Should I tell the teacher?

[caro64]

Hello there, I was wondering what you all think about this situation, well it's like this, my son is bilingual he'll be moving on to grade 6 in September and will probably be getting a different English teacher, his present teacher doesn't know that he's bilingual and I never had the opportunity to tell her, according to my son she has no idea and that's the way he wants to keep it. What do you lot think about this? I don't mind not telling her, although I wouldn't lie if she ever asked me but I'm a little worried that if she finds out, she might feel like she's been made a fool of. My son is rather shy so there wouldn't be a chance of him ever showing off or correcting her, do you think this is ok to keep from her?
Would love to read your opinions, thanks .
Love Caro

[tiorthan]

Hullo,
Would knowing about your son's bilinguality help the teacher in any way, I mean as long as your son doesn't interrupt the lessons? I think not (at least that's what your descriptions reads like), and I wouldn't say nothing.

[Duckduck]

and I wouldn't say nothing

.

@tiorthan: here's a double negative => so you advise her to tell the teacher?

Hi Caro,

well, as always, it depends on a number of things:
1. Is your son very good in English?
This might be important from the teacher's point of view because he/she might think that he has an "unfair advantage" over the others ! And keeping it secret as well! I would never think so myself!!!!, but I know that some teachers insist on knowing about their pupils' having private tutoring.

2. Have you talked to your son about his reasons for not wanting the teacher to know?
You say he is quite shy and he just might not want to be asked about all kinds of things: "Now let's ask our English expert - how would your Mama express this or that?" (Horrible thought for a young man of 13!)

3. What are the teachers like at his school? Is there the risk they might think holding back this information is a kind of cheating?

4. Don't the teachers and his class mates know that his mum is English, anyway?

Hard to advise you about this one!

Love,
Duckduck

[caro64]

Well it's like you say Duckduck, he gets worried about the teacher either asking him questions and testing him, the teacher expecting him to be some kind of genius, or that the teacher just ignores him (this has happened once before). He is good and can speak fluent, he makes a big thing out of only using the words that he has learnt at school, which can be hard work for him. Let me give you an example, in his last test he had to write a sentence explaining where the car is, the answer would have been "The car is beside the house" He knew to say "The car is next to the house " and "The car is at the side of the house" but he also knew that he hadn't learnt these words/sayings at school, he just couldn't think of the word that had been taught (beside) so he left it blank and didn't get the point . He has before used his own English but it didn't get him any points so now he just strictly sticks to the school English whereby if he's not sure or can't remember then he'll just leave it blank. He has a problem with spelling in both German and English if it wasn't for this his marks would probably be better, he has an average of about 2,8. I know this "holding back" isn't good but I'm worried that the concequences that might arise after telling the teacher could be even worse.
Thanks for reading this somewhat unusual problem Caro

[Delfino]

I think, telling the English teacher shouldn't be necessary at this point.

But I'd advise your son to use all his vocabulary in class and exams
to give his teacher the chance to evaluate the full scale of his English skills.
Although it can create envy in other children who could rate it as showing off.
This way he should be getting better marks which should boost his confidence
and allow the teacher to advise him how to improve in the remaining areas
he still has problems in.

If the teacher is the same as last year and starts to notice an improvement
he could mention a recent vacation with an intensive language course
(in an English speaking country) during the summer.
He doesn't need to immediately reveal his bilingual background.

Above all I'd hope that every teacher has enough common sense or sensitivity to not inquire
about the reason of his noticeable improvement during the lesson in front of everyone.
Complimenting him is one thing but more should be discussed in a rather private conversation
after a compliment to the fruits of his efforts.

Judging from the way the teacher handles this you should be able to rate the probability of phrases
like: "Now let's ask our English expert - how would your mama express this or that?".
So your son and you can decide together to reveal his bilingual background or not...

In the end it all comes down to the style of teaching of the (new) teacher.
Although it should be normal that a language teacher considers the different skill levels of his students
when choosing the kind of tasks for graded tests.
I'm not sure if testing the vocabulary with a cloze test is mandatory. But I'm sure it is the easiest method in terms of marking.
Assessing the quality of free text is rather hard especially if the student is not showing his full potential.

[caro64]

I think, telling the English teacher shouldn't be necessary at this point.

But I'd advise your son to use all his vocabulary in class and exams
to give his teacher the chance to evaluate the full scale of his English skills. My main worry though is that the teacher's vocabuary might not be as good as my son's vocabulary and therefore she, with her knowledge, might not be in the position to see what's wrong and what's right, and in the case of this happening my son could suffer. Although it can create envy in other children who could rate it as showing off. I havn't witnessed this yet. Boys seem to be more easy going and what the girls think doesn't really worry my son at the moment (not yet )
This way he should be getting better marks which should boost his confidence
and allow the teacher to advise him how to improve in the remaining areas
he still has problems in. This would be good but then it all depends on her/his English knowledge

If the teacher is the same as last year and starts to notice an improvement
he could mention a recent vacation with an intensive language course
(in an English speaking country) during the summer.
He doesn't need to immediately reveal his bilingual background.

Above all I'd hope that every teacher has enough common sense or sensitivity to not inquire
about the reason of his noticeable improvement during the lesson in front of everyone.
Complimenting him is one thing but more should be discussed in a rather private conversation
after a compliment to the fruits of his efforts.

Judging from the way the teacher handles this you should be able to rate the probability of phrases
like: "Now let's ask our English expert - how would your mama express this or that?". This he would find very embarrassing.
So your son and you can decide together to reveal his bilingual background or not...

In the end it all comes down to the style of teaching of the (new) teacher.
Although it should be normal that a language teacher considers the different skill levels of his students
when choosing the kind of tasks for graded tests.
I'm not sure if testing the vocabulary with a cloze test is mandatory. But I'm sure it is the easiest method in terms of marking.
Assessing the quality of free text is rather hard especially if the student is not showing his full potential.

Thank you Delfino for your advice, I will have to take a close look at his English teacher before deciding what to do. I can imagine though for year 5 and 6 (Realschule) it is thought that a teacher with basic English knowledge is more than adequate.

[Delfino]

My main worry though is that the teacher's vocabulary might not be as good as my son's vocabulary
and therefore she, with her knowledge, might not be in the position to see what's wrong and what's right,
and in the case of this happening my son could suffer.

This way he should be getting better marks which should boost his confidence
and allow the teacher to advise him how to improve in the remaining areas
he still has problems in.
This would be good but then it all depends on her/his English knowledge.

Thank you Delfino for your advice, I will have to take a close look at his English teacher before deciding what to do.
I can imagine though for year 5 and 6 (Realschule) it is thought that a teacher with basic English knowledge is more than adequate.

Any native speaker of German needs to study for about 5 years at university to be allowed to teach English in a public school in Germany.
So unless you are a native speaker of English with TEFL qualification it takes quite some effort to get such a position.

In the beginning the teachers needs to gradually increase the vocabulary of the children by introducing new words.
So it is also takes some work for them to be aware of the current level of the particular class and not to use words the kids don't know yet.

Englisch - Staatsexamen

Gegenstand des Fachs:
Ziel des Anglistik-Studiums ist die eingehende Kenntnis der englischen Sprache und Literatur.
Die Anglistik beschäftigt sich literaturwissenschaftlich mit Gehalt, Struktur und Wirkungsweise literarischer Texte,
sprachwissenschaftlich mit Lautlehre, Morphologie, Syntax, Semantik und Pragmatik.
Anders als bei den Dolmetscher- und Übersetzerstudiengängen ist der Fremdsprachenerwerb zwar wichtige Voraussetzung,
nicht aber eigentlicher Zweck des Studiums. Über den Spracherwerb hinaus lernt der Studierende auch die älteren Sprachformen kennen
und beschäftigt sich intensiv mit sprach- und literaturwissenschaftlichen, darüber hinaus aber auch mit kulturellen und historischen Elementen
des englischen Sprachraums (Landeskunde).

Berufs- und Tätigkeitsfelder von Absolventen:
Das Staatsexamen mit dem Hauptfach Englisch (als eines von mindestens zwei Fächern) ist die
Voraussetzung für die Übernahme in den Vorbereitungsdienst für das Lehramt an Gymnasien
und die spätere Einstellung in das öffentliche und private Schulwesen.

I've been in touch with several English teachers while I was working at a language centre at my university.
Unfortunately this description of the studies to become an English teacher document their comments
that any future teacher is expected to know the English language to a sufficient level before starting to study.
So the lectures provide a further theoretical background and a certain knowledge of pedagogy.

[caro64]

Any native speaker of German needs to study for about 5 years at university to be allowed to teach English in a public school in Germany.
So unless you are a native speaker of English with TEFL qualification it takes quite some effort to get such a position.

Are you quite sure about that? It seems to be different here in Bayern. I have a friend teaching English here at the "Gymnasium" she's a"Fremdsprachenkorrespondentin" another person I know is "Musiklehrerin" at the "Realschule" although she isn't a qualified teacher. I think only at the "Hauptschule" you have to have this TEFL qualification.

[Keswick]

Hi caro,

Delfino is right with what he is saying however Bavaria is one of the exceptions to the rule. In Bavaria people can become some sort of assistant teachers even if they're not fully qualified. This exception was introduced a couple of years ago when Bavaria was really short of teachers, you see. The so-called assistant teachers are not treated equally to "normal" teachers and can come from all sectors, really. So a hunter could teach HSK (Heimat- und Sachkunde) in primary school.

So you're both not wrong there .

[Duckduck]

Well, and apart from that, there were, are and always will be teachers who are simply no good, no matter how long they studied their subjects at university.

And I don't mean to be disrespectful either. Some people were and are just not made for teaching. They might even know everything there is to know about the language or whatever - and still they cannot teach!

And one thing is certain: many teachers of English have never stayed in England for any considerable amount of time - and we all know that there is a huge difference between the language in theory and in practice. What if the teacher has never heard of certain expressions which are used in everyday English - but were never used in university courses? You'd be surprised how little some people know about the real thing, teachers or no.

And there is one thing teachers don't like in class and that is to be told that they don't know something or that they got something wrong. I mean, honestly, who likes to be told that?

Difficult!!!!!
Duckduck

[snarly]

Hello everybody!
I think your son should tell the new teacher about his bilingual.

And my reasons are simple.

In my school, we have two native English speaker.
Unfortunately none of them is in my class, but they are still a huge enrichment for my school - especially in English!

My main worry though is that the teacher's vocabulary might not be as good as my son's vocabulary and therefore she, with her knowledge, might not be in the position to see what's wrong and what's right, and in the case of this happening my son could suffer.

Well, of course your son's vocabulary might be better than the teacher's which, at the worst, could upset the teacher. - That depends on the teacher's character.

In my school the teacher have accepted the situation - and now they even help one another.

All the best!
snarly.


Here is a little more about the native speaker at my school:
They moved to Austria 2 years ago, and they didn't speak German. So the teachers knew what was coming up to them.

[tiorthan]

But that's a different situation. If you don't know any German you'll need help in a German school and the teachers must know about the situation. It's different here because Caro's son knows German (as a first language I presume).

[caro64]

Thanks Snarly, I shall probably tell his new teacher that's if he gets a new teacher. There's a big difference though if the pupil is bilingual (speaking both languages equally well) or if the pupil comes from another country where he has to first start learning the language of the country he moved to (In your example I believe the pupil wasn't bilingual).
Take care
Caro
@tiorthan, exactly

[snarly]

Hi tiorthan, long time no type!

I know the situation is different.
I just wanted to say that it depends on the teacher.

Caro's son excels his class and even his teacher in English. - So, for some teacher his is a thorn in their side.
But there are many teachers who'd be glad about this situation. - Her son could be big enrichment and help!

Peace,
snarly!

[caro64]

Hello there, I know it's been quite a while now, but I thouht I'd let you all know that my sons doing really well. He has now got a lovely English teacher, who really knows what she's doing. She apparently lived in Canada for 6 years and my son gets on great with her. She often jokes about my sons british accent and he takes the mick out of her canadian one
Thankyou all for your support and take lots of care,
Caro