Job Discussion Forums

in_asia_bill · Joined: 02 Mar 2006 Posts: 197

I was at EF Uruimqi when they had a DOS (Hector) who wasnt even a native speaker of English. He was from Columbia. After every teachers meeting we had to have another meeting just to decipher what he had said.

But what does anyone expect from EF? The founder Bertil Hult is dyslexic!

Sonnet · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Posts: 235 Location: South of the river

in_asia_bill · Joined: 02 Mar 2006 Posts: 197

There are many different ways to spell the name of that S_hithole of a city where taxi drivers go around with knives in their pockets.They are not grammatical errors,but just have no punctuation(you have obviously never tried to type anything on a chinese keyboeard in a chinese internet bar).It is not racist to say that Hector,the old DOS/AC at Uruimiqi,was from Columbia because he was,I saw his passport.if you think it is racist to point out that it is odd to have a non-native speaker of English as a DOS of an English language center then so be it.Oh,and the students and parents were told he was from the States!And we DID have to have separate meetings after staff meetings just to try and figure out what he had said,he had to decipher his English.And most peope would I am sure agree that it is ironic that Bertil Hult,the founder of EF English FARCE,is dyslexic!It runs all the way down the management ladder,right down the drains right down to the sewer where you find the Ian 'Welsh Degree Rent Boy Renton' Oakes,Alex 'I had no degree when I was global academic operations manager' Chevrolle,and Mark 'I am a tosspot weak sack of crud' Rendell.

englishgibson · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 4345

we really should keep this thread civilized in order to let others know. I mean what is it good to post on here to see a thread just disappear.

Some of us have hard feelings, since this organization screwed up on us, but still let's keep those lovely threads on, shall we?

peace to all
and
cheers and beers to EF Uruimqi or not Very Happy

in_asia_bill · Joined: 02 Mar 2006 Posts: 197

Whatever. What happened to me and another ft was that we complained to head office about the treatment we had at the hands of our AC/DOS and center manager (a pit bull with a Volvo) only to discover that head office knew nothing about us being there!We were not on the books.We thought we were working with EF but we were not! Not one class we did was declared to head office and so we did not have insurance or anything.

And you want us to remain civil, English Gibbon....?

jwbhomer · Joined: 14 Dec 2003 Posts: 876 Location: CANADA

I don't think it's uncivilized or ungrammatical to point out spelling and grammatical mistakes in posts from people who call themselves English teachers. There are far too many foreigners in China masquerading as English teachers when in fact they can't use the language properly.
In_asia_bill refers to "Columbia". The name of the country is Colombia. And in another post he writes "Me and my girlfriend came to China..."
The self-styled teachers who don't really know English and don't understand the realities of living and working in China give the rest a bad name! Why don't all the complainers just GO HOME?!

Sonnet · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Posts: 235 Location: South of the river

Just a couple of things;

I don't see anything wrong with a non-native speaker being the DoS of an English school, no. Some of the best teachers I've seen, in a variety of countries, have been non-native speakers; why exclude them from promotion on nationality grounds? If this fellow couldn't communicate in English, then so be it, and you're correct to complain; some of my "foreign" colleagues in the past have been easier to understand than other DoSes I've worked with, however!

And, and this point grates, how exactly is it "ironic" that the head of a multinational education organisation, is dyslexic? Is he stupid? I highly doubt so. Is he incapable of founding & growing an organisation? Evidence would suggest not.
My best friend at school was dyslexic, and the amount of abuse he took from ill-educated idiots was disgraceful. Dyslexic does not mean stupid.

(p.s. None of the people you mention are of any importance these days; get with the whole 2007 thing, please)

(p.p.s. If you don't swear & insult in your posts, maybe people might look at your argument as being a little more valid?)

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing

I think the importance in his post is that he wanted to express his misgivings with his DOS and the inability to understand a non native speaker in charge of a English school...and as to the dyslexia remark..maybe not the nicest tibbett, but an additional comment to illustrate the feelings of the poster "that the founder got it backwards"...

sonnet ..you jumped on this guy for nationality reasons..jumping off the hyperbole wagon ....

mondrian · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:12 am Post subject:

Sonnet · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Posts: 235 Location: South of the river

englishgibson · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 4345

Mister Al · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 840 Location: In there

Dyslexics rule ko

in_asia_bill · Joined: 02 Mar 2006 Posts: 197

Did you hear the one about the dyslexic atheist? He didn't believe in Dog.

englishgibson · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 4345

Mister Al, can you play an instrument? Can you sing? Have you played for EF Xiamen Confused

Please, let us know Crying or Very sad

Peace to us all
and
cheers and beers to the EF founder and all his mighty powers Very Happy