Читать книгу The English Teachers - RF Duncan-Goodwillie - Страница 25

Setting the scene: It’s getting dark outside. Moscow has yet to emerge from winter and the sun still moves across the sky at a faster pace than the moon. It will be soon be sub-zero outside at the end of a day of many classes and interviews. My final interviewee is Frances. This is not her real name, but she prefers not to be cast in the limelight with her actual name.

Perhaps this is just as well since the office we sit in – shared with several others – is somewhat messy so giving away the location may annoy some others. Then again, this seems to be hallmark of many teacher trainers working together in one office. Though I cannot describe her appearance much, Frances speaks with an even tone that marks out her years of experience. Occasionally, though, some mischief and sarcasm creeps in.

F: I was born and brought up in the north east of England. I studied Applied Language Studies in London. Since then I have been teaching. The first 23 years in a German context, then here in Moscow. I’m in teacher training and teaching.

RFDG: Why did you pick teaching as a career?

F: I didn’t. Well, OK, let’s go back. I studied Applied Language Studies and originally wanted to train as an interpreter, but at that time in the UK there were only three places you could do that. One was a poly in London and you had to be either rich and African or very, very good to get in. Another was in Bath, which was just very, very boring.

The final one was in Bradford. I went all the way to Bradford to the university and did the try out test. It was translation and interpretation and all six of us there got through the translation for both languages. We all got through the interpreting for French, but we all failed the interpreting for German. Basically, the message was, “Go to Germany and come back when you can actually speak the language.”

So, I went to Germany and did teaching.

RFDG: So, why didn’t you go back to being an interpreter? Why did you stay being a teacher?

F: I don’t know. I just never got around to it.

She laughs.

RFDG: And then you came here. Why did you pick Moscow?

F: Because I wanted to do DELTA – God knows why – but I wanted to do it here because in Germany at that time, at the end of the 1990s and 2000s, CELTA was virtually unknown. DELTA was problematic. There was no DELTA school in Germany. I was working in a university context and if you’re not an academic on an academic track in the university context in Germany, they don’t care what you do as long as your students don’t complain. There is no in-service training. There’s nothing.

So, I had to leave the country and I went to IH because that’s where I did my initial training. IH means something. I interviewed for Prague and for Moscow, and I had students who were here in Moscow that year, so I came to Moscow.

RFDG: That was the only thing that influenced your decision to choose here and not Prague?

F: Well, that and the fact you got much better pay here in Moscow. Well, it was then and in fairness it still is. It’s better than most of Europe. Let’s be honest about this.

RFDG: But you stayed.

F: Yeah.

RFDG: Why?

F: Haven’t got around to leaving yet?

RFDG: Surely that can’t be the only reason.

F: No, I assure you it is. In fairness, I have more opportunities here than pretty much anywhere else in Europe.

RFDG: What kind of opportunities do you enjoy?

F: I enjoy teacher training. I think in Germany, certainly, I would never have been in that context. I know there are CELTA centres now and I’m going to inspect one of them at the end of April, but it’s still in Germany. The population is reluctant to pay for its own education and it’s a very difficult market.

South of Europe is a much bigger market, but the pay is really bad and there’s still not so much opportunity in terms of teacher training. And also here because of the opening up of the Cambridge Exam market and the IELTS* exam market. That’s just really taken off in the last 10 to 15 years. I have had lots of opportunities to work as a presenter for Cambridge Assessment English**. And it’s good because it’s teacher training and it gets me out of the city.

*Note: IELTS – The International English Language Testing System. An international standardised test of English.

**Note: Cambridge Assessment English – a Cambridge Exam board.

RFDG: Is it particularly important to be away from Moscow?

F: No, but I like travelling.

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