Topic: Student feedback/evaluations

[NamTok]

monkey woods & Mods-Rockers,

The project was independently done by a particular administrator who holds an MEd and decided to pursue a lightly researched matter, ie, how senior secondary students of ESL perceive the ways in which they receive education in the English language from farang teachers and in other major subjects in the English language, also taught by farang teachers. The research of course was of Thai learners at a bilingual school in Bangkok. The researcher pretty much focused on the classroom experience of the students, which is to say he did not research other factors such as socio-economic and cultural status of the students and their families.

The researcher made his findings available to the school, which sort of nodded and in effect said something like "later." I was and continue to be excited by the research. The administrator had the purpose of publishing the results and altho he and I have maintained some contact since I left the school I don't know if he's found a publisher--I'll ask him.

One of the most exciting aspects of the research project is that senior secondary students were asked (50) questions translated into Thai about the education they received from farang teachers IN GENERAL. Students were asked, IN GENERAL, how well they thought they were taught, learned, studied, were motivated to learn academic English as well as learning all other subjects in the English language, taught by farangs. So, Mods-Rockers, I couldn't agree with you more that the research presents each and every farang teacher with information about the efficacy of our teaching, to include philosophy, methods, techniques, approaches; our rapport with students, rapport being an important factor in motivating students to learn. Nothing in the research could be detected to a particular teacher or subject taught, which is important. Why? With the focus on the GENERAL effectiveness of the foreign faculty, the overall quality of teaching could be examined without any teachers worrying or wondering if direct consequence might visit upon them.

So the research project operated outside of the structure of the school's own system of evaluation of teachers. Consequently, the project did not have the impediment of the inherent quirks and/or contradictions such evaluations by schools can have. What do I mean by that? During my first year at the school the secondary coordinator was a primary teacher who'd never taught secondary students in Thailand. Yet, having an MEd himself, he spent the final of his three years at the school and Thailad in the position of secondary coordinator to embellish his resume upon his return to his native country. He spent much time sitting in classrooms observing secondary teachers. We received his evaluation report and were invited to write a few lines of reaction at the botom of the sheet. I wrote that, with all due respect of the man's experience and academic credentials, he was lost as an evaluator in the secondary department, which he in fact was. So schools' evaluators and their systems vary due to many reasons. The research project by the administrator several years later yielded much more valuable results in their depth and scope.

Mods-rockers, what do you think of the fact the questionnaire was translated into Thai.I believe it facilited the efficacy of the project, altho an argument certainly could be made that the questionnairs be presented to the students in English.

[monkey woods]

I may be wrong, but I don't think similar evaluations are carried out in schools in England. That may have something to do with the state of education and the way it is perceived by learners, and the way (countless, needless) surveys are perceived by the population in general. In the average English classroom, I reckon, such a survey would be a fiasco. All kinds of false indicators would be produced.

Is it not the same in Thailand? Won't the kids tailor their responses to gain the desired effect? If they like a teacher, surely they will say positive things about him/her and, if they don't, they won't. Doesn't it boil down to just that?

I guess, because I imagine it's that simple, there must be something I don't understand about it. 

[NamTok]

monkey woods, we're talking about a survey of ESL students who are taught by farang teachers of several nationalities and by, I overlooked pointing out, some Filippino teachers. In this survey, the learners are native to their own country and language while the foreign teachers are resident aliens imported as it were for the specific purpose of teaching English to the locals.

Of course such a survey isn't done in the UK--nor is it done in the US--as most learners in native English-speaking countries are native born to the particular country. The particular ESL survey I discuss broadly is not appropriate in the UK or the US etc. The UK and the US and other native English speaking countries do have programs of English language instruction for immigrants and for naturalized citizens, and do have evaluations of those programs, which is another matter.

While I've stated on this thread that I absolutely oppose evaluation of individual foreign teachers in an ESL setting such as Thailand, I do like the GENERALIZED approach the particular administrator at my former school took, ie, a general questionnaire concerning ESL learning and teaching. Taking the GENERALIZED approach depersonalizes the evaluation, thus substantially precluding the ESL learners' evaluating a farang teacher based on such other possible considerations as the teacher's personality, habits of attire, gives or doesn't give permission to go to the toilet during class or exams etc.   

[monkey woods]

Yep, I know what you mean. I just meant that, although the students and teachers are of the same nationality in England, no student surveying of teachers went on - or so I thought. It just seems an altogether crazy idea to have your charges comment on your own performance, when, as we all know, in a country like Thailand, some things tend to count against you.


On your other point about 'taking the generalised approach and depersonalising the evaluation', couldn't, and wouldn't, this result in, in the event of a poor overall evaluation, good teachers being dragged down to the levels of not-so-good teachers?


Soz for appearing so dim.

[NamTok]

monkey woods,
   In the US many univesities provide for student evalations of individual faculty. The results of the evaluations are released to the faculty after final exams are graded and reported. Certain public (government, state) secondary schools have students evaluate faculty individually under the same arrangements. I don't know about evaluations among other English-speaking peoples.

The generalized approach using a questionnaire is a formal approach and but one approach to evaluating faculty. Students speak informally to both Thai and farang teachers about other teachers. For example, one brand new, young farang teacher was so awful, miserable, in the classroom that a great number of the teacher's Thai students that I did not have in any of my classes aproached me and did so repeaedly for almost two months after the particular school year began, asking me to whatever I could to help to effect the removal of the teacher from the classroom. Nothing worked until students spoke to their parents--and spoke forcefully. Alarmed parents called the school in force. The teacher then was removed from the classroom.

So not much is lost by having formal, GENERALIZED student evaluations of farang teaching and student learning in ESL lessons and instruction. The grapevine contintues to exist and effectively so.