Unreasonable pressure from my tutor at college. Help please!

Fly_Baby

Zazen999 wrote: »

Lol. And once again; trying to explain to me how to eat!

I am well aware of how to use a knife and fork. I am and was more than capable of using both together and apart.

I neither couldn't do it nor refused to do it. I had no prior communication about this topic in question until I found myself with a dinner lady [poor lass] stood behind me shouting in my ear how stupid I was for not understanding how to eat. Never was it explained that the whole school objected to me cutting the food and then putting my knife down and eating it with my fork.

If you perhaps type louder and slower - perhaps I'll understand eh?

Oh no, I won't bother anymore.

SueC_2

Zazen999 wrote: »

I totally agree. So lets cut the OP some slack. I think her English is better than most on here and understood what she was saying more than some.

Obviously I can't speak on behalf of other posters, but I really didn't get the impression that anyone was saying that her English was 'bad', and many posters have acknowledged that there is lot worse spoken by people who have it as their native tongue.

The point was more that, if she is training for a career which involves the education of children in English schools, then it does need to be slightly more fluent, and that could have been part of the reason for her failure to meet the expectations of her tutor and assessor.

ceridwen

Peeps in....sees Zazen is still in "got out of bed the wrong side" mode....

....tiptoes back out again..wondering whether to explain another English phrase, ie "Cool it:cool:"......

skintdragon

Fly_Baby wrote: »

OK, I do think we are going overboard with this, but it IS a different skill. And it is not an English skill at all - it's quite international, being able to EAT using two pieces of cutlery.

When you used the fork and knife simultaneously to cut the food your working tool - knife - was in your right hand, so it was easy to do. When you started eating, your working tool - fork - was again in your right hand.

The skill of using the knife and the fork at the same time when eating is about confidently operating the fork in your left hand to bring the food to your mouth, while using the knife in your right hand to chop it.

You couldn't do it or didn't want to try to do it - and that's what all the fuss was about.

FYI, just wanted to put a (further) slant on things!

Please don't assume that the use of a knife and fork is second nature throughout the world. Certainly in some parts of Asia, we use the fork and spoon, or even our hands. I only use a fork when at home; that's just my weird habit! I have never used a knife and fork at home (when with my folks) in my life. Here, or in polite company, I do, of course.

It may be weird to some of you, but it's just one of those cultural things I guess!

Digressing... oops.

Zazen999

ceridwen wrote: »

Peeps in....sees Zazen is still in "got out of bed the wrong side" mode....

....tiptoes back out again..wondering whether to explain another English phrase, ie "Cool it:cool:"......

Oh - you were referring to me!

I thought you were referring to yourself yesterday.

I am afraid I don't find Xenophobia as hilarious as yourself....being on the receiving end of it so many times.

skintdragon

sw-nw wrote: »

I am doing placement as the part of course for early learning at college, finish this summer.

My tutor had bad feedback from my supervisor at placement. I don't think they are true but my tutor never listened to me. Firstly she told me I couldn't find a job. But I said it's fine and I would do my best. Then she said I she wouldn't give me certificate and asked me to meet her again.

I am normal student and have been studying really really hard. I never caused any problem at college and placement. I have two children. I am getting old. I don't have another 12 month to study like these.

It's too much for me, lots of pressure, couldn't sleep well, always wonder why, why I have been treating like these.

Help please, what can I do now?

Dear Original Poster (OP),

Please try and find out exactly what your tutor requires from you, preferably in writing, in order for you to understand what your weaknesses may be in your studies. This is very important, because without them telling you exactly what needs improving, you will have no idea what you need to focus/ improve on.

I also think it would be beneficial if you got in touch with an overseas student advisor or advocate at your institution. Do you know if these facilities exist at your college/ university for overseas students? I don't know if this is worth mentioning, but I think when/ if you have a meeting with this tutor who has been saying these things to you (about not awarding you with the certificate etc), you should ideally have someone there with you, like an advisor like I just mentioned, in order to give you a better idea of your current position, and decide how to tackle this issue. Good luck, and keep us posted.

skintdragon

SueC wrote: »

Obviously I can't speak on behalf of other posters, but I really didn't get the impression that anyone was saying that her English was 'bad', and many posters have acknowledged that there is lot worse spoken by people who have it as their native tongue.

The point was more that, if she is training for a career which involves the education of children in English schools, then it does need to be slightly more fluent, and that could have been part of the reason for her failure to meet the expectations of her tutor and assessor.

Yes I agree. It's a tricky one.

But by the same token, the tutor(s) surely would have an indication of the lack of fluency (IF this is the case) much earlier on in the course, and not towards the end of it. That just seems grossly "negligent" (perhaps too strong a word) of the tutors to not address this issue sooner.

flossy_splodge

skintdragon wrote: »

Yes I agree. It's a tricky one.

But by the same token, the tutor(s) surely would have an indication of the lack of fluency (IF this is the case) much earlier on in the course, and not towards the end of it. That just seems grossly "negligent" (perhaps too strong a word) of the tutors to not address this issue sooner.

I agree.

As I posted earlier, there are, unfortunately a number of people who should not be in teaching, at ANY level.
I think we all wish the OP well and hope that there may have been some small gems in amongst the debris that will shine a light for the future?:rotfl:

SueC_2

Zazen999 wrote: »

I am afraid I don't find Xenophobia as hilarious as yourself....being on the receiving end of it so many times.

I have just re-read this entire thread, from beginning to end, and am genuinely confused. I can honestly say that the only comments I can interpret as being in anyway whatsoever xenophobic are yours - about the English.

Other than those, could you please point me in the direction of any posts that you feel demonstrate some kind of dislike or distrust of foreigners, as clearly I am missing something.

Savvy_Sue

I have struggled to understand what the OP's problem is, but that may be because she doesn't know what the problem is herself. That could be as much because the tutor has not communicated clearly as because the OP has not understood what has been said.

I once had to supervise and train someone on a training placement at work who was very slow to pick up new tasks, and seemed unable to retain information from one training session to the next. Every day we had to go through the same instructions, and watch carefully what was done, but it just didn't seem to sink in. I wondered if it was me, if I wasn't explaining things properly, so I had other colleagues sit in on my sessions to check my methods, and I asked other colleagues to do some training to see if their methods worked better.

I'm sure this person thought they were working very hard. They certainly objected to the fact that I said their work was too slow, and that this would need to improve. They couldn't seem to understand that in that office, you were generally shown a job, shown how to do it, allowed to do it while you were supervised, and then within a week you were expected to be able to do that job without someone looking over your shoulder all the time. These were not difficult tasks!

Sadly, I don't think this person every accepted what we were saying, and they didn't last long. We involved the training provider, another manager took over the supervision, we tried other methods. I'm sure this person left feeling quite aggrieved at our decision, and unable to understand what we were saying. But we could not keep them on when they were not able to do the job.

I don't know if the same is true for the OP, I don't know if the supervisor isn't communicating well, but I do know that just working hard and feeling that you OUGHT to be able to complete the course successfully isn't enough. If you're being told that you are not going to pass, then ask what the procedures are for appealing, and for re-taking exams or placements. Ask whoever supervised your school placement what the problems were - I especially didn't understand what went on there - and what you could do to improve your performance. And then work on those areas, whether you think they are fair comments or not.