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Lord T · Joined: 07 Jul 2015 Posts: 285

The college where more than half the ESL instructors are working without iqamas, holiday pay, and health insurance is holding the second conference of the Riyadh branch of TESOL Arabia, next month.

The conference will not be about how to cut the wage bill by breaking Saudi labor laws.

Contact 'The Actor' for details.

I intend to be there myself, to pose a few awkward questions.

desertfox · Joined: 14 Jun 2015 Posts: 120

I understand there was a meeting/conference of TESOL Arabia earlier in the year at TTC.
Can anybody who has information please give an update as to what happened?

How it was organised, what was good, what was bad etc?

How professional was it?

Did it reflect well on the college?

Thanks

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

These meetings can be good for "networking" which was traditionally quite difficult in KSA. I enjoyed my work with and contact through TESOL Arabia. Just do not believe everything you hear. Of course any savvy expat in the KSA soon learns to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

desertfox · Joined: 14 Jun 2015 Posts: 120

I always believed that a teacher working in Saudi, even on just a visa, had a legal right to health care paid for by their employer.

This is a big issue - those working on visas at TTC need to know, and those thinking of going there need to know, if they can access medical coverage.

Otherwise they may have been mis-led or ill advised?

Desert Dueller · Joined: 20 Jul 2015 Posts: 45 Location: Montreal

Just to return to the actual topic of a so-called presence of TESOL Arabia in Riyadh: as a member I did indeed attend the inaugural meeting, held at the Technical Trainers College in Riyadh. Sadly, it was an unmitigated disaster: badly organized and seemingly with no preparation at all, there was a pathetic audience of about thirty teachers only - most of them evidenty carted in by the HoD English at TTC himself. There were next to no outside visitors (lack of advertising perhaps) and hardly any substance when it came to the speaker line-up. The only presentation of interest was from an ELT-related publishing house - and that says a lot. There was no opportunity for any networking because most attendees made a hurried exit after the final presentation. Feedback from TTC colleagues was unequivocally negative and dismissive of the event. All up an opportunity sadly missed through sheer mismanagement. Whilst the expansion of TESOL Arabia into Riyadh and KSA in general deserves support, the first attempt was clearly not the way to achieving this. A half-hearted attempt of what came across as blatant self-promotion by the chair and chief organizer was a clear disservice to the ELT community in Riyadh and beyond. TESOL Arabia needs to be asked why it lends credibility to such a failed approach. I hope that the next event is a marked improvement and produces the goods when it comes to organization and content. I will certainly be attending and subsequently providing feedback to TESOL Arabia management.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Not good if one organisation is dominant in a body like TESOL. My involvement in KSA was with a different organisation

http://www.ksaalt.org/

which was largely based in PMU but had members from many institutions. I found it useful as a place to meet others and share ideas in a non-threatening way. Some of the presentations put on at monthly meetings were actually useful to classroom teachers.

Genuine opportunities to learn useful skills are hard to come by and should be seized when they appear.

https://www.facebook.com/Ksaalt-Jeddah-Chapter-211180058960946/

It seems that KSAALT us active in other parts of KSA -
. A more recent web search - -

http://flt.kku.edu.sa/en/KSAALTABHA

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Desert Dueller · Joined: 20 Jul 2015 Posts: 45 Location: Montreal

I have never been to the annual TACON event but have heard good reports about it. Lots of workshops and opps to network. The Riyadh event at TTC, however, stood in total contrast. It came across as merely self-promoting the organizers. It might have been their first attempt at staging a "conference" but, as stated before, it just seemed amateurish, incohesive and totally unproductive. Looking forward to the next one, hope it will improve.

Desert Dueller · Joined: 20 Jul 2015 Posts: 45 Location: Montreal

Nomad Soul, maybe TESOL Arabia Riyadh organizers have never heard of KSAALT....... or it didn't tie in with their self-promotional notions of grandeur and big-noting themselves on the TEFL stage in the ME.....but that's just my humble opinion.

desertfox · Joined: 14 Jun 2015 Posts: 120

nomad soul, thanks for clarifying the legal issues around visas and iqamas - crystal clear.

Lord T · Joined: 07 Jul 2015 Posts: 285

Ironically, the contact name given for the conference is that of a man who exemplifies much that is wrong at TTC.

When he started there he claimed nothing more than a degree in marketing and a tefl certificate. Miraculously, this became a degree in linguistics and a PGCE in tefl (?) at about the time he was made a team leader.

He was, of course, a disaster as team leader.

desertfox · Joined: 14 Jun 2015 Posts: 120

Maybe the teamleader in question was given a Legge up by the English Dept. HOD?

Lord T · Joined: 07 Jul 2015 Posts: 285

Towards the end of the academic year graffiti began to appear that was less than complementary. The culprit was never found, but it was suggested that it was written by the man himself.

This suggestion was quickly refuted when it was pointed out that the graffiti, although rather unpleasant, was grammatically correct and made sense, something he rarely does.