Job Discussion Forums

[ecocks]

Guys and gals. I am talking about University level or middle class business people with Upper Int or better language skills who are looking for western education perspectives. I have clients who want to be taught management, marketing, economics, investments, etc. NOT just ESP for Business vocabulary and contextual drills. This country doesn't have a stock market so their teachers don't have a clue how it really works. Supplemental and private pensions are unknown in the economy except for a few of those people who are working for multi-national firms. Customer service vocabulary doesn't tell them how to provide incentives and training to develop a customer service mentality in their employees. Understanding economic cycles is still an advanced subject but they are living in a transitional economy and political system. Teaching these subjects is interesting, fully engaging and develops advanced language skills.

I fully agree that teaching driving, scuba diving and the like are not going to be very marketable. Nor will business topics be of much interest in already developed countries like Japan. But in the second and third world countries, the skill isn't always there to teach in L1 for the natives.

[Red and white]

Before teaching I was a journalist. Now, in addition to teaching, I help out with subbing at a local English-language paper. I'm the only native English speaker involved, so there's plenty to do in terms of tidying up grammar and syntax even though the overall standard of language is pretty good for their own material (if shocking for translated reports from state press agencies).

However, because I'm used to writing UK mid-market tabloid-style stories (don't look at me like that, it was just a job, I was only following orders etc!) I can advise on story structure, when to go looking for extra quotes, how to turn a story about government expenditure into a story about living in our city and so on.

That's an area where I can - slowly - help high-level English speakers develop 'western' media skills. Already the paper is starting to look a little different from the competition. Unfortunately, I'll only know if I've really achieved anything when the secret police come knocking on my door. And since this is all informal and largely unpaid (the subbing accrues a fee, dropping into the office now and then to show them other ways of writing stories doesn't) it's only worthwhile if I enjoy it.

Perhaps this is closer to what the OP is suggesting; perhaps it's also closer to arrogant foreigners sticking their noses into other people's ways of doing things. The journos like it, the advertising manager gets nervous.