Teacher David????

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Davidrock65  #279047  Wed, 11 Oct 06 11:34 AM

I teach kids English in Taiwan, and I ask my students not to call me Teacher David, which sounds very Chinglish and grammatically incorrect to me.  A Lot of Chinese teachers say that, too.  I would like to ask all the teachers if you would correct them if someone calls you teacher + your name. 

Your advice is appreciated!

  
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milky  #279066  Wed, 11 Oct 06 12:16 PM

If you were in a monastery, would you object to being called Brother David?  Wink [;)]

  
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MrPedantic  #279339  Thu, 12 Oct 06 12:31 AM
 Davidrock65 wrote:

I teach kids English in Taiwan, and I ask my students not to call me Teacher David, which sounds very Chinglish and grammatically incorrect to me.  A Lot of Chinese teachers say that, too.  I would like to ask all the teachers if you would correct them if someone calls you teacher + your name. 

Your advice is appreciated!

Some occupations can be used as salutations in conjunction with a forename or surname, e.g.

1. Queen Elizabeth

2. Dr Fell

3. Professor Moriarty

4. Ranks in the armed forces, e.g. Captain Bligh, Field Marshal Montgomery

5. Other services, e.g. Officer Dibble

But "teacher" is not among them!

MrP

  
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Marius Hancu  #279345  Thu, 12 Oct 06 01:12 AM
 MrPedantic wrote:

Some occupations can be used as salutations in conjunction with a forename or surname, e.g.

1. Queen Elizabeth

2. Dr Fell

3. Professor Moriarty

4. Ranks in the armed forces, e.g. Captain Bligh, Field Marshal Montgomery

5. Other services, e.g. Officer Dibble

<>But "teacher" is not among them!

I like how you start, but I think you'd address the Queen with "Your Majesty," isn't it? Smile [:)]

How about
6. Headmaster Jones (in a high school)?
  
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FRANKLY SPEAKING  #279349  Thu, 12 Oct 06 01:29 AM

According to what MrPedantic said , it is not grammatically correct to say : Teacher david .

So is it enough to say "teacher" without name him\her ?

Thanks in advance .

  
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MrPedantic  #279351  Thu, 12 Oct 06 01:33 AM

Now you mention it, it would seem a little odd to say "how are you, Queen Elizabeth?" So maybe she should be struck from the list.


How about
6. Headmaster Jones (in a high school)?

Here in the UK, you could address a headmaster simply as "headmaster"; but I don't think many people would say "Headmaster Jones".

It may be different in other dialects, though!

MrP

  
CalifJim  #279355  Thu, 12 Oct 06 02:10 AM
Just tell them what to call you.  "Please call me Mr. ...", or "Please call me David", or "Please call me Professor ...", or ...

Correct them!  It's your job!

CJ

  
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Grammar Geek  #279365  Thu, 12 Oct 06 02:59 AM
 MrPedantic wrote:

Now you mention it, it would seem a little odd to say "how are you, Queen Elizabeth?" So maybe she should be struck from the list.

Mr. P., I'm crushed. I thought that in the circles you ran in, you'd say "How's it going, Lizzie?" I guess you've got clay feet after all. Wink [;)]

  
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Barbara, who answers in American English.
Clive  #279428  Thu, 12 Oct 06 06:31 AM

Hi,

With regard to 'Good morning, Teacher David', there are some cultural issues involved here.

First, let me say that I teach adult immigrants, so the additional problems of handling children in this respect are not part of my experience.

I believe that, in China and possibly in some other countries, all sorts of titles are commonly and widely used, eg a worker might say 'Good morning, Engineer Smith'. This is not the norm in N. American culture.

In addition, students often come from cultures in which the teacher is held in very great esteem. Thus, titles are often used as a strong mark of respect. They are often uncomfortable if asked not to do this.

I like to have an informal classroom, where everyone is on a first-name basis with me and with each other. However, I have come to see that it is tricky to ask, for example, middle-aged Koreans to suddenly be on an informal first-name basis with each other when this is counter to their native traditions. They often operate on one level with me and with each other when the 'classroom spotlight' is on them, but in quite another and more formal manner when the spotlight is not on them. After quite a few years, I haven't quite figured out how to handle this matter yet.

Best wishes, Clive

  
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