The College of Micronesia - FSM is the national college for the new nation of the Federated States of Micronesia. COM-FSM is based on the island of Pohnpei in the mid-pacific, but has campuses on the islands Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap. The COM-FSM system spans about a thousand miles of mostly ocean, dotted with hundreds of small islands. The islands of the FSM represent many Micronesian languages and cultures which all come together at the college's national campus. The college has developed from a small teacher training school in 1963 to a US accredited two-year college with degrees in Education, Liberal Arts, and Computer Information Science, among others. Micronesia offers an off-the-beaten-track and laid back experience for ESL professionals.

E.mail: jgourlay@comfsm.fm
Website: http://www.comfsm.fm

moderator (ID=154) (May 25, 2000 7:58:05 PM)
Welcome to Jonathan Gourlay from College of Micronesia

Neal (ID=160) (May 25, 2000 7:59:04 PM)
Could you please provide me with the salary range for these teaching positions in Micronesia?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:00:15 PM)
JB- Go to http://www.comfsm.fm , also the TEFL site

Jason (ID=168) (May 25, 2000 8:29:48 PM)
Just one question. Are there any opportunities in Micronesia for teachers with ESL certification, significant experience, but no master's degree? Thanks.

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:33:11 PM)
Is housing provided (or relocation expense)?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:35:53 PM)
Anyway, yes there are some opportunities for those without masters

moderator (ID=154) (May 25, 2000 8:36:03 PM)
Anyway, yes there are some opportunities for those without masters

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:36:04 PM)
Not at College of Micronesia however.

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:36:23 PM)
There are high schools that pay very little that need teachers

sugarplum (ID=166) (May 25, 2000 8:36:45 PM)
How reliable are the internet connections in Micronesia?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:36:49 PM)
there are sometimes opportunities if you happen to be on-island

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:37:12 PM)
especially for part-time teaching

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:37:35 PM)
sugarplum: the connection is reliable, but the electricity often is not

sugarplum (ID=166) (May 25, 2000 8:38:01 PM)
Whatis the biggest reward to you teaching in Micronesia?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:38:02 PM)
Internet connections cost 19.95 a month, plus an hourly rate after five hours

moderator (ID=154) (May 25, 2000 8:38:06 PM)
Whatis the biggest reward to you teaching in Micronesia?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:38:49 PM)
sugarplum-- I'm glad you asked

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:39:02 PM)
because it's hard to answer

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:39:19 PM)
but I am forming an answer as I type..

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:39:42 PM)
The students are creative and interesting - their backgrounds are fascinating

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:39:58 PM)
the culture is rich and it rains and I like rain

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:40:21 PM)
plus -- most especially we are building the national college of a new nation

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:40:45 PM)
and bringing people together from so many island cultures to build a "dream"

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:40:51 PM)
is truly rewarding

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:41:28 PM)
What is the average reading level of the COM students?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:41:52 PM)
almost all of our students are the first of their family to attend college

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:42:15 PM)
the average reading level, TOEFL-wise is between 450-500

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:42:39 PM)
but the culture here is an oral one and there is no tradition of reading for pleasure or academics

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:43:44 PM)
plus, our textbooks are often culturally specific, as we are a US accredited college and that can be difficult especially for those students who have not been out of the islands

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:44:31 PM)
our students who have gone on to the U of hawaii have told us that they needed more preparation for the amount of reading they are expected to do

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:44:40 PM)
so it's something we are trying to strenghten

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:44:43 PM)
If the NNS want to learn English...will they use it in their native country? Are they planning to leave Micronesia and work elsewhere? I teach some Micronesian students here in Hawaii (admittedly with very low skill levels) and many do not have much motivation to learn English. Or perhaps it's a lack of study skills and/or intrinsic motivatin.

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:45:34 PM)
English is the lingua franca of business and politics in micronesia b/c there are so many language groups

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:45:53 PM)
most use some english

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:46:30 PM)
Micronesian students have some particular needs that can be frustrating

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:46:46 PM)
I say this b/c I have talked with educators in HI who are frustrated

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:47:14 PM)
Amen.

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:47:36 PM)
and often we are - basically it boils down to a type of shyness and an unfamiliarity with the basic "mode" of learning in academia

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:47:58 PM)
So we have tried group work and learning centered classroom type stuff with some success

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:48:17 PM)
and yet there are some students who I may have known for a year and never actually heard them speak english

sugarplum (ID=166) (May 25, 2000 8:48:50 PM)
Do you use computer technology to teach?

kerry (ID=171) (May 25, 2000 8:49:00 PM)
What qualifications make for a successful experience teaching in Micronesia?

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:49:08 PM)
I'm really glad to hear that this is not only in the classroom here but also in the native country setting.

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:49:37 PM)
sp - the campus is wired and networked 24/7 and yes we make extensive use of our computer labs

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:50:07 PM)
we have an english lab with 20+ computer stations, plus the students are creating web-sites and using e-mail quite a bit with composition classes

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:50:35 PM)
kerry- qualifications include patience and a masters degree, in that order

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:51:23 PM)
guffey-yes, we need to work more closely with schools in HI and guam to find successful strategies to help our students

kerry (ID=171) (May 25, 2000 8:51:40 PM)
Ahhh :>) well, I only have the first .. :>)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:51:45 PM)
kerry, actually, I shouldn't be so flippant

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:52:14 PM)
generally we hire ESL instructors with masters degrees and some experience

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:52:42 PM)
however, we are a large campus (over a thousand miles separates the campuses) and there are opportunities at our state campuses

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:53:03 PM)
kerry - the first (in my humble opinion) is the absolute, essential one with this population

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:53:08 PM)
Plus, palau, guam, and the mariana islands are also places in micronesia to look for jobs

kerry (ID=171) (May 25, 2000 8:53:55 PM)
... I have 10 years of post secondary education and have taught in a variety of settings ... yet don't have that magic paper ...

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:53:58 PM)
But we don't have a market like in asian countries and elsewhere

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:54:23 PM)
b/c we're very small (micro)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:55:29 PM)
we have four IEPs (at our state campuses) who are looking for teachers

Jason (ID=168) (May 25, 2000 8:55:30 PM)
Are other subjects taught through English?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:56:02 PM)
All subjects are taught with English (save our Japanese class)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:56:13 PM)
So we have openings for teachers in other areas too

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:56:25 PM)
such as business, computer science, education, and social science

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:56:31 PM)
Do you have heterogeneous "language arts" classes at COM or .... in the U Hawaii setting where I'm teaching we have mixed groups....native speakers (very limited ability often) and non-native speakers although we try to group them by ability (based on an arbitrary pre-placement reading comprehension test.)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:57:14 PM)
Well, except for a couple of students, all of our students are micronesian

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:57:49 PM)
they are heterogeneous in the sense that they come from many different cultures and language backgrounds (I counted 10 in one class)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:58:19 PM)
but they are all micronesian, which can seem like a bit of an arbitrary lable - like American or European

Jason (ID=168) (May 25, 2000 8:58:44 PM)
Is there much opportunity to socialize with students

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 8:58:46 PM)
What is the language of instruction in the K-12 setting?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:59:09 PM)
There is tremendous opportunity to be a part of student life

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 8:59:47 PM)
more so than in the states, but in my opinion less "personal" than in places like China (socializing that is)

Jason (ID=168) (May 25, 2000 9:00:26 PM)
Any cultural taboos for foreign teachers?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:00:30 PM)
We are a new college -- we have been in our present incarnation since 1996 -- and we still need to develop a lot of our student life, such as clubs and newspapers

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:01:18 PM)
Language of instruction varies by island and teacher - generally K-12 is taught in the vernacular

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:01:50 PM)
our K-12 teachers often don't even have a two-year degree (but that is another story...)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:02:15 PM)
Taboos? well yelling doesn't get you anywhere

Steve (ID=172) (May 25, 2000 9:02:47 PM)
What are the top two "pluses" teachers cite when "re-upping" and what are the top two "negatives" they cite when leaving?

Seattle Bill (ID=173) (May 25, 2000 9:02:50 PM)
(This user has entered TEFL.com Q&A)

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:02:56 PM)
the students will often not respond to questions if asked directly, which causes some anger with teachers -- but anger is not often expressed outright here

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:03:31 PM)
some topics of a sexual nature (although they are appropriate) are not advisable if there are male/female relatives in your class

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:03:51 PM)
but that's just an example

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:04:03 PM)
that others might not agree with

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:04:52 PM)
plusses -- it's a beautiful place

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:04:54 PM)
to live

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:05:04 PM)
the students are endlessly interesting

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:05:28 PM)
and you ge the chance to be really involved in the workings of the college, if you want

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:05:35 PM)
negatives -- the pay isn't great

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:05:41 PM)
it's expensive to leave

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:05:56 PM)
we don't have access to a lot of amenities that a city would have

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:06:34 PM)
there is little opportunity to -advance- to something different

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:06:51 PM)
that is, there are few working opportunities here for teachers besides our college

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:07:14 PM)
also, it rains just about every day (which I consider a plus) :)\

Jason (ID=168) (May 25, 2000 9:07:16 PM)
How long do teachers nornmally stay?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:07:59 PM)
Jason, teachers generally stay for the length of the first contract (three years)

Jason (ID=168) (May 25, 2000 9:08:02 PM)
You should try Asturias, Spain for rain!!

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:08:24 PM)
during that time we try and take them for all they're worth, b/c we need their expertise!

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:08:47 PM)
Some have gotten off of the plane and turned around while others are "lifers

sugarplum (ID=166) (May 25, 2000 9:09:34 PM)
I would like to visit your students' website. What is the address?

moderator (ID=154) (May 25, 2000 9:09:40 PM)
I would like to visit your students' website. What is the address?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:09:41 PM)
we are not an island like hawaii, with beaches and drinks with umbrellas

Seattle Bill (ID=173) (May 25, 2000 9:09:47 PM)
Oh, Oh , I think you just lost me! If I want rain, i'll stay in Seattle!! :} But maybe is warm rain? I hope!

sugarplum (ID=166) (May 25, 2000 9:10:08 PM)
How long have you been there?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:10:17 PM)
go to http://www.smallislandreview.com and our college site, http://www.comfsm.fm

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:10:25 PM)
yes, a warm rain

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:10:48 PM)
I've been here three years and have signed a contract to 2003

sugarplum (ID=166) (May 25, 2000 9:11:13 PM)
Do you miss your family?

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:11:19 PM)
we are on a contract system

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:11:42 PM)
I mostly miss my sister

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:11:56 PM)
but my family has been to visit

Guffey (ID=169) (May 25, 2000 9:11:56 PM)
Thanks, Jonathan. Your answers gave me some insight into the students in my classes. Frustration level may be lower knowing about the K-12 education...and that students don't talk "at home" either. Aloha.

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:12:06 PM)
and I have a family here

Seattle Bill (ID=173) (May 25, 2000 9:12:18 PM)
Tnx for being on--i had a friend who did 2 yrs there w/ Peace Corps. on an outer island as a math teacher. seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe I'll check it our when my daughter graduates. I have 6 yrs. + teaching adult and kids ESL here is seattle.

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:12:45 PM)
Good, thnx seattle

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:15:16 PM)
thanks for your questions everybody -- email COM-FSM at national@comfsm.fm

Jonathan Gourlay (guest) (ID=161) (May 25, 2000 9:15:23 PM)
or me at jgourlay@comfsm.fm

moderator (ID=154) (May 25, 2000 9:15:50 PM)
OK folks many thanks to you all for participating and thanks especially to Jonathan

Seattle Bill (ID=173) (May 25, 2000 9:15:54 PM)
Thanks to TEFL.com that is doing a great service for us, and tnx Johanthan again.

moderator (ID=154) (May 25, 2000 9:16:05 PM)
Next week we are in Ecuador... join us!!

Please note that for clarity, this transcript has been sequenced and edited.