“As a foreigner walking the streets, I often felt that cold Japanese stare. They were watching me, but indirectly, through their window shades or peripheral vision, to discern whether I was some ‘troublemaker.’ A warm smile did not disarm. If I turned to meet the gaze, the head would quickly turn away” (more…)
As people searching for Xmas themed lessons seems to finally be over, here comes the New Year worksheets to ease yourself back into your classes with: (more…)
“Mao Yu (pronounced “miao” without the “i” and a really harsh “you”), or Alice, as she is called, 28, comes from Chong Qing (pronounced “ch-oe-ng” and “ch-ing”), a small municipality in the heart of China with over 30 million people.”
Nice try at educating the readers, but they perhaps should have thought about the negative implications of the words “really harsh” before printing that one.
It goes on: (more…)
Will get onto combining grammar mistakes and Xmas lessons in a bit, but first:
I’ve become a bit of a cultural relativist in my old age, even accepting stuff that drives other people nuts like Japanese English, but this time of year seems to bring out the grumpy old traditionalist in me. The fact that there’s been quite a lot of telling about an English Xmas in my lessons could be just because Japanese students tend to love that kind of stuff (maybe because anything that mentions the rest of the world is an escape from Japanese reality at the same time as being a reinforcement of why Japan is different and special). What seems to reflect something deeper is the fact that I’ve found myself actually correcting them on the “errors”of how Xmas is done in Japan- several times on the same points to different classes! Apparently these are the things that happen in Japan that test my limits of acceptance of difference and stir as much deep discomfort in my soul as female circumcision or animal cruelty: (more…)
More Xmas links, should you be a glutton for merriment (including one that says “Focus: Fluency speaking, advanced vocab, conversation, destroying students’ enjoyment of Christmas”, which is nice)
Perhaps the most frequent complaint I have heard from expats everywhere I have taught (perhaps because I haven’t been lucky enough to live in Holland) in that the locals are insular and therefore (with an impressive leap of logic typical of expat pub conversations) nationalistic and ignorant.
One possible reaction to those feelings is to go on a personal quest to teach everyone in the country you are in some basic facts about the world. There is, however, another approach that will involve slightly less stress and conflict for both teacher and students- and possibly help your relations with the surrounding population as well:
Putting the seasonal cheer back into grammar (and putting the grammar back into Xmas)
Some of you might be thinking that the problem with Xmas today is an excess of commercialism or the lack of real religious feeling, but the way I see it the problem is an excess of worksheets teaching students vocabulary like “holly” that they will have forgotten by the same time next year (if they even understand the concept of holly anyway) and a lack of tie ins between those seasonal worksheets and everything else students do in the classroom. For those that agree with me that what is needed to make your Xmas complete is lots more grammar, here are some ideas on how to tie in your Xmas lessons with whatever grammar point you are studying at the time (the ideas should work with other major festivals and celebrations too)…
See below for not only shed loads of good grammar ideas in the continuation of this article, but also a whole stocking full of other ideas for Chrimbo-themed lessons for kids (from pre-school) to adults- “Christmastastic fun for all the family” (R)
While I’ve been busy working on other TEFLtastic projects (which you will hear about shortly I promise) my cunning plan to get guest writers has been really bearing fruit… More writers gratefully accepted, on any teaching or living abroad topic at all.
The latest piece is from a regular TEFL.net book reviewer who is, it seems, trying to outdo me with ‘doing the Med’. I’ve always had a certain exotic fantasy about North Africa that I have chosen to keep that way by never going there and spoiling it,whereas our intrepid writer took the plunge:
Troubled in Tunisia
I’m just sitting here feeling bored with myself.
Bored? Bored? Bored??? How can you possibly be bored when you change countries every year or two???
Good question – the answer is that it’s been just too damned hot here to go out and do anything for the last four months! And now it’s Ramadan as well! Please excuse my singular lack of cultural awareness. It’s just that the agreeableness of a whole lifetime of enjoying a drink whilst chatting to friends is hard to forget.
Anyway, here I am, Troubled of Tunisia, decided to alleviate my boredom by browsing (no pun intended) through the tefl.net website – so the cost of living in Tokyo is nearly as high as in London? Wow! I have long since been barred (there’s nothing quite like embarrassing grown up offspring for entertainment) from going to the bar to order drinks when in the UK, because of my appalling habit of squreamking (a hybrid of squeaking & screaming) in agonised tones “OW MUUUCHH!?!?!” horrifically followed by peering myopically into the bottom of the glass and demanding “WHERRRE IZIT?” – Clearly a legacy of far too much time misspent on the Iberian Peninsula.
The taxi doors open automatically!?!?? We think ourselves lucky if we get in a taxi and the doors actually function!
I recently spent a fortnight in the UK which was marked by such entertaining features as
· Buying myself a fleece the day I arrived in the middle of summer
· Teaching my adorable little grand daughter to say “It’s raining cats and dogs” – why do all students always remember this particular idiocy?
· Seeing my barely one year old grand daughter having a sandwich stolen out of her hand by a greedy seagull – is this normal behaviour for seagulls worldwide?
· Trying to understand the rail network – does it network?
· The realisation, in Sainsburys, with my fifteen year old seriously teenage niece and slightly the worse for wear 85 year old mother that I was the responsible adult in the party – and it wasn’t a party!
· My sister-in-law placing her hands on her hips, fixing me with a piercing glare and stating loud and clear “You’ve become a foreigner!”
Fled thankfully back to a country where I neither expect to be understood or to understand - language or culture.
When I was a child, growing up in south east London I went to swimming lessons. There I learnt to swim, and did survival and life saving lessons too. One of the things I was taught was that if I was in trouble in open water I should divest myself of some of my clothes in order to avoid becoming waterlogged and furthering the risk of drowning. This summer I watched women going in the sea and swimming in full burkha/hajib (or whatever is the correct name for these garments – please forgive my ignorance) and mentally questioned the wisdom of this – are my preconceptions about water safety merely cultural?
Interestingly, the longer I stay away from Britain, the more British I feel.
Troubled in Tunisia
(Aka Kaithe Greene)
Thanks Kaithe.
Keep them coming guys! If anyone else would like to do a guest writer spot, just write “Yes please” or something in the comment box below and I will email you back.
Japanese women start off thinking the fact that their foreign boyfriends treat them like gentlemen means they will be even more weak than their seemingly gruff fathers who end up letting their wives make all the decisions.
Foreign guys start off thinking their Japanese girlfriends are more meek and submissive than their more obviously combatative and straightforward Western mothers.
Leave to stew for a few weeks, months or years, and let battle commence…
Katie from www.tefllogue.com must be trying to get herself into the Guinness Book of TEFL Records (which sounds like the title of another post to me!) , because after being the first person to review TEFLtastic she is now our first guestwriter too. Now, without any further ado, here she is, give her a big welcome round of applause ladies and gentlemen, it’s Kaaatiiieeee:
Do’s and Don’ts for Bosnia and the rest of Eastern Europe
I heard that teachers are beating down the TEFLtastic door with requests for information on Eastern Europe, especially Bosnia. So I thought I could help out by sharing a few hard-earned do’s and don’ts for Bosnia and its region.
Do go there!
Do try local foods. In Bosnia, try cevapcici [which I’ve heard described somewhat unappetizingly in English as “skinless sausages”] with kajmak [its mottos are: “The Most Difficult Cheese to Translate” and “Actually, Not a Cheese At All!”], and pita [pick one at a time: meat / cheese / spinach / potato pie].
Don’t eat these food every day.
Don’t drink boza. http://www.tefllogue.com/the-teaching-life/whats-that-thing-in-bread-that-grows.html
Do ask locals to tell you jokes. Bosnia may be the only country in the world where people are okay with laughing at themselves. Rest assured there are plenty of general jokes, so you don’t have to be in the position of laughing at Bosnians. Don’t accept it when they say they cannot translate these jokes.
Don’t think too hard about why DVD’s at the outdoor market might cost €2..just stock up!
Do make sure you do everything right with your metro ticket in Budapest, because they will seek you out, find you and fine you if you don’t. Public transportation systems in other cities, most of which use the honor system, vary in their “ticket inspector aggressiveness” level…but you probably will get caught if you don’t stamp your ticket. Not worth it.
Don’t assume that what you can read or google about Bosnia or other countries in ex-Yugoslavia reflects the views of people who actually know the country. Some of it might; but stereotypes about this region and its people are unfortunately a dime a dozen.
And a few for teaching:
Do try to speak the local language once in a while in class – a well placed and correctly pronounced “egeszsegedre” goes a long a way in Hungary! And if you mess it up, that’s funny too. Local language grammar may be a hurdle, but people everywhere like it when take the time to learn to pronounce their names correctly. I’ve even reached the conclusion that, once you learn their basic pronunciation rules, Eastern European surnames are easier to pronounce as a group that surnames in the US.
Don’t expect anything less than a cloud of second-hand smoke during class breaks or if you join your students somewhere after class. You’ll get used to it.
Do know that, while I suspect cheating happens fairly equally throughout the world, it seems to take the tone of “we’re all helping each other, I can’t let my classmate fail” in former socialist countries.
Do take of your shoes or at least offer to when you visit a home anywhere in Eastern Europe…but don’t assume those who remove shoes are necessarily adhering to any ancient tradition other than “keep the pretty carpet clean”.
Do visit residential neighborhoods out of the center; there is nothing quite like gigantic socialist high rise apartment buildings against a stunning mountain backdrop.
Thanks to Alex for giving me this opportunity to spread the word about tips in this region! I hope it serves to address the mad rush for Eastern Europe info.