Job Discussion Forums

[simrishamn]

Hello,

I am will be attending Qatar TESOL Conference 2009 in April and I am wondering if anyone can recommend a hotel that is not too expensive.

Anyone else going to the conference � what kinds of �crowd� can one normally expect to find?

Lucas

[robotboy]

I am thinking of going myself to see what Doha is like. How expensive are the three star hotels? Anything around 100 bucks a night?

[wilberforce]

http://www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Regency_Hotel_Doha/

This is downtown Doha in the old city center - good location for the souk.

The closest cheapo place to the conference would be the Shezan.

http://www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Shezan_Hotel_Doha/

The others near the conference are very pricey 5* places like the Intercon and Sheraton.

There are some cheap hotels down near the old Museum including the Venetia Hotel and Al Bustan:

http://www.albustanhotel-qa.com/

There are also some cheap 2 star hotels down near the souk and around the museum but I can't give you any names at the moment. Let me check it out.

[Paul in Saudi]

OK, so I am now living in Doha. Why ought I to go to this thing? What is it going to set me back?

[robotboy]

Thanks for the information wilberforce. Not sure if I am going. They said I can get a tourist visa at the airport. Is this true?

[wilberforce]

If you're American you can get it in the airport.

To answer the guy's question, yes, this conference is usually worth going to. They have good speakers and some interesting workshops (based on the ones I went to last year and the year before).

http://www.qatartesol.org/

The one negative thing I've heard is that there has been a QU takeover of QatarTESOL which is really too bad. I don't know how that happened; one of my pals who used to be on the steering committee warns that it's not a good thing for one place to monopolize QatarTESOL. It's supposed to be for ALL EFL teachers from ALL types of schools and levels, not just a forum for academic and university bigshots from one place to present papers and workshops. This monopoly thing is always the danger when you get one place trying to take control. There needs to be more representation from other schools and institutions and not just QU!!! This organization is for all of the EFL teachers in Qatar, even lowly creatures who teach at the Gulag.

Come on all you EFL teachers - make your voices heard. Support QatarTESOL.

[veiledsentiments]

This is similar to TESOLArabia, which started out run by UAEU. It ends up being controlled by those who were willing to do the majority of the legwork. Then a few years back, it was rather taken over by HCT.

Of course, T-A is a misnomer anyway since it is pretty much TESOL-UAE except for those who show up to visit the job fair.

It is going to be up to the non-QU teachers to step up to do the work if they want to keep it independent of any one institution. One of the problems of these organizations is that teachers come and go so quickly from these countries.

VS

[simrishamn]

I will be coming from Oman to present a workshop at the conference. Hopefully, there will be other participants and presenters from other places - not just OU.

[wilberforce]

You're right. It seems like the same thing that happened at TESOLArabia is happening here. Definitely a QU takeover for some reason. Apparently one of the QU bigshots brought a gang of about 6 or 8 teachers to show some muscle at one of the steering committee meetings. The committee members were really shocked at the audacity of this move. The QU gang seem desperate to shift the operation to the university which is an insult to the people who've been hosting this committee for years(with no strings, just offering the premises for meeting). Apparently these QU people get kudos for some kind of community service work so by taking over QatarTESOL, they can kill two birds with one stone. Clever move & smooth operators.

The main problem for QatarTESOL is lack of participants and interested parties, so if one organization brings the cheerleaders on board, it's going to be a hard act to keep out of the fray. More people need to turn up at the conference next week and join QatarTESOL. More people need to have a voice and participate in this organization. We're rallying a gang from the Gulag.

[wilberforce]

The second day of the conference was not bad, thanks to the great volunteer staff. There were some very good presentations although people left early so a couple of presenters had very few people attend their presentation.

Somebody should tell the QU bigwig that it's 2009 not 2008. Too lazy to take care of this glaring mistake?? The first day was a disaster. Those of us in the audience witnessed firsthand the ridiculous antics of Mr. QU bigwig's QU takeover bid, this character not only wanted to run the show and show off, he also wanted to take over the president's job. This position is not up for grabs. To make matters worse, he unilaterally appointed a number of QU people to QatarTESOL positions without consulting other members of the steering committee - despotic or what? What happened to consensus?? What happened to committee decision making? These people should not be appointed without full agreement of the committee.

Along with his musclewoman sidekick, Bigwig started trading insults with some people attending the meeting. A scuffle broke out later. Not very professional. These QU bigwigs seem to think that they're the only ones in charge. They are missing the point. TESOLQatar is aimed at ALL the teachers in Qatar, not only university bigwigs who have other platforms and venues for their presentations and machinations. The fact that so many high school and primary teachers attended the conference shows that they want and need conferences of this type.

It was a real shame that such unprofessional and despotic behavior was witnessed by over 100 teachers. Now people know the truth of the matter.

It's not to late to salvage this venerable organization.

[thursday12]

-dese guys didn't even boder ta advertize at QU
-lotta newbies had no clue 'bout dis conference
-mebbe tryin ta keep it exclusive?
-didn't put any announcemnts fer QU staff (weird!!)

- yup, people witnessed da AGM mess
- real embarassin slangin & insultin like da man sez
- no way fer profs ta behave
- gotta learn ta play by da rules

[stickleback]

Turf wars? What's happened? It wasn't like that when I lived there. QU and CNAQ got on pretty well, there were no problems. Who is this bigwig person and why is he trying to mess up QatarTESOL. If you're talking of venues, QU hasn't got anything like CNAQ to hold conferences in so why all the fuss. This is what happens when you get rid of tried and trusted teachers and bring in people who want to make a big splash!!

[wilberforce]

They need to compromise. Maybe they can get their act together and remember what this organization is really about. It's definitely not about blowing your own horn.

CNAQ is an ideal venue, good facilities, classrooms, auditorium and parking handy. Can QU offer the same.