Job Discussion Forums

[go2guy]

I recently came across a job post on another site for a company in Spain called Vaughan Systems. They claim to be the largest in-company training outfit in Spain. Their web site ceratinly portrays a well-oiled ELT machine. Just curious to get some feedback from those of you who are teaching in Spain. Is this another "McLanguage School" or are they a well-respected operation?

[chanmar]

Hi. I have applied to this company for a job and have an interview at the end August. I have posted on other sites for information but as yet have not received a reply. I have been impressed by the information they have sent me. They also run "English Town" where they hold conversational weeks for Spanish business people to improve their spoken english. look at the web site wwwvaughanvillage.com. if I get any further info i will let you know. Good Luck

[go2guy]

Thanks chanmar, will look forward to hearing how that works out for you. Yes, I did see the "English Town" site that is connected with this outfit. That's what made me wonder how much the marketing mill has taken over in their approach. Hey, if they are still delivering quality to their customers and respecting their employees then "good on them"! Do let us know how your interview goes. Good luck!

[myprofe]

I have never worked for Richard Vaughan but from what I've heard he's a very good businessman. The only contact I've had with him was through an exchange of emails that I initiated. I'm only posting mine as I am not at liberty to post his response. I will say, however, that he let me down.

Hi,
My name is Gordon Dionne. I�m from Boston and I�ve been teaching English in Madrid for 25 years. I�m self-employed and I deal mainly with business people at their place of work. Students can study on their own on my webpage: www.myprofe.com and practice their English in my forums: www.myprofe.com/foro and www.myprofe.com/tandem.

The reason I�m writing to you is that I�ve recently discovered your radio station which I have recommended to all my students and which will be the subject of an upcoming topic in my forum. When you finish reading what I�ve got to say you may well feel motivated to make a contribution in the forum. All comments and suggestions are appreciated and there is no censorship. I correct the mistakes when necessary but never alter the content.

First of all, I want to congratulate you on your program. It�s extremely useful for the students who have to spend a lot of time in their cars. It�s too bad that the signal is so weak but that�s beside the point. Having listened to the program off and on for the past week or so I�ve discovered a lack of professionalism and correct use of English at certain times. This reminds me of when I first started teaching English and, not knowing any better and lacking experience, I said things in class, with all the conviction of an expert, which I later learned were not accurate and in some cases were totally wrong. Here are my observations:

A WISE DECISION
In a discussion on your program about the Spanish translation of the expression �a wise decision� I believe that the man with the American accent said that �una sabia decisi�n� was not normal Spanish and the other two participants, to my knowledge, were in agreement. I discussed this with my students and they told me that this expression was very common in Spanish. I suggest you take a look at these links where this expression is used, starting with an interview with Javier Solana.

"No creo que sea una sabia decisi�n darle (a Arafat) s�lo un poco de libertad de movimiento, �l debe tener total libertad. Es importante para �l hacer su trabajo, seg�n mi punto de vista", dijo Javier Solana, quien abog� por un pronto restablecimiento del di�logo entre las partes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/newsid_1839000/1839755.stm

Despu�s de la pol�mica surgida por obligar a los socios a rascarse el bolsillo en el choque ante el Sevilla, en esta ocasi�n la junta que preside Patxi Izco ha dejado a un lado la maltrecha econom�a del club para adoptar una sabia decisi�n. http://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/canales/new_osasuna/o20030205/d05dep0109.php

Gadafi dijo que su pa�s hab�a adoptado "una sabia decisi�n y una valiente actitud" al librarse de armas de destrucci�n masiva, y al aceptar la presencia de inspectores internacionales para verificar el cumplimiento de sus compromisos. http://www.cnnenespanol.com/2003/mundo/12/20/libia.armas/

"Creo que es una sabia decisi�n", afirm� el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores iraqu�, Hoshyar Zebari, miembro del Partido Democr�tico de Kurdist�n (PDK), cuyos combatientes formar�n parte de esta fuerza.
http://es.news.yahoo.com/031205/4/343cy.html

THE WIND CHILL FACTOR
Another comment which caught my attention during the explanation of the term �wind chill factor� was that it doesn�t exist here in Spain. Once again I suggest you take a look at the following link.

El "factor t�rmico" es un c�lculo del fr�o que se siente a la intemperie cuando se combina los efectos de la temperatura y la velocidad del viento. http://www.fema.gov/spanish/hazards/winterstorms/stormsf_spa.shtm


OLA DE FRIO � OLA DE CALOR
I almost had an accident when I heard this one. I think the �expert� this time was the man from Texas. He said that in English we only use the word �wave� to express this idea when talking about heat. For a period of cold weather we use the word �spell�. I think he should have done his homework before making that statement. Here are some links:

Nearly 150 die in India cold wave
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3356645.stm

Cold wave death toll nears 100 http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8303840%255E1702,00.html

Nation shivers under arctic cold wave
http://edition.cnn.com/WEATHER/9701/12/us.weather.wrap/

Now, if you�re still with me I�d like to direct your attention to two things I heard from the woman on the children�s program in the evening. They were talking about the neck of the giraffe and she said, �What means thin?�

Another day she was getting information from the children and I heard this exchange.

Woman: �How old are you?�
Child: �I am 11 years old.�
Woman: �Which day is your birthday?�

Correct me if I�m wrong but in my neck of the woods that would be considered bad English. I have more comments but I think I�ve made my point and I hope you will take it for what it�s worth - constructive criticism.

[go2guy]

Hmmm, very interesting. Thanks for the insight. By the way, aside from the great sport of ice hockey, maple syrup and kayaks, "wind chill factor" is another gift my beloved country of Canada to the world. You're all very welcome! (though I would HOPE they wouldn't need it in Spain!)

Just to clarify the point of my original post. I am always interested in learning about the different ways schools operate in different countries. (Through teacher seminars I do I also get asked about good places to work in other countries.)

Having taught in four different countries myself, I have either worked for or come in contact with numerous schools. It has always been interesting to see the competition between schools for market share and so on, and to see how innovative people in this profession can be in terms of course content and marketing approaches.

I have no intention of slagging this Vaughan school and I appreciate myprofe's tact in what he had to say about them, especially given his negative experience. I just think it's valuable for everyone involved to have an idea of who's doing what in various markets (go to the Japan forum, for example & see how often GEOS, NOVA & the other usual suspects get discussed). It sure would be interesting to hear from someone right about now who has worked for Vaughan. Any takers!?

[lilsis]

You could try asking on this website

http://madridteacher.com/Forum/

I believe Stephen Starry - the founder of the website, has past experience of or knowledge of Vaughan.

[django]

I did a google search for Englishtown but most sites that came up seem to advrtise this outfit in glowing terms. I'm looking into applying to do one of their camps over summer but don't want to commit to something without knwoing more about it. Can anyone help with something more concrete about it...maybe even been there? (I looked on madrid.com as the last post recommended but didn't find anything.)

[django]

I'm actually not looking at paid employment....I should have clarified what kind of deal Vaughan Systems is offering and I'm looking at - it's the 7-day stay for free in a Spanish village in return for loads of English conversation. If possible, I want someone to tell me if this is kosher or to not touch with a barge pole. On the surface, it looks quite good but I've never done this kind of thing before. Can anyone help with info / advice?
http://www.vaughanvillage.com/
Thanks