Job Discussion Forums

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Greetings General Forum!

It has been a while since I've wasted your time with this silly Top Ten competition. So, without further ado; the top ten most popular forums here @ Dave's - based on total number of posts - as of 01 May 2005:




#1 Korea with 113,104 안녕하세요 !

#2 China Off-Topic with 53,502

#3 General Discussion with 46,595

#4 Japan with 27,613

#5 China Job-Related with 25,997

#6 Taiwan with 8,435

#7 Newbie Forum with 6,952

#8 Turkey with 6,919

#9 Mexico with 6,121

#10 Saudi Arabia with 4,459

And just for fun: last place honours go to Israel with 43 total posts

followed by Macedonia and the Balkans with 45 and India with 60





So, what does this tell us about the World of TEFL we live & work in?

Let's keep it clean & on-topic.


~

[Gordon]

Perhaps an explanation why the China off-topic gets twice the votes as China job-related is all the free time they get. Either that or work is not as interesting as their after hours activities.

Where is Europe in all of this?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi Gordon:

The results certainly prove that TEFL is an Asian-centered industry at the moment.

And $$$ seems to be the driving factor - with Korea so far out in front (despite all the complaining) - and Saudi Arabia managing to stay in the top 10 despite the relative dangers of living in the ME these days.

Turkey & Mexico? Well OK, a warm climate seems to be a factor. Or is it the good food?

As for Europe: either they are hiring from 'within their borders' due to EU regulations or doing a good enough job educating their own English teachers that they don't need us. Probably a combination of both.

PS: The Korea Forum jumped to 113,219 posts since this morning. That's 115 posts in 10 hours!

[dmb]

[Stephen Jones]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello dmb:

You have obviously never spent a winter in Russia.

Actually I did spend a winter in Istanbul! And maybe I was just lucky when I was there in '94-'95, but I found winter to be on the mild side (relatively speaking). Ahhh, Turkish food! I really miss the Iskender. And the hot tea served on the street. And the fresh Baklava & Ekmek. In fact, I often tell people that Turkey was the best 'food experience' of my 16 years in TEFL.

Hello Stephen:

That's a very good point. Is there a correlation between the total number of posts in any given forum - and anything else at all? I'm not sure; I'd love to see some TEFL stats on who's teaching where!

[merlin]

[Deconstructor]

Some people post because they used to be TEFLers all over the world. I'm one of them. I've done my traveling-and-teaching bit and am back home, Canada, teaching. I still post on dave's including on Korea and China forums.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello Deconstructor:

I'll share a little secret with you. After ten years abroad in TEFL, I went back home too (to the USA) and tried to 'blend in', re-establish credit and get a real job.

I lasted less than a year. As Arnold would say, "You'll be back!"

Keep your suitcase and your travelers' toothbrush handy!

[anthyp]

Well, we definitely have too much time on our hands over here in China.

But I wonder what those numbers would have looked like had they been taken before the General Forum was changed to its present form? I mean, before they made it strictly teaching - related (ahem). Of course it was mostly trash, but there's no denying that it was pretty popular trash, and something of a guilty pleasure to plow through on rainy days.

I believe there are something like 20, 000 TEFLers in China, depending on whom you ask, and frankly I can't even remember where I got that number. I don't know, is that a lot? We also have a lot of regulars who aren't actually teaching EFL in China, don't ask me what they're doing there, I guess they go for the company.

The numbers speak for themselves: the China Off - topic forum rules, and stay the hell out of Israel.