Teachers Discussion Forum

survey -- Zineb -- 8 February 2010

Hello , I hope that everybody is fine.I am a teacher of English .I have designed a survey and I need your help to get the answers.Could you please read it and provide with the answers as soon as ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- bosslove72 -- 8 February 2010

This school is a sad pathetic place. I was NOT terminated, I asked for the contract to be canceled. I keep hearing I was terminated or left before I was fired, these people must certainly know the ...

A Dyslexia Teacher. -- David Ash -- 8 February 2010

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself as a difficulty with reading, spelling and in some cases mathematics. There is no cure for dyslexia, but dyslexic individuals can learn to read ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 7 February 2010

Who are "Mr and Mrs Hans Fischer" anyway? They come here in defence of a school that is known to have a high turnover rate of teachers and to provide crappy housing. I also would strongly question ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Ybrunson -- 6 February 2010

Concerning your post and email that you sent me. Dr, if you and your wife taught English at the school, I find that hard to believe as your English grammar is not up to par to teach any child or ...

Re: Anyone give information about IGiT group in Saudi Arabia -- wiliam -- 6 February 2010

I recently left Saudi Arabia due to my terrible experience at IGIT. IGIT are an incredibly dishonest company who will promise you anything to trick you into accepting their offer. However, when you ...

Re: Anyone give information about IGiT group in Saudi Arabia -- Turnoi -- 6 February 2010

This absolutely disgusting company run by a bunch of rotten liars and crooks needs to be out of business soon. To hell with them, what are they good for, these useless liars?!

Canadian University offends Chinese government -- englishgibson -- 5 February 2010

Throughout my experience on mainland, I have always thought that local authorities, employers, and managers were irrational when challenged. Further more, I have seen some really vindictive ...

Re: Canadian University offends Chinese government -- Turnoi -- 5 February 2010

Whow.... that's politics and does not have anything to do with the value of a degree conferred. Recently, I have conferred a Honorary Doctor degree on one of my crocodiles for eating up another ...

Re: Canadian University offends Chinese government -- englishgibson -- 5 February 2010

Politics may and do affect varieties of business fields which happens to be education in this case. There are hundreds of Chinese students in that particular uni and some might have come out of our ...

ESL standards -- Rob -- 4 February 2010

Hello. I find that it's difficult for students to adjust to the English langauge when they have many teachers from many different backgrounds teaching their own versions of "English". I propose ...

Re: ESL standards - Canadian Halloween???? -- Turnoi -- 5 February 2010

I feel by making Canada and it's citizens the teachers of English we would see much better standards in students, and more respect for the industry. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! Canada as the saviour of ...

Re: ESL standards -- englishgibson -- 4 February 2010

Rob, have you posted the topic under some kind of an influence? Are you from Quebec? You realize you're taking a shot at quite a lot of teachers and even educational institutions around the ...

Re: ESL standards -- ANET -- 5 February 2010

What do you mean by "Are You From Quebec?" I would think very few people in Quebec would care much about the type of English taught anywhere in the world.

Re: ESL standards -- Turnoi -- 6 February 2010

Quebec belongs to the French-speaking part of Canada, and perhaps the poster wants to separate from the English-speaking part of Canada as some movements obviously in this province want. Yes, people ...

Re: ESL standards - why Canadian English is superior!---LOL -- Turnoi -- 5 February 2010

I do not know Great Canada as I had never been there. So, I depend on written sources, and one of the interesting things about the is Canadian English accent I have found is in a not so-well know ...

Re: ESL standards - why Canadian English is superior!---LOL -- englishgibson -- 6 February 2010

turnoi, do you see a necessity to attack a nation of many teachers working around the world? we both know, and i believe many others too, that the OP is a joke. cheers and beers to our OP wherever ...

Re: ESL standards - why Canadian English is superior!---LOL -- Turnoi -- 6 February 2010

No, I do not see a need to attack a great nation. But I do see a need to make a joke, and I am sure my input will be taken as such. Cheers and beers to Canadian grizzlies, wolves, karibus and all ...

Re: ESL standards - why Canadian English is superior!---LOL -- Migrant Worker -- 6 February 2010

Well, obviously this is a joke or he was high on something. As a Canadian myself, this is obviously a foolish jest as all the world doesn't speak one variation of English, so why should students ...

Re: ESL standards - why Canadian English is superior!---LOL -- Turnoi -- 7 February 2010

Well, obviously this is a joke or he was high on something. High on what? -Perhaps "high on the mountains covered by a certain kind of grass"?...lol By the way, you really should check out Canada... ...

Need tips on teaching 15 year old Arab boys -- Richard Hauck -- 4 February 2010

I have to teach a group of 15 boys, who are approxiamtely 15 years of age. They are Gulf Arab boys, Emiratis. I don't know the group yet, but Emirati boys are a bit restless, and occasionally, ...

Re: Need tips on teaching 15 year old Arab boys -- Turnoi -- 5 February 2010

I am a bit puzzled: have you worked in the Emirates before so that you can make an assessment of discipline regarding these students at this age group? Or are you actually teaching them already? ...

Re: Need tips on teaching 15 year old Arab boys -- englishgibson -- 7 February 2010

Turnoi is puzzled, although his fingers strike faster than his croc thinks. OP's got it all well written and this in fact is the problem in many nations around the world as many 15 year olds are ...

Re: Need tips on teaching 15 year old Arab boys -- Turnoi -- 8 February 2010

EG, you may agree or disagree - either opinion in this matter will be only proven by practice whether it is right or not. In principle, I do agree with the following point you make: "My tip is to use ...

Melamine Scare in Guangzhou -- englishgibson -- 3 February 2010

Yesterday, I have followed Hong Kong news where they've mentioned that too much melamine has yet again been found in foods made in Guangzhou. Even the beef apparently may be contaminated as ...

how to answer negative questions -- ayanne -- 4 February 2010

how will i answer this question : "don't you eat?" and "is nobody here intelligent?" please help. thanks much!

Re: how to answer negative questions -- Turnoi -- 4 February 2010

"don't you eat?" and "is nobody here intelligent?" Both questions are "No"/"Yes" questions, according to whether a negative or affirmative answer may apply. 1. Dont' you eat? A: No, I ...

Horizon Recruitment, China -- Tom -- 3 February 2010

Hey, Fairly new company I know, and this may well have been dealt with before - but are they a trustworthy group? Certainly their adverts and come-ons look far too good to be true, with endless jobs, ...

Re: Horizon Recruitment, China -- Edward Teach -- 3 February 2010

I got my job through Horizon and have had no problems with them whatsoever. I think you are more likely to have trouble with the company you are employed by than the agency itself. Horizon supplied ...

Teach in Thailand, no degree? -- Asia lover! -- 3 February 2010

Hi, can anyone tell me how I can teach English in Bangkok without having a degree? I have worked in China for years and it is easier to get work here without a degree , but I have heard Thailand is a ...

Re: Teach in Thailand, no degree? -- BW -- 3 February 2010

Sorry, can't answer your question, but you mention that you have been finding it easy to teach without a degree in China? Can you elaborate on that? I haven't seen it at all. Thanks and good ...

Re: Teach in Thailand, no degree? -- Edward Teach -- 3 February 2010

Its a lot harder for anybody to find work in Bangkok right now, the job market has taken a real kicking just lately. hopefully it will pick up soon. Not having a degree will put you at some ...

china: convert L to Z visa -- kurtg44 -- 3 February 2010

Am heading to Chengdu, China on a one-way ticket, with a tourist visa to find work in a university that will convert to a Z visa. Will I have problems entering the country on a one-way ticket? Do I ...

Do you know this school-Colorful Sunshine Kaifeng???? -- Nathan Dale -- 2 February 2010

Ive recently been offered a job in Kaifeng in China, which to me seems ok but i cant find anything about it online. The school is called colorful sunshine english education centre. However i have ...

Re: Do you know this school-Colorful Sunshine Kaifeng???? -- Migrant Worker -- 6 February 2010

Colorful... hmmm? I am sure you will have a colorful experience... most likely in darker shades. =( I would stay away.

Re: Do you know this school-Colorful Sunshine Kaifeng???? -- CSUWS -- 3 February 2010

The first thing you need to do is find out whether an L-visa can be converted to a Z-visa in Henan province. Some provinces can do this, some can't. I know that for instance in Hubei province it ...

Re: Do you know this school-Colorful Sunshine Kaifeng???? -- Turnoi -- 2 February 2010

Be careful and check the province where they are. There are provinces where this still may be possible; there are others where it is not. Another question you should ask whether this is a recognised ...

Gateway English Wuhan, avoid bigtime -- Concerned in Wuhan -- 2 February 2010

Hi all, I wanted to know if anyone here has ever heard of a school called Gateway English in Wuhan? Upon answering an advertisement for this school I talked to some fellow by the name of Guy Dekker, ...

Re: Gateway English Wuhan, avoid bigtime -- Turnoi -- 2 February 2010

I fully understand that you smell a rat...... First, whether a school is run by a native Chinese or a foreigner, the law is always the same: you can only work legally in China with a working visa (z ...

Re: Gateway English Wuhan, avoid bigtime -- Concerned in Wuhan -- 3 February 2010

Turnoi you clearly failed to read what I wrote. I said that, since he was 27, how could this Guy Dekker be claiming 6 years experience teaching here, and then another 8 years in Australia? He's ...

Re: Gateway English Wuhan, avoid bigtime -- lovely lemming -- 5 February 2010

Guy Dekker and his friends are a bunch of losers who have been in Wuhan for a few years. They post regularly on the inane Wuhan Time website. You are right Concerned in Wuhan, keep away from Dekker ...

Re: Gateway English Wuhan, avoid bigtime -- Turnoi -- 6 February 2010

Am I right in suggesting that they are a fake volunteer organisation?

Re: Gateway English Wuhan, avoid bigtime -- Turnoi -- 4 February 2010

Turnoi you clearly failed to read what I wrote. I said that, since he was 27, how could this Guy Dekker be claiming 6 years experience teaching here, and then another 8 years in Australia? I think I ...

Some interesting things about (African) Bantu Languages -- Turnoi -- 1 February 2010

Bantu languages are widely spread over the western, central, eastern, and southern part of Africa. All of these languages show a number of linguistic properties that are similar in grammar and basic ...

Re: Black List IN KOREA YES English Academy, Ulsan, South Korea -- EFL Teacher -- 1 February 2010

In response to the article posted below. Out of interest, i typed in YES English Academy, Ulsan on a search engine. I would also like to add that the school were awful to a couple i knew who worked ...

Chinese Character symbols for decorative purposes -- Turnoi -- 31 January 2010

Chinese characters, for no doubt, are fascinating from a mere visual point of view and have their own esthetic merits. Even for someone who has no knowledge of the structural principles of the ...

Re: Chinese Character symbols for decorative purposes -- englishgibson -- 31 January 2010

thanks. i am not only gonna use this for my new home decorating but also for my little son's learning purpose. chinese character symbols are amazing, aren't they? i think they show how ...

Re: Chinese Character symbols for decorative purposes -- Turnoi -- 31 January 2010

Yes indeed, EG, Chinese characters are fascinating and convey a lot of culture-bound imagination, world views, and associated meanings. The oldest monolingual Chinese "etymological" dictionary on ...

Re: Chinese Character symbols for decorative purposes 2 -- Turnoi -- 1 February 2010

Here are some more Chinese characters. In addition to notes on pronunciation, meaning, style of writing, I have also added practical demonstrations on how to write these Chinese characters in terms ...

Re: Chinese Character symbols for decorative purposes 2 -- englishgibson -- 3 February 2010

the characters are really amazing. i'll sure use that for my little son's learning. one thing that i's wonderin about is the differences between the characters of the modern mainland and ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 29 January 2010

Well, the foreign teachers were bad and unacceptable and the school was always fine and right? Is it that what you want to tell us? Well, I would guess that the accomodation your school was offering ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Silverboy -- 27 January 2010

An absolute crap school by the sound of it. You shot yourself in the foot with that post. Here is the proof: "Finally, there were numerous student complaints about his teaching". So the students ...

New to all of this -- Syzygus -- 26 January 2010

Hello everyone, I am not currently a teacher. I am an IT analyst with a medium size company in The States with a mortgage and a 401K, living the American dream. However, I am feeling the need to do ...

Re: New to all of this -- tatsuospirit -- 29 January 2010

The first thing you need to do is complete some teaching experience. Learn what works best for you and your style of teaching. Granted, this does not exist for you at this time. Perhaps you will have ...

Re: New to all of this -- Turnoi -- 27 January 2010

However, my question is, is it worth it? Is teaching overseas, for less money, less security, less Western comforts, etc, etc... really worth it? The answer is. Yes, it is worth the effort despite ...

Re: New to all of this -- englishgibson -- 27 January 2010

If it is worth it depends on what you're looking for in a sense of, both private and professional life. In my view, either way, you'd be better in some EU nations and some former Soviet Block ...

"The first thing..." -> Weird Grammar Structure -- Mike K. -- 25 January 2010

Hi, everyone! I have recently been banging my head on the following sentence: The first thing I must do when I get home is study English. Now, this is one of those cases when I *know* that it is ...

Re: "The first thing..." -> Weird Grammar Structure -- SEP -- 26 January 2010

The first thing I must do when I get home is study English. What is needed in this sentence is the particle "to" before the verb "study". That will give us the infinitive "to study". We learned in ...

Re: "The first thing..." -> Weird Grammar Structure -- Turnoi -- 27 January 2010

Your reply is another way to look at this sentence structure and is quite adequate by concluding more or less the same. Your approach, however, is more in terms of traditional grammar which as such ...

Re: "The first thing..." -> Weird Grammar Structure -- SEP -- 28 January 2010

Grammar is a set of norms, things which actually exist. Yes, one may question norms in colorful discoursese until one's bellybutton collapses. During the past fifty years, theorists from Foucault ...

Re: "The first thing..." -> Weird Grammar Structure -- Turnoi -- 29 January 2010

You are welcome. My crocs at least could master the hollow academic jargon....or not?......LOL

Re: "The first thing..." -> NO Weird Grammar Structure -- Turnoi -- 25 January 2010

A nice question for a linguist, yeah! OK, let me try to give an answer: S = (a-The first thing b-I must do c-when I get home) ( is) ( study English). My analysis: 1. This sentence consists of three ...

Re:Additional Info: "The first thing..." -> NO Weird Grammar Structure -- Turnoi -- 27 January 2010

I am adding a so-called "tree structure" of the sentence I have analysed for you. A "tree structure" is a visual presentation of the sentence structure analysed and quite common in Descriptive ...

Re: "The first thing..." -> NO Weird Grammar Structure -- Mike K. -- 26 January 2010

Man. Well done. You get a gold medal. ;) I hate the fact that you have to have a Ph.D. in Linguistics to be able to explain some "not weird" constructions in English. ;) Then again, I majored in lit, ...

Re: "The first thing..." -> NO Weird Grammar Structure -- Turnoi -- 27 January 2010

Thanks for the gold medal awarded...lol. No, I do not think, you have to have a PhD in Linguistics to analyse a sentence like that. It was in one of the first semester courses when I learned this way ...

Re: Black List IN KOREA YES English Academy, Ulsan, South Korea -- ... -- 25 January 2010

Also another thing this school does is make you pay the full amount of medical insurance and tell you its only half - which is what the contract says you should pay!!!

Re: Black List IN KOREA YES English Academy, Ulsan, South Korea -- ANET -- 26 January 2010

Thank you for coming forward. I lived and taught in Ulsan for three years. It was hell. I keep telling myself it was not representative of all of South Korea. There are serious workplace problems in ...

China; Why not Come to Work -- englishgibson -- 23 January 2010

To anyone who thinks of coming to work in this country, besides some beautiful sightseeings, the great food, low living costs or attractive opposite sex, there are the employers, local regulations ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Silverboy -- 24 January 2010

I agree with what you wrote, although I can't understand why you wanted to work as a DOS in the first place. I would NEVER work as a DOS in China, no matter how much money I was offered. To your ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- cunning linguist -- 23 January 2010

You mention "a new regulation from a couple years ago which states that foreign "experts" aren't to manage neither the Chinese nor foreign employees ... ." As I've not heard of this, could ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- englishgibson -- 25 January 2010

In response, I am going to expand on the foreign experts role, the DoSs, the great Chinese nation, and the poor Chinese parenting that I have encountered with my son recently. You mention "a new ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- cunning linguist -- 25 January 2010

Thanks for the long reply. I'm sure you are aware that the majority of quotations in your post are actually from Silverboy. As for getting into the "business of education" I wouldn't even ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Silverboy -- 24 January 2010

Hi CL, I have also had a similar experience to yourself, I was working at a university in Wuhan in 2008 where there was a "head foreign teacher", or "senior teacher", he had been there for four ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- cunning linguist -- 24 January 2010

Yes, I also have had a similar experience with an 'assumed' Head Teacher asking why my previous students did not do as well in his writing class. There are a couple of answers to that ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Silverboy -- 25 January 2010

That is an interesting post, these PPP arrangements seem to be more and more common at Chinese universities. It seems that you will have a few things to think about in regard to your work. I agree ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- cunning linguist -- 25 January 2010

Thanks for the compliments, but it's possible that with my age creeping up I just might have to retire for a second time in a few years. Ha Ha. Yeh, quality of life is a big issue with me. In the ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Silverboy -- 26 January 2010

Solar powered underwear, that's funny CL, you have always had a good sense of humour! As for the Devil Wears Pravda film, it is a bit of an exaggeration, but some fashion editors and model ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- englishgibson -- 28 January 2010

Come on guys! Solar powered underwear? What have you been smoking? Cheers and beers to the happy FTs with their fine underwear as well as that farmer's pipe in front :)

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Turnoi -- 31 January 2010

Solar-powered underwear is a privilege of famous infamous persons like Frank Zhang wangbadan...LOL!

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- englishgibson -- 3 February 2010

ok, from solar powered underwear, through frank zhang back to reasoning why not come to work on mainland. unqualified and abusive employers, their one-sided contracts, poor institutions and little ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Turnoi -- 25 January 2010

No more 50 to 60 hour 6 day weeks for me! Silverboy Yes, indeed, you are right. I personally won't need such a hassle either. And yes, I have had my 60th birthday on January 22 last week, and ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- cunning linguist -- 25 January 2010

Thanks for the good wishes. The key endeavour I am still involved with is trying to get the charity concert organised for May/June. The leaders here have told me it will not be possible to use the ...

Re: China; Why not Come to Work -- Turnoi -- 25 January 2010

Have a nice and safe trip!

teaching with TITCACA travel -- madison -- 23 January 2010

Hello all, I am from Canada and was planning on going teaching English in China this summer (May-August). I am not looking for a long term job but more something like 2-3 months. As I was looking on ...

China: Why not buy a home? -- englishgibson -- 20 January 2010

Three years ago, after I married a local woman that I had dated for about 5 years, I decided to buy a home that did not stand up yet. Not even the foundation was laid to it yet, but we saw the blue ...

Re: China: Why not buy a home? -- englishgibson -- 21 January 2010

The reasoning behind another 13,000 of me after having paid the set price is that the original blue print is 10 square meters short. Now, why would the developer be allowed to build on such a poor ...

China: Why not buy a home? -- kjk -- 26 January 2010

Here is a news clip from China Daily reporting on the "new law" in Nanning and the selling of homes/buildings that have not yet been completed. Too bad we did not have the same law here in Canada as ...

Re: China: Why not buy a home? -- Silverboy -- 26 January 2010

The new law in Nanning will certainly be a good step in the right direction if it is actually implemented. In some countries such as Australia the pre-sale of high-rise units is know as "off the ...

Re: China: Why not buy a home? -- englishgibson -- 27 January 2010

Silverboy, I completely agree with you that homes sold after built is the way to go. Also, buying a home should have some kind of a developer warranty as for these cracks/leaks in walls, uneven ...

Explode the Code vs. Hooked on Phonics -- Sarah Parker -- 19 January 2010

I am looking at programs for teaching an ESL student (one on one). I used Explode the Code for a couple weeks and was unhappy with the results. I switched to Hooked on Phonics and have had great ...

Re: Explode the Code vs. Hooked on Phonics -- cunning linguist -- 19 January 2010

Hello Sarah. In some ways you have answered your own question by saying you have had great results with one scheme. The debate about the best ways to teach reading is nothing new and the two schools ...

Help with preschool -- Rachel -- 19 January 2010

Hello, I've been teaching preschool age children English in Spain for about 4 months now, and I am having a difficult time with a few classes. I'm used more as a supplement to their usual ...

Re: Help with preschool -- Turnoi -- 19 January 2010

Three year old kids are nor ready for school yet like six year old kids - even if some parents do not want them to be pre-school kids and want to have them some kind of classes before ordinary ...

Re: Help with preschool -- Rachel -- 20 January 2010

Thank you for your quick reply Turnoi. I do agree that the kids are very young to be in school, but it is compulsory to start at 3 years old here. Actually, I have a colleague who is even working ...

Re: Help with preschool -- Turnoi -- 20 January 2010

A walk might work, but I could only walk them through the halls of the school. I might try that next week and see if there are any improvements in behaviour. If you cannot take them out, you have to ...

Cummins' Quadrant -- Marilyn -- 19 January 2010

Can anyone provide me some ideas about activities which would fit into each of Cummins' 4 quadrants. I'm new to the area of ESL and would appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thanks!!

Re: Cummins' Quadrant -- cunning linguist -- 19 January 2010

Forgive me but your request reads a little like an assignment question on linguistics. You don’t state the situation. I will assume that you are working, or planning to work, in a multi-lingual ...

validity of a Residence Permit -- Confused -- 18 January 2010

Last year I was working at a school in Hubei province, I left the school on bad terms ( I accused them of breaching the contract, they accused me of breaching it, I did not do a runner however ) I ...

Re: validity of a Residence Permit -- cunning linguist -- 22 January 2010

I guess you may now be just as confused as before you asked your original question, as the responses are somewhat at variance. The problem with all advice or guidance in this area, no matter how ...

Re: validity of a Residence Permit -- Turnoi -- 19 January 2010

Yes, indeed, you are right - going there with your old Z visa, still valid, and with a new L visa to be converted into a Z visa later must look suspicious if it is in the same passport. You should ...

Re: validity of a Residence Permit -- cunning linguist -- 18 January 2010

Trying to put myself in your position is the only way I can deal with your question. I'm also confused about whether you have a release letter from the Guangdong uni and how the school figures in ...

Re: validity of a Residence Permit -- englishgibson -- 19 January 2010

L visa is routinely changed to RP in guanxi, and many, me inclusive, have done so previously there. in fact, a valid RP from another province may work against you in guanxi province and so i would ...

Assumptions some Chinese people make! -- Silverboy -- 18 January 2010

I would like to bring up a topic here that I think has not been mentioned here before. Why do many Chinese people think that Western people who live and work in China want to learn all the fine ...

Re: Assumptions some Chinese people make! -- Turnoi -- 19 January 2010

....but learning about what happened in China hundreds or thousands of years ago is not one of them! Perhaps I can answer your question this way: Many Chinese people think that foreigners coming to ...

Haiti -- Turnoi -- 16 January 2010

We have college branch as a part of our ministry in Haiti, and since the devastating earthquake some days ago, we have not heard from anything from our partners overt there. We do not know whether ...

Re: Haiti - Latest update -- Turnoi -- 22 January 2010

I think I have reported already that some days ago that our Director in Haiti had called and informed us that he and his family are safe. We have tried to call back to have more details but have not ...

First email from our Haitian partners after the earthquake -- Turnoi -- 22 January 2010

I just received the email below from Dr. +Felxon St.-Urbain in Haiti. It is a wonder in the current situation that emailing works at all. For internet security reasons, I have deleted the telephone ...

Re: Haiti -- Carol Cavanaugh -- 18 January 2010

I am a Ell Teacher and Literacy coordinator who would like to help in any way

Re: Haiti -- Turnoi -- 18 January 2010

That sounds great, Carol, and thank you for your willingness to help! You know, there are many children and youngsters in that chaos of the city so badly hurt by the earthquake. We would be in need ...

Re: Haiti - A First Update -- Turnoi -- 18 January 2010

Current attempts at contacting members of our organisation in Haiti have shown that telephoning there still does not work, and that we cannot get connected. That's more than only too natural ...

Re: Haiti - A First Update -- Miss Vicky Moore -- 18 January 2010

Dear Turnoi, Thank you for your update on Haiti and the school that you are in contact with out there! I will be praying for them and for you as you send them some kind of aid. I hope that you have a ...

Re: Haiti - Reply to Ms Vicky Moore & another update -- Turnoi -- 18 January 2010

Thank you so much for your prayers and kind words, Vicky. God is indeed so good, and He works wonders. Today, my closest fellow-worker in Kenya, Dr. Macharia, informed me that our Director from Haiti ...

Re: Haiti -- Silverboy -- 16 January 2010

Turnoi, I hope you will hear some good news about your friends and colleagues in Haiti soon. It may take some time however, considering the amount of damage to infrastructure in that region. There ...

Re: Haiti -- Turnoi -- 16 January 2010

Thanks for your words of encouragement, SB. The current grief is beyond measure, and we have been active in Haiti for five years or so now. We have had our students, our faculty, our school building ...

Re: Haiti -- englishgibson -- 16 January 2010

this really is as sas as it can get. i can imagine that consulates most likely will not help here. if i were to go there, i'd arm myself to teeth..although would it pass the local authorities ...

China Daily and comic irony -- cunning linguist -- 16 January 2010

Well it's happened again, as my comments on two articles have been published then quickly removed. The first time was when, some months ago I wrote a response to the appointment of a new ...

Inflatable friend: a tragi-comedy -- cunning linguist -- 14 January 2010

Intriguing headline - Shanghai Man Lands On Lover, Survives Suicide Jump This is the story of a lonely man who didn't want to be a burden on his family and whose best friend was an inflatable sex ...

AVOID CUFLI AT ALL COSTS -- Rob -- 14 January 2010

CUFLI (Chongqing United Foreign Language Institute), also trading as Chongqing Language Institute and GEAA (Global Education of America Administration) Chongqing office. I recently finished a ...

Re: AVOID CUFLI AT ALL COSTS -- Turnoi -- 14 January 2010

This "school" has a "great name" for reasons of pretence but seems to be one of the shabbiest you could ever find! I suggest you contact the police and the Bureau of Foreign Experts; take all ...

Re: AVOID CUFLI AT ALL COSTS -- englishgibson -- 14 January 2010

The Chongqing Police and/or Foreign Experts Bureau are in it with many local schools/centers and I have pointed that out in my warning on the Chongqing Foreign Experts Office a month or so ago. I ...

Re: AVOID CUFLI AT ALL COSTS -- Turnoi -- 15 January 2010

The Chongqing Police and/or Foreign Experts Bureau are in it with many local schools/centers and I have pointed that out in my warning on the Chongqing Foreign Experts Office a month or so ago. ...

Re: AVOID CUFLI AT ALL COSTS -- Upstream Boy -- 15 January 2010

Your post illustrates clearly that run-of-the-mill foreign teachers shouldn't expect natural justice in this Asian giant of a country. Although there may well be laws that have been broken, the ...

Re: AVOID CUFLI AT ALL COSTS -- dude -- 17 January 2010

Call every day 6:30..天天 630 inChongqing..that'll stir some sh$t up for sure!

Recruiter Henry Zhou screwed me, please read -- IHateRecruiters -- 14 January 2010

Henry Zhou is the name of a recruiter who works out of Wuhan China. Why there seem to be so many complaints about this city I do not know, but I see them popping up constantly. Anyhow, Henry Zhou is ...

Re: Recruiter Henry Zhou screwed me, please read -- Lucy -- 4 February 2010

You are not alone. I hope every thing works out. I was also screwed out of some money, but I guess you live, learn and post to warn others. Cheers.

Re: Recruiter Henry Zhou screwed me, please read -- Turnoi -- 15 January 2010

I have always issued warnings and said not to use a recruiter exactly for the reasons you have indicated. Is there a way for you to locate that scumbag and get hold of him? Any addresses, emails and ...

Re: Recruiter Henry Zhou screwed me, please read -- CSUWS -- 14 January 2010

Rudi/ Rudy Hong is a crook who has been operating in Wuhan for many years. I was recently scammed by him, although not as badly as you. I applied for a job with a university in Wuhan ( Wuhan ...

Re: Recruiter Henry Zhou screwed me, please read -- The Owl -- 14 January 2010

This profile reminds me of Frank Zhang.

Confused - Please Help -- Khalil Rahman -- 14 January 2010

Hi, I recently completed my CELTA course, i accepted a job position from Spain (Seville). The problem is that i had no interview and whenever i try to contact the person by phone i can't get ...

Re: Confused - Please Help -- Turnoi -- 14 January 2010

If they shortlisted you for an interview and you can't reach them by phone, and if you have no physical address of them that you are able to verify, it could be a scam. If not, they are not worth ...

Google Threat re China -- A N Other -- 13 January 2010

Holes in The Great Firewall of China imminent! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100113/ap_on_re_as/as_china_google

Re: Google Threat re China -- cunning linguist -- 13 January 2010

Yes, I read this too, but some pundits have stated it's only posturing to improve Google's bargaining position with the Chinese government. They had already agreed to filter content. I would ...

Re: Google Threat re China -- englishgibson -- 14 January 2010

This is THE STORY that's rocking the relationship in between China and the US and may I say that it is not just the business but politics. Coincidentally, this comes right after Obama's visit ...

Spitting on a whale -- cunning linguist -- 14 January 2010

You may be right, but I just wonder how ethics will play a part in these business decisions. Sure, it's political and I read that most of the Fortune 500 companies have been hacked at some stage, ...

Re: Google Threat re China -- Turnoi -- 14 January 2010

If Google withdraws from China, I would not regret it. Google is one of those services that gives a damn about the privacy of its users, and it wants to know virtually everything. If they have to ...

Re: Google Threat re China a real one! -- Proxy server user in China -- 14 January 2010

If Google withdraws from China, I would not regret it. Google is one of those services that gives a damn about the privacy of its users, and it wants to know virtually everything. If they have to ...

Re: Google Threat re China -- englishgibson -- 14 January 2010

Turnoi, if Google withdraws from China, it'll have an impact on the educational sector in the country. I believe there're many foreign teachers that take advantage of Google on mainland. ...

Re: Google Threat re China -- Turnoi -- 15 January 2010

And, if you look for any Political Science projects, you'll probably find the pic of Chairman Mao at most. Wrong! You will find then a pic of my crocs like the one below presenting the local ...

(Message Deleted by Poster) -- Nutan Mehta -- 12 January 2010

Re: Teaching primary level English to children. -- ANET -- 13 January 2010

Most children love to sign. Work the vocabulary in songs. It's hard for children to sit still for a long period of time. As a TESOL trained person, I got them up and moving every 20 minutes of so ...

contract negotiations -- John -- 12 January 2010

I'm a foreign language teacher in China. My colleague who is also American, has been in contract negotiations since January 9th, has not been working because of this. My contract expires soon as ...

Re: contract negotiations -- englishgibson -- 14 January 2010

John, the employment contract secrecy has been quite common around recently. SAFEA's contract is often different than the actual employer's one which proves this country's system is just ...

Re: contract negotiations -- cunning linguist -- 13 January 2010

Hello John. Your situation is complex but not unusual. Contracts often vary between individual teachers working at the same establishment. Often the reasons for this are concerned with who did the ...

Re: contract negotiations -- John -- 13 January 2010

My employer has not offered me a new contract yet. The colleague who was in contract negotations quit over a disagreement, I just found this out yesterday afternoon. The education director told me, ...

Re: contract negotiations -- cunning linguist -- 13 January 2010

Hi John, Thanks for the update. You stated that "I was told by a HR manager that now works in Xian that once I get my one year in the school they will give me a raise between 1000-2000 rmb..." The ...

Demo class -- Orsi -- 12 January 2010

Hi, i need some help. I have to give a demo class in a language school. 45 minutes, any subject, intermediate level, any ideas? Oh, and i think there won't be real students but the teachers ...

Re: Demo class -- cunning linguist -- 13 January 2010

Give us a litle bit more information please? How many teachers [pretend students] will be involved? Is English their first language? Do you want to concentrate on fluency activities? Will your ...

An Interesting Story. -- BillyBloggs -- 12 January 2010

Here is an interesting piece I found whilst surfing the Great Interwebs. http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?topic=4698.0

Re: An Interesting Story. -- X-Salooner -- 12 January 2010

Yep, an interesting story all right. But not the whole story, by any means. I guess a few of the posters presently on here have been previously cast out from there. You can get fu there, but watch ...

Why Single Straight Western Guys Should not Teach in Oman -- Joe Romano -- 11 January 2010

Oman is not a bad place to visit and maybe even get your feet wet with ESL, but I do not think that it is a place for single western men. In fact, I think it is even a worse place than Saudi. You ...

Re: Why Single Straight Western Guys Should not Teach in Oman -- Turnoi -- 12 January 2010

It seems that Omanis follow more than mediocre academic standards in their education. Why should we bother? Let them be happy with it, and as you said, look for a job somewhere else!

Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- Turnoi -- 10 January 2010

Here is a reply I have made to another post mentioning several pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English. I have explained them as interference problems in the area of ...

Re: Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- englishgibson -- 16 January 2010

sadly enough, many chinese that have learnt or are studying english do not seem to be interested in their pronunciation improvements anymore. from my experience, they do not study pronunciation in ...

Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- kjk_esl -- 16 January 2010

Whatta! Whatta is all this! I could not agree more with you EG! In my three years of teaching in China and with meeting so many Chinese who have immigrated to Canada here where I am once living ...

Re: Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- cunning linguist -- 16 January 2010

Turnoi, EG and yourself have raised some interesting points. Our experiences will be different and we may disagree on some things but that does not invalidate the experience or observation. I've ...

Re: Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- englishgibson -- 17 January 2010

cunning, i am a bit surprised that turnoi's got some rather different experiences from me, although i agree with you. china's a huge country and with a humongous population. how could it all ...

Re: Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- cunning linguist -- 17 January 2010

The point is we all have different experiences due to our background, education,work-experience, motivation and where we have worked, or are working, in China. It's common for generalisations to ...

Re: Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- Turnoi -- 16 January 2010

In China, I have taught at universities all the time, and in a single case (which was an exceptional situation), I had also taught at a middle school part-time in addition to my uni job. I have also ...

Re: Pronunciation problems of native Chinese speakers in English -- englishgibson -- 16 January 2010

darn,i just remembered i've posted a topic on my kindergarten alphabet singing experience recently. the pre-school wanted me to sing it faster than i did. no wonder kids'll have pronunciation ...

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- Tony Jones -- 10 January 2010

Hi there, Many of us don't appreciate 'your making troubles,' thanks for speaking up for me Tournai, I appreciate that you are in touch with many of us and know many of our feelings. I ...

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- Turnoi -- 10 January 2010

Ben Taylor - or whatever his name is - had what I regard as an offensive tone in his reply to the Cunning Linguist poster: http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/forum/index.pl?read=58462 I have ...

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- Daddy -- 11 January 2010

My, My. Feel better now?

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- Turnoi -- 11 January 2010

Daddy, I do not know if I felt better if you were my "daddy"....LOL

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- Big Daddy -- 11 January 2010

Turnoi makes everyone feel better after they have read his enlightening and humorous posts. I'm sure he has taught you most of what you know about EFL/ESL!

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- Goldengirl -- 10 January 2010

I'm a teacher, and I have worked with some totally awful people, and most of them have been other teachers,.... It's the derogatory and inflammatory statement above re teachers that has ...

once again -- Ben Taylor -- 11 January 2010

Ok, to clear things up: 1) Cunning Linguist - I didn't mean to offend you, if I did, I apologise. I believe this is a forum where many people can state their points of view, and even those who ...

Re: once again -- cunning linguist -- 11 January 2010

Ben, the key issue for me is not who was offended, so no apology is necessary. I’m a big boy now (well not that big actually). You are entitled to your opinion. Some people are very direct; others ...

Re: once again -- Turnoi -- 11 January 2010

OK, Ben, your point is well taken. Sorry that it came that far but I thought I should come to the support of the Cunning Linguist poster who is well-respected in the community on this board. If you ...

Kidnappings for Sex and Organs -- englishgibson -- 10 January 2010

Visiting my mother in law, I have had a chance to speak to an older woman that might know more than any media outlet on mainland China. What has stunned me is that even the local off.... have been ...

A Note on Organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine -- Turnoi -- 10 January 2010

Last year, I have seen reports that organs of dead people executed in China had been sold on the black market. This is not a new thing in the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the history ...

Re: A Note on Organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine -- englishgibson -- 14 January 2010

Turnoi, thanx for the inside of this culture and some tranditional medicin backgound on topic. My thoughts on topic, however, are that there's an unbelievably filthy underground business around. ...

Re: A Note on Organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine -- Turnoi -- 14 January 2010

Gibson, you can't view the one point without the other......

Re: A Note on Organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine -- englishgibson -- 14 January 2010

So, Turnoi, does the history justify these current gangs kidnapping individuals for exactly that? Yes, we've got the unfortunate baby powder milk that has destroyed a few young kidneys, and ...

Re: A Note on Organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine -- Turnoi -- 15 January 2010

No, I did not say that "history justify these current gangs kidnapping individuals for exactly that". But you have to take into account that in Chinese culture people look a bit differently at it ...

Re: A Note on Organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine -- englishgibson -- 16 January 2010

well, i hope no local will look on my son as a fresh and healthy walking kidney to replace some SAN LU destroyed one. in canada, we get asked if we want to donate organs, when we're applying for ...

Re: Take a hike, Man! Or should I say "p.s off"? -- englishgibson -- 10 January 2010

This is the teachers board, isn't it? :) Cheers and beers to all hard working teachers around the world

Re: ILS school, Yongin South Korea -- UKtokorea? -- 10 January 2010

Hi there I am just wundering if you went to the ILS school? I have just been offered a position there, also through Longbridge Pacific so Im just wundering if everything went smoothly with the job? ...

Re: ILS school, Yongin South Korea -- ANET -- 11 January 2010

You could google the School and see what other teachers may have posted after working there. This webpage has a School's Review page. The link for it is at the top left corner of the screen. The ...

XINHUI, JIANGMIN - Mega English Center -- CS -- 9 January 2010

We were business partners of the Mega English Center in Jiangmen Xinhui. After four months of blood, sweat and tears in designing the school and the curriculum, the local partners decided they could ...

Re: XINHUI, JIANGMIN - Mega English Center -- Turino -- 9 January 2010

Anyway, life goes on and we just want to let our supporters and friends know that we are no longer at MEGA, and remind new comers to beware of contracts and agreements signed locally in China, they ...

Age restrictions working in China -- Warren Maclean -- 9 January 2010

Can anyone tell me if there are any age restrictions, to old, for working in China? I am getting lot of conflicting information and have had several job applications rejected because of "government ...

Re: Age restrictions working in China -- Ex-TC -- 9 January 2010

Mr Maclean, A person of your experience in China would be a waste of talent. But if you insist on working here, ask for double the normal rate of pay. There maybe rules on the maximum age of a ...

Re: Age restrictions working in China -- Supercat -- 10 January 2010

That is good advice Ex-TC and I endorse it. Yes, anybody who has a lot of teaching experience ( over 20 years ) should not work at any training centre in China, Korea or elsewhere. To work at these ...

GAC-ACT -- englishgibson -- 9 January 2010

Watch out everyone as they advertise around. GAC center in Qingdao/Dalian China is now advertising AGAIN. They've advertised about 6 times in just about 9 months and 3 times in past 4 months ...

Re: GAC-ACT -- Sun Carol -- 25 January 2010

I found it difficult to understand the logics in Mr. Gibson's accusations or assumptions: what does the number of job postings tell about an organization? Most people who do know about China ...

Re: GAC-ACT -- englishgibson -- 26 January 2010

Dear Ms Sun Carol, this is the teachers board and these aren't any "accusations" or "assumptions" but experiences of real teachers with the bogus centers of a company or companies running the ...

Re: GAC-ACT -- Turnoi -- 25 January 2010

Basically, you are right - the number of job ads an organisation is posting does not automatically mean that they have a high rate of teachers changing all the time. Frequent job postings may be due ...

Re: GAC-ACT -- Silverboy -- 25 January 2010

I totally disagree with you. Any school or organization that is constantly looking for new staff is usually crap. There is plenty of evidence to support this statement. It does mean that such schools ...

Re: GAC-ACT -- englishgibson -- 11 January 2010

So, I see that the discussions on "complaining", "age restriction", or any other private mills attract more than THE SCAM OF 21 CENTURY IN EDUCATION. I am talking about scores of young people from ...

Re: GAC-ACT SCAM -- Turino -- 11 January 2010

Another great post exposing the skullduggery that accompanies the way GAC is applied here in China.All Chinese learners of English and our fellow foreign teachers who have read your posts have been ...

reversed complaining -- Ben Taylor -- 8 January 2010

Hi ladies and gentlemen, I enjoy these forums, sometimes they are interesting, funny, challenging, complete and utter nonsense and even worse. I'm a teacher, and I have worked with some totally ...

Re: reversed complaining -- englishgibson -- 8 January 2010

Ben, I don't know where you are and/or where your experience comes from, so my comment here pertains China and its employers. Some Chinese employers have participated on forums discussions and ...

Re: reversed complaining -- Monitor -- 8 January 2010

I'm a teacher, and I have worked with some totally awful people, and most of them have been other teachers, so I am curious, what do you think this forum would be like if employers came on here ...

Re: reversed complaining -- realist -- 9 January 2010

Well Ben, considering that most Chinese school employers know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about education and they have no morals and ethics, only care about money, they have NO RIGHT to come on to boards ...

Re: reversed complaining -- ben taylor -- 9 January 2010

HI Realist, Well I have never been to China and so nothing of your gripes are known to me. I've been 'lucky,' enough to teach only in central Europe, and can I be honest? From what I have ...

Re: reversed complaining -- englishgibson -- 9 January 2010

Ben, you've really opened the discussion up. It's nice to see the interest. Where this discussion goes, in my view, depends on the location so much. The central Europe that you say you are in ...

Re: reversed complaining -- Marion Jones -- 9 January 2010

HI Realist, Well I have never been to China and so nothing of your gripes are known to me. I've been 'lucky,' enough to teach only in central Europe, and can I be honest? From what I have ...

Re: reversed complaining -- Turnoi -- 9 January 2010

Theoretically, employers could also come here to complain about certain foreign "teachers". Most of them, however, do not.

Re: reversed complaining -- cunning linguist -- 9 January 2010

Hello Ben, it’s good that you enjoy websites such as ESL Teachers Board. And it’s plausible that your comments are made in jest. The clue is in the title – the 'Forum is, in my view, mainly (but ...

Re: reversed complaining -- Ben Taylor -- 9 January 2010

You know there is nothing like a cunning linguist to get me moved. Ok, employers have the right to exercise their opinion, where? Show me where? And where are they they treated validly? I haven't ...

Re: reversed complaining -- Mamba -- 10 January 2010

Ben Taylor - or whoever you are: Your reply is in a tone that is totally inappropriate. If you have come here to create trouble, I suggest you take a hike, man! Cai ni ma!

Re: reversed complaining -- cunning linguist -- 9 January 2010

Well Ben you've certainly stirred up a hornets nest. I'm pleased that you were 'moved' - I just wish it was also true for the women I have known! Actually I have someone who cleans my ...

Re: reversed complaining -- Supercat -- 9 January 2010

Ben, you have already admitted that you have never worked in Asia, so you do not really understand the horrible things that can and do happen to FT's in China and Korea. Myself and other posters ...

Tutoring English jobs in China? -- Robert -- 7 January 2010

I was wondering if it is possible to work for some companies in China where I will tutor students English one-on-one rather than an entire class all at once? My Chinese friend mentioned to me that ...

Re: Tutoring English jobs in China? -- Robert Dunlop -- 7 January 2010

Very difficult, you need a degree, and there are so many foreigners in china now, that makes it even more difficult. As for one-one, really difficult, you need to go through a broker, and they are ...

Re: Tutoring English jobs in China? -- lovely lemming -- 7 January 2010

Whilst I agree that in China a contract is not worth the paper it's written on, and that most Chinese employers are dishonest and should never be trusted, I have to disagree with some other ...

Training Centers -- Yukon -- 6 January 2010

Has anyone ever had a GOOD experience with a training center? I'm going to China with my friend and I really want public schools (which are hard to find) and he wants training centers. I know ...

There are no "good" Training Centers! -- Turnoi -- 6 January 2010

I have been posting here for a long time against training centres, and I personally would avoid them like hell for the reasons I have given so often already. In this context, other posters and myself ...

GW's and CL's ( corporate lackeys! ) -- reap what you sow/what happened to Silverboy? -- 6 January 2010

There are so many turncoat teachers on boards like this, those flthy parasites who sell their souls to to the ( lowest bidder! ) You know whom I am speaking of, the filthy dirty training school ...

Re: GW's and CL's ( corporate lackeys! ) -- daddy -- 9 January 2010

A very sneaky way to confirm your suspicions.....

Re: GW's and CL's ( corporate lackeys! ) -- BillyBloggs -- 7 January 2010

Silverbaby has gone up in his own estimation, and now calls himself "Supercat"

Re: GW's and CL's ( corporate lackeys! ) -- Turnoi -- 7 January 2010

"Supercat" is a nice alias, and honestly - I would very much prefer supercats and supercrocs over nasty and cheating bosses of crappy training centres. Miao miao......

Re: GW's and CL's ( corporate lackeys! ) -- Turnoi -- 6 January 2010

I am sure that the poster who is known to us as "Silverboy" is stlll around and active. Yes, in fact, he is, and he has not yet disappeared in the clouds!

They are really ingrates! -- grate -- 6 January 2010

Start from the bottom, and then scroll up. Some laowei here in China ought to be ashamed of themselves! ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Sang To: Jeffery Sent: Wed, January 6, 2010 5:00:32 PM ...

Re: They are really ingrates! -- Jonathan Menzies -- 7 January 2010

Good post, grate. It gives us an insight into the murky depths of how Chinese recruiters and some of the dishonest foreigners who 'use and abuse them' do their dirty business. In fact, ...

Re: They are really ingrates! -- engishgibson -- 8 January 2010

Jonathan and someone else on that have brought the filthy foreigners on here. Honestly, dishonest I have also been as an EF Director of Studies before. Had I not been that, I would not have had that ...

Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- Turnoi -- 6 January 2010

"San"/"Xing" in this email is Frank Zhang wangbadan himself, China's most infamous wonna-be-recruiter! Stay clear of him!

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- englishgibson -- 6 January 2010

what do these kinda recruiters do with all the documentation they receive from fts, such as copies of passports or credentials? by the way, there's one ZHANG recruiter in the area of guangzhou. ...

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- Puzzled -- 8 January 2010

what do these kinda recruiters do with all the documentation they receive from fts, such as copies of passports or credentials? What a strange question to ask! Presumably, they just delete the ...

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- englishgibson -- 8 January 2010

Puzzled, your post is quite puzzling and that with all due respect to you. Why would you open the door, if you smelled the sh*t? what do these kinda recruiters do with all the documentation they ...

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- Turino -- 8 January 2010

This can of worms has not yet been opened completely by Turnoi and yourself.Let me take the lid off by adding that forgery of university degree parchments and transcripts is not only done by some ...

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- englishgibson -- 9 January 2010

Turino, I believe there are such employers and cases of counterfeiting around, and since employers are the ones to do it all why recruiters ask for so much documentation? Should the Resume be just ...

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- Puzzled -- 9 January 2010

Virtually all recruiters e-mail scans of an FT's degrees/diplomas plus his/her resume and passport to potential employers because that is what is expected by schools/colleges/TC's. No ...

Other things scumbag recruiters do with your documents -- Turnoi -- 8 January 2010

Or do they do other things with them....... Oh yes, quite a lot of those recruiter scumbags do other things with your documentation you have sent them in good faith. Here are some "nice" examples: - ...

Re: Other things scumbag recruiters do with your documents -- Coppercat -- 8 January 2010

That is all true Turnoi, but I bet some fool will come on here and try and make excuses for the immoral, unethical ( and sometimes very illegal) behaviour of recruiters in China. The thing that ...

Re: Other things scumbag recruiters do with your documents -- Turnoi -- 9 January 2010

How can we "enlightened ones" compare ourselves with "fools"?....LOL No need to be afraid of them, they will be exposed as such by reason and common sense alone, and that won't be the first time ...

Re: Attention - Frank Zhang wangbadan at work again! -- Turnoi -- 7 January 2010

Franky Boy Zhang wangbadan used to operate from Shanghai. And he used to operate from Beijing several years ago before moving to Shanghai in the same crappy way as he has been doing from Shanghai. ...

Student howlers -priceless -- cunning linguist -- 5 January 2010

Journalists call the period when there's not much news the "slly season." So, having just finished marking, except the double-majors who will sit Paper B in March, I thought I would share one ...

Re: Student howlers -priceless -- englishgibson -- 7 January 2010

what a mind map of your student.." A mind map is a way of getting all you know about a topic in a diagram by brainstorming ideas showing the connections. [Ok, so far, very good, but then] Sometimes ...

Re: Student howlers -priceless -- cunning linguist -- 7 January 2010

Yes, I can see what you mean and thanks for the input. I've been using the work of Tony Buzan and Edward De Bono in my teaching for many years. Several decades ago, I was teaching information and ...

Re: Student howlers -priceless -- juanisaac -- 9 January 2010

At a school where I worked we had a test called Woodcock-Munoz. The test was to place new English learners into the appropriate level. One section was an anology section where a student is presented ...

Re: Student howlers -priceless -- cunning linguist -- 10 January 2010

Thanks for the example. In the UK, the Times Higher Education Supplement runs an annual competition for undergraduate exam "howlers". Here's a few of my favourites: - One student wrote to his ...

G- Spot -- cunning linguist -- 5 January 2010

Well, even the BBC seems short of news. This winteresting piece, [new seasonal word] covering some research from Kings College, suggests that I am in the wrong line of work! "The G-spot ...

Re: G- Spot -- BillyBloggs -- 6 January 2010

Beverly Whipple -a sexologist. Come on Beverly, how can we take you seriously with a surname like that? This winteresting piece, [new seasonal word] covering some research from Kings College, ...

Re: G- Spot -- cunning linguist -- 6 January 2010

Fair enough. Point taken. Have you considered publishing?

Re: G- Spot -- BillyBloggs -- 7 January 2010

Haha! I've yet to find a suitable Forum to post the photos!

Re: G- Spot -- Supercat -- 6 January 2010

Hi cunning linguist. I am done with all aspects of the fashion/model/magazine/publishing industry. To many people who think the sun shines out of their arse! Sadly, people like myself come to China ...

Crocs to the front! -- Turnoi -- 6 January 2010

It is high time that the more crappy as well as the more decent employers in the Chinese ESL industry paid due attention to the potentials of crocodiles as foreign teachers in Chinese ESl industry. ...

Re: G- Spot -- Supercat -- 5 January 2010

I also think that the "G-spot" is a load of rubbish, a myth that has been promoted by women's magazines to increase sales. I think that I am on the money here due to my previous experience in the ...

Re: G- Spot -- cunning linguist -- 6 January 2010

I'm curious, did you write for a magazine, take photographs of models, or 'strut your stuff' on the catwalk? As for using one's imagination, an explanation of a dangling modifier ...

Re: G- Spot -- Supercat -- 6 January 2010

I worked in all aspects of the fashion industry, from the late eighties until 2002. Yeah, I worked as a model ( not catwalk ) as a stylist, in publishing, illustration and layout. Really, there is no ...

Job Hunting -- Khalil Rahman -- 5 January 2010

Hi, I recently completed my Celta course. I am now looking for a Job, was just wondering if anyone could give me good website to apply though and also things to watch out for from scammers. I've ...

How to Obtain Residency Permit for Working in Dubai -- vidhitha -- 4 January 2010

Hi, My husband is in Dubai and i am in india now, I need to go there and find a job. whats the best way to do it? Should i go there with a visit visa and then find a job within 2 months? OR Should i ...

Re: How to Obtain Residency Permit for Working in Dubai -- cunning linguist -- 6 January 2010

Tricky problem. As you are posting on this site, I am guessing that you want to teach. Here's a link to some frequently asked questions about Dubai visas. http://www.dubaifaqs.com/visa-dubai.php

Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Kurt -- 4 January 2010

Greetings and a Happy New Year to all. I've always had at least one response to my questions and I appreciate this very much. I am enterainig near identical offers in these two cities so...does ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Turnoi -- 4 January 2010

Perhaps, you should neither consider Guilin nor Luizhou -- I have heard that in Guilin, there are too many birds and chickens infected with meidu which may develop into a mass disease soon. In the ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Monitor -- 4 January 2010

I spotted some negative comments re Guilin on the web not too long ago. According to some, it's expensive to live there as it's a tourist trap, not my cup of tea at all! So, I turned down an ...

How to brintg prices down -- Turnoi -- 4 January 2010

To bring prices in that tourist area down, I think we need to send some crocs there. That will perhaps help to cut the number of tourists down to almost zero, and prices will go down again. Economy ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Spanky -- 4 January 2010

Dunno anything about Luizhou. I personally thought the cost of living in Guilin was much better than nearby Yangshuo, but it's difficult to find a properly paying job there due to the large ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Turino -- 5 January 2010

One of the most-visited Chinese cities, Guilin (pop. 630,000), located in the northeastern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has long been famous for its limestone karst hills. Formed ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Turnoi -- 4 January 2010

If I am not quite wrong, that's the place where Owing Bucks (Owen Buckland) runs his crappy training centre. He is well-known for not paying his foreign (and Chinese?) teachers what is due to ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Zero -- 5 January 2010

Yes, Yes Owen is still at it....Cheating, Lying, Bribing, Taking Advantage of and Misinforming all in the name of the Big Bucks.

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- englishgibson -- 4 January 2010

OP, most of the follow-up is right on. To further enlighten you on Liuzhou, it's an industrial area and so do not expect to see blue skies at any time there. Also, there've been reports out ...

Re: Guilin vs. Liuzhou (not Luizhou) -- Monitor -- 5 January 2010

What you've posted re LIUZHOU, NOT Luizhou, as the OP had initially misspelled it in his thread heading, is accurate enough, EnglishGibson. I have read an interesting blog re said city, with ...

Re: Guilin vs. Luizhou -- Supercat -- 5 January 2010

You can be sure that grub Owen Buckland is involved in some crappy school in Guilin right now, Guilin and Yangshuo are and have always been his turf. Better to keep away from Guilin and Yangshuo ...

Unseen Heroes -- Turnoi -- 3 January 2010

Humble heroes, according to my understanding, are people who do a lot of good in their own community, quietly and humbly, without much of publicity, unselfish in their efforts, and often sacrificing ...

Re: Unseen Heroes -- juanisaac -- 7 January 2010

Does this man have a way contact him? I am sure someone in the world, maybe at this forum would want to help him.

Re: Unseen Heroes -- Turnoi -- 7 January 2010

Mr. Li can only be contacted via my Chinese friend, who is a journalist. There has been a report about him and his project in various foreign TV stations but not in China. Does this tell you ...

Re: Unseen Heroes -- Supercat -- 3 January 2010

What a great story about a decent man who is making a very worthwhile contribution to his community. What a contrast Mr Li is to the self serving, greedy, arrogant, incompetent and corrupt scumbags ( ...

? on criminal record -- Craig -- 3 January 2010

Hi, I am a U.S. citizen, have a university degree, and recently obtained an tefl certificate with plans on teaching abroad (hopefully China). the question that i have is pertaining to a background ...

Re: ? on criminal record -- Supercat -- 3 January 2010

You will get a job in China easily, nobody will check on your criminal record, China is full of people from the West who have criminal records. If you want to teach at a university you will need a ...

Re: ? on criminal record -- englishgibson -- 4 January 2010

supercat, there are supposedly many kinds of people reading on these forums and using their info for a variety of purposes.China is full of people from the West who have criminal records.are the ...

Re: ? on criminal record -- Supercat -- 4 January 2010

Hi englishgibson, I did not mean for my post to be a slur upon FT's in China. Yeah, maybe I should have said that there are "quite a few" FT's in China who have criminal records. Not that I ...

Re: ? on criminal record -- Turnoi -- 4 January 2010

Yeah, maybe I should have said that there are "quite a few" FT's in China who have criminal records. Some of those FTs with a criminal record must be my crocs there as well; they have a criminal ...

Re: ? on criminal record -- Turnoi -- 3 January 2010

As far as China is concerned, I would not worry too much, Craig. There are several ways to find out: 1. Contact the Chinese Embassy and find out what documentation they require to issue with a Z visa ...

EFL techniques vs ESL techniques -- CIGDEM -- 3 January 2010

Hi every body I am a master student and I have an assignmesnt about how teaching techniques and materials may vary upon whether we teaching ESL or EFL. In our country we teach EFL not ESL. So I need ...

Kindergartens Alphabet teaching -- englishgibson -- 2 January 2010

A couple months ago, I had a frustrating experience when preparing students for western unis and that with, both, my employer and the students. Having done it for more than 4 years and being ...

Re: Kindergartens Alphabet teaching -- GAC facilitator -- 3 January 2010

A drastic change, pal, from GAC to kindergarten, isn't it? The latter is not so easy to do well, that is, unless you're a natural, and not too many middle-aged men are! Anyways, keep us ...

Oil Spill into Yellow River Tributary -- FT in China -- 2 January 2010

Drinking water threat: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100103/ap_on_re_as/as_china_oil_spill

Re: Oil Spill into Yellow River Tributary -- englishgibson -- 2 January 2010

well, that's quite a tragedy for many in the area...and, the wild life there will most likely suffer as well. out of the link: The Environmental Ministry has tried to shut down polluting ...

So you want to teach? -- cunning linguist -- 2 January 2010

Hello everybody. Hope you enjoyed Christmas and New Year celebrations wherever you are, and thanks for the kind messages when I took a break from posting. A few weeks back one of our teachers was ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- Juanisaac -- 2 January 2010

Thanks. I printed your article. I had a really bad class today at my Senior Middle School.

Re: So you want to teach? -- cunning linguist -- 3 January 2010

Glad you found my brief comments useful. We all have "bad days" and we can learn from them. The fact that you acknowledge things didn't go well is a positive and shows you are concerned about ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- Supercat -- 2 January 2010

Hi CL, I agree with most of what you wrote in your post, it is one of the better posts I have seen on here for some time. However, could you elaborate a bit more about the FT who was dismissed half ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- cunning linguist -- 2 January 2010

Thanks for the compliment. In writing about the event, I was careful not to mention gender,(the teacher), or to give exact details, to 'protect' the individual. This teacher taught oral ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- Supercat -- 2 January 2010

Ok cunning linguist, thanks for clearing that up. I understand that if an FT at a university in China is just abusing other teachers and staff for no reason without any provacation then they would ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- cunning linguist -- 2 January 2010

The way things work here is that the airfare reimbursement, for example, is added pro rata to the monthly paycheck. This means I assume, only part of that airfare will be reimbursed as the contract ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- Turnoi -- 3 January 2010

Welcome back, CL! My crocs were missing you.....LOL.

Re: So you want to teach? -- cunning linguist -- 3 January 2010

Hi Turnoi and thanks. I still have about 40 papers that need grading, so I will be busy over the next few days. This year I used mnemonics for the correct answers for the non essay/writing questions. ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- Turino -- 2 January 2010

So I have been thinking about what it means to work in China. First of all,welcome back,cunning linguist!Now to your very interesting statement quoted above - as I see it,the meaning of "what it ...

Re: So you want to teach? -- cunning linguist -- 2 January 2010

Thanks for the welcome. You are right when you say, "... it's most important for budding FT's to identify in advance what kind of pressures they might well face from their students and ...

Re: Scam jobs4teachers.org is up again. -- Jennifer -- 1 January 2010

This is great information! Unfortunately I didn't see it before I paid the 'final placement fee.' I'm looking for teaching jobs in Europe...anyway know of reputable placement agencies ...

Re: Scam jobs4teachers.org is up again. -- sarah cawley -- 8 January 2010

I also paid a placement fee. I'm so angry. Someone needs to shut this site down! Is there a way of reporting it?? I'll never pay a placement fee again...........

Re: Hunan Zhuzhou University -- Weiailan -- 1 January 2010

Hunan sucks!!!

Re: Hunan Zhuzhou University -- wide-eyed -- 2 January 2010

Hunan sucks? No way can I agree with you. The women there. Now, they're very, very special - so attractive and loving, faces full of character, naturally beautiful. Just what a red-blooded ...

Re: Hunan Zhuzhou University -- Matt Pender -- 2 January 2010

Funny you should say that Hunan women are the best-looking in China. Though I've never taught there, too hot for me, I've taught more than a few really beautiful girl students from Hunan at ...

Work Visa's -- Khalil Rahman -- 1 January 2010

Hi, Happy new year to all. I just finished my Celta course and i've been applying for jobs. I received a job offer from Dubai. The job pays well (3900USD) and accommodation paid for. The problem ...

Re: Work Visa's -- MasterMason -- 1 January 2010

It's a scam, there are no jobs in Dubei that pay that much. That's the first problem. The second is the lack of communication from the school, i.e. interviews and such. The third is that they ...

THIS IS A SCAM!!! -- The Owl -- 1 January 2010

You will see similar scams on the Scam Alert board of this site at

Re: Shunde Polytechnic & Daliang -- JP -- 30 December 2009

Hi Expat, I'm currently teaching Oral English courses at Shunde Polytechnic. I've been here since January 2009, and so far I am satisfied with the campus and overall environment of Shunde. ...

Greetings and a happy New Year -- Turnoi -- 30 December 2009

I am back after a wonderful trip to South Western Kenya and celebration of the Holy Mass there in one of our partner churches. Some local crocs tried to eat me up there but spit me out again because ...

Re: Greetings and a happy New Year -- ANET -- 30 December 2009

Thank you and welcome back, safe and sound.

Re: Black List IN KOREA-- CDI Jeju -- chris -- 29 December 2009

After a futile 5 month wait for a promised letter of recommendation, following 14 months of service as a re-signed and highly-rated CDI instructor, I've decided it's time to share my ...

Greeting and Best Wishes to All -- ANET -- 29 December 2009

I’m back. I hope you all had a great Christmas break. Mine was wonderful. I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.

Re: Greeting and Best Wishes to All -- Turnoi -- 31 December 2009

Have a wonderful 2010 and a peaceful and successful New Year, too. And, please - keep up your good work! Thank you.

Clarification re "Exultant in Ulsan" -- ANET -- 29 December 2009

I began posting in the Fall of 2007 in the public interest of the ESL community. The posting titled "Exultant in Ulsan" related to events surrounding a notoriously bad hagwon just south east of Ulsan ...

Re: Beware of gender specifics! -- scarlettohara -- 27 December 2009

Another reason why I maintain that these schools are to be avoided is BECAUSE of the social antiquation that the previous, insulting, poster claims! BECAUSE they maintain a superior view of their ...

Urumchi - Londoner Facing Execution -- J T Evans -- 27 December 2009

Fair do's, I think. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8431750.stm

Re: Urumchi - Londoner Facing Execution -- englishgibson -- 28 December 2009

and i thought i was one with just about the worst holidays on earth really tragic for the ones that're either related to him or've known him out of the link: According to Reprieve, Chinese ...

Re: Urumchi - Londoner Facing Execution -- Monitor -- 28 December 2009

Execution confirmed! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091229/ap_on_re_as/as_china_britain_death_sentence

Beware of gender specifics! -- scarlettohara -- 25 December 2009

Stay away from any school advertising for a female or a male! Many times they're using you for other reasons (not illicit). They're ALWAYS private schools, usually start up and they'll ...

Re: Beware of gender specifics! -- Karen -- 26 December 2009

Gender discrimination is common in China and it does not necessarily mean that a given school is bad and in fact, I know of many licensed and well respected schools and ESL institutes alike that have ...

Re: Beware of gender specifics! -- englishgibson -- 29 December 2009

karen, sadly enough, i've got to agree with you on some of the points in your post (i'm quoting below), however, and i'll tell you why i also disagree with your too.Gender discrimination ...

Re: Beware of gender specifics! -- scarlettohara -- 26 December 2009

I can't agree with you Karen. I've worked in China, Korea and Japan and I've always found that the schools that are very aware of Western cultural norms have the most integrity, they pay ...

Tefl or Celta certification -- Esra -- 26 December 2009

Heyy I am an non native English teacher and wanna get my Tesol certificate in Europe.Is it possible for me to work in a host family in exchange of tesol and accomodation?Do you know sth about ...

(Message Deleted by Poster) -- robert -- 23 December 2009

Re: vip china in beijing -- RMT -- 24 December 2009

If Goldwyn's still the boss, no worries, mate! (I can't see him not being so). He knows how to arrange things well for his foreign teachers, and has a hands-on approach as to the day-to day ...

Re: Anyone give information about IGiT group in Saudi Arabia -- An -- 23 December 2009

I don't know about this particular employer much, but I didn't find anything on them on www.teachsaudi.com , I think a lot of companies post on that website,so maybe you can get some ...

Sick Leave in Contracts -- englishgibson -- 23 December 2009

There are many employment contracts with sick leave clauses that assure one of only 2 or 3 days at 100 % pay in China, however, to my knowledge, the central government's labor laws do not state ...

Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- KH -- 23 December 2009

Hi, I hope to start a small English language school in china, and am researching franchise opportunity with EF, WSI and Linguaphone. Have anyone work for these firms? Would appreciate your thought on ...

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- nglish teaching isn't as -- 25 December 2009

English teaching isn't as profitable as it once was in China, since everyone and their mother has opened up a school. There is a lot of competition, hence buying into an already established chain ...

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- englishgibson -- 25 December 2009

in response to the last post that i agree and disagree with, i've got to set the record straight a bit. the chinese market is large and on rather slippery grounds that foreigners might never be ...

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- englishgibson -- 24 December 2009

KH, I suppose you're a Chinese but forgive me to assume that. If so, you'd need a couple million yuan to kickstart your EF center as, to my knowledge, that's been most of the time the ...

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- Turino -- 24 December 2009

Another informative and honest post from your good self, englishgibson. You have given us all an insight into the dishonest way that many EFL training centers in China go about their business. Thank ...

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- Chengdu FT -- 30 December 2009

I agree with comments on EF! They have a really bad reputation in China. Like the others have said, you will have a difficult time recruiting white monkeys. Linguaphone and WSI I have never heard of. ...

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- Turnoi -- 31 December 2009

I think that neither EF nor WSI are real options to consider. Stay clear of the all the two, that's my option I would recommend!

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- Supercat -- 1 January 2010

Yes Turnoi, you are correct, EF is crap, always has been, and always will be. We can only hope that 2010 will be the year EF goes bankrupt, it is what deserves to happen to the scum EF organization!

Re: Is Linguaphone classroom based courses as good/effective as those at EF or WSI? -- Turnoi -- 1 January 2010

We can only hope that 2010 will be the year EF goes bankrupt, it is what deserves to happen to the scum EF organization! I can only add "Amen"! Yes, be it so!

Escape from Mazoon College, Oman -- Bharava Singh Jr -- 23 December 2009

I recently did my first ever Mid East runner. And the place that I ran away from was Mazoon College located at Airport Heights, Seeb, Muscat,Oman. Here is a brief summary of events that led to such ...

Re: Escape from Mazoon College, Oman -- Bharava Singh Jr -- 8 January 2010

What are the misrepresentations here? Anything I wrote here is untrue? And what does my lack of professionalism have to do with them not keeping their promises and not honoring the terms of the ...

Re: Escape from Mazoon College, Oman -- Mike johnstone -- 31 December 2009

It is only fair to point out that the post Escape from Mazoon College is full of misrepresentations and outright lies. It was posted, I guess, by a person whose lack of professionalism is well known ...

Re: Escape from Mazoon College, Oman -- tatsuospirit -- 2 January 2010

Hey Johnstone, are you the recruiter referred to in the Mazoon comments or actually with the school? Either way, your comments smell badly. Perhaps its from the smoke created by this situation.

looking to start -- andy -- 22 December 2009

Hello, I am looking into teaching esl in south korea. what advice and pointers can you folks give me to get started? Does anyone know of any companies to avoid working for? Any that you'd ...

Re: looking to start -- MasterMason -- 25 December 2009

To be quite honest, from the horror stories I have read online, I'd give Korea a pass entirely. Though there seems to be less online in regards to horror stores, it is also a much much smaller ...

qualifications/schools -- Sam -- 22 December 2009

I just graduated with my undergrad and want to teach ESL abroad in China. Do I NEED any other qualifications? Also, where could I read about the qualifications?

Re: qualifications/schools -- CSUWS -- 26 December 2009

What "qualifications" you need to teach in China depends on what region you are living in. Some schools require a degree, many do not. Having a degree and/or TESOL is beneficial in the larger cities ...

Re: qualifications/schools -- Jigga -- 2 January 2010

I have some newbie questions...I am looking to find the best job I can to get started. What is a TC? How can you tell if a school is a chain school, training center, international school by the job ...

Re: qualifications/schools -- MasterMason -- 25 December 2009

In my experience no qualifications are required in a number of places. The only qualifications required in theory is a degree. You have that, so that's all you need. While a Tesol cert would be a ...

Re: WARNING!!!!Throat Expert Doctor Strikes Again - New name/id: Dr. Simon, simon19990@gmail.com -- Maria -- 21 December 2009

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, this Doctor strikes back again. He called me yesterday and asked to do the same ridiculous and stupid things. Fortunately, my friend told me about this scam. So i stopped ...

Kindergartens -- Yukon -- 20 December 2009

I was looking around at Kindergartens in china and was just wondering if they are private or public/government run. Should one be wary of kindergartens as they should training centers or are they ...

Re: Kindergartens -- MasterMason -- 21 December 2009

Were I you, I'd avoid kindergartens entirely. Kindergartens in China are nothing more than loud baby sitting jobs disguised as English teaching. You will have to deal with a lot of spoiled, ...

Re: Kindergartens -- Turnoi -- 21 December 2009

To answer your question, I would say that there are private mostly private kindergartens hiring foreign teachers. Yes, and you must be wary of them as you must be in case of private training centres. ...

ESL Podcasts for classroom use -- Mike D'Angelo -- 20 December 2009

Hello all, I am currently teaching as an IELTS training teacher and wanted to share some of my ideas and ask you guys if you might have any ideas. I have been teaching in China for three years now ...

White "monkeys" in action -- Turnoi -- 20 December 2009

White "monkeys" expected to entertain Chinese students have been mentioned a few times already on this board. Here you can see one of them... http://news.163.com/weekdig/19BR0001/7422.html LOL

Re: White "monkeys" in action -- englishgibson -- 21 December 2009

the term i've been using is "exotic dancers", but i've been shot down a few times for it which is possibly due to the fact that my foreign expert booklet leads peoples people believe i work ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action -- Monitor -- 21 December 2009

You say you've 'badly failed in your last gig'. The reasons for your poor evaluation as a foreign teacher may be many and varied. They needn't have anything to do with your ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action -- ChengduFT -- 22 December 2009

I thought I was the only one that used "White Monkey." That has been the standard phrase in Chengdu for sometime. Really crappy jobs are usually refered to as monkey work or monkey jobs. I think the ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action -- RS -- 22 December 2009

What's the score re the recruiter Sunny's English Club of Chengdu? Is it really "a professional agency", as Sunny claims, or just another Chinese bottomfeeder? (I thought you might have some ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action -- Chengdu FT -- 23 December 2009

Awful! Total joke, unless you like monkey work. She will sign you to a contract and hold your visa. Once she has your visa, you are SLAVE! She doesn't pay a flat monthly rate. Instead it is 50 an ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action @ Sunny's of Chengdu -- RS -- 23 December 2009

Thanks for your input re Sunny's English Club of Chengdu, Chengdu FT. What you've said has saved me wasting my time with her. I guess there will be very few foreigners who are so desperate ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action @ Sunny's of Chengdu -- Chengdu FT -- 13 January 2010

Someone sent me a message asking for more info on Sunny's English. So I thought I would post here for all to read. Actually I have never worked directly for Sunny. I had some dealings with her ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action @ Sunny's of Chengdu -- Monitor -- 13 January 2010

It has been noted that a fairly recent thread re Sunny's English Club on another ESL forum was deleted all of a sudden, presumably due to the non-complimentary nature of the contents of some of ...

Re: White "monkeys" in action @ Sunny's of Chengdu -- Turnoi -- 14 January 2010

I am not interested to visit that cafe of drunken monkeys...lol. And from what I have heard "Sunny's English Ckub" is not "sunny" but dull and dark. Some say it even is a nightmare!

Re: White "monkeys" in action @ Sunny's of Chengdu -- Silverboy -- 13 January 2010

Your advice about applying direct to a public junior school or public high school is good advice. I usually advise people on here who are good at teaching adults to work at a public university. I ...

Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- Chris Morgan -- 20 December 2009

Found this on another discussion board and though others might find it interesting: I don't know why this irrational characterization of foreign teachers irritates me but I recently saw a posting ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- englishgibson -- 21 December 2009

i believe that the prejudice plays a major role in many chinese minds when they are "judging" foreigners. often they know little about most of the foreign countries as their education is fairly ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- Turnoi -- 20 December 2009

Well, the things you are mentioning belong to the category of "cross-cultural conflict" which is only too natural. It is a matter of Western and Chinese mindsets, and vice versa. It is psychological ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- Supercat -- 20 December 2009

I gave up caring about what the Chinese think long ago, half the time they just speak a lot of rubbish anyway, at least in the education sector. If the Chinese think that we are "evil and arrogant" I ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- gorucho -- 22 December 2009

supppppper cat. you hit the nail on the head. no more or less. love to have poor student than those so called new century rich?? how they got rich ???

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- juanisaac -- 21 December 2009

You are so right in your assertions. Foreigners stand out so much that whatever they do is amplified. However, for a few that are arrogant the rest of us treat the Chinese with respect from the ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- englishgibson -- 21 December 2009

juanisaac has mentioned educational differences and they are a root to the problem with the chinese viewing westerners as some "evil arrogant" characters that should be avoided.The methodologies we ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- Percy Lightfoot -- 21 December 2009

The educated Chinese and the Chinese upper classes tend to treat the have-nots badly, and think nothing of it - a feudal culture that is still part of the Chinese 'culture',preserved from ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- groucho -- 22 December 2009

well it said enough about what ever. we are eveil since day one, because we made them rich and chinese in the same time. they call them selves back home in the USA chinese-amrican. wow. there is only ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- Supercat -- 22 December 2009

I will agree that some foreigners who come to China are looked down upon as losers from the West. On the other hand, many of the Chinese are also jealous of us laowai, generally speaking we are often ...

Re: Cultural Stereotypes: The Evil Arrogant Foreigner -- Supercat -- 21 December 2009

I would have to agree with what you wrote juanissac. I do not understand why people in China and other Asian countries have to treat service industry workers like garbage. I can also understand a ...

Re: Whazup with the jobs? -- englishgibson -- 20 December 2009

well, it looks like there're many schools looking for teachers, although they've got some difficulties explaining what their actual academic programs are. some private schools want you to ...

Re: Whazup with the jobs? -- Teacharian -- 20 December 2009

If you're into training centres, the jobs detailed in the link below may interest you. Typical TC jobs, beware, not suitable for laowai seeking a sinecure nor for laowai who like lots of free ...

Re: Whazup with the jobs? -- Turnoi -- 20 December 2009

Good advice you have given! I would not bother applying either as I have got much better things to do than to have myself exploited!

Re: GAC/OWENS school -- englishgibson -- 19 December 2009

Finally, I have moved out of the home I rented nearby the GAC OWENS and their Sino American International School in Chongqing. Losing 1,000 RMB on my 2,500 Yuan deposit due to, according to the ...

Re: GAC/OWENS school -- Turino -- 20 December 2009

To sum up my warning, keep in mind that work permits on mainland now aren't as easy as a decade ago and a bad rap from an employer may come costly to anyone. And, some Foreign Expert Offices with ...

Re: Anyone heard of Hampson English -- bobby -- 19 December 2009

here's an interesting page to look at. http://jobs.echinacities.com/ShowJob-45361.html I have also seen the crazy contracts and very high fees students must pay to learn at the schools. Hampson ...

(Message Deleted by Poster) -- dylan -- 19 December 2009

Re: Anyone heard of Hampson English -- Turnoi -- 19 December 2009

Interesting to see that reaction from a Chinese point of view regarding crappy training centres, their bosses and lackeys! I believe foreign teachers could achieve a lot if they were able to unite ...

A Note on the quality of the Chinese text in the OP's post -- Turnoi -- 19 December 2009

Hampson ...

Re: A Note on the quality of the Chinese text in the OP's post -- englishgibson -- 19 December 2009

I have heard of this company and even called its reps for an interview in Chongqing about two weeks ago. A guy named Jack was to offer an immediate online interview which seemed great, although the ...

Re: A Note on the quality of the Chinese text in the OP's post (2) -- Turnoi -- 20 December 2009

Gibson, I do not want to get into an argument with you over this, but please consider the following input below from a mere linguistic point of view. 1. True, there is something like "Chongqinghua", ...

Re: A Note on the quality of the Chinese text in the OP's post (2) -- Supercat -- 20 December 2009

I have noticed also that there are several pretend Chinese posters on this board and also on other ESL/EFL sites. Usually they can be spotted easily because of their incorrect use of pinyin. The ...

Re: A Note on the quality of the Chinese text in the OP's post (2) -- Turnoi -- 20 December 2009

I fully agree with what you said - these pretend Chinese posters are a nuisance - mainly for the reason that they are trying to pretend to be someone they actually are NOT and their unfounded ...

Re: A Note on the quality of the Chinese text in the OP's post (2) -- Turnoi -- 20 December 2009

We have the pretend teacher, pretend schools, pretend universities, pretend managers ( DOS ), better add "pretend Chinese people" to that list! Yes, a very appropriate suggestion! In my ...

Best wishes -- Turnoi -- 18 December 2009

My best wishes for a joyful, peaceful and and happy Christmas and a succesful, peaceful and happy New Year 2010 to everybody around here! I will be away for about a week and be unable to post here. ...

(Message Deleted by Poster) -- Laureano Ralon-Facchina -- 18 December 2009

Re: Nanjing anyone? -- Turnoi -- 18 December 2009

I guess the "boys and girls" around here are still too young to make an educated decision as to what school exactly you are talking about if you fail to mention the exact name. Most of us are neither ...

Re: Nanjing anyone? -- retire -- 19 December 2009

You mean those of rocking chair age! Remembering "the good old days" "Yeah, it was better back then" "What's the matter with kids today"

Re: Nanjing anyone? -- Turnoi -- 19 December 2009

I am not sure whether you are aware that there a number of people at the age of 75+ years dancing Rock 'n Roll almost each day. I am sure I will do the same when my time has come - within the ...

Dongbei Primary beware! -- KFesl -- 17 December 2009

Recently my girlfriend and I had been in contact with this school located in Huludao for over a month (Nov-Dec). We had several phone interviews, interaction through e-mail and were just about to ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! - On crappy housing! -- Turnoi -- 7 February 2010

The photos that were to accompany the contract never arrived. Why do you think they never arrived? - My guess is: Here is my answer: What they have to offer is a run-down building with public ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- ybrunson -- 27 January 2010

I have to concur with all of the post about this school. If you are looking to teach abroad, and you speak with Xiao, please be aware. The entire process is rushed, and made to seem as though if some ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 7 February 2010

To the short porky Xiao (which he told me he was), good luck with your white female teacher, I hope that works out for the school! Short porky Xiao (as you describe him) seems to be racist like the ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Right Said Fred -- 17 December 2009

I bet that the "Dongbei Primary" outfit you've written about is the same one that has placed an ad for three foreign teachers this very day on this board. Am I right or am I right? Thanks ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 17 December 2009

Do you really want to travel to China and make all the initial efforts in paying in advance for your flight and get your visa stuff done just to end up in a place like this?

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- KJK -- 17 December 2009

This is a typical ploy by schools to hurry you up into signing a contract. Delay, delay and then set a last minute deadline. One of the first requests that I always had with a school is to show me ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- KFesl -- 17 December 2009

They are now posting on this site under the heading "School -- a coastal city in liaoning" Strange they don't mention Huludao or Dongbei anymore and the email address have changed.

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- bosslove72 -- 16 January 2010

I worked at this school. If you ever see Huludao and primary school together, just keep moving. This place is a joke and they are not trustworthy at all. They try to cheat you in all sorts of ways. ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 7 February 2010

You seem to have worked there recently. Do you know of any (Mr) "Hans Fisher" at this school, or are have you heard about him? He claims to have worked there for 3 years. Could you tell us?

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 16 January 2010

Yes, indeed, your report sounds like a story from Absurdistan..... Now, I am wondering of the details regarding their "training" that they insisted you should attend. Normally, Chinese foreign ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 16 January 2010

Ha, it should read "wondering about".. and not "wondering of".... There must have been tomatoes on my eyes when I wrote this post...lol.

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Joe -- 22 January 2010

Dear KFesl I was browsing through this site when this thread caught my eye. Do you realize that in writing a post like this about a school you have never been to and know almost nothing about, you ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Turnoi -- 22 January 2010

Joe, I do not know that school you are writing about. But I do highly disagree with your criticism regarding the KFESL poster. The normal foreign teacher working for a "school" like this in a place ...

Re: Dongbei Primary beware! -- Joe -- 22 January 2010

Point taken, thanks for the grammar help Turnoi

ESLworld -- adam -- 16 December 2009

Anyone have experience with the above company?

Re: certification courses -- Jess -- 15 December 2009

It depends on where you want to teach. 4 week courses are the best because you usually get 6 hours of teaching non-native speakers. Some employers are looking for that number. If you take a blended ...

American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Nutan Mehta -- 14 December 2009

Dear teachers, Please, could anyone help me with tips of how to improve American accent spoken English and writing skills. This help will be greatly appreciated. Nutan

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- ANET -- 14 December 2009

Not knowing in which continent you live, it's hard to advise you. If you have access to Cable TV, watching CNN is a start. In some parts of the world, you can rent American movies. Have you ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Turnoi -- 14 December 2009

I would not recommend speaking English with an American accent, and I would also not encourage anyone to learn it. It is like having chewing gum in your mouth when you speak with that accent.

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Paul, foreign expert, China -- 14 December 2009

I would not recommend speaking English with an American accent, and I would also not encourage anyone to learn it. It is like having chewing gum in your mouth when you speak with that accent. ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Turnoi -- 15 December 2009

Canadians also speak English with a kind of an Americm accent. So, I would not recommend to use it either. The best of course is a Russian accent in speaking English that sounds perfectly British.... ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Juan -- 15 December 2009

You are quite correct that the Canadians have the best English accent- clear and articulate. In the United States I worked with a Canadian ESL teacher, and his accent is what impressed me the most. ...

American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- kjk -- 15 December 2009

I also agree that I would not want to speak with an American accent. I would recommend listening to either BBC or the Canadian CBC for what is close to a flat speaking. Every country in the English ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Maple Leaf -- 15 December 2009

Many people will agree that Canadian English is the best. After that comes British English. I've been a foriegn teacher of English here for a long, long time. Many Chinese have told me how easy ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- pangmei -- 18 December 2009

Ya, I know exactly what you're talking aboat! (Not a typo...that's how most Canadians pronounce it.) Canadians speak great English, eh? Cut me a break. 90% of the time I meet a ridiculously ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Turnoi -- 18 December 2009

Yes, we're imperialist, war-mongering jerks but it don't mean we ain't able to speak English. You see, in a discussion on a serious topic like that, we need to keep politics, resentments ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Flyonthewall -- 18 December 2009

Quite a few of the Australians I've met here speak English with strong, local accents, and, rather surprisingly, many of them haven't come from regional Australian towns, such as those in the ...

Life is sometimes a bitch! -- Turnoi -- 18 December 2009

I've also discovered that the menfolk from there tend to drink too much beer and love womanising. They just live for dancing with attractive Chinese women at nightclubs until the early hours of ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Silverboy -- 18 December 2009

Dancing ( hip-hop, bare feet, no dress codes at clubs ), drinking beer all night, dumplings and oily noodles, womanizing, selecting the best pink rooms, yelling bilingual verbal abuse at TA's and ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Turnoi -- 18 December 2009

I've also discovered that the menfolk from there tend to drink too much beer and love womanising. They just live for dancing with attractive Chinese women at nightclubs until the early hours of ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Oracle -- 18 December 2009

I'm not sure if Canadians have the best English pronunciation as a rule. As for Americans speaking the best English, I doubt that is the case. All I can say for sure is that native speakers of ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Albert Mondragon -- 18 December 2009

Cut me a break. 90% of the time I meet a ridiculously unqualified or undereducated FT here he/she is Canadian or Australian.The Canadians and English I've met here speak clear English, if, and ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Supercat -- 18 December 2009

I would like to know what you mean by "well educated" teachers, if you mean anyone with a degree them that really makes me laugh! There are plenty of foreigners working as teachers in Asia who ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- Turnoi -- 18 December 2009

Pay peanuts and you just get (white) monkeys! There are not only white monkeys but also whispering Mongolian ponies, crocodiles speaking Chinglish, and penguins speaking English with a heavy Russian ...

Re: American accent spoken English and improving writing skills tips -- uniclown -- 19 December 2009

Chinese universities must start paying FT's decent salaries eg: 8000-10000RMB a month. I don't think they want to pay clowns that much!

On Clowns and other things -- Turnoi -- 19 December 2009

I don't think they want to pay clowns that much! I do not think that it matters whether they want "to pay clowns that much"; it rather depends whether they can afford to do so. As someone who ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Trevor Furner -- 13 December 2009

Hello Guys and Girls, I would just like to add my little bit to this thread! Firstly i have never taught there but both my wife and myself have been offered jobs at this college starting very soon. I ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Ex-tc -- 13 December 2009

Dear Trevor, I will try to sum it up for you & your wife in a few points: Students are mostly spoiled brats from rich families, who expect to be entertained. They are abusive, superficial, immature ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- CSUWS -- 13 December 2009

That was very well said, although Omeida is such a well known crap school in China it seems almost superflous to once again go through the mountain of reasons why nobody should work at that ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Turnoi -- 14 December 2009

Surprising ( or maybe not! ) how many foreigners in China will sell out other waigouren for the sake of a lousy 2000 or 3000 RMB! That is what laowai DOS in China do, they can't survive in the ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Turnoi -- 13 December 2009

Trevor, if I were you I would not even consider working for this Omeida crap place! The Ex-TC poster has pointed out the most important details already, and I think the worst point that should ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- CSUWS -- 14 December 2009

Turnoi, I think that Trevor is a bit naive. Odar is just like many crap school owners/managers and recruiters I have previously come across. Yes, they will always be "nice" to you when they send you ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Trevor -- 14 December 2009

Hello Guys, Firstly i thank you for your comments... However just to let you know im not a naive person, i have been around a bit. I have previously taught in China in Shandong and enjoyed teaching ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Josh Brannigan -- 15 December 2009

As for Omeida, it's good that you continue to have an open mind. What's one man's meat can be another man's poison. I've taught at schools and colleges that have had bad reports ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- CSUWS -- 15 December 2009

I feel that nobody should have an open mind in regard to crap schools like Omeida Language "College". I also get really annoyed when crap training centres in China call themselves colleges or ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Turnoi -- 15 December 2009

Although I can't agree with all the points in detail you have made, I think you have given some sound and wise advice to Trevor. That's great! Thank you.

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- The Owl -- 15 December 2009

Would you like to share the name of the agency with us?

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Trevor -- 15 December 2009

Hello The Owl, Regarding the agency Owl, i would rather keep that to myself for now due to the ongoing investigation into this agency. It will come out in due course. They know who they are and ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Turino -- 15 December 2009

Hi Trevor,I'm sorry to hear that you've had the unfortunate experience of having dealt with a greedy recruiter,be he Chinese or otherwise.Even so,we shouldn't tar all recruiters with the ...

WHAT ARE THE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THESE SENTENCES -- Maree -- 12 December 2009

"...to earn FREE INCOME in turn using this FREE EARNINGS to buy things from tripleclicks / maxmalls store and in my other businesses. For just signing-up and participate in these FREE online websites ...

Re: WHAT ARE THE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THESE SENTENCES -- Turnoi -- 12 December 2009

My corrections are in red; not all of the things marked pertain to the category of explicit grammatical errors but would concern sentence structure, wording and style: "...to earn a FREE INCOME, and ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Ex-TC -- 11 December 2009

I think I know what the answer will be! "No why, just feeling!" (Mei you weishenme, zhi you gan jue!!!!)

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Monitor -- 11 December 2009

In my opinion, Omeida Language College should be re-named Ohmymy Bad Language College. Why do I say so? Because after you get there and have started your teaching, you'll say to yourself "Oh my ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Turnoi -- 11 December 2009

I have taught there for a year. It's great school. The text above sounds Chinglish to me because of the indefinite article "a" missing in the second sentence. I am therefore inclined to believe ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Ex-TC -- 11 December 2009

Would you mind telling us why Angie? :0 :) :0 I'd love to hear a defence of this rotten corupto-school. Ex-TC

What are the benefits of marrying a Chinese woman? -- Migrant Worker -- 11 December 2009

I am not talking about personality or traits, I am talking about the diplomatic benefits. If you were to marry a Chinese women I was told that you are allowed to get a one year renewable residencial ...

Re: What are the benefits of marrying a Chinese woman? -- HireEd -- 11 December 2009

From what I understand (not having actually married a Chinese woman), yes, there are some benefits in terms of visas, etc., but I also understand from knowing a number of expats who married Chinese ...

Re: What are the benefits of marrying a Chinese woman? -- Turnoi -- 11 December 2009

I quite agree. Marrying a Chinese woman for other reasons than love can be quite a hassle.

Re: What are the benefits of marrying a Chinese woman? -- Migrant Worker -- 12 December 2009

Yeah, no worries there. I am marrying for love, just wondering if being from different countries will be a hassle after we get married or if they will let me stay.

Re: What are the benefits of marrying a Chinese woman? -- Turino -- 13 December 2009

Yeah, no worries there. I am marrying for love, just wondering if being from different countries will be a hassle after we get married or if they will let me stay. Of course, you can stay with your ...

Foreign Experts' Officers in China -- englishgibson -- 11 December 2009

Recently, I have discovered that a Foreign Expert Office that serves the foreign expert teachers on mainland in a city, facilitates a scam that one licensed private educational institution is ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Laurence -- 9 December 2009

Omeida a "great school"?.....You must be kidding! How much did they pay you to make this post in their favour, Mr./Mrs. Ghostwriter?

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- CSUWS -- 10 December 2009

You are correct, Omeida is crap, just like most of the "schools' in Yangshuo. Odar is a total [edited], and Owen Buckland is nothing but a ruthless profiteer and pathological liar who knows ...

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- Turnoi -- 11 December 2009

ODAR reminds me of "odour" ; to me, that indicates pretty bad smell. Hence, this must be a place to stay away from!

Re: Omeida Language College in Yangshuo -- englishgibson -- 11 December 2009

Yangshuo is so beautiful that it's easy to take advantage of. Yangshuo is so like the "illegal drug" that some get hooked on after they get to know it. Yangshuo is so full of "foreign addicts" ...

Re: Warning: EF English First in China - ESL discussion -- englishgibson -- 9 December 2009

Regrettably,I must say on record here that the EF has got more professional contractual agreements to sign than many other schools/centers on mainland. After having read scores of contracts for ...

Re: Racism in China -- Jacques Pierre James -- 9 December 2009

I am most certainly not a recruiter. I'm an American teaching in Zhuhai.