tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30990329371435439472024-03-13T00:58:58.372-07:00EFL minus the B.S.EFL minus the B.S. book, is out now on Amazon with Kindle and Paperback VersionsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-54033712735597110032015-02-14T22:33:00.000-08:002015-02-14T22:33:15.136-08:00PEDOPHILIA -- THE SICK SIDE OF EFL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">THE SICK SIDE OF EFL </span>–<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">
PEDOPHILIA</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OK, someone’s gotta say it. Put
yourself in a pedophile’s shoes for a moment, (as stomach-turning as that may
be). You have already notched up a couple of child-sex convictions in England,
Canada, Germany, wherever. Your name now appears on your country’s Sex
Offenders’ Register.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where to next? Asia – yes, why not? There’s a
long tradition of child-sex in countries like Indonesia, The Philippines,
Thailand and Cambodia. Law enforcement is notoriously lax. Might as well get a
piece of the action there. And once you’ve arrived, how better to meet young
people than in an English language school? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The obvious choice for any self-respecting
pedophile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So off you go. Your record
doesn’t bar you from entry to the Asian country of your choice. Your English is
ok, and schools are crying out for teachers. You don’t choose any of the top
schools of course – places like The British Council do embarrassing background
checks. No, a small school should suit you fine. Maybe the pay’s nothing to
write home about, but you aren’t here for the money, are you? No, what you’re
here for is the chance to grope a 12-year-old’s body, and perhaps… just perhaps…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like it or not, that is the
reality of the situation in a number of English language schools in Asia. Just
look at the shameful facts and figures on the internet.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2006</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John Mark Carr, a 41-year-old
American, was teaching English at the Bangkok Christian College when he was
arrested for child-sex offences. He’d previously taught at I&S Language
School in Seoul, and in Taiwan, Costa Rica and Honduras. On the plane going
back from Thailand, Carr confessed to the police accompanying him that he had
killed the 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey; a charge later
disproved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2007</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christopher Paul Neil, a
32-year-old Canadian, was arrested in Thailand for under-age sex. He had
previously taught English in Kwanju, S Korea, and was currently working at a
school in Bangkok. He boasted of his sexual exploits on the internet, complete
with a head-shoulders photo of himself with the face obscured by a
computer-generated swirl. German police managed to unravel the swirl to reveal
his true likeness, and to eventually lead to tracking him down in Thailand.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sean McGowan, a 45-year-old
Brit, was teaching English in Bangkok when he was repatriated to Britain on
charges of raping an 8-year-old Thai girl.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peter William Smith, a
48-year-old Australian teaching in Jakarta was arrested and convicted of
engaging in sex with more than 50 boys.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alan Smith, a 53-year-old Brit,
used fake references to get a job as EFL teacher at Nongyai Temple School, just
north of Bangkok. He was arrested in 2007 for child-sex offences.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ian Bower, a 42-year-old UK
national, was teaching English in Cambodia when he was arrested for child-sex
offences with two boys aged 12 and 14.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2008</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mark Joseph McDowell, American,
taught as ESL Professor at Daejeon University, S Korea, and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BCM
Academy in Seoul, and also ran the EFL resource website Mark’s ESL Wide World
AKA marksesl.com. He was arrested in Korea for child molestation.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Earl R. Bonds, a 42-year-old
American, was arrested in Phuket, Thailand for child-sex. He had been teaching
English in Bangkok, and took regular trips to Phuket to satisfy his taste for
Thai minors.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John Wrenshall, a 62-year-old
Canadian, taught at AUA Language Center in Bangkok for ten years. The director
of AUA described him as “so polite and quiet”. Unbeknown to AUA, their polite,
quiet teacher had spent his after-school hours setting up an internet website
for pedophiles, “Boy Love and Chat”, and was charging foreigners $400 per
introduction.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Karl Joseph Kraus, an Australian,
was arrested in Thailand for raping four young sisters whom he had been giving
private English lessons to in his home. He was 92 years old at the time of his
arrest, thereby setting the record as oldest convicted pedophile. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2010</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michael James Dodd, a
61-year-old American, was teaching in Phnom Penh when he was convicted of
having sex with a 14-year-old Cambodian girl. He’d previously been jailed for a
similar offence in Northern Mariana Islands.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2011</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dennis Gale Catron, a
60-year-old American, had been teaching at various educational institutes and
colleges in Thailand until his arrest on child-sex charges.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2012</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gregory James Miller, a
48-year-old American, worked as an English teacher at Garden International
School, Rayong , Thailand for eight years,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>before he was arrested <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
charged with sexually assaulting five boys under the age of 15.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The above list, I’m sure, is
just the tip of the iceberg. It shows only the cases that appear on the
internet, and doesn’t, of course, include the pedophile EFL teachers who have
gone (and still go) undetected.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Those pedophiles who are
convicted and jailed abroad, find that unlike Western prisons, pedophiles are
not cosseted away in special “safe” units. They are thrown in with the
murderers, rapists, thieves and what-have-you detritus of the criminal world,
and consequently have to bear the brunt of their actions at the hands of their
fellow inmates. It’s a tough old world, innit?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is now available on Amazon in both paperback
and Kindle form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CUSTOMER REVIEW:
“Excellent book. As a former EFL teacher, ten years in Vietnam and Indonesia,
this book is spot on in giving the basic lay down of teaching overseas. The
book is a quick read and should be read by every EFL teacher. Definitely a good
read while on your flight to whatever country you are going to teach.” – J.D.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-28020672147902558482015-01-27T03:03:00.000-08:002015-01-27T03:03:07.910-08:00ENGLISH TEACHERS I HAVE MET<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ENGLISH TEACHERS I HAVE MET</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the
29 or so schools I have worked in, I must have met around… um… upwards of… oh,
a helluva lot of teachers. Some good,
some bad, some indifferent. In this blog I’ll describe some of the worst ones.
(Admit it – you’d
be bored out of your tree if I wasted time writing about the good ones.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Names,
of course, have been changed, to protect the less-than-innocent, and to
forestall any libel actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First,
James. An American. Clean-cut, well-dressed, popular with students, and a
heroin addict. None of us had noticed at first. We’d noted that he had his
off-days of course, when his amusing line of chatter dried up and he had
nothing more than a grunt or two to add to a conversation, but we had put that
down to problems at home or some such thing. After all, none of us are on top
form every day of the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
first intimation I had that all was not well with James was when I was waiting
to use the toilet, and suddenly out burst James, red-faced, sweating, and
unable to even respond to my word of greeting. ‘Strange,’ I thought. ‘He must
have a particularly bad dose of the runs.’ His behavior got progressively
weirder as the day went by. At break time he dozed off and we had to wake him
up to return to his class. His first question on waking was “Oh shit, does
anyone know which room I’m in?” He dismissed his class ten minutes early, and
his students wandered out unsure of whether they’d actually had an English
lesson or not. He spent the half hour until the next lesson dry-retching into
his handkerchief. “You OK James?” someone asked. “What? Oh, yeah, I just seem
to have…. scuse me, gotta go to the toilet.” “The toilet’s thattaway, James.”
“Oh hell, izzit?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">James
began to miss days from his schedule. Sometimes he’d phone in ten minutes
before starting time and give the receptionist a garbled reason for his
no-show, but most times he just didn’t turn up. If challenged next day, he
seemed to have forgotten that he’d missed out a day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was
about six months into his tenure when James arrived at his moment of truth. “Jeeze,”
he announced to the staffroom, “I’ve gotten myself into some heavy shit here.
Made a lot of bad choices. I think it’s time to move on to another country,
clean up my act, get my shit together.” We expressed our understanding and
sympathy, shook his hand, and wished him all the best. No-one heard from him
for six weeks, then one teacher received an e-mailed update from James. He was
now teaching in Colombia. <i>Colombia</i>,
for God’s sake? Just the place to clean up his act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
then there was Albert. Albert’s problem was that he loved a drink; after work,
before work, and at break times. He chewed breath mints continually, but these
did little to disguise the reek of alcohol on his breath. It didn’t seem to
detract from his classroom performance though; every lesson was a loud,
rollicking success. But the management became increasingly worried about the
repercussions of hiring a teacher who was always as pissed as a newt. Students
and student’s parents would soon wake up to the fact. They gave Albert a few
warnings, but these fell on deaf ears, and finally gave Albert his dismissal
notice. I met him ten minutes after he’d been given the word, and his first
words were “Hey, I’ve just got two weeks’ severance pay! Come on down to The
Sportsman Bar after work, and the drinks are on me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Celia
was a Brit in her mid-thirties. She’d had a good Catholic upbringing, acquired
impressive qualifications, and had come to Indonesia to further her teaching
career. As Director of Studies at the time, I was the person who hired her. She
hadn’t even started the job before her first insurmountable problem surfaced.
“Sorry Don, but I’ve got to hand in my notice.” “Hell, Celia, you haven’t even
started yet! What’s the problem?” “It’s the accommodation.” (We’d lodged her in
a school house, along with three other teachers.) “Yes, what’s the problem with
the accommodation?” “Well, for one thing, my room is the smallest of the four
rooms.” “Yes, that’s right. If any of the other teachers leave, you’ll have the
option of moving into that vacant room.” “That’s all very well, but why is it
that I was chosen to go into that room in the first place? And another thing,
my stereo equipment uses 240 Watts electricity, but the electricity in that
house is 110 Watts. And the plugs don’t fit.” “Yes, that’s the difference
between Britain and Indonesia. There are simple ways around it.” “But why
wasn’t I given advance notice? That’s the school’s responsibility, surely.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
managed to sweet-talk Celia into at least staying a month to get settled,
before contemplating chucking it all in. She reluctantly agreed. Problem solved
in the meantime. But before the first week was out, other problems had reared
their heads. The house servants didn’t seem to understand a word she said. Her
work schedule was far too demanding. She was getting an unfair percentage of
children’s classes. The air-conditioning in her room wasn’t powerful enough.
Some of the neighbors seemed dodgy. One of her house-mates was giving her the
silent treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every
problem required a 30-minute counseling session to clear up, even temporarily.
I forget which one of her problems was the straw that broke the camel’s back,
but in Celia’s mind it was weighty enough to have her tendering her
resignation, and no matter how hard I rationalized with her, her mind was made
up. “I have had a good Catholic upbringing, and I cannot and will not tolerate
this kind of treatment.” And so it was farewell Celia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
postscript of this story is that eight months after her departure, I received a
reapplication from her. No mention of the traumas she’d suffered the first time
around. Just a breezy note saying “Don, we’ve always had a good working
relationship, and I know you’ll welcome back a dedicated teacher with a good
Catholic upbringing and a responsible work ethic.” Sorry Celia, Catholic
upbringing or not, we have no vacancies either now or in the foreseeable
future</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is now available on Amazon in both paperback
and Kindle form. Buy it, and you’ll get not only an entertaining dissection of the English teaching profession
worldwide, but also a bunch of original, workable teaching tips, advice on how
best to land a job, and a country-by-country breakdown of living and working
conditions all over.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-89391899042344166132015-01-03T23:31:00.003-08:002015-01-03T23:31:56.683-08:00LESSON PREPARATION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">LESSON PREPARATION</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every lesson
should be prepared beforehand. For every one hour in the classroom, expect to
spend half an hour’s preparation time. Fail to do this, and your lessons will
be disjointed, confused, and unsatisfactory. Well, that’s what the EFL trainers
would have you believe anyway. BUT. Take a look at the teaching schedule of an
average EFL teacher in Asia. Thirty-two contact hours per week. Classes ranging
from pre-literate four-year-olds (twenty of them in one class, would you
believe) to TOEFL preparation. Written assignments to mark, tests to mark,
student reports to write. And, oh yes, perhaps a little private social life
squeezed in here and there. Now let me ask you, is that teacher going to spend
another sixteen hours on lesson preparation?
Will the world be destroyed by a meteorite at ten past two tomorrow?
Will Lady Gaga admit that she really is a man? Unlikely. Bloody unlikely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you will
get teachers walking into their classes without so much as a minute’s lesson
preparation. Or perhaps they’ll engage in some door-handle preparation – as they
enter the room they’re asking themselves ‘What the hell am I going to teach
them today?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, here
I’m going to stick my neck out and make a bald, bold statement. A statement
which could be my downfall, and nix my chances of ever landing an EFL job again.
But nevertheless, fearless, undaunted, I’ll make it anyway. <i>You don’t need to spend time preparing
lessons.</i> Perhaps in your first four or five months on the job, yes. But
once you are in the swing of things, no. And your lessons won’t be the disjointed,
confused, unsatisfactory disasters that the EFL trainers predict they will be
providing you apply a couple of smart little ploys. “Ploys? Smart ploys? Wot
smart ploys?” do I hear you asking?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, I’ll
tell you. (I hope you’re taking notes.) First, you have in your bag a little
arsenal of handy fillers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo copies
of information-exchange exercises, half-crosswords, word-searches, vocab pics, gap-fills,
blank clock-faces, etc. Now of course you don’t fill up your lesson with a
non-stop succession of these things. You teach from the book, then every
fifteen minutes or so, or when the class’s attention level starts to flag, you
haul one out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s the
paper stuff. In addition, you have stored away in your head a series of
five-minute games, distractions, and fun activities which you also trot out
from time to time. You don’t need many – three or four is enough to see you
through most lessons. Our esteemed EFL trainers might dismiss these as a
cop-out, but I hold that they are essential ingredients for a successful
lesson. Two straight hours of book, book, book is the recipe for a boring class
and a bunch of bored students. You only need to watch your students to prove
that. When you introduce a fun activity you’ll see them sitting up straighter
in their chairs, smiles will appear on their faces, and the undercurrent of
murmuring in their native language will dry up. And when, five minutes later,
you return to the lesson proper, you’ll notice a heightened level of interest
and enthusiasm. Yes, regular injections of fun distractions are the way to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, lesson
preparation? Yes, all very nice if you’ve got the time. But I don’t know many
teachers whose busy schedules afford them that time. Especially not if those
teachers plan to devote some time in their day to a little bit of socializing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buy EFL Minus the B.S. today!!! Book form or Kindle.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-60621862380001200292014-12-01T22:32:00.003-08:002014-12-01T22:32:47.215-08:00ENGLISH TEACHERS I HAVE MET<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ENGLISH TEACHERS I HAVE MET</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the
29 or so schools I have worked in, I must have met around… um… upwards of… oh,
a helluva lot of teachers. Some good,
some bad, some indifferent. In this blog I’ll describe some of the worst ones.
(Admit it – you’d
be bored out of your tree if I wasted time writing about the good ones.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Names,
of course, have been changed, to protect the less-than-innocent, and to
forestall any libel actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First,
James. An American. Clean-cut, well-dressed, popular with students, and a
heroin addict. None of us had noticed at first. We’d noted that he had his
off-days of course, when his amusing line of chatter dried up and he had
nothing more than a grunt or two to add to a conversation, but we had put that
down to problems at home or some such thing. After all, none of us are on top
form every day of the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
first intimation I had that all was not well with James was when I was waiting
to use the toilet, and suddenly out burst James, red-faced, sweating, and
unable to even respond to my word of greeting. ‘Strange,’ I thought. ‘He must
have a particularly bad dose of the runs.’ His behavior got progressively
weirder as the day went by. At break time he dozed off and we had to wake him
up to return to his class. His first question on waking was “Oh shit, does
anyone know which room I’m in?” He dismissed his class ten minutes early, and
his students wandered out unsure of whether they’d actually had an English
lesson or not. He spent the half hour until the next lesson dry-retching into
his handkerchief. “You OK James?” someone asked. “What? Oh, yeah, I just seem
to have…. scuse me, gotta go to the toilet.” “The toilet’s thattaway, James.”
“Oh hell, izzit?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">James
began to miss days from his schedule. Sometimes he’d phone in ten minutes
before starting time and give the receptionist a garbled reason for his
no-show, but most times he just didn’t turn up. If challenged next day, he
seemed to have forgotten that he’d missed out a day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was
about six months into his tenure when James arrived at his moment of truth. “Jeeze,”
he announced to the staffroom, “I’ve gotten myself into some heavy shit here.
Made a lot of bad choices. I think it’s time to move on to another country,
clean up my act, get my shit together.” We expressed our understanding and
sympathy, shook his hand, and wished him all the best. No-one heard from him
for six weeks, then one teacher received an e-mailed update from James. He was
now teaching in Colombia. <i>Colombia</i>,
for God’s sake? Just the place to clean up his act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
then there was Albert. Albert’s problem was that he loved a drink; after work,
before work, and at break times. He chewed breath mints continually, but these
did little to disguise the reek of alcohol on his breath. It didn’t seem to
detract from his classroom performance though; every lesson was a loud,
rollicking success. But the management became increasingly worried about the
repercussions of hiring a teacher who was always as pissed as a newt. Students
and student’s parents would soon wake up to the fact. They gave Albert a few
warnings, but these fell on deaf ears, and finally gave Albert his dismissal
notice. I met him ten minutes after he’d been given the word, and his first
words were “Hey, I’ve just got two weeks’ severance pay! Come on down to The
Sportsman Bar after work, and the drinks are on me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Celia
was a Brit in her mid-thirties. She’d had a good Catholic upbringing, acquired
impressive qualifications, and had come to Indonesia to further her teaching
career. As Director of Studies at the time, I was the person who hired her. She
hadn’t even started the job before her first insurmountable problem surfaced.
“Sorry Don, but I’ve got to hand in my notice.” “Hell, Celia, you haven’t even
started yet! What’s the problem?” “It’s the accommodation.” (We’d lodged her in
a school house, along with three other teachers.) “Yes, what’s the problem with
the accommodation?” “Well, for one thing, my room is the smallest of the four
rooms.” “Yes, that’s right. If any of the other teachers leave, you’ll have the
option of moving into that vacant room.” “That’s all very well, but why is it
that I was chosen to go into that room in the first place? And another thing,
my stereo equipment uses 240 Watts electricity, but the electricity in that
house is 110 Watts. And the plugs don’t fit.” “Yes, that’s the difference
between Britain and Indonesia. There are simple ways around it.” “But why
wasn’t I given advance notice? That’s the school’s responsibility, surely.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
managed to sweet-talk Celia into at least staying a month to get settled,
before contemplating chucking it all in. She reluctantly agreed. Problem solved
in the meantime. But before the first week was out, other problems had reared
their heads. The house servants didn’t seem to understand a word she said. Her
work schedule was far too demanding. She was getting an unfair percentage of
children’s classes. The air-conditioning in her room wasn’t powerful enough.
Some of the neighbors seemed dodgy. One of her house-mates was giving her the
silent treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every
problem required a 30-minute counseling session to clear up, even temporarily.
I forget which one of her problems was the straw that broke the camel’s back,
but in Celia’s mind it was weighty enough to have her tendering her
resignation, and no matter how hard I rationalized with her, her mind was made
up. “I have had a good Catholic upbringing, and I cannot and will not tolerate
this kind of treatment.” And so it was farewell Celia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
postscript of this story is that eight months after her departure, I received a
reapplication from her. No mention of the traumas she’d suffered the first time
around. Just a breezy note saying “Don, we’ve always had a good working
relationship, and I know you’ll welcome back a dedicated teacher with a good
Catholic upbringing and a responsible work ethic.” Sorry Celia, Catholic
upbringing or not, we have no vacancies either now or in the foreseeable
future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is now available on Amazon in both paperback
and Kindle form. Buy it, and you’ll get not only an entertaining dissection of the English teaching profession
worldwide, but also a bunch of original, workable teaching tips, advice on how
best to land a job, and a country-by-country breakdown of living and working
conditions all over.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-55004661845580384392014-10-29T21:25:00.004-07:002014-10-29T21:25:52.244-07:00LIFE, LOVE AND WORK OVERSEAS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">LIFE, LOVE & WORK OVERSEAS</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Whether the weather is good, or whether the weather is
bad…” It’s an old, half-forgotten ditty from my childhood, but I’ve just got
home from a 30-minute motorbike ride in a tropical downpour, and weather is
very much on my mind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here is the weather report. From a few different
countries I’ve worked in. No, don’t worry, I’m not going to get all technical
and start waxing on about global warming, polar jet-streams, El Nino and other meteorological
oddities. What I will say is that I’ve noticed the weather in different
countries is as different as can be.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take Indonesia for example. Weather here is very localized.
I came out of school one day, stood on one side of the road, and noticed that
on the other side of the road was a wall of rain. As I watched, in less than a
second the curtain of rain advanced across the road and enveloped me. On
another day I was riding along in a bajaj (a 3-wheeled taxi) and suddenly the
driver braked violently. Ahead of us, and closing in fast, was another curtain
of rain. One day I was driving my car down a street in Jakarta when suddenly a
bolt of lightning hit the street not 30 meters ahead of me. It fizzled and
crackled as it hit the ground, and left a large patch of dry asphalt. Had I
been 30 meters further on, I would have been toast. Or perhaps not. Perhaps the
tires insulate the car and leave its occupants unharmed. That’s one theory I
don’t want to put to the test; I’ll leave that to the <i>Mythbusters</i> team. Indonesia has two seasons: dry (very dry), and
wet (very wet). I was teaching a class one evening in Indonesia at the end of a
long, extremely dry season. Suddenly we heard an unaccustomed sound. Big, fat
raindrops were hitting the school roof. In an instant the lesson was forgotten
and the whole class rushed outside and stood with faces raised to the
long-awaited rain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it rains in Indonesia, it buckets down. But Indonesia
is no match for Thailand and Cambodia. There the rain comes down on your head
with the force of a high-pressure water cannon. And with it comes the
lightning. Sheet lightning, forked lightning, ball lightning – you name it they’ve got it. Thailand’s thunderstorms
are spectacular. I had a roof-top flat in Bangkok, and during a thunder and
lightning session I would go out and marvel at the display. Every ten seconds
or so the lightning would illuminate the sky for a split second, then plunge it
into darkness once again. One night I had a good idea: why don’t I put a bucket
out to catch the rain, thus saving myself of the tiresome task of lugging water
up from the tap on the second floor? Next morning I inspected my bucket of
rainwater. Floating on top of it was an inch of black grease.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, cross
to Cambodia<i>.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I arrived at
the beginning of the rainy season, a time that the tourist guide-books advise
is best avoided. The mornings are cloudless and stultifyingly hot. A twenty
minute walk has me dehydrated and panting, and searching for the nearest air-conditioned
bar for respite. In the afternoon the
rain clouds gather, and around sunset the first fat raindrops plop onto the
roofs and awnings. With practised efficiency the waitresses and waiters snatch
up table cloths and condiment sets from the street-front tables, and whisk away
the seat cushions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then comes
the rain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
My god, the
rain. Within seconds streets become fast-flowing rivers. As if by magic the
endless stream of motorcycles ceases, riders huddling under shop awnings, bus
shelters, and trees. Lightning flashes etch freeze-framed pictures of a
glistening city onto the retina. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
By morning
the skies are once again cloudless, the sun as searing and unforgiving as ever.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Next, love
in Asia. As I wrote in <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.,</i></b> a single teacher
will have no problem finding a soulmate in Asia, no matter how temporary. But
there’s a price to pay when a male teacher hitches up with an Asian girl: he’s
expected to become family provider. This may manifest itself in requests for
money to help fix granny’s leaking roof, or father’s emergency motorbike
repairs, or a loan to see mother through a rocky period. In the case of my
current girlfriend, it came in the form of Younger Brother. An affable enough
guy with no English and no apparent means of support, Younger Brother was your
consummate freeloader. He had an unerring sense of timing and smell. Ten
minutes before a meal was due to be served, there would be a knock on the door
and Younger Brother would enter. He would help himself to giant portions of
food, twice as much as anyone else, eat it, lie down on the floor and sleep for
half an hour or more, then wake and leave with a brief “Goodbye”. His visits
became increasingly frequent, and I became increasingly pissed off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“If he were
to occasionally come with some fruit or a few cans of beer in hand, I wouldn’t
mind,” I protested to my GF, “but he just appears, eats, and leaves without so
much as a thank you. Tell him he’s not welcome.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
My girlfriend
promised to do so, tomorrow or the day after. She didn’t of course; such a
thing would be unthinkable in the culture of Asian hospitality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Look, if you don’t tell him, I will. I’m sick
and tired of him feeding his face at my expense.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“OK, I will,
I will. Soon.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I took to
going out as soon as Younger Brother appeared, and not returning until he had
departed, but this failed to get the message across. (If he had noticed my
absences at all).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The final
straw came when I woke up one morning and saw that he’d slept the night. I took
him aside and said “I don’t like you sleeping here. I don’t like you eating
here.” To reinforce my point I handed him a print-out of a Google translation
reading ‘NO MORE FREE MEALS HERE FOR YOU’. Younger Brother said “Oh. OK”,
reached for his motorbike helmet, and departed. And has yet to return.
Halle-bloody-lujah! Problem solved.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s only one other problem remaining. My GF’s mother, a
pleasant, likeable lady, comes to visit us from up-country every now and then.
She’s no trouble around the place, she helps with the washing up and mops the
floor, but her visits do seem to go on and on and on. Now I’m perfectly happy
for her to visit for a week, even two weeks from time to time, but a five-week
stay does seem to be pushing it a bit. It’s a problem that’s going to take more
delicate handling than the last one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been changing schools a bit lately. One school didn’t
offer enough hours, one school’s confusion and mismanagement defied description,
one school did nothing but complain about the teachers’ performances. I’ve now
got two jobs: 14 hours from Monday to Friday, and a second school offering a
10-hour block at weekends, teaching tiny tots and children. To top it up, I’m
doing two hours private lessons a week, and a third school is calling me in to
substitute once or twice a week. I’m working seven days a week (not an unusual
situation in Asia). It’s not a perfect state of affairs; with a seven-day
workload you’re liable to lose track of the days, and the hours are antisocial,
but it’s the best I can manage for now. I’m not the only one; my fellow
teachers report just as many frustrations and unsatisfactory employers as me.
Ah well, nobody promised us a rose garden, I guess.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here’s what
readers have said about<b><i> EFL minus the B.S.</i></b>: “This book is
about as good as it gets.” “So, you have checked it all out and decided to go
teaching overseas. Now listen you fool… don’t even think about it until you
have read this book!” “Excellent book.” “This book is spot on in giving the
basic lay down of teaching overseas.” “The book is a quick read and should be
read by every EFL teacher.” “Definitely a good read while on your flight to
whatever country you are going to teach.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So there you have it. Buy your copy of<b><i> EFL
minus the B.S.</i></b> today. A quarter of a million readers can’t be wrong! (OK,
OK, I have exaggerated a teensy bit there.) </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-41057808609841668512014-10-07T18:38:00.001-07:002014-10-07T18:38:42.608-07:00THIS AND THAT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THIS and THAT</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s a run-down on what you’ll get when you buy <b><i>EFL
minus the B.S.</i></b> There’s a country-by-country breakdown on teaching in
all the Asian countries, and a vaguely alarming chapter on how many hoops you
need to jump through to secure work permits for those countries. There’s a
chapter on living and working overseas – not all wine and roses. There are the
chapters where I’ve roundly criticized school management (mostly
mismanagement), language teaching theories (mostly mumbo-jumbo), and linguistics
(wholly mumbo-jumbo). Plus some tips on teaching children and teenagers, and on
how to fine-tune classroom dynamics. I rail on about bosses I have met (nine
out of ten of them all-round ass-holes) and teachers I have met (nine out of
ten good to work with, the others undeniably weird). There’s a chapter about
how to start up your own school, and another about sex and the single teacher
(based on extensive field-research on my part). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are no chapters on pedagogy, or the meta-cognitive
paradigms of second-language acquisition. You’ll have to look elsewhere
for info on those subjects. When writing the book, I didn’t overly concern
myself with political correctness. Some readers have taken me to task for this,
accusing me of insensitivity, chauvinism, racism, negativity, and just plain
ignorance. Gulp, I’ll try and do better in the sequel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now here’s something not related to teaching, but something
that’s been on my mind lately. Associations. No. I’m not talking of the
Automobile Association or the National Rifle Association here, I’m talking
about the weird associations our minds make with specific places and specific events.
Associations that will stay with us until the end of our days. You with me
here? No? OK, let me give you a few examples.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m in New Zealand, I’m in a supermarket queue, and I
overhear the lady in front of me saying “Isn’t it terrible about Princess
Diana?” A moment forever frozen into my memory. Another example: In New Zealand
once again, but this time in a small, isolated West Coast hamlet, and I hear a
customer remarking to the shop assistant “It’s sad, isn’t it? And he was the
twin of Robin. I never knew that before.” My heart gave a bit of a lurch, and I
hurried outside to tune into my car radio and await the news. As I had feared,
Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees had died.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sure you all have similar associations. Most people can
tell you the time and place where they first heard news of a beloved celebrity’s
death, whether it be JFK, Lady Di<b>, </b>Amy
Whitehouse, or Elvis Presley. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of my mental associations, I’m happy to say, are not
connected to the death of someone, but to music. I’m in Katmandu, I have an eye
infection that’s keeping me closeted in my dingy hotel room day and night, and
the guy a few rooms away is playing the Bee Gees “Tragedy” over and over and
over. I’m teaching in Seoul, not enjoying it all that much, and AFKN (American
Forces Korean Network) is incessantly playing Randy Vanderwarmer’s “Just When I
Needed You Most”. (Great song, great voice; I wonder why he sank into oblivion
immediately thereafter. Perhaps it had something to do with his choice of name.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whenever I hear the old Bee Gees hit “Holiday”, I’m
instantly transported to a flat in Gloucester Road, London, that I shared with
14 other people. Whenever I hear Cat Stevens sing anything at all I’m back in
London too. “Knights in White Satin” puts me back in the Atlanta Hotel,
Bangkok. I hear Bob Marley singing “I Shot the Sheriff”, and I’m wandering down
Notting Hill Road. I hear “Disco Duck” (a horrible song that enjoyed brief
popularity in the mid-seventies) and I’m transported to the Kings’ Club in
Itaewon, Seoul, where a hundred or so sweating, off-duty GIs are singing and quacking
in unison. And whenever I hear The Eagles “Tequila Sunrise”, I’m sitting in a
hostel dormitory in Jakarta with my best friend who insisted on playing the
song non-stop. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, funny things, associations are.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here’s what
readers have said about<b><i> EFL minus the B.S.</i></b>: “This book is
about as good as it gets.” “So, you have checked it all out and decided to go
teaching overseas. Now listen you fool… don’t even think about it until you
have read this book!” “Excellent book.” “This book is spot on in giving the
basic lay down of teaching overseas.” “The book is a quick read and should be
read by every EFL teacher.” “Definitely a good read while on your flight to
whatever country you are going to teach.”</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So there you have it. Buy your copy of<b><i> EFL
minus the B.S.</i></b> today. A quarter of a million readers can’t be wrong! (OK,
OK, I have exaggerated a teensy bit there.) </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-90605817875012947692014-09-27T06:33:00.001-07:002014-09-27T06:33:47.132-07:00PRONUNSHIATIN PROBLEMS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">PRONUSHIATIN PROBLEMS</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some students can master correct pronunciation from the
kick-off, and some can’t, no matter how hard they try. The Indonesians call it
“having a thick tongue.” So, in this post I’ll address the problem of handling
cases of thick tongue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll start with Clarence, a student I once had. Clarence (or
at least I think that’s what his name was, it was difficult to tell) could not
for the like of him reproduce any sound correctly in spite of my best efforts.
Unison drills by the hundreds, individual repetitions until the cows came home,
breaking the words down syllable-by-syllable, rhyming drills, nothing worked
with poor old Clarence. (Not all that old, by the way. He was about 30.) Now here’s
a funny thing about those students whose pron is abysmal: they love to talk.
You would think they’d sit in a corner with their mouths closed rather than be
subjected to a succession of “Pardon? Huh? What? Say that again. Whaddaya
talking about? Repeat”. But no, they’re eager to air their unintelligible
utterings at the drop of a hat. “Ah, T-shirt!” “Yes, Clarence, what is it?”
“Flugelhorn spligglepan zimbabwe judder titty bum-bum?” “Right, Clarence. Good
question. Now let’s see… how shall I answer it? Oh, look at the time! We’ll
have to come back to that question next lesson.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It cannot be said that Clarence didn’t work hard at getting
his pron up to scratch. Before he spoke, I’d see his lips silently moving as he
prepared himself to say something. He threw himself into repetition drills
willingly, with a determined frown on his face. But the more he tried, the
thicker his tongue got. Clarence wasn’t stupid, by any means. His written work
was faultless, and his reading and comprehension skills impressive; it was just
that he couldn’t say the damn words right.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some sounds that any student will have difficulty
in mastering. Sounds that don’t occur in their native language. Consonant
clusters. Multisyllabic words (it means long words, Roger!) Some students will
settle for an approximation of these sounds, and hope for the best. And as long
as they’ve got the other sounds and words right, the listener will make sense
of what they say, often by using context as a clue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the Clarences of this world get all the sounds wrong,
leaving their listeners bewildered and at a loss how to respond.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now here’s my theory on how to handle severe pronunciation
problems. To my mind, the key is in the students’ listening skills. If they
don’t hear it right, there’s not a chance in hell they’ll say it right. How do
you hone students’ listening skills? With dictation. But not just ordinary old
dictation – rapid dictation. You say a sentence and get them to write it down.
No talking, no copying from your neighbor’s paper, just listen and write. I say
the sentence at normal speaking speed (that is to say, fast), I repeat it again
and again and again. As I speak, I circulate around the room and put red marks
on the students’ papers indicating where a mistake occurs (but not what that
mistake is). I’m constantly seeing instances of an individual making a
particular mistake (e.g. a missing ‘s’ from a plural noun) that is exactly the
same mistake which occurs in his or her speech. I continue repeating, repeating
the sentence until 95% of the students have got it 95% right. Then I ask them
to repeat it (along with a response) in unison and with a partner. Then, on to
the next sentence. Try rapid dictation. If you do six to ten sentences per
lesson, you’ll see a marked improvement within two weeks. A student who last
week had his dictation paper dotted with a myriad of red marks, this week has
only half a dozen, and next week even fewer. And you’ll hear their
pronunciation becoming better and more natural, too. For my money, rapid
dictation is one of the most effective, valuable tricks in the book.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did rapid pronunciation work with Clarence? Um, no. I’ve got
no explanation for that, no excuses. I’ll just repeat the opening sentence of
this blog. Some students can master correct pronunciation from the kick-off,
and some can’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new book, <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> (now
available on Amazon) is my take on the English teaching game world-wide. From
applying for a job, living overseas, work permits, management and
mismanagement, classroom dynamics, teens’ and children’s classes, to sex and
the single teacher</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-2368505375166100282014-09-05T07:30:00.001-07:002014-09-05T07:30:14.692-07:00LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE AIN'T EASY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Binhtuy; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">LEARNING A SECOND
LANGUAGE </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Binhtuy; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Binhtuy; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">AIN'T </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Binhtuy; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">EASY</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>‘No gain without
pain.’</i> It’s a cheesy, over-used saying, but oh so true when it comes to
learning a second language. The pain we’re referring to is enough to ensure
that for every 100 beginner-level students enrolling in an English language
course, 17 will not complete the beginner’s stage, 13 will drop out at the end
of that stage, 21 will drop out after the elementary level, and another 41 will
drop out at the end of the pre-intermediate level or soon after. Which leaves
us, just 30 or so weeks after the course started, with only eight of the
original 100 students still active. That’s one hell of an attrition rate in
anyone’s book.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is it so, I wonder? After all, everybody learns their
first language without undue trauma. Even the thickest, laziest, most inept of
us. But when it comes to learning a second language, it’s a different story
entirely. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The student starts off with a rush of enthusiasm. Think of
all the benefits that acquiring a second language will bring me! A better job.
An assured future. Perhaps the opportunity to meet a foreign partner – a
devoted, loaded, generous foreign partner – who’ll eat out of my hand and grant
me my every whim and desire. It’ll be my passport to international travel.<i> </i>It’ll be the key to success. Oh, the
benefits are endless! So you rush to a language school, you listen enraptured
to the front-desk girl as she confirms every one of your dreams in spades, you
hand over your money, you’re given a text book, and told to come back at 7:30
pm the following Tuesday. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once back home, you sit down and flick through your new text
book. And that’s the moment when your first doubts and misgivings begin to
emerge. “Hell, look at this! Unit one: ‘Are you a student? / Yes I am. Are you
a student too?’ Unit three: ‘The <i>be</i>
verb.’ Unit seven: ‘Can you swim? / Yes I can’. Bloody hell! This isn’t going
to get me a better job, or hook me up with a foreign wife/husband, or have the
slightest impact on my future. What, oh what, am I getting myself into here?
Well, I’ve paid my bloody money, and a helluva lot of it too, so I’ll just go
along to the school and find out for myself how they’re going to set me on the
road to fluency and success.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward six weeks. You can now use the ‘<i>be’</i> verb 80% accurately (although when
speaking you tend to omit it altogether). You can now extract personal details
from someone you’ve just met (“Right, so you’re a student, you like football
and video games, you can swim, and you have no pets. So, what will we talk
about next?”) You have expanded your English vocabulary to the tune of 80
words. You still can’t understand English pop songs, or conduct a prolonged
conversation, or make head nor tail of your teacher when he talks at a normal
conversational speed on an open topic. Your chances of landing a top job in a
top company are as remote as ever. You still haven’t found the English-speaking
gal/guy of your dreams. You are no closer to attaining that successful, happy
future you thought was at your fingertips.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first level of your English course is soon to end.
Should I extend it or not extend it? If I don’t extend, I’ll be able to upgrade
my phone to one that will allow me to surf the web, play games, make movies,
listen to half a million songs…. I’d be the envy of all my friends with a phone
like that. Tempting…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new book, <b>EFL
minus the B.S.</b> (now available on Amazon) puts the English teaching game
under the spotlight. From applying for a job, living overseas, work permits,
management and mismanagement, classroom dynamics, teens’ and children’s
classes, to sex and the single teacher. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-15998671281546228072014-08-21T21:28:00.001-07:002014-08-21T21:28:29.730-07:00RANDOM THOUGHTS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">RANDOM THOUGHTS</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Uh oh. Another one of those days when no single topic is
running around inside my head waiting for me to expound upon. So, once again, I will
just record a few passing random thoughts before they escape me forever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been trying to analyse exactly what kind of blog topic
attracts the most viewers. A few months ago, after I had just posted my <i>‘Corporate EFL Classes’</i> blog, in which
I’d pointed out that teaching company classes is pretty much a lose-lose
situation for the teacher, I received an e-mail from my son. “Are you ever
going to write a positive blog?” it read. Oh hell, I thought, am I being too
negative? Am I coming across as an ill-tempered, whinging malcontent who never
has a good word to say about his chosen profession? So, suitably chastened,
next day I sent off my <i>‘Rewards of
Teaching English’</i> blog (a kind of ‘EFL Soup for the Soul’ article.) A blog
so feel-good and positive it warms the very cockles of the heart. The result?
Two days of the most dismal viewing figures ever. Ouch! So the readers don’t
want warm and fuzzy, huh? OK, my next blog post will be an outpouring of
invective and withering criticism of the EFL game. Thus: <i>‘The Top 5 Moans about EFL’</i>. I’m awaiting the readership figures on
that one. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Maybe I should go 50-50, with one positive blog alternating
with a negative one. To try and please all of the people all of the time. Mmm…
I’ll have to give that some thought.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a writer, there’s nothing so dispiriting as asking a
literary agent to consider handling your book. Literary agents tend to come across
as self-important primadonnas. There are those who will tell you not to send a
proposal; instead, send a one-page letter convincing them why they should
bother reading your proposal. Some ask for a reading fee before they will deign
to read your book idea. The majority of agents will insist you do not send your
book proposal to anyone other than them. They will stipulate the format your
submission should adopt: American spelling, Chicago Tribune style punctuation,
12-point Times Roman font, five letter-space paragraph indentations, etc, etc.
And should your format not adhere to their stipulations, the proposal is
relegated to the slush pile without being read. Most literary agents take smug
satisfaction in informing you that they receive 300 unsolicited manuscripts a
week, and thus your book stands a .0001% chance of seeing the light of day. And
most will warn you not to expect a response from them for three to four months.
Some even take delight in saying that should your submission prove unacceptable
to them, do not expect a reply. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a dream. The time: sometime in the future. The
situation: my book has finally been published and has proved a runaway success.
With a self-satisfied smirk on my face I send off an e-mail to each of the
literary agents who’d given me the brush-off. “Dear Mr/Ms XYZ; It may interest
you to know that the book which you rejected seven months ago has now entered
the <i>New York Times</i> best-sellers list
at number four. It has, to date, sold upward of a quarter of a million copies.
And I only used three letter-space indentations, too. So stick that in your
pipe and smoke it, you wanker.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teachers. Alain de Botton is widely quoted as saying “You
become an English teacher when your life has gone wrong”. Gulp, that hurts. But
why did Botton (sorry – de Botton) make this observation? Sure, I’ve worked
with teachers whose lives have definitely gone wrong; assorted drunkards,
druggies and no-hopers who would be better off in a job where they had no
exposure to the public at all. (The army, perhaps.) But I’ve worked with many
more teachers who are devoted to the profession, and carry it out in a
professional, caring manner. And I’ve found that the ratio of losers to
professionals is about 1:10. So there, Mr de Botton.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No-one
is quite sure just how many of us English teachers there are out there. I read
one estimate that there are 20,000 expatriate EFL teachers in South Korea, and
that China recruits<b> </b>100,000 new
native-speaking English teachers annually, but as for total numbers worldwide,
it’s anyone’s guess. My estimate is that there are a helluva lot of us. Here’s
an idea: English teachers unite! Let’s form a worldwide union to press for
better pay, better conditions, and better schools! There are some guys out
there who are religiously trying to do just that. But I can’t help feeling that
their efforts will come to nought. There are too many teachers, they’re spread
across all four corners of the globe, and they’re a widely disparate mob. A
union? Nice idea, but I predict it’s doomed from the start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Students
I have met. Idris, a young Indonesian man of around 24 whom I taught, comes to
mind. Idris was affable and easy to like, and we formed a friendship. We’d go
out after class for a meal once or twice a month. Idris was single (but wished
he wasn’t), and lived with his parents in a small, cramped house in the Jakarta
suburbs. As the eldest son in a family of six, it was his responsibility to
look after and support his five siblings, who ranged in age from six to twenty.
A weighty responsibility, but one he accepted without qualms. After all, that’s
the way things are in most Asian families. He would join me in a beer, (sipping
it through a straw), but after one and a half glasses would beg off, saying he
was much more comfortable drinking Coca-Cola. Idris had one regret in life. At
the age of twenty he had fallen in love with Sri. They had gone out, held hands,
and had planned a wedding someday. Alas, it was not to be. After lengthy
consideration, his parents had decided that Sri, a Sumatran, just wasn’t quite
suitable for a Javanese to marry. And so Idris and Sri had shaken hands and bid
each other goodbye. Idris was near to tears when he recounted this story to me.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
our first meal together, I leant back and lit up a cigarette. Idris carefully
unrolled his sock and extracted one of two cigarettes secreted there. “Why do
you keep your cigarettes in your sock?” I asked. “My father doesn’t know I
smoke. If he found out he’d be very angry.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bosses
I have met. (Shudder.) I’ve worked for so many bad ones it’s hard to choose which
one to write about. Some bosses are just too busy and too important to have
anything to do with the teaching staff. I worked at one school in Saigon where
I never got to meet the boss. Her edicts were handed down by nervous staff
members. “You will be paid one week later than usual, because payday is a bank
holiday,” the secretary announces in an awed tone of voice. “What? Tell Mrs Thuong
that’s completely unacceptable.” “Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly do that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there
was the Aussie boss of a big school in Indonesia with the temper of a newly
castrated pit-bull. During one flaming row with seven teachers he sacked all of
them on the spot. ‘The Day of the Long Knives’ it became known as. Thus the
hapless Director of Studies was landed the task of finding seven new teachers virtually
overnight. He did a creditably good job of it, but inevitably most of the
replacement teachers were an ill-assorted bunch of misfits who had no business at
all being in a classroom. (Six of the seven sacked teachers went on to very
profitable, plum jobs in Brunei, by the way. Tax free.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flaky
teaching theories. There are plenty of silly teaching methodologies about, and
every now and then you’ll find yourself working in a school that has whole-heartedly
adopted one of these misguided methods. Would you be prepared to don Mickey
Mouse ears and do Disney character role-plays every day, lesson after lesson?
There’s a chain of schools in China that expect you to do just that. How about
this: You teach 20 new vocabulary words each session, by unison drilling. No
games, no light relief; just unison drill, unison drill, unison drill. No full
sentences thanks – just stick to the words alone. Or how about the SALT method?
(Suggestive Accelerated Learning and Teaching.) It’s designed to get the left
and right hemispheres of the students’ brains in sync. All it takes is copious
amounts of drinking water, candles, group hugs, and a little bit of Mozart
playing in the background. And perhaps a little tap dancing to get the
students’ speech rhythms right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
teacher, don’t even think about questioning the efficacy of these methods, or
suggesting a slightly different approach. No, the management has decided on Mad
Method X, and Mad Method X is what you’ll apply, (if you want to be paid at the
end of the month, that is).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right,
there you have it. My idle mianderings.<b><i> </i></b>Any of it ring a bell with you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is now available on Amazon, in
both paperback form and Kindle version. Buy your copy today.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-2856580467901061642014-08-14T20:07:00.002-07:002014-08-14T20:07:24.737-07:00AN ASSORTMENT OF PASSING THOUGHTS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">An assortment of passing thoughts</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sat down this morning to write an update for this blog,
and found that my mind was completely devoid of ideas. Undeterred, I decided to
just write on a series of random, disjointed topics – whatever came into my
head. (I have never let a dearth of ideas stop me from sounding off authoritatively
on any subject.) Soo… here goes. And my apologies in advance if it doesn’t make
a lot of sense.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, Asians’ music preferences. They like Western music.
They’re not too up-to-date on the latest songs, but they love The Carpenters
(in fact most of them know the words of <i>“Yesterday
Once More”</i> by heart), and they love Lobo too. Why is that, I wonder? If you
listen closely to The Carpenters and Lobo, you’ll find that they enunciate
their words very clearly – that’s probably got a lot to do with it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a Vietnamese school I was doing a series of oral
placement tests. Next in line was an elderly, shapeless Vietnamese woman.
“Hello, what’s your name?” She raised a hand and gave that open fingered waggle
that means either “no”, “nothing”, or “I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking
about.” I tried a few other simple questions and got the same reaction. In
front of me I had a sheet of paper on which I had to record scores of one to
ten on things like Pronunciation, Vocabulary Range, Listening, and Grammatical
Accuracy. For the first time ever, I awarded the woman zero in every category.
“That’s all, thanks. Goodbye.” Another hand-waggle. I shooed her out of the
chair, and called a receptionist over. “Sorry, but that lady has absolutely no
English. I doubt she could ever learn any either – she’s too old. Sorry, but in
all fairness to her I think you should discourage her from enrolling here.
She’d be like a fish out of water even in Beginners’ Level.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My sage advice was, of course, ignored, and two weeks later
I walked into a new Beginners’ class to find a smiling Mrs Vinh sitting there.
Oh hell. Well, as you’ve probably guessed by now, Mrs Vinh turned out to be one
of my star pupils, enthusiastically throwing herself into every activity, and
quickly becoming a favorite of her fellow students, all of whom were a quarter
her age. She had more gumption and determination to speak out than all the
other students put together. Lesson Four was: “Can you swim / dance / sing /
ride a bike?” etcetera. I asked Mrs Vinh “Can you sing?” and she smiled and
nodded her head. “OK, please sing for us.” Without a moment’s hesitation she
launched into an old Vietnamese love ballad, complete with facial expressions
and hand gestures. When she came to the end of the song the whole class erupted
in rapturous applause.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked a Pre-Intermediate level Russian student what his
ideal job would be, and he answered “Proctologist”. Where in the hell had he
picked that word up, I wonder?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeeze, this blog post sure is random, isn’t it? Don’t say
you weren’t warned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yes… the boss I most love to hate. Here’s a copy of her staff
Christmas Party invitation. “You are invited to the Christmas party on December
23, at XYZ Restaurant. All teachers are expected to attend. Wives and children
can come, but there is a charge of 300,000 dong for each of them. Children must
not sit in separate seats. Any teacher who does not attend or who leaves early
will be fined 400,000 dong.” Yes, peace and goodwill to you too, you bitch. This
particular school owner has become known as “The 3-D Boss” – Dishonest,
Dislikeable, and Devious. (Not that she gives a damn; she’s laughing all the
way to the bank.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve always found EFL jobs overseas by first going to the
country of my choice, and doing my job-hunting there. I have a good friend
who’s been teaching English almost as long as me and who has approached it in an
entirely different way. He has first found the job on the internet, applied and
been accepted, and then flown to the country in question. Which method is the
more successful? You could argue the pros and cons until the cows come home,
but let me quote one fact which clinches the argument. He’s now earning $32 an
hour, as compared to my $20. And he gets an accommodation allowance and holiday
pay too, damn his eyes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve just received a wedding invitation from an ex-student
who met his wife-to-be in my class 18 months ago. Now doesn’t that make you
feel all warm and fuzzy? It does me. He may not have gained much English from
his course, but he did gain a life-long partner.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, there you have it. An assortment of passing thoughts
that entered my mind over the past hour. Make any sense to you?</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new book, <b>EFL
minus the B.S.</b> (now available on Amazon) puts the English teaching
game under the spotlight. From applying for a job, living overseas, work
permits, management and mismanagement, classroom dynamics, teens’ and
children’s classes, to sex and the single teacher. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-83977610704178612522014-08-11T01:26:00.000-07:002014-08-11T01:26:46.371-07:00CHILDISHNESS RULES, YEAH!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CHILDISHNESS RULES, YEAH!</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A while
back I was joking around with a young adult class, and one of the students
said, “Gee, Mr Don, you are so childish!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was
chuffed, to say the least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lashings
of childishness will serve you well in an EFL class. Think about the average
classroom 100 or so years ago. The teacher was God, and his or her every order
was to be followed slavishly. No slacking off. No fooling around. No muttering
to your fellow students. Follow the instructions, or feel the wrath of an irate
teacher descend upon your head. Classrooms are places of serious study, not
jesting, day dreaming, or getting off-task. Such unclassroom-like behavior would
invariably land you a caning, or at the very least an hour’s detention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as
well-meaning as those good teachers of yore were, why not a bit of fooling
around… joking… laughter… silliness? As long as it doesn’t take over the lesson
entirely, what’s the harm? Or more to the point, what are the benefits? There
are plenty in my view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A student
with a relaxed mind is more receptive to new information, rather than one whose
mind on its best behavior fearful of invoking a teacher’s wrath. Silliness
brightens up a lesson and keeps your students alert and on their toes. The time
seems to pass quicker. Students leave the classroom with smiles on their faces,
looking forward to tomorrow’s lesson. I rest my case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What kinds
of silliness sit well in the EFL environment? Here are some examples. We all
know the “Stop the Bus” activity. Now if students were required to say “Teacher,
I’ve finished” at the end of each round, the important ingredient of silliness
will have been stripped from the activity. Another example. You’re doing an
activity that requires each student to write a sentence on a piece of paper,
then exchange it with another student who must answer the question. A very
straightforward (and rather predictably boring) reading and writing activity.
So how about this: instead of merely passing the question slip to another
student at random, tell the students to crumple their slips into balls, and to lob
the balls into a box on the floor? When all the balls are in the box, students
pull out one each. The throwing of the paper balls becomes one of the
highlights of the lesson, with students either cheering or jeering each other’s
throwing accuracy. Another: Students are required to perform tasks one by one
in succession. OK, how do we select whose turn it is? The teacher points at the
next student? Nah, you’re passing over a good chance for an injection of
childishness there. Give a student a balloon or a ping pong ball, and tell him
or her to throw it to a student of choice. Fun, laughter, hilarity. Music to my
ears. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won’t give any more examples; I’m sure you’ve experimented with a few
yourself, and found them very successful. But what I will urge is this. Make
silliness a regular ingredient of your lessons. You won’t be disappointed. And
neither will your students. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You
won’t find the teaching hints contained in <b><i>EFL Minus the B.S.</i></b> in any other
book, journal, or EFL training course. They are the result of my own 40 years
of trial and error (lots of error, plus the occasional <i>EUREKA</i> moment). They’re 100% original, and 95% infallible. Don’t
believe it? Read the book and find out for yourself.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-40939790087879339392014-08-04T05:39:00.002-07:002014-08-04T05:39:59.433-07:00WHY YOUR STUDENTS WON'T (OR CAN'T) SPEAK<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: VNI-Canun, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">WHY
YOUR STUDENTS WON’T (OR CAN’T) SPEAK</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a funny thing. When you learn your first language,
speaking is the first skill you acquire, which would suggest that it’s the
easiest of the four skills. But when you learn a second language, speaking is
very likely the last skill you acquire, as you find it the most taxing. The
reason is not all that difficult to fathom. Listening and reading require no
output from you. You hear the words, you listen to the words, and either you
understand them or you don’t. If you don’t, there’s no embarrassment or shame
involved – it’s just one of those things. Writing, of course, does require your
output, but you do have recourse to a dictionary and Google in the process, (or
you can ask your big sister for help), and once the writing’s done you can go
over it as many times as you want, checking, revising and rewriting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But speaking is a different story. For one thing, once it’s
said, it’s said. You have no chance to review and correct your words. (Of
course you can resay your words, but that’s all a bit embarrassing.) You’ve
produced some oral language, and there’s an expected result – namely the
listener understands or doesn’t understand what you have said. If he or she
doesn’t understand, here’s where the embarrassment factor comes into the
equation. You’ll be met with a blank stare, or a ‘huh?’ or a ‘pardon?’ and then
you’ve got to go through the whole thing again, with no guarantee of success
this time round, or the next. Ooh, the shame of it all! I wish I’d never opened
my mouth in the first place!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think about when you learned a foreign language; about how
difficult it was to say your first dozen or so utterances. It required a great
deal of courage, didn’t it? And what a setback and confidence shatterer it was
when no-one understood. And that’s exactly how it is with our students. EFL text
books nowadays expect students to speak 30% to 45% of class time. Speaking to a
partner is difficult enough, but when you are required to speak out in front of
the whole class, God almighty! Am I going to stuff it up? Will my efforts be
met with sniggers, or hysterical laughter even? Oh Lord, let the ground swallow
me up!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve experienced the same feeling myself. In a teachers’
workshop, someone drilled us in beginner-level Mandarin, then asked the
‘students’ to say a simple sentence one by one. When my turn came around I was
a dry-mouthed bag of nerves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which is why, as a teacher, you’ve got to get your students
involved in unison repetitions from day one. Unison drilling allows the
students to get their mouths around the target language in near anonymity. If
they stuff up, there’s no embarrassment involved; no-one’s gonna know. Some
people call it choral drilling, some call it unison drilling. Whatever you call
it, there’s no substitute for it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my new book, <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> (now on Amazon) I
have touched on this theme, along with many others. In the book you’ll find
answers to these questions: How can I get an overseas English-teaching job? Why
in the hell would I want to get an overseas teaching job? How can I survive
that job once I’ve got it?</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-280206397084043902014-07-22T19:25:00.002-07:002014-07-22T19:25:52.759-07:00HOW TO TEACH WHEN YOU'D REALLY RATHER GO HOME<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HOW TO TEACH WHEN YOU'D REALLY RATHER GO HOME</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ve
all had those moments, when it’s time to go into a class, switch on your
cheery, enthusiastic, A-Plus personality and do a two-hour lesson, but all you
really want to do is go home, have a beer, and sink gratefully into bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
moments don’t necessarily reflect on a lack of professionalism or dedication on
the teacher’s part. No, they are more likely to be the result of an overloaded
teaching schedule, the knowledge that the class you’re about to teach is a
bunch of unmotivated, unresponsive dead-heads, you’re coming down with flu, or
it’s your best friend’s birthday party and you’ll miss most of it. Or possibly
you’ve been asked to cover for an absent teacher with just two minutes’ notice,
(and you know, you just know, that the reason he’s absent is that he’s gone to
your best friend’s birthday party).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
there’s a class that’s paid for two hours of tuition, and you’re the lucky
teacher who is expected to deliver it. So how do you go about it? You can’t
stomp into the classroom with a haggard, disgruntled, “here we go again”
expression on your face; that would spell doom for the lesson from the
kick-off. You’ve got to summon up all your acting skills and deliver them
convincingly and memorably, leaving the students with smiles on their faces and
perhaps, just perhaps, better English than they had two short hours ago. Actors
regularly face the same predicament that you are now facing. The audience is
expecting a convincing performance even though you’ve delivered the same lines
night after night ever since Sir Laurence Olivier first took to the stage. So, you
have to think show biz, performance arts, improv, edutainment. Then go in there
and do the Grammy award-winning performance of your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, in
these circumstances, chances are you’ve done no lesson preparation at all, but
that needn’t detract from your performance. No EFL trainer worthy of the name
would agree with me, but lesson preparation isn’t the make-it or break-it key
to a good lesson. All the preparation you need is a bit of experience, and a
good memory. And a little arsenal of hand-outs, games, and bits and pieces in
your bag. Whatever the students’ level, it’s a good bet that they need to brush
up their telling- the-time skills. (It’s something we teach at elementary
level, then never again bring up, and most of your students will have forgotten
all they ever learnt about it.) So, from your bag you produce a cardboard clock
and a handout of blank clock faces. There’s a good ten or so minutes’ lesson
time taken care of. Also in your bag you have some food flash cards. Ergo, you
have a vocabulary exercise for elementary levels, a countable/uncountable,
“some/any” exercise for intermediate levels. Remember, flash cards are not just
for flashing. You’ll get far more value from them if the students have them in
their hands, passing them around and asking questions about them. “Have you got
any lettuce? / Yes, we’ve got some.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
you’re tired and would prefer to be anywhere but here in the classroom, you
don’t want the students’ attention to be focused 100% on you. So, make sure
most of your activities are student-centered rather than teacher-centred. Which
means info exchanges, role plays, pair and group work, milling exercises, and
perhaps a little bit of writing thrown in. And a song. And a competitive game.
Hot Seat’s good value. So too is miming, charades, and Stop the Bus. You
haven’t tried Stop the Bus yet? Here’s how to do it. Issue one slip of paper to
groups of three or four students. They have to write seven words on a topic
you’ve nominated. Jobs, forms of transport, food, sports without a ball, or
articles of clothing, for example. It’s a race, and when a group has finished
they don’t say “Finished!” but “Stop the Bus!” Don’t ask me why, but this
little catch-phrase immeasurably adds to their enjoyment of the game. A little
bit of silliness goes a long way in an EFL class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you
go through the routine well, you could find yourself, mid-session, actually
enjoying the lesson. And you might even get a text message from your best
friend mid-lesson too, saying he’s put back the starting time of the party two
hours because most of his mates are teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>EFL minus the B.S.
</i></b>is the best
book I’ve ever written, and one of the best books I’ve ever read. </span><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-79006245105802943872014-07-09T07:50:00.000-07:002014-07-09T07:50:05.785-07:00PEDOPHILIA -- THE SICK SIDE OF EFL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wouldn’t you know it, another
famous name has been charged with pedophilia! This time it’s Rolf Harris. Yes,
lovable old Rolf, children’s entertainer extraordinaire. Who could ever forget
his classic “Jake the Peg” and “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport”? It has now been
revealed that the 84-year-old Harris has
been sexually abusing girls aged from seven years upwards since the late 1960’s.
Also implicated in the case was Jimmy Starr, another British singer and
comedian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before Rolf was Jimmy Saville (Sorry
– <i>Sir</i> Jimmy Saville) who, it was
revealed after his death in 2011, had been abusing and raping his under-aged
fans from the 1960’s on. The toll of Saville’s victims is 300 and counting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best known child-abuser on
the celebrity list of pedophiles is Gary Glitter, of course. After his
conviction for possession of child-porn images in Britain in 1997, went on an
eleven-year spree of child molestation in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The EFL profession attracts more
of its fair share of pedophiles. Why is that exactly? Put yourself in a pedophile’s shoes for a
moment, (as stomach-turning as that may be). You have already notched up a
couple of child-sex convictions in England, Canada, Germany, wherever. Your
name now appears on your country’s Sex Offenders’ Register. So…
where to next? Asia – yes, why not? There’s a long tradition of child-sex
in countries like Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia. Law
enforcement is notoriously lax. Might as well get a piece of the action there.
And once you’ve arrived, how better to meet young people than in an English
language school? The obvious choice for
any self-respecting pedophile. So off
you go. Your record doesn’t bar you from entry to the Asian country of your
choice. Your English is ok, and schools are crying out for teachers. You don’t choose
any of the top schools of course – places like The British Council do
embarrassing background checks. No, a small school should suit you fine. Maybe
the pay’s nothing to write home about, but you aren’t here for the money, are
you? No, what you’re here for is the chance to grope a 12-year-old’s body, and
perhaps… just perhaps…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like it or not, that is the
reality of the situation in a number of English language schools in Asia. Just
look at the shameful facts and figures on the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2006<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John Mark Carr, a 41-year-old
American, was teaching English at the Bangkok Christian College when he was
arrested for child-sex offences. He’d previously taught at I&S Language
School in Seoul, and in Taiwan, Costa Rica and Honduras. On the plane going
back from Thailand, Carr confessed to the police accompanying him that he had
killed the 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey; a charge later
disproved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christopher Paul Neil, a
32-year-old Canadian, was arrested in Thailand for under-age sex. He had
previously taught English in Kwanju, S Korea, and was currently working at a
school in Bangkok. He boasted of his sexual exploits on the internet, complete
with a head-shoulders photo of himself with the face obscured by a
computer-generated swirl. German police managed to unravel the swirl to reveal
his true likeness, and to eventually lead to tracking him down in Thailand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sean McGowan, a 45-year-old
Brit, was teaching English in Bangkok when he was repatriated to Britain on
charges of raping an 8-year-old Thai girl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peter William Smith, a 48-year-old
Australian teaching in Jakarta was arrested and convicted of engaging in sex
with more than 50 boys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alan Smith, a 53-year-old Brit,
used fake references to get a job as EFL teacher at Nongyai Temple School, just
north of Bangkok. He was arrested in 2007 for child-sex offences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ian Bower, a 42-year-old UK
national, was teaching English in Cambodia when he was arrested for child-sex
offences with two boys aged 12 and 14.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2008<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark Joseph McDowell, American,
taught as ESL Professor at Daejeon University, S Korea, and at BCM
Academy in Seoul, and also ran the EFL resource website Mark’s ESL Wide World
AKA marksesl.com. He was arrested in Korea for child molestation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earl R. Bonds, a 42-year-old
American, was arrested in Phuket, Thailand for child-sex. He had been teaching
English in Bangkok, and took regular trips to Phuket to satisfy his taste for
Thai minors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John Wrenshall, a 62-year-old
Canadian, taught at AUA Language Center in Bangkok for ten years. The director
of AUA described him as “so polite and quiet”. Unbeknown to AUA, their polite,
quiet teacher had spent his after-school hours setting up an internet website
for pedophiles, “Boy Love and Chat”, and was charging foreigners $400 per
introduction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karl Joseph Kraus, an
Australian, was arrested in Thailand for raping four young sisters whom he had
been giving private English lessons to in his home. He was 92 years old at the
time of his arrest, thereby setting the record as oldest convicted pedophile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michael James Dodd, a 61-year-old
American, was teaching in Phnom Penh when he was convicted of having sex with a
14-year-old Cambodian girl. He’d previously been jailed for a similar offence
in Northern Mariana Islands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dennis Gale Catron, a
60-year-old American, had been teaching at various educational institutes and
colleges in Thailand until his arrest on child-sex charges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gregory James Miller, a
48-year-old American, worked as an English teacher at Garden International
School, Rayong , Thailand for eight years,
before he was arrested and
charged with sexually assaulting five boys under the age of 15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The above list, I’m sure, is
just the tip of the iceberg. It shows only the cases that appear on the
internet, and doesn’t, of course, include the pedophile EFL teachers who have
gone (and still go) undetected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those pedophiles who are
convicted and jailed abroad, find that unlike Western prisons, pedophiles are
not cosseted away in special “safe” units. They are thrown in with the
murderers, rapists, thieves and what-have-you detritus of the criminal world,
and consequently have to bear the brunt of their actions at the hands of their
fellow inmates. It’s a tough old world, innit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>EFL minus the B.S.</b>
is now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle form. CUSTOMER REVIEW: “Excellent book. As a former
EFL teacher, ten years in Vietnam and Indonesia, this book is spot on in giving
the basic lay down of teaching overseas. The book is a quick read and should be
read by every EFL teacher. Definitely a good read while on your flight to
whatever country you are going to teach.” – J.D.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-65641977672978831842014-06-29T22:06:00.001-07:002014-06-29T22:06:18.585-07:00DON'T READ THIS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">DON'T READ THIS</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">STOP! I’m about to write a blog on an unpleasant,
stomach-turning topic that is better off left unread. If you know what’s good
for you, you’ll click off this post right now and log onto You Tube instead, or
play a game or two of Solitaire. I’m not joking around. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bloody hell! Are you still here? OK, but don’t say you
weren’t warned. Today’s topic is dunnies and the squitters. First off, dunnies.
Or Asian dunnies to be exact. Public toilets in Asia are few and far between.
Far fewer that what you get in the West. Now this may seem of little
consequence, but if you’ve got a dose of the squitters, it’s of paramount
importance. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Public toilets in Asia are best described as basic. That’s
Basic with a capital B. Some have real Western-style bowls that you can
actually sit down on. Count yourself lucky if you come across one of these. The
toilet seat, if there is one, probably has shoe-prints on it, as Asians are
accustomed to half-standing while doing their business. That’s all very well if
it’s just Number Ones you’re about to engage in, but a bit off-putting if you
have Number Twos in mind. Some modern Asian toilets have diagrams on the walls
to explain that you don’t stand, but sit on the seat, but these seem to go largely
ignored. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Toilet bowls are a rare luxury. It’s far more likely that
you’ll find a squatter (a hole in the toilet floor) in which to deposit your
excreta. There’s no flush button – just a bucket of water and a dipper with
which to sluice away the bowel motion. There is, of course, no toilet paper.
You’re expected to use the dipper to splash water onto your posterior and thus
wash away any vestiges of poo. A word of advice here. If that is the set-up in
the toilet cubicle you are currently visiting, remove all clothing from the
lower half of your body. Otherwise you’re going to end up with very wet trous;
a decided embarrassment when you emerge into the sunlight. And while I’m on the
subject, these holes in the floor are not a pretty sight to see. They’re often
clogged with the evidence of the last five people to visit the facility. No,
not pleasant at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you feeling nauseated yet? I warned you, didn’t I? And
here’s another word of warning. This blog is about to get even more basic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The squitters. The trots, the runs, Delhi belly, Montezuma’s
revenge, <s>diaria, diorhea, diarhea, diahorrea</s>, (if you know<s> </s>how to
spell that goddamn word, let me know), the shits. Words that will have a special resonance for
Western visitors to Asia. Because this is the ailment a Westerner is most
likely to be hit with soon after arrival. Some say it’s because of the unfamiliar
food, some blame the spiciness of the food, some say it’s the body’s reaction
to the hot climate. (A doctor back home once told me it’s none of those things.
His theory was that it is the different mineral content of the drinking water
that causes it.) Whatever the cause, it’s a given that you’ll come down with
the shits some time during your visit to an Asian country. So, what to do when
it happens? Take Imodium or Loperamide; both of them very effective in
relieving the symptoms of <s>diahorria.</s> They don’t actually cure you; they
just make life more bearable while you wait for your body to recover of its own
accord. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let’s discuss a variation of the squitters that I’m all
too familiar with. <i>(And it’s not too late
to switch to a game of Solitaire, by the way.) </i>When you have the shits
you’re running to the toilet six times a day. But when you have tropical spru,
you’re making a bee-line to the toilet just three times a day. This elusive
disease, tropical spru, is also known as PIMS or Post Infective Malabsorption Syndrome.
The symptoms are thrice-daily visitations to the WC, with a thirty-second
warning beforehand. Not nice. But here’s a funny thing: most doctors have never
heard of it. And stool and blood tests don’t detect it. “Doctor, Doctor, I’ve
got the shits!” “No you haven’t.” Yes I have.” No…” Because of this quandary, I
suffered from PIMS for over a year, taking intermittent doses of Imodium but
never actually getting cured. When I finally did find a doctor familiar with
the disease, I was, to put it mildly, most relieved. Ecstatic, even. Solid
shits at last! Hallelujah! It had taken a month of daily dosages of
Tetracycline and Folic Acid, but it had done the trick. I’ve mentioned this
disease because if you are unfortunate enough to contract it, you’ll have some
idea of how to get shot of it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that’s it. Unsettling? Yes. Unpleasant? Yes, to say
the least. But, something that may just mean the difference between months of discomfort,
and good health. And on that upbeat note I’ll sign off, with a promise that my
next blog post will on a nice, wholesome, family-oriented topic. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my new book, <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> (now on Amazon) I
have touched on this theme, along with many others. In the book you’ll find
answers to these questions: How can I get an overseas English-teaching job? Why
in the hell would I want to get an overseas teaching job? How can I survive
that job once I’ve got it?</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-89359899120489267512014-06-17T19:17:00.002-07:002014-06-17T19:17:44.276-07:00HALLELUJAH! MY BOOK IS OUT!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HALLELUJAH! MY BOOK IS OUT!!!</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s no
big mystery in writing a book. The English language has 600,000 words, give or
take a preposition or two. What you’ve got to do if you’re a writer is to choose
some of those words (relax, you won’t need all of them), juggle them round
until they’re in the right order, insert some punctuation marks, and bingo, you’ve
got yourself a book. And if you’ve chosen the right words, you could well have
yourself a blockbuster, on the <i>New York
Times</i> bestsellers’ list for 36 consecutive weeks. You retire from your day
job, do an interview or two with Oprah and Jimmy Fallon, and sit back to count
your royalties. Easy street at last!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did all
that with my book <i>EFL minus the B.S. </i>Well,<i> </i>Oprah has yet to call, and the <i>NY Times</i> has yet to discover me, but
I’ve done the writing bit. That was the easy part. Now you’d think that once
you’d typed ‘The End’ on your manuscript, all your work would be over. Think
again. This is where it gets tricky. You’ll need a publisher. So, you send your
manuscript off to a bunch of literary agents and publishing houses. I did that
– seventeen of them. Three months later I had accumulated seventeen rejection
letters. Some were your standard form letters; a couple were real letters.
“Your manuscript is a good read and deserves a wide audience. Unfortunately,
because of the downturn in book publishing we have cut back on the number of
titles we publish each year, and must regretfully….” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So then
you eat the words you’d said just twelve short months ago, and decide to
self-publish. You look up self-publishing on the internet, and narrow your
search down to the two big players in the field: Createspace and Lulu. Both
stress the fact that the publishing process is simplicity itself. It ain’t. It
took me nearly five months of confusion, frustration, tantrums, and fruitless
nights to get it right. But then, at last, finally, a package arrived for me in
the mail. The first ever physical copy of my book. I gazed at it, sniffed it,
gently riffled through the pages. I went to sleep with it under my pillow, then
next morning I gazed at it, sniffed it, and riffled through the pages. It’s
mine, all mine! Look everybody! See this wondrous, beautiful work of art. I
made that. Me! Unaided! Do you want to hold it? Alright – have you washed your
hands this morning? Here….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you’ve
got a book. One problem remains. <i>You’ve</i>
got a book, but no-one else has got it, or even heard of it for that matter.
You’ll have to publicise it, promote it, flog it for all you’re worth. That is
if you want to sell more than the two dozen copies your family and friends have
promised to buy. If you’re self-publishing, you’re on your own when it comes to
book promotion. How to do it? Blogs, articles, free copies to reviewers, press
releases, advertisements in EFL publications, whatever you can dream up to get
your book title out there in the market place. And that’s exactly what I’m
embroiled in now. Oh me, oh my! To think I’d breathed a sigh of relief when I
typed in ‘The End’!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oprah
still hasn’t called.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“EFL minus
the B.S.” is now available on Amazon. Buy a copy today.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-81530923815089741462014-06-04T22:20:00.003-07:002014-06-04T22:20:25.764-07:00GETTING THEM INTERESTED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">GETTING THEM
INTERESTED</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t
often quote Noam Chomsky, but I will here. <i>Nine
tenths of the challenge in teaching English is getting your students
interested. </i>(Possibly I’m misquoting him here. I can’t for the like of me
track down the original quotation, in spite of combing the internet.) But the words
are very, very true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student
disinterest can be an all-pervasive, contagious influence in your class. You
walk into the class with a bright and cheery “Hello everybody,” to be met with
a mumbled “Hello” from three of your twelve students. The others are engaged in
activities far more compelling. Some are talking on their phones, some sending
text messages, some gossiping in their own language, some listening to Albert’s
long and involved joke. You try again. “How are you?” This time only one
responds. Albert, it seems, is nearing his punch-line. Oh shit, you think.
Today’s unit is Worldwide Charities. How in the hell am I going to stir up even
a glimmer of interest in that dry topic? Good question.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You could, I
suppose, forget covering the unit, and instead introduce some topic that’s more
likely to elicit a spark of interest. But what topic fits that description? Our
Home Town? No, did it last week. Interesting People I Know? No, done that to
death. People I Hate? Maybe…. What Annoys Me Most About My Parents? Possibly,
though there’s always the chance that a certain percentage of the class will
refuse to say one derogatory word on the subject, claiming that their parents
are the most wonderful parents in the world. (“Yes, I know, I know, but
couldn’t you just conjure up one little thing for the sake of getting the
discussion rolling?”) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, let’s
suppose that you’ve decided to bite the bullet and go with the Charities unit.
Now, rule number one: Don’t have them open their text books. If some of the
keener ones have already done so, tell them to shut their books. Confronting
your students with two dense pages of reading text about the Red Cross,
Medicines Sans Frontieres, and Live Aid is a sure-fire way of getting them to
slip into the ‘Ahh, who gives a shit?’ mode. The texts are just too dry, too
dense, and too riddled with unfamiliar words for them to be bothered getting
their heads around. Far more interesting to make a phone call, send a text
message, or listen to Albert’s next joke.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rule number
two. Personalize. Now, how do you personalize a charity for a group of students
living in a country completely devoid of charities? With great difficulty, I
must admit, but let’s give it a go. “Now, you are a pop-singer, Albert. A very
famous, popular pop singer. Every girl in the country is in love with you. How
would that feel? And how much money would you expect to be paid to sing just
one concert? And Jane. You’re a doctor. You just graduated. How long does a
doctor have to study in this country? And how much money do you think doctors
earn in a year? Anybody know? OK, Albert and Jane, I’ve got a question for you.
A very important, very personal question, so you must answer truthfully.
Albert, I’m inviting you to sing in a concert that I’m organizing, but I’m not
going to pay you for it. Not even a cent. How about it? And Jane, instead of
starting your doctor’s practice and earning $XXX,000 in the first year, I’m
inviting you to go to Africa for a year, to work for nothing. How about it?”
And so it goes. It might be 20 to 30 minutes before they open their text books
and start reading, but if it has succeeded in arousing the class’s interest, it
will have been time well spent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, keep
the pace brisk. Break the lesson up into chunks interspersed with bits and
pieces of light relief. Play “We Are The World” and get them to sing along. Do
your doctor joke: “Doctor, when I poke myself here, it hurts. When I poke
myself here, and here, and here, it hurts. What’s wrong with me?” “You’ve got a
broken finger.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, keep
up your cheery, enthused demeanor. Let enthusiasm exude from your every pore. Whatever
you do, don’t let it show that the unit is every bit as boring for you as it is
for them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, if
you think the unit is just too limited in interest to hold their attention for
two hours, drop it after an hour and a bit, and do something else. There’s no
law etched in concrete saying we must cover every word of every unit. For a
book like <i>Straightforward,</i> that would
be tantamount to turning your students off learning English forevermore.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like I said,
it’s difficult to arouse students’ interest and sustain it. Good luck.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a customer’s review of<b><i> EFL minus the B.S.</i></b>:
“Excellent book. As a former EFL teacher, ten years in Vietnam and Indonesia,
this book is spot on in giving the basic lay down of teaching overseas. The
book is a quick read and should be read by every EFL teacher. Definitely a good
read while on your flight to whatever country you are going to teach.” – J.D.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-45858399151330402982014-05-22T08:27:00.002-07:002014-05-22T08:27:25.419-07:00TEACHING IN A MOSLEM COUNTRY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">TEACHING IN A MOSLEM COUNTRY</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Working
in a Moslem country requires the teacher to make a few mental adjustments. One
of the many interpretations of the word ‘Islam’ is ‘submission’. You’ll find
your students very passive; reluctant to ever contradict, argue, or criticize.
Say goodbye to the notion of holding classroom debates; once the first opinion
has been voiced, no-one would ever think of contradicting it. This general practice
of submissiveness can be a good thing – you seldom see arguments or fist-fights
break out in a Moslem country. (In my home country, you’ll see 10 or 12
fist-fights a night at around bar-closing time. In my 20-odd years in
Indonesia, I only remember ever seeing three punch-ups.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then
there’s Ramadan, the fasting month. For 30 days a year, around two billion
devout Moslems the world over observe Ramadan as one of the ‘Five Pillars of
Islam’. In that month, they don’t eat or drink between sunrise and sunset, nor
do they smoke, harbor negative thoughts, or have sex (or even think about
having it). One Indonesian Moslem (a doctor) told me that this period of self-restraint
was an invaluable boost to physical and mental health. “If you don’t observe
Ramadan, that’s like owning a new car and never trying out the brakes. You
don’t know whether the brakes, when you really need them, will work or not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At
Ramadan, Moslems rise early, an hour before sunrise, and gorge themselves on a huge
meal to tide them over the 12 hours’ of self-deprivation to follow. Around six
pm another huge meal is laid out, and people tune into their radios awaiting
the drumbeat that tells them it’s OK to eat and drink again. (Statistics reveal
that more food is eaten during Ramadan than at any other time of year.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some
years ago when I was living in Indonesia, I decided to try fasting for a day,
just for the experience. It was a long, long day. I didn’t miss the absence of
food so much, although my parched mouth was crying out for water by midday. No,
what made the day such a drag for me was the boredom. Our three meals per day serve to break the
day up, and provide us with welcome diversions to occupy our minds. Without those
breaks, you get twelve uninterrupted hours of boredom, lethargy, and
irritability. And, if you’re a smoker, nicotine-withdrawal symptoms too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
you’re teaching during Ramadan, steel yourself for a bunch of tired,
preoccupied students, and a very long break at around six in the evening when
your students break their fast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some
other considerations to keep in mind when you’re working among Islamic
believers. Don’t ever profess to being an atheist – that’ll put you among the
lowest of the low in the eyes of your Moslem students. Don’t discuss religion.
While that’s what dictates how your students live, work, and think, it isn’t
really open for discussion, especially not with a non-believing infidel such as
yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t
use your left hand to gesture, touch someone, hand over money, or anything
else. The left hand is unclean, and reserved for wiping the bum only. Don’t
contradict or question anyone’s opinion. Don’t mention stuff like sex before
marriage. (The Moslem male hankers after it, and has probably secretly savored
it in a local brothel or two, but that’s not something to be talked about or
even acknowledged.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I began
my two decades in Indonesia unreservedly admiring the Moslem faith for its culture
of tolerance, hospitality and passivity. I ended my time there disillusioned
with the religion, because of its dishonesty, duplicity, and hypocrisy. What
prompted such a turn-around of opinion? Perhaps the countless instances of
doors left to swing back in my face, the small-mindedness, the bald-faced lying,
and the all-pervailing dishonesty one faces daily. Certainly because of my
experience of Islamic courts as they dealt with my divorce hearings. (“Tell Mr
Don that if he were to see fit to pay for the Haj pilgrimage of the honorable chief
judge and his wife, then the court’s decision will certainly be in his favor.”)
No, I no longer have any patience for the religion or its practitioners.
Perhaps I’m wrong about the one true, hallowed religion. Perhaps, when I reach
the gates of paradise, I’ll find my promised seventy-two white-clad virgins
sporting chastity belts and fenced off in a high-walled compound. Insha’alah.
Time will tell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new book, <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> (now available on
Amazon) is my take on the English teaching game world-wide. From applying for a
job, living overseas, work permits, management and mismanagement, classroom
dynamics, teens’ and children’s classes, to sex and the single teacher; all are
examined with as much political correctness as a loud fart in a library. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-82264547839321063832014-04-24T00:28:00.004-07:002014-04-24T00:28:38.588-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CORPORATE EFL CLASSES</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far as the school management is concerned, Corporate
Classes are a sweet little number. On the course’s opening day, the school will
be festooned with banners welcoming the course participants, and the first half
hour of the class will be taken up with speeches and pomp and ceremony with the
school’s bosses and company’s big-wigs all in attendance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The classes may be conducted at the school itself, or the
teacher may have to travel to the company’s premises to do them. Whatever,
Corporate Classes differ from your usual classes in the following ways. For one
thing, the school probably has no say in the grouping of like levels. Thus you
could be landed with a group of students whose levels range from beginner to
upper-intermediate. It makes no sense of course, except to the company’s
bean-counters, for whom it makes very sound economic sense. So you’re already
starting off at a disadvantage. For another thing, the course participants are
not there of their own volition. It’s their bosses who have decided that they
are in urgent need of English, not them. Consequently, the motivation factor is
conspicuous by its absence with many of the students. Thirdly, all your
students will have just completed an eight or ten-hour working day, and would
rather be watching telly at home or in the pub than in an English classroom. So
there’s three major disadvantages for starters. And, because of the importance
and prestige the school attaches to this kind of course (not to mention the
inflated course fees), the teacher will be expected to deliver a top-notch
performance, with every student’s English going ahead in leaps and bounds, and
every student deliriously satisfied with every aspect of the course. And to
check this is so, midway and at the end of the course the students will be issued
with feedback forms to fill in. And that, yes that’s when the heartaches begin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are a student in a class where most of your
classmates are of a higher level than you, and where the text book and level of
language presented is far beyond your grasp, you will need to blame someone or
something to explain away your inevitably poor results in the final test. You
can’t blame the book of course; that would expose your low start-level. So
instead, you blame the teacher for your poor performance. And then the teacher
finds himself on the firing line. “John, we’re bitterly disappointed. Look at
all these negative comments! We expected better of you. You’d better pull your
socks up, or that’ll be the last Corporate Class we ever give you.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lose-lose again. Surprise, surprise.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a customer’s review of<b><i> EFL minus the B.S.</i></b>: “So,
you have checked it all out and decided to go teaching overseas. Now listen you
fool… don’t even think about it until you have read this book! I have been an
ESL teacher for close on a decade and this book is about as good as it gets.
Read it… then do it. See you over here.” – </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sensai.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-17833035579904070772014-04-14T08:28:00.004-07:002014-04-14T08:28:46.524-07:00SORRY NO COMPRENDO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SORRY, NO COMPRENDO</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m sure you’ve all experienced this situation. You come
home from work, plonk yourself down in front of the TV, and watch the news.
Then your significant other walks in and asks, “What’s on the news today?” You
reflect on it for a moment, then realize that not one word of the half-hour
broadcast has registered on your brain. You heard the words, you understood the
words, but your brain had not absorbed them. Your mind had switched itself off.
Gone into hibernation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s the same for our students, only doubly so, because it’s
not their language they’re listening to. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“OK, now we’re going to do some writing, so take out your
notebooks.” One third of the class does so, the rest sit motionless, staring
blankly ahead. You repeat the instruction, only this time a little louder, and
at the same time wave a notebook in the air. Two more students comply. If you
want 100% of the class to comply, you have to stand in front of each student,
say “notebook” several times, while tapping a finger on their bags. Arousing a
hibernating mind doesn’t come easily.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adult students’ minds will go blank and unreceptive from
time to time, teenagers do it a lot, young children hardly ever. With adults,
it’s understandable. Like you or I, they have other concerns – money worries,
family issues, kids’ problems, work problems – that occupy the mind far more
compellingly than a grammar lesson ever could. With teenagers, it’s even more
understandable. Their preoccupations are teen angst, and school. Asian kids’
school schedules are demanding; fourteen different subjects a week, tons of
stuff to be memorized. Sure, most of it’s rote-learning, but even that can tire
you out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s another barrier to understanding.<b><i> </i></b>There are some taxi
drivers, shop-keepers and students who see a white face before them, see the
lips moving, and think “Oh my God. He’s speaking to me in a foreign tongue! I’m
not going to understand a word!” Consequently, they don’t understand a word,
even if you’re saying it in their own language, and regardless of whether it’s
clear, accent-free, and fluent. Sorry, the mind’s in neutral today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now for something completely different. Songs. Or to be
more explicit, songs and their role in language learning. Students learn
language faster if it’s taught in song form, there’s no doubt about it. Kids
who are currently studying “What’s this?” and “Is this a pencil?” can be taught
to sing the words of songs like “Clementine” and “If you’re happy and you know
it” confidently and with obvious enjoyment. Especially if they’re action songs.
“This is the way I wash my face”, “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” and “Bingo”
come to mind. If you can’t sing a note, buy one of the many kids’ songs CDs to
present the song. Teenagers love love songs. Explain the poignant love story
behind the song and they’ll appreciate it even more. “Now let me tell you about
John. John is in love with Bonnie, but there’s a problem. John lives in
America, but Bonnie lives in Vietnam (or Thailand, or Indonesia, or Adis Abba.)
And so he sings this song to her: ‘My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie…’.
“</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I worked in Korea, my school had a series of tapes
called ‘Mr Monday’. These tapes contained songs – quite catchy, many of them – each
of which practiced specific vocabulary or a grammar point. One song covered days
of the week, one did months or the weather, others consisted solely of present
perfect sentences, or conditional clauses. Brilliant, it was. I wish I’d made a
copy, as I’ve never seen ‘Mr Monday’ before or since then.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have experimented with writing my own songs to practice
certain language. It’s easier than it sounds. Take ‘Frere Jacques’ or ‘John
Brown’s Body’ and put your own words to them. So far I’ve done the treatment on
‘Frere Jacques’, substituting the words: “We learn English, we learn English,
yes we do, yes we do, but it isn’t easy, but it isn’t easy, no, no. no, no, no.
no.” I do “John Brown” to the words: “I like ice cream and I eat it every day
(X3), but my Mom says I’m gonna get fat. Mama, Mama give me ice cream (X3) I
don’t care if I get fat.” Subsequent verses feature chocolate, hamburgers, and
so on. Here’s another one I put to the tune ‘Frere Jacques’. “Today is
Saturday, Yes that’s right, Tomorrow must be Sunday, That’s right too.” Rogers
and Hammerstein it ain’t, but it does the trick, and the kids seem to enjoy it.
Try doing your own song. It’s fun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember one time passing by a class of eight- to ten-year
olds singing the Beatles song ‘Hello, Goodbye’. I’ve heard the song many times
before, but the words from the mouths of these young kids gave the song an
entirely new perspective, and an entirely new meaning. The Beatles obviously
wrote it as a nonsense song; the children imbued it with a depth of meaning
Lennon and McCartney had never dreamed of. The purity and innocence of their
voices had me choking back tears. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new book, <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b>,<b><i> </i></b>is
now available on Amazon. If
you’re looking for a weighty tome on pedagogy, and the meta-cognitive paradigms
of second-language acquisition, give this book a miss. If, on the other hand,
you’re looking for an entertaining dissection of the English teaching game
worldwide, <b><i>EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is the book for you. Order your copy today
from Amazon.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-5688718335444199122014-04-08T09:12:00.002-07:002014-04-08T09:12:35.939-07:00HOW NOT TO TEACH ENGLISH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">HOW NOT TO TEACH ENGLISH.</span></span><span style="font-family: Hanoi;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">(Or maybe I’m wrong...)</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Hanoi;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you’re working in EFL, you learn something new every
day. Or at least I do, anyway. My latest revelation took place over the past
two weeks. I’m at a new school. It’s called Speak Naturally. I was informed on
Day One that in order to speak naturally (and it must be done with an American
accent, mind you – very important) you need to spend nine tenths of every
lesson doing unison drilling. No games, no breaks, no light relief; no nuthin
except unison drill, unison drill, unison drill. And don’t let that American
accent drop for one second. The line-up of expat teachers charged with the task
of teaching natural American English is two Brits, two Filippinos, one
Ukranian, one guy whose accent is so bad I can’t make out where he’s from, and
me. Now the expats aren’t required to actually conduct a lesson. Oh no, they
are co-teachers, which means that their role consists of standing up front
listening to the Vietnamese teacher doing his or her unison drilling, and, on
command, saying a word or sentence here or there. Much like a performing seal.
Sitting in on one of these sessions is excruciatingly boring, and time drags.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, being a writer engaged in writing a book about English
teaching, I was very interested in this new method. It presented me with the
perfect input for a chapter pouring scorn on misguided EFL methodology. Thus
every night after my co-teaching stints I would hurry home to write furiously
about how ineffective and unsuitable this particular method was. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before I continue, let me describe a typical lesson I have
suffered through. This particular 90-minute session for an adult Elementary
class is intended to teach 20 expressions, and train the students to say them
exactly as a Milwaukee factory worker would. Some of the expressions are useful
language – ‘my sister, my grandchild, my grandson, parents-in-law,
brother-in-law, sister-in-law,’ and some are a trifle odd – ‘a plump boss, a
weak housewife, an old actor, a strong farmer.’ No full sentences, note. The
words are projected onto a screen. Cue in the expat co-teacher (that’s me,
Folks) who says the words twice and has the students repeat in unison. OK,
that’s my bit done for the meantime. Siddown, and let the Vietnamese teacher
take control.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Word number
one. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Sister.
Repeat.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: Sitter.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: No.
SiSSter.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: Sister. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: Sister. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: Sister.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: Sister.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: Sister.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As the
students speak, the teacher raps a bamboo stick against the screen in time with
each syllable, and at the same time stamps his or her foot.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.
Once more. Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By this time
I am taking surreptitious looks at my watch. When in the hell is the real
teaching going to begin?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Right,
second word. Brother-in-law. Repeat. Repeat. Again. Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What with
the tapping and stamping, the teacher is already beginning to work up a sweat.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Again.
Once more. Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once the
family relationships have been taken care of, it’s time for the odd
expressions.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: A bored
housewife.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: A bored
housewie.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: No.
HousewiFe. Repeat. Again. Again. [Tap-tap-stamp-stamp.]</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By this time
I’m bored out of my tree. Even more bored than the housewife in question. So
too are the students, surely.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The choral
repetition of the twenty expressions takes up the first hour. God, what’s next?
Uh oh, it’s my turn to add a contribution to the lesson. “Mr Don, who is the
housewife?” “Um… she’s a bored housewife.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: Yes.
Everybody! Who is the housewife?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: She a
bored housewie.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: No.
Listen to Mr Don! Mr Don, who is the housewife?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Me: She’s a
bored housewife.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T:
Everybody! Who is the housewife?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ss: She a
bored housewie.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">T: No!
She’S. Repeat. Again. Again. HouSewife. Repeat. Again. Again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What seems
like three days later, the 90-minute comes to an end. “What do you think?” the
Vietnamese teacher asks me. “Well, it’s certainly an interesting teaching
method,” I say. So interesting I can’t wait to get home and record my thoughts
on how not to teach. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Every rule
of effective language teaching has been disregarded. For one thing, drilling
for 90 minutes is tiring and stultifyingly boring for the students. The
language drilled has been of doubtful usefulness. The students were not asked
to speak in complete sentences. There have been no changes of focus, no periods
of light relief. The language practiced was as unnatural as you could dream up.
In short, a disastrous sham of a lesson.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now I’ve
often extolled the virtues of unison drilling. It allows the students to
familiarize themselves with the sentence patterns, the vocab, and the
pronunciation in near anonymity. Any mistakes they make will pass unnoticed,
and hopefully in the next repetition they’ll get it right. But unison
repetitions for 90 minutes straight? Madness.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But. And
this is a big but. As I am winding up my critical, almost vitriolic
condemnation of the technique I’d observed and been engaged intermittently in
over the past two weeks, I cast my mind back on how the students had reacted to
this madness. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not one of
them had spoken Vietnamese during any of the sessions. Not one had nodded off
or lapsed into the nether-world of daydreams. All had responded promptly to the
teacher’s cues, and with an obvious desire to get their utterances right. And
they had given their undivided attention to every minute of the lesson. Which
kind of describes the perfect class, don’tcha think?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Why is that,
I wonder? Maybe because the rote learning method is one they’re familiar and
comfortable with; the method by which they’ve learnt everything from maths to
science at school. Maybe because they haven’t been asked to contribute their
own input at any time in the past hour and a half. Maybe because they haven’t
once been asked to think for themselves. Maybe….</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like I said,
you learn something new every day in EFL.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here’s a customer’s review of<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> EFL minus the B.S.</i></b>:
“Excellent book. As a former EFL teacher, ten years in Vietnam and Indonesia,
this book is spot on in giving the basic lay down of teaching overseas. The
book is a quick read and should be read by every EFL teacher. Definitely a good
read while on your flight to whatever country you are going to teach.” – J.D.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-66079036175368150112014-03-25T08:01:00.003-07:002014-03-25T08:01:41.326-07:00VARIETIES OF ENGLISH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: ".VnClarendon","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">LITTLE RED
RIDING HOOD</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 3; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly;">
<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" hspace="0" vspace="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 58.95pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 3; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; page-break-after: avoid; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: VNI-Arab; font-size: 76.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-text-raise: -5.0pt;">O</span><span style="font-family: VNI-Arab; mso-text-raise: -5.0pt;"></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NCE upon a time, there was a little girl named Little Red
Riding Hood. One day her mother said to her, “Little Red, grandmother is sick
today, so I want you to take this basket of goodies to her. But be careful,
there’s a big bad wolf in the forest”.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And so Little Red Riding Hood set off through the forest,
whistling a happy little tune to herself as she went…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thus didst this trusting young child roam freely through the
forest, marveling at the verdant riches therein; the rich hues of the foliage, the
succulence of the new shoots emerging from the forest floor, the beauty of the
newly-bloomed flowers, and the colorful plumage of the birds that wheeled in
the skies above. Verily, I say unto you, Brethren, this parable is a testament
to the bounteous riches that the Good Lord….</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cor Blimey, I mean, this story is a load of old cobblers,
innit. Wot mother in her right bleedin mind would let her kid wander in the
forest all on her tod, when she knows bleedin well there’s a big bad wolf
lurking about? No, it’s all piffle if you ask me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The behavior of the animal under discussion, namely the
wolf, raises a number of questions. One cannot help asking what motivated this
individual wolf to behave in such a manner? What lay behind its inclination to
devour solitary minors of the female gender? Could it have simply been a
depleted supply of its customary food source? Or was there some other deep,
underlying cause for such behavior? A history of childhood abuse perhaps?
Bed-wetting? The implications are endless.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Strewth, the mother lets a young Sheila go wandering in the
forest all by herself? Mum’s got to be a few prawns short of a Barbie. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice is hereby served upon Mr B. B. Wolf (the Second Party)
that if his behavior (to wit: the preying upon unaccompanied minors in a public
domain) does not cease and desist forthwith, legal proceedings will be
instituted against him without further notice.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">WOLF SLAIN IN </span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">FOREST INCIDENT</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Thursday.
A 34-year old woodcutter, James</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>(“Woodie”) Smith of Massachusetts, yester-</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">day
killed a 95-kilogram black bear, thereby </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">saving
the life of 84-year-old grandmother </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Mrs
K.M. Hood Snr of Connecticut. Smith </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">declined
to be interviewed, protesting, “I’m </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">no
hero. I just did what anyone else would do </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">when
happening upon a grandmother strug-</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">gling
for her life inside a wolf’s intestines.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Upon arriving at the scene at 3:49 pm, I saw the body of a
large animal, black in color, and distinctly wolf-shaped. This I concluded was
the alleged perpetrator. Also in attendance at the crime scene were…. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you
only read one book this year, read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">50
Shades of Grey</i> by E.L. James. But if you’re casting around for a second
book, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is a good read.</span></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-76660069536507843132014-03-14T06:59:00.000-07:002014-03-14T06:59:04.020-07:00A YEAR TEACHING ENGLISH IN SOUTH KOREA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">A YEAR TEACHING ENGLISH IN SOUTH
KOREA</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hit
Korea with feet running, only to find that my timing was as wrong as it could
be. I’d just spent a decade teaching in Indonesia and Thailand, and had
forgotten what cold weather was. South Korea brought me up to speed on the
subject in short order. Korea was cold. Frigging cold. Mind-numbingly cold.
Newspaper reports said it was Korea’s coldest winter in years. Biting, cold
winds swept down from Siberia, bringing rain, sleet and snow with them. Snow
deposited on the streets during the day had turned to ice by next morning. My
lightweight Teflon clothes from Indonesia afforded me as much protection from
the cold as a band-aid.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My second
misjudgement: I arrived in Seoul in a month when English schools weren’t
recruiting. Job opportunities were nil, nowt, non-existent. Thus I was reduced
to sitting in my tiny, windowless yogwan room with an eiderdown wrapped around
my shoulders, rueing the day I ever decided to move to this god-forsaken
country. Then, a glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon. Or on the Armed
Forces radio network to be more exact. Extras were required to appear in the
movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Inchon”,</i> currently being
filmed in and around Seoul. Twenty-five dollars a day, plus transport, plus
lunch. And, while they didn’t mention it, plus the opportunity to break into
the movie industry, and inexorably rise to become a leading box-office name. In
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Inchon”</i> my co-stars would be Richard
Roundtree, Jacqueline Bisset, David Janssen, Ben Gazarra, Omar Sharif, and Sir
Laurence Olivier (“Larry” to me, now that we’ve appeared in a film together.) I
would be in good company.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
reported to the hotel the movie company had commandeered early next morning. A
harried American guy announced over a megaphone that today they were filming civilian
refugees at Seoul railway station, so would you please go to the wardrobe
department in the basement of the hotel and get fitted out. The basement proved
to be half an acre of clothes racks containing GI’s uniforms (new, used, and
battle-scarred) and civilian clothes (new, used, and tatty). I was directed to
the tatty end, and handed a pair of baggy trousers complete with a piece of
string as a belt, a nondescript brown coat, and a stained hat. Then back up to
the convention room to wait. And wait. And then wait some more. Lunch was
handed out (three ham sandwiches and an apple) and we were told to get ready to
be bussed to the station anytime now.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the
station we were ordered to wait yet again, but at least now there was something
interesting going on. They were filming a street scene just outside the
station. Driver Richard Roundtree was driving a jeep carrying a military
big-wig, then swinging into the station entrance at speed. They filmed the
scene time after time, but it was not quite up to the director’s expectations.
“Cut. Let’s try that again. Take thirteen.” Richard Roundtree then alighted
from the jeep, a Korean worker reversed the jeep back to its starting point,
Roundtree got back into the driver’s seat, and did the scene all over again. To
actually reverse the jeep was not in Roundtree’s contract; that was the task of
a scenery-shifter.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent
the next few weekends working on ‘my film’. One day I was part of a crowd of
GIs listening to General MacArthur (Sir Lawrence Olivier) as he delivered a
speech from the town-hall balcony. Olivier was not actually on hand; instead
there was a lackey holding up placards that read “Applaud”, “Laugh”, and “Shout
‘Hurrah’ .” On another day I was in a landing craft (just a few seats away from
David Janssen) and spent most of the time waiting as walkie-talkie equipped
assistants coordinated the helicopters flying overhead and the explosive
charges buried in the sand.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After
three weeks, my movie career ground to a halt, as by then I had picked up a
couple of teaching jobs. I never did get to view <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Inchon”, </i>but I did read the review in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Time</i> magazine. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inchon</i>
would have to be one of the worst films ever made…” it read.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
teaching year started off with a situation that is the bugbear of all new
teachers. I couldn’t find a job that offered a sizeable chunk of hours, so I
was reduced to teaching an hour here, two hours there (in a hole-in-the-wall
apology for a school), then one and a half hours on the other side of town….</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was
well over four months before I landed a job at Language Teaching Research
Center, working full afternoons and evenings. LTRC was a non-profit making
school run by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Encyclopedia Britannica</i>,
and its mandate was to try out new teaching methodologies and assess their
effectiveness. The year I was there, the Silent Way was the focus of their
attention. This method, invented by Caleb Gattegno in the nineteen sixties, is
based on reducing Teacher Talking Time to a bare minimum, and instead eliciting
the language by various visual cues and body language. I started off full of cynicism
and scorn at this off-the-wall teaching technique, but ended up a convert. In
the Silent Way, students are challenged by the fact that they are responsible
for their own learning. They also know that if they do not speak, no-one else
is going to, and no-one is going to come to their aid. The teacher’s role is to
cue them on the target language, then accept or reject the students’ utterances.
It all sounds dry and humorless, but in practice it isn’t. I still use Silent
Way techniques every lesson. If you spoon-feed new language to students,
they’ll have forgotten it by next day. If you force them to sweat over it,
they’ll retain it. Elicit, elicit, elicit. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Korean
students are hard-working, and demanding of themselves and their teachers.
“Driven” wouldn’t be too strong a word for it; a legacy of parents’ pressure to
push their children to the top rung of the ladder at all costs.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am in
two minds about my year’s employment in Korea. On the one hand I did learn how
to teach. I did get to write a fortnightly column in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Korea Times.</i> On the other hand I never really warmed to the
Korean people. Nor, I must add, to the weather. My time in South Korea was an
interesting experience, but I can’t see myself going back there in the
foreseeable future.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My new book, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">EFL
minus the B.S.</b> (now available on Amazon) puts the English teaching game
under the spotlight. From applying for a job, living overseas, work permits,
management and mismanagement, classroom dynamics, teens’ and children’s
classes, to sex and the single teacher. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-63415281786584643352014-03-05T15:44:00.002-08:002014-03-05T15:44:22.174-08:00SIX REASONS NOT TO GET INTO EFL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">SIX REASONS NOT TO
GET INTO EFL</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">(and one reason to
do so)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I remember
my expectations when I first decided to become an English teacher 40 long years
ago. “Ah hah,” I thought, “this job will provide the solution to a number of
nagging dissatisfactions I have with my current status in life. First, it’ll
provide a passport to international travel. The world will be my oyster. Whatsmore,
I’ll be getting paid to escape my humdrum life back home. Two, I’ll be able to
meet and befriend interesting overseas residents – perhaps even form a romantic
liason with one (or two, or three) of them. Three, the job will give me the opportunity
to pass on the intracies of my native language to the grateful populace,
enabling them to better their station in life and prospects for the future. Four,
the cost of living in Asia is a fraction of what it is back home. Wow, bring it
on!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another compelling
attraction of EFL was that there was nothing I needed to do beforehand to
prepare myself for my dramatic career change. I was a native English speaker,
after all. My grammar was up to scratch, my vocabulary adequate, my
people-skills satisfactory. All I needed to do was present myself at an English
school overseas, and say “Here I am, and when do I start?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I forget
exactly when the disillusionment set in. Three, maybe four months later. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disillusionment
number one. I had joined a school in Jakarta where disorganization ruled the
day. The management didn’t know what it was doing, the students’ needs were
ignored, and teachers were treated as tiresome yet necessary evils. Was this
just bad luck on my part, that my first school was of mickey mouse quality? Um,
no… I was later to find that anywhere in Asia, badly run schools outnumber
well-run ones by a ratio of 3:1.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disillusionment
number two. My expectation that I’d be paid well for my contribution to the
nation’s development was dashed by payday one. My pay was, in a word, peanuts.
And therein lies a lesson for all newbies to the Asian EFL game. When you’re
living in a country with a gross national product far lower than your own
country’s, don’t expect to be paid at anywhere near the rates you’d get back
home. No, no, no, no, no. Squash that thought right off. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disillusionment
number three. OK, so I’m being paid crap money, but look on the bright side:
the cost of living is so low over here, I won’t need all that much money to get
by. Well… yes and no. For one thing, the local shop-keepers, landlords and
suppliers will see you as easy game; a foreigner, obviously loaded, possibly
verging on millionaire, and ripe for over-charging. Your accommodation, your
purchases, even down to that packet of ciggies you bought ten minutes ago, have
all been price-adjusted accordingly in view of your foreigness. Call it a
white-skin tax. Call it sliding-scale exchange-rate calibrations. Call it… ok,
call it over-charging if you will, but there’s little point in getting hot
under the collar about it. It’s a fact of overseas life. Welcome to Asia.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disillusionment
number four. Romantic liaisons? Yes… sure. Not so difficult to come by. Being a
foreign teacher, you’re looked up to as a rather desirable commodity:
well-heeled, well-qualified, well-educated, well-spoken…. Most of all
well-heeled. But romantic liaisons come at a price. There’s the small matter of
your girl’s rent, due the day before yesterday, and her landlord has already
started complaining loudly about the late payment. And this cell phone of hers…
I mean, look at it! Last year’s model. And all of her friends have already upgraded
to the latest smart phone with touch-screen, mega-pixel, Bluetooth, android, dual
processer. It’s so embarrassing when I haul out this antiquated old model and
my friends smile pityingly at me. And, by the way, Baby Brother is starting
school next week and he doesn’t have shoes, uniform, or text books yet. Could
you possibly…?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disillusionment
number five. I’ll be passing on the Queen’s English to a grateful populace
hungry for the opportunity to better their job prospects and their station in
life. OK, yes, maybe you do have three or four students who would qualify for
that description. But what about the other 98%? Kids who don’t want to be stuck
in an EFL classroom, and who would far rather be at home playing video games.
Teenagers bored out of their trees with English lessons. Corporate class
students, dog-tired after a full day’s work, forced by their bosses to attend
English class. Adult learners who’ve been studying English for three years and
who still can’t utter one grammatically correct sentence.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disillusionment
number six. You don’t need any training to become an English teacher, providing
you’re a native speaker with OK grammar. You’re hot to trot. No, not exactly.
There’s a bit more to it than that. Keeping a class occupied and interested for
two hours at a stretch does require more than a good command of the language
and an impressive vocabulary. It requires a number of teaching techniques, strategies,
ploys, and tricks of the trade which can only be acquired with time, experience
and – dare I say it – training.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, all
things considered, if you’re contemplating a life in EFL, don’t. Take up a
postman’s job, take up selling life insurance, or flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But, hold on
a sec! Before you completely dismiss the EFL career notion from your head, let
me add a post script here. In spite of the crap pay, the pathetic school
management, and the venal bosses, there is one compensation. Your students.
Sure, some can be pains in the butt, but the majority are well-meaning, likeable
people who look upon you to help them learn English and thereby move on up in
the world. You’ll sometimes see this demonstrated when you walk into a class
and find the students squirming in their seats and tittering behind their
hands. What the–? You turn around and find the reason for their mirth. There on
the whiteboard someone has written “Mr John, we love you.” Complete with a
drawing of a heart.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is now available on Amazon in both paperback
and Kindle form. The book will be of interest to (a) people contemplating a job
in EFL, (b) newbies wondering just what their EFL course trainers left out, and
(c) battle-hardened veterans of the classroom. Buy your copy today.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099032937143543947.post-33102981421658212762014-02-28T15:48:00.001-08:002014-02-28T15:48:41.895-08:00ASIAN ETIQUETTE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Hanoi; line-height: 115%;">DON'T PUT YOUR FOOT IN IT IN ASIA</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here
are some basic rules of etiquette to get you by in Asia. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ALL OVER:</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
you enter some-one’s house, slip off your shoes and leave them at the doorstep.
(It is advisable not to wear holy socks.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Try not
to cause loss of face. This is very important, as Asians rate face above all.
If you advertently or inadvertently put some-one down, you have made an enemy
for life. However misguided an Asian’s opinions are, avoid expressing disbelief
or openly contradicting him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
classroom, this translates as not interrupting some-one mid-flow to point out a
pronunciation or grammar error. Make a note of the mistake and correct it later
in the form of a mini-lesson.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
get angry, no matter how annoying or frustrating the situation is. It achieves
nothing, and is actually counter-productive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t bother
saying “please” or “thank you” to shop assistants. They don’t expect it (and
don’t deserve it).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INDONESIAN<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DO’s and DON’Ts</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
discuss politics or religion in class. And whatever you do don’t admit to being
an atheist. It’s sacrilegious, crass and just plain inexcusable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
blow your nose in class (or any other public place, for that matter). And for God’s
sake don’t be seen depositing your nasal excretions in a handkerchief, to be
folded and taken away for later examination or use. The Indonesian way is to
wait until you are unobserved, and expel your snot into the gutter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
point at anyone. A quick wave of an open hand, palm upwards, is acceptable
however. Don’t put your hands on your hips when conversing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
use your left hand to eat, beckon someone, hand over change or anything else to
anyone, anywhere. The right hand is for general use; the left hand is for
wiping your bum. (This rule applies in any Moslem country.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
expect anything to happen on time. (In fact, Indonesians are quite proud of
their ‘rubber time’).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THAI TABOOS</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
touch someone’s head. Don’t step over a sleeping person; walk around instead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
show a baby its reflection in a mirror. The baby will grow up sans teeth if you
do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
sit on a table or a pillow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">VIETNAMESE ETIQUETTE</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
get mad at anyone, no matter how frustrated or pissed off you are. It gets you
absolutely nowhere. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Of course, if
you’re teaching a particularly unruly kids’ or teens’ class, by all means get
mad. It’ll only get them behaving for five minutes or so, but boy, does it feel
good.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
just nod at an acquaintance. Anything short of the full “Hello, how are you?”
routine is seen as impolite.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
use the Western-style curled index finger gesture to get someone to approach
you – that’s for animals only. Instead, with your palm downwards, wriggle all
four fingers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Vietnamese
nod and a “yes” do not necessarily indicate that you have been understood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CHINA</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t drink
from the complimentary small bowl of lemon-flavored water on your restaurant
table. It’s for rinsing your fingers in, Dumbo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Avoid
physical contact with Chinese. If you’re guiding someone, hold the cuff or
sleeve.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JAPANESE ETIQUETTE</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bow.
When you meet someone, when you say goodbye to someone, when you agree with
someone, and when you’re on the phone to someone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
be late for appointments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
pour your own drink. Pour the other guy’s, and wait for him to pour yours.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But do
slurp your noodles loudly; that’s expected of you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">KOREAN NO-NOs</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
touch a Korean student. Not even a pat on the back or a friendly hand on the
shoulder. Koreans are unused to and revolted by any physical contact. (Which
makes me wonder what their home life is like.) Don’t worry about hoicking loudly
and throwing meal scraps on the restaurant floor though; that’s completely
normal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
pour your own drink. Wait for someone else to do it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">PHILIPPINE FOIBLES</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t stare
into someone’s eyes during a conversation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t
interrupt the speaker.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lifting
your eyebrows (but not smiling) means “no”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well,
that’s it. The Asian version of Emily Post’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rules of Etiquette</i>. Ignore at your own peril.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My new book, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EFL minus the B.S.,</i></b> has a
country-by-country break-down of countries you can teach EFL in, and also
includes chapters on Documentation, Management and Mismanagement, and Applying
for a job. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EFL minus the B.S.</i></b> is now available on Amazon.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034108597176881083noreply@blogger.com0