English Teacher Kvido (aka Keith Bennet, not hiding behind a pseudonym
like some of us,) is the creator of the now defunct site for English teachers abroad,
EFL Planet. Probably in order to dispel lingering rumors that he and I are one and
the same, he finally agreed to answer some questions about his EFL experience
on April 17, 2004.
> How long have you been teaching, and where?
I started teaching in 1996 in South Korea. I stayed there for two years
then went to the Czech Republic. I taught there for 2 1/2 years , them
returned to Hawaii and taught there for a year before returning back to
Czech in 2001. Since returning to Czech I've been teaching ESP to a
branch of the Czech Government and Business English.
> What kind of qualifications do you have? Have they helped you any?
I started with 16 undergraduate credit hours in ESL, which was a real
waste of time, yes. I had all kinds of ideas about how my first class
would go. That these lofty ideas came crashing down upon me during my
first 5 minutes of instruction would be an understatement.
Then I have my CELTA - a very useful thing as long as you realize it's
just the beginning to get you started. Also, it's important to realize
that hey just give you a wide range and it's up to teachers to use this
selectively in their lessons. For example, the session with quisenaire
rods should not be taken seriously. The CELTA defnintely helped me
transform my teaching from just playing bingo or hangman to actually
making a usefull lesson plan.
> Who have been your most venal and incompetent employers?
My one semester as an adjunct faculty at Hawaii Pacific University was a
real eye-opener. Very professional environment and they helped me grow a
lot. I also worked for the largest private English language school in
Hawaii and it's director was the best I've seen in creating an environment
that's an "experience of a lifetime" for students.
As for incompetent employers, it's very difficult to put one above the
rest. Incompetence seems to be par for the course in EFL and the best one
can usually hope for is to be left the fuck alone to teach.
> What's been the worst moment for you in the classroom?
Hands down had to be when police came to the school asking for information
about a female student who had been attacked and nearly killed the day
before.
> Where do you come down on the "boffing students" question?
In my view it definitely depends on power. Who has the power in the
relationship? As a teacher of Business English I see nothing immoral
about the CEO or HR head of a company "hitting it off" with the outsourced
TEFL teacher. Of course old geezers drooling over young girls is
disgusting in any environment. Student/Teacher dating in a formal
academic environment would bring into question the integrity of the
institution, so of course University Professors who date coeds should be
fired.
> What made you decide to start your own website?
Well, I first wanted to just protest. I wanted to yell and scream and
outrage the sensibilities of the "professional teacher" - much like you
have done. But then I discovered something - I had support from people
who were't just cast-outs, but people who were basically respectable or
even "at the top". I now see that I'm at the forefront of TEFL evolution.
No, I'm not alone. The more I network the more I find people who share
my views and the more I network outside of TEFL the more I can see the
whole stack of cards come craching down within 10 years. Mark my words -
names like English First will dissapear and names like International House
will have to make trumendous organizational and philisophical changes to
make it in the information age.
> I just started my site because I thought it would be moderately more productive than shouting out the window at random passersby. Why does Dave's ESLcafe suck so hard these days?
I would argue that it's been constant and we've just recently LEARNED of
how badly it sucks. These are changes inherent in the information age.
While before Dave and his moderators could screen out unwanted messages or
make them "dissapear", he can't control this new phpbb program and the
Private messaging feature. He and his moderators don't understand the
technology: You CAN'T restrict information in the age of information.
The best you can do is manage it and make logical organizational decisions
based on future trends.
So I would say that the quality of the product has remained constant but
the clients are growing more sophisticated.
> Have you saved much money in your working career?
Yes, I've saved it and spent it. You'd be amazed how quickly you can spend $50,000.
>Gee, yeah, I bet I would.
That's why I'm not sure if Saudi is worth it: You'd really need to spend 10 years there to buy the house with furniture and new car - then that $200,000 is gone. On the other hand, people who stay in the US can finance that $200,000 over ten years and enjoy that house and car during those 10 years.
> Any particularly horrifying experiences you'd like to share with us?
Getting a tooth kicked out by a Slovak drug pusher in a brawl and then
having a drunken doctor who could barely stand put 5 stitches into my
eyebrow wasn't the most pleasant of expereinces. Worse, it wasn't even
over a girl or anything - he pushed my friend, I tackled him, his friends
kicked my face while my 'friend' looked for his glasses in the corner.
More than one lesson to be learned from that incident.
> What do you hope happens to you in the future?
Oh, I hope to build my site enough to pay for itself. I hope to move out
of classroom teaching and into teacher training, e-learning, and perhaps
even later into writing to supplement my income. I hope to push a global
change in the TEFL environment. But first I'm finishing my Masters in
Educational Technology/e -learning, probably my DELTA as well and perhaps an
MA in applied linguistics. That'll take me at least 5 years.
UPDATE: AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY 2005 KVIDO DECIDED TO LET EFLPLANET DIE A QUIET DEATH, CITING A LACK OF FUNDS, INCREASED DISILLUSIONMENT WITH THE TEFL INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE, AND THE FAILURE TO REACH HIS DESIRED AUDIENCE.
HE SAID TO ME IN AN EMAIL: "MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT." AND EXPRESSED ENVY FOR THOSE WORKING IN OFFICE CUBICLES BACK IN HOOTERVILLE.