Job Discussion Forums

D Betts · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 12

Does anyone know of any jobs and/or contacts to get a job in Puebla? I have lived in Puebla for a year and can't wait to get back. Also, I've got a TESOL and 3 years experience teaching in Japan. I would really appreciate any information and I have posted a reward of a night out on me for whoever gives me information leading to the capture of a "good" job.

Peace and love to you all,

Duane.

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

What is a TESOL? you said "i've got a TESOL". is it an MA?
if you have an MA in TESOL you should apply to ITESM. the branch in puebla is one year old and expanding. they will probably be hiring and i imagine it is the best-paid position, and probably the most comfortable, in Puebla. i applied to UPAEP a year ago and was offered something but the terms were unfavorable so i turned it down.
good luck

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

You LIVED in Puebla for a year and can't wait to get back! I don't understand "I've got a TESOL" either.

D Betts · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 12

Sorry guys, thought it was a common piece of terminology in the TEFL world. It's a TEFL qualification awarded by Oxford Trinity College in Blighty and other various parts of the world. It stands for Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages. It's the Oxford equivalent of Cambridge's CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults). It takes about four weeks to pass (intensive course 9-5pm Mon-Fri), and many, including myself, found it harder than getting a BA. I hope this helps the "I've got a TESOL" question.
Yes, I'm hopefully returning to Puebla at the beginning of June. I can't wait. I loved it there.
Thanks for the job tips. I haven't got an MA, but I'll give it try anyway.

Cheers.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Just a warning: I don't recommend you have anything to do with Universidad de la Sierra--either in Puebla City or in Huachinango.

MELEE · Posted: Wed May 05, 2004 4:50 pm Post subject:

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Melee:
Apparently my correction of an error in grammar in D Betts' post was too arcane? I like Puebla just fine, even made a series of photographs there a few years back. I was only writing the sentence as it should have been written--in simple past tense, not in present perfect. It is "I lived in Puebla for a year and can't wait to get back", not "I have lived...." Errors of this sort are erosive of the credibility of English teachers.

MELEE · Posted: Wed May 05, 2004 5:31 pm Post subject:

Native Speakers don't make errors in usage, we make choices. The language belongs to us, not to perscriptive grammarians.

When choosing whether to use the second form of the verb (I lived) or the third form plus have (I've lived) the native speaker is making a choice as to how far they want to distance the event from now. I lived is more distant than I've lived. This distance gives a feeling of completion to the statement. Americans are more likely to give this feeling of completion more often than Brits, creating a variation in usuage across the Atlantic. Duane refered to England as Blighty so I assume he's British and he obviously doesn't feel his time in Puebla is complete.

If any readers want to hear more about this, I highly recommend The English Verb by Micheal Lewis.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

So sorry, but I hear and read obvious errors made by native speakers all the time. I have had several language fracturers turn up on my doorstep and expect to be trained as English teachers--just because they were native speakers. Being a native speaker provides no guarantee whatsoever of a good level of education.

johnslat · Posted: Wed May 05, 2004 8:27 pm Post subject: A tense moment

Dear MELEE,
Sorry, but I can't agree. Yup, we make choices, and sometimes they're the wrong choices. What matters, I'd say, is when misinterpretation is likely. As a "native speaker", hearing/seeing that sentence:

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Given that the purpose of language is to communicate, I agree with Johnslat. I have to remind students that when they confuse the listener or the reader, they are not communicating effectively. Verb tenses are used to indicate the temporality of an action. If I can't tell if something happened last week, is happening right now or is going to happen tomorrow, has the speaker or writer communicated with me? I don't think so.

D Betts · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 12

People, peolple we need to chill about the apropriacy of language. Sure clarity is a saving grace for expediency, but native speakers have also have feeling and depth to their language. To quote my TESOL cert teacher, "Language is a subjective collection of labelled notions and ideas waiting to be interpreted by the listener". We all have more to give than semantic approaches when we converse with another individual. I agree there are basics, but there are also different flavours of language, ones we feel and taste when we speak. If you just teach language as a bunch of rules then this Confucian way will make students lose the essence of the "other", what makes a culture, a language what it is. Whetther it's South London, North London, New York, New Orleans, Melbourne or Kingston, we all have our own distinctive flavour that does not follow "those" grammarian fops who argue about what language really is anyway. Moonraven, I welcome your usage of the English language and ask you NOT to be self conscious about it. I understood what you meant and that is all that matters.
*NB* "I have been living..." would indicate more that I am living in Puebla still. "I have lived..." is ambiguous as to whether I'm still there, but then it wouldn't make sense if you read the whole message.

If I'm in Chile, I'll buy you dinner.

Peace,

Duane.

P.S. If there are any grammar mistakes...I don't care!

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

I am not surprised that you don't care that you are making grammatical errors. But that attitude may put you at cross-purposes with your stated goal, which was to find a "good" job teaching the language. Good luck!

johnslat · Last edited by johnslat on Wed May 05, 2004 10:56 pm; edited 1 time in total

Dear D Betts,

inmexico · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 110 Location: The twilight zone

Although I agree with the notion of making an effort to represent our native language to the best of our abilities, I think sometimes it's 'OK' to slip up a little. This is a forum for expressing ideas and sharing/gathering information, isn't it? So why do many of us feel the need to over analyse, critique, and brow-beat our fellow posters over some trivial, perhaps questionable use of words?

'....he who has not sinned, let him cast the first stone'

If patterns uphold, I am sure I'll be catching flack for my NEAR quote, but I can take it! Peace out.