Tdol's English Language Blog

Talk a mile in my shoes

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:23:06 +0000

I was having lunch a few months ago when I suddenly struggled to get to the end of what I was saying- my voice dipped and wouldn't come back. Within a week or so, I couldn't produce any noise and was forced into a soundless whisper. If I strained a bit, I could just about make a sound that could possibly be heard at very close range. My first medical consultation did nothing, and I had tickets to go abroad that meant going with just this silent croak.

China Holistic English

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:29:41 +0000

A few years ago we used to host some pieces written by Martin Wolff and Niu Quiang about their experiments in trying to teach English in new ways in China, which have since evolved into the China Holistic English site.

Budget ESL in the Philippines

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:27:26 +0000

There have been a number of articles about the growth of ESL teaching in the Philippines like this, but some of what they are stating don't strike me as right. The Philippines does have potential and in the drive to reduce costs, it is clearly a place to watch out for.

Speaking Activities That Don't Suck

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:16:14 +0000

I have English Teacher X's obra prima to read next and have enjoyed the other ebooks - they include a lot of sensible and realistic advice - but I didn't enjoy Speaking Activities that Don't Suck as much.

How To Survive Living Abroad

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 14:21:33 +0000

The next of English Teacher X's ebooks that I have read is subtitled An expatriate guide to not getting robbed, scammed, jailed or killed. In pre-Skype days, I was living in a place in SE Asia where the internet was expensive and used to use an internet cafe across the road Most days I heard someone phoning home to ask their family to send them some money as they'd been robbed. The risks he's talking about are very real, and the first part of the book makes a lot of sense.

English Teacher X Guide To Teaching English Abroad

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:48:03 +0000

English Teacher X's Guide to Teaching Abroad is not a guide to classroom practice with some swearing, but a look at what he sees as the realities and expectations of an ESL teacher's lifestyle and working conditions abroad, with lots of swearing.

To travel hopelessly

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:59:12 +0000

I was sitting in a restaurant with a friend - who has a Master's, the DELTA and a PhD in ESL- and mentioned something from EnglishTeacherX- you're paid to turn up, regardless of anything like a hangover. He said that the guy's professionalism put him in the shade. ETX has produced two of the golden rules of ESL, though To Travel Hopelessly shows that he learned one from another teacher. Other than turning up however bad you feel, he also says that you must have your fare out of a country. If you don't you can be exploited.

Forums- The Joy

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:07:23 +0000

Our site reached its tenth birthday this year. Technology has changed a lot over that time, but the basics of forums have remained, and are still the best thing going for me on the site. When I was doing my MA, learner-driven was a buzzword, but forums are all that. And more besides. The simple act of communicating works.

Forum Policies- Clone of banned user

Sun, 27 May 2012 13:05:57 +0000

A number of posts have been deleted in the last few days because they are cloned accounts of a banned user. We're slow to ban members of the forum, but once we ban someone, the ban stays in place and any subsequent accounts that person makes will also be banned. We have two particularly persistent cases that keep coming back. They are different from regular trolls, who come back in hidden guises to try to start trouble.

Forum Policies- Writing Correction

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:52:51 +0000

We have a section in our forum for writing. People can submit writing and people may make corrections or comments.

Forum Policies- Dodgy Profiles

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:07:58 +0000

On an average day, we have to ban at least half a dozen spam accounts, and these are the ones that get through the security- hundreds fail to get this far. Spammers use programs to auto-register with sites and often fill their profiles with ridiculous details.

Custom Essay Sites

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:13:51 +0000

We're currently being bombarded with blog comment spam from people trying to promote cheat sites. Sites offering custom essays as "examples" have been around and have significantly undermined the credibility of many educational courses for years, but the current spam is a cause for hope because it is so illiterate that the barrel is surely being scraped.

DELTA or Master's Degree?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:55:56 +0000

When I looked at which basic ELT qualifications employers were looking for, someone suggested doing the same for more senior positions. I decided to separate managerial roles from university positions, and here I have just looked at managerial positions, starting from Assistant Director of Studies (ADOS) and moving up.

Which ELT Qualification?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:41:14 +0000

There are thousands of ESL teaching courses available, with all sorts of claims being made about them and accreditation that can be valid or bogus. One simple test is to look at adverts to see what employers are looking for, so I went through 200 adverts for basic teaching jobs around the world, and a few teaching online. I ignored managerial positions, university and specialist jobs. This does not rate the contents of courses, though it is clear which courses employers trust and prefer. Qualifications are given with the percentage of the teaching jobs advertised that a person could apply for.

Ginger Software

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:59:01 +0000

Ginger Software proofreads your writing, checking the spelling and grammar as you write. You download and install it- it works in Windows with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, and in Firefox and Internet Explorer.