Job Discussion Forums

[scot47]

The Internet has changed the market place for EFL jobs. That is a certainty. In the past - not very long ago - you had to scan the small ads in papers published in London. Then write a reply. Then wait for an answer. Then attend an interview usually in London. I assume it ws similar for US-based teachers. Everything had to be done through some place in the USA.

That is all now a thing of the past. In the Middle East many TEFLers get their jobs from the internet. Some never have a face-to-face interview, although some employers still insist on this.

You might not get a job in Tunisia that way but in the Gulf countries, Anne, that is how it works. I think the author of your parachute book was not focussed too much on EFLers. He probably isn't a francophone either. Can you tell by looking at the cover of his book ?

[Lucy Snow]

We're thinking of leaving Hungary, and the only way we can search for new jobs is through the internet. Once we get a serious offer, we'll go to that school and check things out.

Ms. Stevens should consider how many school advertise on the internet--obviously, they're expecting to hire people who respond to those ads. If so people get jobs over the internet, why would schools waste their money adveritisng?

[Anne Stevens]

The info was updated in 2003: please check the Parachute ... And, to anybody who has not read it and talks about it, please read it before you open your mouth - Thank you. That's the least one can do, right? -

if you take the time to check the facts, fine.
if you have any relevant info re the Internet (beyond: "I found my job through the Internet", hey, great ...)

Cheers,

Anne Stevens

[Anne Stevens]

Do you have any info re (levant) re: the Internet and EFL*?
Yes?
Do I hear mmmm?
what?
No.

OK. Please take the time to read my messages and, more importantly: the Parachute book translated in a dozen languages and available in 30 countries + lists of experts in most continents.
I also have some other books or websites in mind: do you?

All the best

Anne Stevens

* it's so vague? well, read the book first; i can give you the passages which are pertinent to your questions. And, sometimes the specific: 'i got my job through the Internet" - is irrelevant, don't you think?

[guest of Japan]

I got that number from the extract you wrote which said that the data was collected from 1994 to 1998.

It also stated that high tech inventions of the future like cable modems could change the outcome of the findings. Cable modems are now old technology.

[Stephen Jones]

Dear Anne,
Why should we bother to read your posts. You haven't said anything of the remotest interest or given a single fact except for the number of languages a book has been translated into. If you want to sell books get a job as a salesman.

And translation into another language rarely means that the book has been adapted to the other culture. If you think about it, it would be a different book if that were the case.

[johnslat]

Dear Anne Stevens,
Here's a interesting site that deals with what percentage of jobs is found on the Net:

http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/hajobnetting.htm

Regards,
John

[Irish]

Actually, I have read the book, which is why I say the data isn't really applicable to our situation--it's too broad and too bound to the US job market. Sorry.

As for "internet and EFL--so what?" in your subject heading, I can only say...um...well...this is a board for EFL/ESL teachers. Naturally we're interested in specifics that apply to our working situation. Generalities about the whole job market simply aren't helpful. Call us greedy, but I think most of us want information that's useful to us in our particular field.

Something tells me that you're not going to convince us and we're not going to convince you. Maybe it's time we all politely agreed to disagree and let this thread die out in favor of more important things, such as Canada's national treasure: William Shatner.

[Anne Stevens]

Actually, I have read the book* ...
and I also have extensive info which i can share privately - as this is going nowhere - as you said.

Anne Stevens

* Those are not generalities [ but data collected by experts] and you can find more specific info - if you so wish

[scot47]

I know a lot of these posts are not directly about ESL or EFL but do we need to se these ads from A.S. about some obscure book written about the labour market in America ? Togethre with obscure comments about Francophonia ?

[Stephen Jones]

Anne has some strange idea about what "experts" are, or how data is collected. She can't actually tell us what her "experts" are experts in, or where they do collect their data, but she has a firm religious belief in them.

The book incidentally has an excellent reputation. I've seen it recommended on the IT sites I frequent. It's the kind of book I'd pick up at Jarir if I saw it, but not one I would go to the trouble of actually ordering.

[johnslat]

Dear Stephen,
I apologize in advance, but after your impressive display of erudition regarding grammar on the " relative clause " thread, it's reassuring to see that " even great Homer " nods occasionally:

" how data is collected "

Plural subject, plural verb.
Gotcha,
John

[Stephen Jones]

Wrong language John.

Data is plural in Latin. In English it is uncountable, and thus takes a singukar verb. If you one to refer to a "datum" then you say "piece of data".

Actually opinion is more divided than that:

The SOED gives it as a plural or singular collective noun.

Here is the entry from the American Heritage:

The word data is the plural of Latin datum, �something given,� but it is not always treated as a plural noun in English. The plural usage is still common, as this headline from the New York Times attests: �Data Are Elusive on the Homeless.� Sometimes scientists think of data as plural, as in These data do not support the conclusions. But more often scientists and researchers think of data as a singular mass entity like information, and most people now follow this in general usage. Sixty percent of the Usage Panel accepts the use of data with a singular verb and pronoun in the sentence Once the data is in, we can begin to analyze it. A still larger number, 77 percent, accepts the sentence We have very little data on the efficacy of such programs, where the quantifier very little, which is not used with similar plural nouns such as facts and results, implies that data here is indeed singular


Homer might nod, but that doesn't mean he's nodding off!

[johnslat]

Dear Stephen,
Curses - foiled again.
Regards,
John
P.S. Since Star Trek seems to be popping up all over this board, I guess Lt. Commander Data could also be cited. After all, he's not plural, either.

[Wolf]