English, Fun & Living in HK, Japan and Taiwan

Stephen Krashen recently wrote this about children’s reading of comic books, typically a pastime derided by parents in Japan, China and Taiwan as bunking off homework, or as meaningless, or as devaluing or undermining traditional reading. Krashen takes a different view… some parents might find this just a tad too ‘dangerous’ for their views. Discretion advised. Certificate T(eacher) requ’d.

Children’s book writer Jack Gantos noted that Jean-Paul Satre “started off reading comic books as a child and that if it wasn’t for comic books, he never would have stuck with books.” (“Teachers are getting graphic,” May 3).

There are many cases like this. One is Desmond Tutu, who also gives comic the credit being a conduit to literacy. He describes his father as “very patriarchal,” but tells us that “One of the things I am most grateful to him for is that, contrary to educational principles, he allowed me to read comics. I think that is how I developed my love for English and for reading.” Comic books appear to be a motivator for reading for many youngsters today.

In a study published a few years ago, Joanne Ujiie and I compared heavy, light and non-comic book readers in middle school (ages 10-14). We found that those who read more comics liked reading more, read more in general, and read more books. Thanks to USA Today and writer Greg Toppo for publicizing the contribution of comic books to literacy.

Stephen Krashen

He is writing in response to an article:Teachers are getting graphic published in USA Today. “When the American Library Association invited acclaimed comic book artist Jeff Smith and three fellow artists to its annual meeting in 2002, the quartet huddled beforehand and agreed that this was their best —— and perhaps only — chance to pitch comics to an influential group of tastemakers.”

So, how do you experts in Teaching value comic books and their art? Is it useful to kids reading or a waste of time?

Quite often students are studying English because they want to study abroad. EFL Teachers then find themselves in the position of trying to answer questions about which schools to apply to, what is a good way to credits for English instruction, what to study, where, etc.. Although this article is written from the point of view of the student themselves, an EFL teacher could certainly find the information contained in it quite useful for those often difficult questions!

Education Agent or Direct Enrolment? A Guide for Taiwanese Students wanting to Study Abroad – By Steve Sutherland.

Steve Sutherland has been an education agent in Taiwan for four years (World Class Education – www.worldclassed.com.tw ) and manages a ‘Study Abroad’ industry forum called www.agentschat.com for Education Agents from around the world.

Booking a course of study abroad is a big decision involving a lot of time and expense so you really want to make sure that you are making the right decisions.

One of the first decisions that you will have to make is whether to use the consulting services of an education agent or whether to enroll directly with a school yourself.

This article sets out some things to consider.

Am I able to enroll with the school directly?
If you have a school in mind you can look on their website and contact them to find out how to enroll. Some students don’t feel confident enough with their language ability to do this so prefer to have the assistance of a local who can speak their language.

You need to know that the registrar at the school is willing to take the time to give you information and answer your questions?

While some schools are happy to accept direct enrolments some are likely to direct you to an agent in your country to handle your enrolment anyway.

Price. Won’t an education consultant cost more?
These days with the internet giving students direct access to information on thousands of schools around the world it may seem that it would make sense to go ‘direct’ to the supplier (the school) and cut out the middleman (the agent) to ensure the best price.

Some schools now have information in a variety of languages on their websites and employ foreign language speaking staff and so booking directly with them would seem to be a good idea for students that are prepared to do their own research.

However just like in the travel industry (airlines and hotels) it is unlikely that you will end up saving much money by booking directly with the supplier (the school) and you may end up creating unnecessary stress for yourself.

Agents have contracts to represent schools and receive a commission from a school for enrolling a student with them. Most schools appreciate that a large percentage of their enrolments come through agents and they won’t do anything to jeopardize their reputation with education agents. The commission is set aside for education agents only and if any school were to start giving discounts for direct enrolments they would quickly have a bad name among agents.

One problem for schools is students talking among one another. If some students find out that they have paid more than others then resentment of school management is stirred up, instead of the positive environment that schools need to create to keep students happy.

So generally it is in the interests of the school that direct enrollments are priced the same as agency enrolments.

Most schools prefer that agents don’t offer students unauthorized discounts (sharing their commission with the student) however some agencies do this (such as my agency), sometimes giving some of their commission back to students in the form of refunds, discounts, free gifts or scholarships. So booking through some agents could be cheaper then booking direct.

It is likely that you will end up paying a similar amount in tuition fees if you enroll through an agent or if you enroll with the school directly. If seasonal discounts and promotions are offered to students booking directly then they are usually offered to agents as well.

If you have a school in mind it doesn’t hurt to make enquiries and to compare the price of both options. If the program price is similar if booked through an agency or direct through the school you may as well use the agent for the convenience and service that they offer. If the agent is charging excessive consulting fees then you may consider trying to book directly yourself.

Information
The big advantage of using an education agent in your own country is that you can meet with them face to face. You can get a much better understanding of the school and your intended course of study by having a meeting with an expert. Agents have usually had meetings with school representatives, have a lot of school information on file and may even have visited the schools that they represent. An agents business is consulting and they should spend a fair amount of time to give you information not only on the school but every other aspect of planning your trip as well.

Agents have information on many institutions, courses of study and countries around the world. An agent could save you countless hours of research time on the internet by suggesting options suited to your requirements.

If you have a school in mind and contact them directly then the registrar will probably be happy to advise you over the phone and via email but the communication may not be as clear as with a ‘face to face’ meeting with an agent.

It is becoming more common for students to seek information from an agent and then try to enroll themselves directly into the institution that the agent recommended. Some agents now charge a deposit before they will start the consulting process. Schools will often still honor the agents commission if they find out that a direct enrolment has come to their school as a result of an agent consulting that student.

Visas and travel arrangements
Education agents will usually apply for your student visa for you. They will also usually assist with other aspects of planning your trip such as booking flights and giving you useful information on traveling and your destination.

Schools are not able to give you much assistance with your visa application (apart from providing some of the necessary documents) and travel arrangements. It’s much easier for the agent to handle these things in your home country before departure.

Getting a student visa for some countries is quite simple and it would be easy to do your own application. However visa applications for some countries can be quite a difficult process and you really need the assistance and expertise that an agent can offer.

In Conclusion
Overall I would suggest that for most students using an Education Agency is a better option then booking direct for the convenience that agencies offer students at usually little or no extra cost.

If you do decide to use the services of an Education Agent then please read my other article – ‘Advice on Choosing an Education Agency – A Guide for Taiwanese Students wanting to Study Abroad’

Good luck planning your ‘Study Abroad’ experience!

Copyright – Steve Sutherland 2007.

Disclaimer: This blog received no money or other benefitss for posting this article.

I recently blogged about the situation in Japan. One of my friend’s wrote this piece in a private email. I persuaded her to let me post it here… I thought it was an interesting piece of writing on the situation in Japan from Michael J. Mullgrew who has been there for quite some time and has enjoyed a more than spectator’s view of the changing dynamics of Japan’s political and economic situation. In an email to me, he wrote:

It has been predicted that about 30% of Japanese universities will go to the wall in the next few years – and I can see the women’s university where I am employed as being one of them. I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news about what is happening to the conservatives in government here, but they are kind of a cliche for what is happening all over the country – a lot of corruption, fraud and just generally people getting caught with too many fingers in the pie – of course none of this is new – but the bottom line is that the public are slightly less than delighted with the governance of the neo-conservatives/fascists.

What we’re looking at is less than academically active departments in ‘bottom feeder mode’ to encourage enough students to apply – and as there is an ever declining student population, I don’t see that as a situation which can be turned around. What it means is departments being reinvented (but no new hiring), and an attempt to do circus performance tricks to entice the population. Naturally, the lack of real external evaluation in higher ed means the whole thing gets more and more wobbly, and the unemployment rate of graduates continues to rise (though the real figures are unknown because many graduates take part-time jobs ‘freeters’ until they find regular employment – then after a couple of years they are once again looking for a job). Not exactly convincing for the general public who fork out a great deal of money to put their children through higher education, only to have them ‘resting at home’ semi-permanently.

Statistics show that the Liberal Arts colleges are now accepting students with an average English language ability of those in junior high school here (one notch up on false beginners) – it has always been this way in Japan, but somehow it is more depressing when we understand the management side of things. And I’m kind of convinced that working in an environment where the contribution of foreign teachers is appreciated, rather than allocated the ‘ra-ra’ chorus for the main act would be a better option – especially for those committed to careers in EFL.

It’s anyone’s guess where the future is going, if dynamic young people insist on proportional representation in their workplace (and in the wider society) then we may see a brighter future than the one I envisage controlled as it is, at the moment, by ‘the Old Guard.” Mandatory retirement at 55 for all those professors not actively publishing (in print or on the web) or participating in academic conferences (enough already!) – and the administration of general university affairs can be done most effectively by the central university office staff.

Kenneth

PS. This post was edited to add the author’s name.

I was reading Scott Sommers’ Blog about Taiwan, when I noticed he referred to this discussion about Teaching in Japan.

Friday, July 1st, 2005

Plagiarism

Taipei Times Reports

Plagiarism issue plagues China’s top universities

AFP , BEIJING
Thursday, Mar 16, 2006,Page 1

Advertising Advertising
Plagiarism is rampant at Chinese universities as academics are pushed to publish or perish, with their schools often covering up for them, state media said yesterday.

A recent survey of 160 doctorate holders found 60 percent had copied the work of others and the same percentage had paid in order to be published in academic journals, the China Daily reported.

Naturally, this is a matter of concern for us all because it drags down the professions in TESOL in so many ways. Our colleagues are coming under the hammer for this, even though they may have done nothing wrong. How does one fight against plagiarism?

As a journal publisher, this is a matter of real concern since publishing an article subsequently accused of plagiarism is a real knock to the journal’s reputation.

How can we combat plagiarism? I guess the best way may be by education. We need to find out what constitutes plagiarism, how to spot it in writing (even if it’s our own writing), and how to solve it by rewriting, editing, or whatever.

Comments, please!
Kenneth

The owners of this website operate a number of other lists that
you might be interested in joining. They are listed below.

1. Pleiades Journal
This group discuss Young Learners of English (ESL or EFL or Second
Language) and is affiliated with Pleiades: the Journal of Teaching for
Young Learners of English. We welcome all teachers specializing in
this field.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PleiadesJournal/

2. Forums_TESOLTeachers and http://www.tesolteachers.org/forums/
This discussion group is for Teachers of English as a Foreign
Language, Literature and Arts. This group’s mission will be primarily
to provoke thoughtful discussion of teaching EFL/ESL and other
education-related issues; to make announcements of interest to the
group, such as calls for papers, conferences, new materials, links,
books of interest, etc,; and to provide a forum for our website
visitors to interact with us and each other on issues of relevance to
the profession.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Forums_TESOLTeachers/

and

TESOLTeachers at http://www.tesolteachers.org/

3. Kuixing
This is a Discussion Group for anybody interested in World
Literatures, especially Asian, Asian Diasporic and Indigenous
literatures written in or translated into English. As a Discussion
Group member you will:
1.) Receive regular news reports and special announcements.
2.) Discuss important issues, both personal and professional.
3.) Engage others in healthy debates about topics of your choosing.
4.) Share relevant experiences related to teaching, reading or
writing.
5.) Seekadvice from other members.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KuiXing/

Best Wishes
Administrators

I’m interested in self-publishing. I started my own Journal as I thought there was a gap in the market. See the signature for more information. I’m looking at distribution both in Taiwan and worldwide. I’d be interested in finding out why you write: “I’ve since licenced my books to Bookman in Taiwan, but am having some serious regrets now. “I’m still exploring options. I’m interested in publishing some of my own materials, too. I don’t know exactly much about that.
I do know that some of my worksheets would be of use to others. I doubt that I would want to publish them as a book though. I\’m looking at downloadables right now.

Follow up on the forums.

Kenneth

The Official letter from the last publishing committee states:

“Due to policy changes within the University, the funding that supported the Hwa Kang Journal of TEFL has now been suspended. The editorial team had offered to continue the Hwa Kang Journal of TEFL by finding alternative ways to fund the Journal. This offer unfortunately remains to be accepted. Given the impasse, it seems that the Journal is now at an end.
As Webmaster, and previous Editor, it remains for me to thank our writers, editors, reviewers and readers for allowing us to contine for so many years. We wish you all well.

These pages will remain for the time being until a decision is reached on how to handle these files. The URL has reverted to its owner since outstanding payment was not forthcoming for the URL or for hosting from then. The pages are currently paid for by the publishers of PanopticonAsia Press.

The Hwa Kang Journal Pages will be removed at the end of 2007.

Former Editor, Hwa Kang Journal of TEFL.