Job Discussion Forums

ratsareeatingmybrain · Joined: 19 Jul 2007 Posts: 35 Location: lisbon

'I had English since 4th grade' sounds like it might be American English to my ears.

Any Americans listening?

ratsareeatingmybrain · Joined: 19 Jul 2007 Posts: 35 Location: lisbon

Oh, reading back to the 'math' comment presumably, JZer, you're American.

Might an American use this construct?

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

I don't think anyone is really teaching British, American or Australian English for real. For example, in Lithuania we teach Lithuanian English, where direct translation, pronunciation issues, vocabulary range, collocations are adapted to and from L1. It doesn't matter if the teacher is a native speaker or not. I don't think one can learn a specific variety of language perfectly.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

I'm used to seeing 'native speakers don't say that' on this forum so often that I'm surprised they speak at all! Shocked

Anyhoo, that's my last working day and my misprints are the last thing I care about. FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

hollysuel · Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 225 Location: Connecticut, USA

travellingscot · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 64 Location: UK/Eastern Europe

Kootvela- is Lithuanian English a recognised form of English like Jamaican and Indian for example,or is something that you have dreamed up to try to excuse your refusal to conceed an argument ? You continue to dig a hole for yourself with almost every post and seem oblivious to the fact that you are making errors which a native speaker would probably never make. Your mistakes are NOT misprints - go back, re-read, have a think, look at all your grammar books which you say there is nothing wrong with looking at, then tell us where you decided that Lithuanian English will contain an expression like "from the scratch" [Just one example] !
Your frequency of posting in this thread shows you have a real chip on your shoulder about it. Perhaps if you were to think about all the things you have seen on this forum which native speakers do not say, you would not be making so many mistakes. I do not expect non-natives to be perfect, and consider it to be impolite to correct someone on here but your apparent idea that you are as good in every way as a native speaker is laughable, bordering on arrogance perhaps ?
Frankly, your refusal to accept that you may have been wrong,and say your mistakes are misprints, makes it very clear that native speakers do indeed have an uphill task in many cases. This is particularly so in countries where jobs are "protected" and local teachers used even when their English is far from perfect [I was not including you]. I have had students complain that a previous teacher was so bad they either did not understand or were so distracted by the mistakes they recognised,that they failed to progres very much.
Perhaps you are showing us just why many jobs specify native speakers, and why we will continue to get people like you not understanding why ?
If you still do not get my "point" then look again at my first post on page five, also your own post before it where you state "I AM speaking properly to my students". Presumably then your spoken English is better than your written ?

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh