Job Discussion Forums

[Lila Abu]

Did you really speak Luxumbourgisch? Did that help you to commune with the good burghers of Luxumbourg?

[veiledsentiments]

[lazycomputerkids]

My question to the OP: Is the poster a native speaker?

Because the post spoke to being a "slave" to administrative incompetence and given the life of a classroom teacher, terming our mistreatment as slavery is hyperbole. And yet I often hear the term from bilinguals. And as I view immigrant workers through the window of my air-conditioned bus on the way to university, crowds of day-laborers with no assignment, I remind myself that There But for the Grace of God Go I.

There are "slaves" to be found throughout the world and a classroom teacher is not one.

I think Scot47 speaks to, largely, western teachers that despite being immersed in an Arabic speaking country, dismiss the culture and its language as backwards. Chauvinisms, in a word. I agree such snobbery is often a meaningful indicator (of many) of a teacher's efficacy, though I have met effective teachers blusteringly critical of a country's government and culture.

But VS is right as well. ESL techniques do not require a teacher to speak a student's first language. And I know Scot47 knows this, so I feel like more than one topic is being bandied about.

[superfly snuka]

[superfly snuka]

[quote="spiral78"][i]Ponder to guess who I'm talking about?
quote]
it may very well be grammatically incorrect but then again so are many other phrases such as "If I were a rich man,..." should be "if I was..."

unfortunately as we study grammar , the rules we make have far to many exceptions that we often have to focus on the meaning rather than the structure and then hope they can construct similarly good sentences.

[johnslat]

Dear superfly snuka,

" . . . such as "If I were a rich man,..." should be "if I was..."

Well, actually it shouldn't. That's the "Present Unreal" conditional, the subjunctive.

"If he was there" can be used, but not for unreal conditions.

A: Bill was at the party, too.

B: Really? Well, if he was there, I didn't see him.

and you might want to change this:

" . . . far to many exceptions that . . ."

to

" . . . far too many exceptions, so . . ."


Regards,
John

[superfly snuka]

....i am a native speaker of english, and in either language the saudi arrogance shines through. Ask any other arab and they will tell you that saudis think they are better than everyone else. I am an american myself, and find many americans with the same sentiments about america. its all relative. but just because I have a critical mind about saudi doesnt mean I dont appreciate the culture i live in. Generally, in the streets saudis are down to earth. they are just people with personal struggles like you and me. But i think , the way to get people who are Openminded and can handle this culture, we need to be up front about all the bad things so they are not so shocked when they arrive(if they arrive). I don't hate saudis per se, but i think many of them, who havent traveled overseas, don't see the world in focus. they have biases and predjudices like the rest of us, plus many lack empathy or experience when dealing with people not from their own culture or country. Overall, they are just like many americans or europeans, or africans, or asians.....

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Wow! Yer insight jes' blew my mind!!!

NCTBA

[Sheikh N Bake]

Indeed. Randomly tossed platitutes of negligible value abound.

Lila, yes, Luxembourgish. Spent most teen years there cuddling and smooching with the local sexpots. Ma leve jong, gistern ovend hun uch zeng humpen gasaft!

Now don't get huffy on me. A "humpen" is a draft beer.

[superfly snuka]

[lazycomputerkids]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

"language flows not from rules but from experience."

This pretty much sums up four jobs in 18 months. Jes' like the one on the Oman board who boasts about decamping at a moment's notice, it is the serious ones among us who wind up being the last one at the table holding the bill after all of the other jerks have had their fill and excused themselves to the "bathroom"....

Thanks a lot...

NCTBA

[Mia Xanthi]

"If he were" is part of a collection of several remnants of what was once a full subjunctive in English. The use of these remnants ("I demand that she be accepted") is considered formal English and a mark of formal education. It has simply evolved this way. Chances are, it will continue to evolve its way out of the language as fewer and fewer students receive formal instruction in English grammar.

But the point is that you are an English teacher, and as such, you should be expected to know these things. A strong knowledge of prescriptive grammar and a good grasp of how to analyze change in language are the very least you can bring to your classroom. If you can't at least bring that, then IMHO, you deserve just what you get.

[Kornan DeKobb]

[Sheikh N Bake]

My pet peeves:

1. Your lucky you didn't loose your passport.

I've seen "loose" to mean "lose" even among so-called English teachers on these threads! As for the other stupid error...'nuff said.

2. If you would have stayed, you would have enjoyed the show.

Even a former boss of mine, the IEP director at the notorious George Mason Univ campus in the UAE, thought this was the correct usage of the past unreal conditional! She'd been a teacher-trainer for many years. So our "profession" has become merely a classroom management exercise in communicative fun games to "inspire" our little dears.

3. I think I'll lay down now.

4. Let's go see 'Up in the Air' tonight. Or did you see it already?

Even most educated people in the States now seem to have exiled the present perfect back to England.[/i]