Job Discussion Forums

[Roger]

As a teenage boy, I used to dream of becoming an engine driver. My dream ws nothing but a bubble that burst before I even went to college, and in part it was some of my teachers that helped derail my dream.
Nor was I allowed to become a masseur - the united fraternity of parents and vocational counsellors were against it.
Many, many years later I met MJ. She was a French woman and German teacher. We became instant friends, and although this is way back in my past, our relationship became the foundation of my career as a TEFLer in China.
MJ taught with passion and patience, and she loved with passion and patience. She knew Norwegian and had a solid English basis too. Her daughter at age 14 was able to follow lessons of certain subjects given either in English or in German while she studied for a short while in Britain and in Germany.
MJ put in 28 periods a week, and so we had a lot of quality time together. How could I resist the temptation of becoming a teacher myself?
I had to work over 40 hours a week, lighting fires in frosty winter nights to protect vines from the effects of frost, or spraying pesticides in spring and summer. In autumn, my boss often required me to work 10, 12 hours harvesting grapes for later vinification.
I enrolled at a school of linguistics.

Previously, my exposure to languages other than English had not always been auspicious.
Take Afrikaans, for example. I knew nobody who voluntarily studied it. Remember, this was at a time when Nelson Mandela was on Robben Island!
Aan Zondag hij is het dienaar van het god in het reformerde kerk,
en allegags hij is er de het baas van zijn familie ond slaven...

And, on the domestic front lurked another linguistic barrier. My parents, before they divorced, used to converse and quarrel in French - the better for us kids to be excluded from parental communications.
Somehow, French did lodge in my mind because my first French teacher always commented I spoke better French than herself. You think I was proud of this? Wrong! I HATED studying it!

In German I had no troubles although I was flabbergasted by many seemingly illogical grammar rules. Why did a fork have feminine gender, a knife neutrum and a spoon masculine? Or, more poignantly, why do men put on "d i e Hose", while mature women have to put on "d e r BH"?

In Latin, we had to deal with barbarians, emperors and gladiators. Alea iacta est - indeed! Ave Caesar, dictator perpetuum! Morituri te salutant! This put me in the mood to say, "Non Caligula, sed Dracula maximus imperator erat!" Well, the teacher was, predictably, less amused than some of my classmates.

But the language that I loved from day 1 that my young brain recognised it was Italian. It just was the most melodious tongue I could imagine.
Once I spent summer holidays near Genova. I befriended some boys there. one day, we were sitting on a little wall beside a road. Behind us was the Gulf of Genova, and in front of us was a village across the road. From time to time, a villager would be seen walking. Then, a girl came into view. Boys are boys anywhere in the world, so I was the first to comment: "Un molta bella ragazza!" There was an uncomfortable silence. The boy to my right stared silently at me. Menawhile, the girl had crossed the road. She walked straight up to the boy that had given me that baleful look. The two walked away - dinner time!
When they were out of earshot, one of the other boys told me she was his sister.
You see, in those days many Italians still subscribed to "honour killing" just like they still do in Pakistan! Yes, the bedsheet of newlyweds used to be hung outside their house after their first night together... Such was the rigidity of "honour" and "morality" of that time!

I finished my linguistics studies, but I felt I was not up to MJ's level.
Well, maybe I am now. Now is a few years later on. Unfortunately, MJ and I broke up, and I ventured East, finally arriving in China.
I have taught in China ever since. Now, I enjoy hearing all kinds of languages, and sometimes I succeed in making my CHinese students say: "Wo hen xihuan xue de yingyu!"

Merci, MJ, de ton secours! Tu m'a donne tout ce dont j'avais besoin afin de reussir dans ma vie...

[scot47]

Methinks you studied LANGUAGES and not LINGUISTICS. Good for you ! The modern fashion for Linguistics is so often pursued by those who are monolingual.

And learning languages is certainly much more interesting than all this gobbledygook puursued by Chomsky et al.

Long Live Philology ! Death to Lingustics !

[fat_chris]

I think scot47 should write a "How I Became a TEFLer" post.

I think it would start something like this:

"Back in 1847..."

[scot47]

fat-chris should know that there was nothing wrong with the 19th century of the Christian era.

I will forgive him his impudence if he can give me the principal parts of the Latin verb "fero".

When I am Terran Minister of International Education a school certificate pass in Latin will be mandatory for all teachers of languages. For well-paid posts a degree in Classical Languages will be called for.

[MartinK]

...

[fat_chris]

MartinK,

Now write it a hundred times!

[fat_chris]

scot47,

Surely the 47 in your moniker refers to the year when you began teaching this racket?

You evil codger. Hitting me with the Latin. I'd prefer some German conjugations.

But then again scot47, myself being from Generation X, I would think that they speak Latin in Latin America.

[scot47]

ROMANS GO HOME ?

It is precisely because the Romans left that Britannia is in such a mess. Bring back the Legions I say !

[MartinK]

...

[fat_chris]

MartinK,

And don't let it happen again!

[johnslat]

Dear scot47
Who could ever forget "fero" - an irregular Latin verb if there ever was one:

fero ferre tuli latum

to bear, bring or carry

Ah, the manifold benefits of a classical education.

Regards,
John

[Albulbul]

Right then, John Slattery is given the afternoon off and the rest of you sluggards can translate two pages of Virgil.

Ah, those were the days !

Isn't it interesting that they did away with Latin in the State sector but I would bet a guinea to a sixpence that they are still doing it in Harrow and Eton !

[guest of Japan]

Does anyone know of any good textbooks to teach yourself Latin. Some of us suffer from state education.

[johnslat]

Dear guest of Japan,

Here are some possibilities:

1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/ref=br_sub_cb/104-3761365-7500755


2. http://www.booksmatter.com/tdFOR016000.htm

2. ( "Teach Yourself Latin" on this page")

3. http://www.epinions.com/Books-Foreign_Language_Study-subcategory-Latin

4. http://www.nextag.com/Latin~203553z10z0zBpb4zmainz5-htm

Hey, if you do follow through, maybe scot47, you, I and whoever else suffered through X number of years of Latin can get Dave to start a Latin Forum. Quam grandis!
Regards,
Johannus

[guest of Japan]

Thanks Mr. Slat.

It will be a while before I'm able to take part in a Latin discussion, so please don't wait around for me.