes, she still lives in a caravan with no proper address. After a few lessons, they then rent a house on the outskirts of Bordeaux (after the 4 of them lived in a caravan for 4 months) and live happily ever after. Amazing stuff!! Part-time teachers with no previous experience must be very well paid in France. Whilst wishing them success, this sort of programe leaves many, many questions unanswered! I guess she was lucky that the students already spoke english as she didnt speak any/very little french!

[alencon]

She was completely useless as a teacher and the school must have had to have their arm twisted severely by the BBC to employ her.........She was very arrogant and disrespective of the students needs to think she could just walk into a classroom and teach with no skills or French WHATSOEVER.

[Deby]

It all sounds rather fishy to me, I suspect the TV cameras had something to do with it!  I do not believe for a minute what you have said.  I personally know a very qualified teacher who has approached most of the schools in and around Bordeaux/Dordogne/Charente and is still struggling. 

Come on BBC what about unbiased reporting, you are beginning to go down the tabloid tv route!!!

Deby

[nomorealurker]

I only watched it because it mentioned France in the review!

To be honest, the way each problem magically solved itself made it increasingly hard to watch!

Still, i'm sure the 'top private school in Bordeaux' as it was described will suffer a decreased rate in students passing English exams now!

She did have a 'unique' attitude though - i can speak English, therefore i can teach it!

[Laotze]

I didnt see the programme and do agree that a lot of these are absolute rubbish and bear no relation to reality but just on the point of the woman not speaking French yet teaching English - I taught English to refugees to the Uk for many years without speaking a word of their various languages. I taught French people as well as Serbs, Croats, Africans from many part of Africa, Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Hungarians, Spaniards - the list goes on! At the first level they had no English at all and no common language with the other students. They all learnt English and I spent my days between laughter and tears of frustration. It actually is an extremely good way to learn another language if one has no direct translation for anything as one actually learns to think in the other language.

[alencon]

Teaching English to foreign students, whether you speak their native tongue or not is a skill generally acquired through training, not just "I fancy being a teacher, so I'll just wing it".

There are some (very rare) personalities who may have the natural skills to be succesful but the lady in the program was not such an individual.  If I were a parent at this fee paying school,I would be furious that the school was allowing her to teach my child.  I'd be interested to know whether she was still at the school after the programme had finished filming.  The BBC should be ashamed for promoting such unrealistic 'dreams'.

[Tresco]

Laotze speaks the truth, as this is exactly what trained TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) and TESL (Second Language) teachers do.

EDIT my post crossed with Alencons, same point made!

[Ron Avery]

[quote]I didnt see the programme and do agree that a lot of these are absolute rubbish and bear no relation to reality but just on the point of the woman not speaking French yet teaching English - I taught E...[/quote]

Another programme in the realms of fantasy from the UK, the usual load of optimistic TV bowlocks, it made Nippy and Nigel seem quite plausible.

You have to ask yourself what sort of idiot sells up and takes 2 babies to a foreign country without anywhere to live or a job.  So we can only assume that she didn't''t and the job and the whole programme was a set up.

To be fair, though, my French teacher at ASTI, does not speak any English ( they are multi cultural classes, so even if she did it would be unfair to the other pupils) and she is a very good teacher none the less.  This is because she can speak French, very clearly and most importantly slowly

[Will]

'...what sort of idiot sells up and takes 2 babies to a foreign country without anywhere to live or a job'

I would imagine the sort of idiot who would do anything to get their half hour of fame on the telly. This is what the BBC was asking for earlier in the year in connection with this programme.

The BBC is looking for contributors for a brand new documentary series called Naked Us. We are looking for people who are keen to give up everything and build a completely new life. Is it possible to re-invent yourself completely - from your job and social life, maybe even your appearance and character?

With the number of people suffering from stress and anxiety at an all time high, this series will provide an extraordinary insight into modern life and reveal the extent to which our personality is bound up with material possessions, professional status and companions. We want to go beyond surface alteration or escapism. This is not about having a break or getting away from it all.

We are looking for articulate, driven people who have an interesting and exciting ambition. They must have a fundamental desire to start again and be willing to undertake real self-analysis. BBC cameras will be there every step of the way as they forge their new life.

[GRT17]

I too watched the programme because France was mentioned.

There was no mention of health insurance, paying tax etc. The husband seemed to get some casual (on the black ?????) work. As one child was too young for school I suppose he could only work on the odd days when the wife was not teaching. It was all rather pie in the sky wasn't it?

I think the message that came out of it was that the wife needed some kind of job / outside activity to escape the drudgery of staying at home all day with small children.

 

Gill

[Jo53]

On the subject of teaching, I think there's a big difference between giving conversation classes and actually teaching your own language. I am an editor by trade, so I make my living from correcting people's English. But I am very aware that, with no TEFL training, I could not just step into a classroom and teach English. It's one thing knowing what is correct, but quite another to explain the rules (or lack of them) to a foreigner.

Having said that, I think conversation classes are a big part of learning a language well. An articulate native speaker wot speaks proper and is good with groups can give conversation classes without TEFL training or teaching experience, I think.

Jo

[Laotze]

I agree Jo that one does need qualifications to teach - its not so much the grammar (you can pick that up out of a book) but teaching is a skill that has to be learnt like any other and there are certain "tricks" to teaching a language which make it a different skill again. One can do the odd conversation class successfully but to actually help someone build language skills requires planning and knowledge of how to make language building blocks. I suppose one could just implement a already written course by rote but teaching is about responding to pupils individual needs so I could see many pitfalls and poor learning outcomes!

[le bouffon]

Just goes to show how easy teaching really is and that anyone can do it,despite what the "professionals" like to make out along with the old we need 3 mouths a year off to spend in our second home.Not naked us more like us exposed.

[Laotze]

Hmmmmmmmmmm! Troll -loll- loll- loll lol!

[pinkfluff<P>Big Wet Drops and Lots of Them, Are a Sure Sign of Rain!<P>]

What with all the recent posts on "teaching" I think every 2nd person in France is a teacher of sorts

[letrangere]

"I agree Jo that one does need qualifications to teach - its not so much the grammar (you can pick that up out of a book) but teaching is a skill that has to be learnt like any other and there are certain "tricks" to teaching a language which make it a different skill again."

I agree with you both.  I studied to teach English as a foreign language many moons ago, got the qualification but still found myself ill at ease in the classroom.  I didn't enjoy it at all so took my career in a different direction.  I would go so far as to argue that you have to have a natural ability to teach, and that's not something that any amount of training can help you with.  Remember at school there were always those teachers that made even the dullest subject interesting yet there were others who couldn't get even the simplest point across?   

My experience of teaching in France is limited to business English to private students but I thought most French schools (especially reputable ones) demanded at least a first degree plus a TEFL cert and some a PGCE as well.  We have several French based TEFL teachers on the Forum, it would be interesting to hear their views.  (Though I guess they're all enjoying their well earned long summer holiday....) 

M

[Deby]

Just goes to show how easy teaching really is and that anyone can do it,despite what the "professionals" like to make out along with the old we need 3 mouths a year off to spend in our second home.Not naked us more like us exposed.

 

I take it Outie is back.

Deby