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The Funniest TEFL site ever
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bobs12



Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 310
Location: Saint Petersburg

PostPosted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perfectly, and I mean perfectly, describes my ex-colleague! (American)

Sorry America Wink

It's surprising just how effective satirical humour really is in arse-for-elbow institutions. The best political stairists don't tell jokes, they just state facts.
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Xenophile



Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Moscow

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

great site-don't have time to read it all right now, but I particularly liked the one about "complaints from students".
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bobs12



Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 310
Location: Saint Petersburg

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.englishdroid.com/queries.html

Quote:
He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches. He who cannot teach, teaches English. He who cannot teach English, becomes a DOS.
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steven_gerrard



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 155

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like a funny site if anyone could actually read the thing. Whoever is responsible for this (and what EFL teacher has that much time on theri hands? Must work for BKC.....) needs to up the font size. Most people I work with tried a couple of pages then gave up.
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bobs12



Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 310
Location: Saint Petersburg

PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had no probs reading it- try the text size option in the view menu.

If that doesn't work-

Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility > check 'Ignore font sizes specified on web pages'

Useful for anyone with difficulty viewing small fonts in general. Read it a bit and you'll find out who's 'behind it'. Do I detect a hint of bitterness? Wink

'Bally teachers have spare time - Victor, assign them to class 64b!'
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steven_gerrard



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 155

PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If someone is going to all the trouble of writing and designing a website, they could at least make the font a readable size., I have never come accross another website ever where I have had to change the size of the font in order to read it.

From what I did read, it seems to be amusing at times but as a career teacher, I am bored of this kind of attitude towards teaching English. Yeah, for a lot of people who work in EFL this may well be the reality, but for some who don't work for these Mickey Mouse outfits any longer (coz we all have) it couldn't be further from the truth.

As for a hint of bitterness against BKC? Whatever for? Pity perhaps, but certainly not bitterness.....
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Phillip Donnelly



Joined: 24 Mar 2004
Posts: 43

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I found out about this site from a teacher in Bangkok who has never worked in Moscow, or even visited it, so I don't think it's a BKC teacher, to be honest. There seem to be a lot of references to Thailand, so perhaps somebody here. A genius, whoever he/she is!
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steven_gerrard



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 155

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That was meant to be a joke about BKC teachers having too much time on their hands. I am sure they work hard. Or at least work long-hours.

And I think "Genius" is a bit of a strong word for this
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Phillip Donnelly



Joined: 24 Mar 2004
Posts: 43

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, OK, 'genius', like the site itself, is going too far. But let's face it, there aren't a lot of laughs out there in the TEFL world. Any profession which rivals the military for pointless acronyms needs to be ridiculed a little. Who can name a famous standup TEFL comic? Does anyone know a funnier TEFL site? Please tell us about it.
Re the font size, I agree it could be larger, but far more annoying for me was the amount of time pages took to load, but enough nit-picking. I'm sure this guy, whoever and whereever he is, isn't making any money from this, and I'm sure putting it on his CV wouldn't get him/her a job anywhere, so I applaud him/her.
Why doesn't English have a nuetral word for him/her?
Stupid language!
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zaneth



Joined: 31 Mar 2004
Posts: 545
Location: Between Russia and Germany

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

them, they, their, themselves.

Not quite as easy to use, but works pretty well.
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bobs12



Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 310
Location: Saint Petersburg

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Come on, let's stick to the good old fashioned 'him', we're all adults here
Wink

What exactly is a 'career teacher' in EFL? I've never heard anyone, anywhere describe EFL as a realistic career. I can see that someone trying to make a career out of EFL would really not see the funny side of that site, but I'm willing to wager that the majority of people who enjoy it can identify pretty strongly with the message.

Let's admit it, the EFL industry is a commercial joke. Pick up any book on modern EFL teaching methods, there'll be entries on methodologies and approaches that are up there with Primal Scream therapy and Feng Shui. And those acronyms... ha ha, well, the best quacks like to blind their patients with science Smile

The author of the site is Simon Barne, apparently in Indonesia. He has a wee slot on EFL lounge - http://www.esl-lounge.com/simon-barne-index.shtml

Just curious, where do you work Steve? The fact is that for most EFL teachers, Disneyland is the only option, for a long time at least. Thus his site has a large audience (I think you're in a minority, correct me if I'm wrong), and we plebians happen to be among those who find it relevant, and humourous. You may not be in the gutter with the rest of us anymore, but most of us proobably don't really care Razz

To be honest, that 'kind of attitude towards teaching English' isn't so often articulated in such an entertaining and informed manner. Most of the gripes, in my view, come from us 'plebs' who are fed up with being pimped as whores of the English language by employers who couldn't really care less about what we're doing, so long as the money keeps coming.
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steven_gerrard



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 155

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pretty much everyone I work with sees EFL as a career- the only ones who don't being a couple of casual teachers who just do a few hours a week. And none of us are "trying to make a career of EFL"- we already have one.

As for EFL being treated as a joke- well it certainly isn't by the students who pay a large proportion of their income in the hope of learning English well enough to be able to get a better job, emigrate or in some way improve their lives. Most of them aren't doing it purely for fun.

Also, to pick up on the comment about there not being many laughs in the EFL world. How many times did you laugh at work on one particular day last week? Loads, I bet. Far more times that you probably would in a more conventional job. Thats why we do what we do- coz we enjoy it. No one is in EFL for the money, after all.
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bobs12



Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 310
Location: Saint Petersburg

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A 'career', I think, is generally accepted as something which develops, rewarding committed people with promotions, better jobs, etc. allows a safe, secure life, and provides for the future.

How many EFL teachers can afford to buy property, settle down, have children, and look forward to retirement? I think that most people expect from a career that they can retire at the end of it instead of working until their last breaths.

Try going back to your home country after n years abroad and asking for a pension. I'll be interested to hear what happens Question Most teachers I've met are on a career break, or a year out from university, or just on a shagathon of some sort.

I don't think that every teacher is in it just for the thrill of the present perfect, or the look of wonder on students' faces as they listen to Mario saying, 'where are you from Julia?' for the umpteenth time at 9:30 on a Friday evening.

I know teachers that are in it for adventure, and those for whom it is the only way to make a living in the country where they are living for whatever reason. I've never met anyone who considers it a career, but I know people who say, 'God, if only I could get a decent job back home/have a life back home/if only I was better qualified etc. etc.

Doubtless there are some who see it as a serious career, but there are others who do it because they're too handless or because fate or poor judgement has robbed them of the chance to do anything else, or simply because they want to see the world. It's hard to take a job seriously as a 'career' when the ultimate qualification takes a whole two months to obtain. It's a bit like calling stacking shelves at Tesco a career.

While not everyone can get a job as marketing manager, airline pilot, doctor, etc. damn near anyone can get a job as an English teacher abroad. Some people like to aggrandise themselves and make out that they're EFL proffessionals. Some people really are. Those ones are more likely to be teaching in a business/ESP-oriented school in their own country, or in the likes of the British Council.

PS, re. the other post, I already had my BA degree when I went to BS, which is probably why we have such different impressions. And what does a person giving his opinion of a course to someone who asked have in common with a student who stands up in class and tells the teacher he's 'doing it wrong'? Fortunately, I've never had any of the latter, you must tell me how to get students to do that.
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steven_gerrard



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 155

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most people I work with own their own places out here and several have properties in the UK too. I pay NI contributions on the UK so I don't worry about that side of things, though I should imagine there will be no state pension by the time I reach retirement age anyway.

We obviously have a very different attitude towards our job so there's no point in arguing the toss about it. Admittedly, I didn't grow up dreaming of becoming an EFL teacher but it is a job I enjoy immensley and don't see why I should apologize for that. In addition, I don't "aggrandise" myself- I work hard and get a decent salary so why shouldn't I think of myself as a professional?
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bobs12



Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 310
Location: Saint Petersburg

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't say you weren't Smile But remember that not many people (and I'll bet near to none in this forum) own or run their own schools. As a rule, there have to be more Indians than Chiefs, and I'll bet that most of the folk on Dave's are Indians.

Shall we leave it at that and agree that we're barking up different trees?

Quite aside, where are you working and how does your UK/NI setup work? Voluntary contributions? What do you mean by 'people you work with'- are they employers or do you run your own school as well?
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