Archive for the ‘TEFL certificate’ Category

Hi Bruce, welcome back to TEFLtastic. It’s a shame we never get anyone from TEFL International contributing to TEFL.net when it isn’t connected to teacher training. Let me know if any of your trainers are interested in writing book reviews or articles for us.

I am certain that can be arranged!

For Part Three, I’d like to do an update on what has changed in TEFL International and in the TEFL world more generally since your last comment in Interview Part Two on 28 July this year. I haven’t been following all the various stories very closely, so apologies if you have to repeat some things you’ve said many times elsewhere but I guess most people reading are in the same situation as me. I’ll ask for your comments on things I’ve heard, and then give you a chance to mention other things. 

OK

There are some reports of trouble with the immigration police connected to a TEFL International course in China- any information or comments?

I heard it all second hand but this is what I know.  In April 2008 the visa laws in China changed leading up to the Olympics.  Some people got caught in the cracks, the Course Administrator really failed (failed might be too strong of a term as it was a difficult if not impossible situation) and the police closed down the school.

I was unhappy with the way the CA handled things and I relieved him of his duties.  I immediately resolved the situation and we began offering legal courses the following month.

I have publicly posted on several websites about this situation and asked that if anyone feels they were cheated in some way that they should contact me directly or contact the BBB.

Can’t you just contact the course participants directly through their contact details and offer everyone a refund or whatever?

The accusation was not about one specific course.  It was a general accusation about our course in Beijing and even our organization in general.  Therefore we made a general offer to any participants that feel they have been cheated.

Has this made you make changes to how you recruit Course Administrators so that you get someone you don’t have to fire next time?

Unfortunately, no.  The CA was a grad and we thought he was good and professional.  Hiring is not, nor has it ever been, an exact science.

In the comments of Interview Part Two I also gave a link to someone saying that they’d paid for a course under another name in Argentina (“My program (GIC Argentina) sends its TEFL students to the TEFL International classes, but they never told me that or where to go or when”) and then were surprised (but remarkably unperturbed) when they got moved over to a TEFL International course. 

I actually have no idea.  Perhaps a local course that was unable to run with one or two trainees decided to send them over to us?

So you give individual centres a lot of freedom to decide this kind of stuff without contacting TEFL International central?

Not really.  I am a bit baffled about this “complaint”.  I would guess that this person jus became confused after looking at 10 different sites with 10 slightly different claims and became confused.  That happens a lot.

Do you not think most of the genuine complaints there have been come down to this?

No.  There have been a few instances when a trainer just does not do his/her job well or circumstances beyond our control cause a problem.

Do you think that would be acceptable if it happened?

Every case is different.  Whenever we have a complaint we deal with every person differently, depending upon how they want to proceed.

Are there any other genuine and bogus complaints since you last commented here that you’d like to mention or explain how you responded?

The only major event in the last year plus has been July Beijing.  Everything has been rather smooth.  A minor hiccup with British Council but that seems to have been resolved.

Can you/ would you like to give details on the British Council thing?

[No answer given]

I’ve also seen your own comments on Ajarn about court cases you’ve been involved in. Can you give us a brief update here?

Not a lot more has happened since my ajarn.com update.  The court cases are going very well from our side and I believe they will completely vindicate me and all the crazy accusations that were made on TEFLWatch and several other sites that used TW as a source.  It will never make all the attacks worthwhile, but there will at least be some justice.

I can’t find the original thread. Can you summarize it here?

Dumb guy who cheated me is thoroughly exposed in court.  He was one of the main posters on ajarn.com attacking me and now he has been exposed as a liar and a thief.  More charges still pending and more people will go to jail in the end.

This is not a fun situation for me.  Far from it.  But after I was blatantly cheated and then publicly humiliated with lies on TW by these guys, I cannot say I am not looking forward to getting a bit of justice.

In a Stickman interview (http://www.stickmanweekly.com/StickMarkII/BruceVeldhuisenLordOfTEFL.htm) you really lay into the people who post on Ajarn, so why would you start your own thread on it?

I posted it on the 2 main sites frequented by expats in Thailand.  One of those sites is ajarn.com.  TW was always predominantly Thai-based and ajarn.com is certainly one of the best ways to contact the Thailand teaching community.

I also read someone suggesting that Dave Hopkins has moved on from TEFL International. If that is true it must be a blow, as your comments seemed to suggest you relied on him a lot to maintain academic standards since you stopped using IATQUO.

Dave is still very much a full-time employee of TEFL International.  I appreciate his skills, dedication and efforts very much.  But he is going to retire eventually. 

Any idea how the rumour started?

LOL you must be joking.  In the two years under which I have been under attack, the rumours have either been a very serious twist of the truth or simply a complete fabrication.  There are people who will simply MAKE THINGS UP out of thin air.  And some of these people owned and controlled rather prominent websites.  I could give you dozens and dozens of examples.

Well, Dave WILL retire eventually I have no doubt.  Just a guess but I would think Dave has worked longer for me than for any other employer.  He now works PT at Asian University but he has an agreement with me to work at least through June of 2009.

The site ESL Judge, that you supported the setting up of and was supposed to offer a fairer arbitration process than blogs such as this seems to have disappeared. Any idea what happened?

None.  It’s too bad.  A worthwhile site that tried to assist people in resolving disputes.  I am tempted to try to get it reopened.

Sandy MacManus’s most recent blog has also bitten the dust (with the person who was blackmailing him with revealing his true identity trying to make him think the attacks came from you, amongst others). A cause for joy amongst TEFL course providers such as yourself, or do you think TEFL blacklisters do have a role to play?

I think bloggers have to be fair.  Sandy was not.  One prime example was when someone made a comment he interpreted to be a physical threat.  He immediately accused me and spent quite a bit of time calling me every name in the book.  When it turned out to be just an inside joke from his friend, he never retracted a thing he said or bothered to apologize.  People with that mentality, with such an inability to treat people fairly, should not have blogs. 

I see your point of course, but journalists get paid to do lots of research and have legal departments and editors to make sure they remain fair. If you haven’t got some kind of passion driving you such as a chip on your shoulder, why would you bother running such a site for no pay? The way I see it, if Sandy doesn’t do it no one will. (My own motivation for blogging is a vague hope that people will offer me paid ELT writing work, but TEFL blacklisting bores me so I don’t bother even though I think it could be a worthy cause if done properly).

So what you are saying is its ok to do a half-assed job.  It’s only the internet and we do this for free.  Sorry, that just doesn’t cut it.  The reality is that sandy has the potential to be read by millions of people.  If he is not going to do a professional job of it he should keep his opinions to himself.

Alex, remember that when you have a site like sandy’s you are potentially damaging the livelihood of hundreds of people.  He has certainly damaged my reputation.  And with what information?  Absolute lies copied from TW.  Lies easily proven to be lies.  Did he bother to spend 2 minutes emailing me for my side of the story?  Nope.

I believe in Karma.

Thanks Bruce.

Comments and questions from others welcome, but under the usual rules:

- One comment or question per post

- No posting twice in a row without anyone else posting in between

- Keep to the topics in this interview or in previous comments

- Try to be nice

Bruce will, of course, also be told to keep to those rules. I will also be nagging him to actually do something about real contributions from TI to TEFL.net…

Heartbreak:

“One teacher reported that she had been the least nervous of all the people on her course - attributing this to the fact she already knew what it felt like to be deeply hurt…”

The Experience of Language Teaching page 40

I can see her passing on that tip now- “So, a couple of months before your TEFL course, make sure you pick a real bastard to go out with and then introduce him to your slapper sister…”

(more…)

… Trinity, surprisingly. Details from Guardian TEFL here

Including such motivational gems as:

“Once people sit down and look seriously at the time and cost that will be involved, that will focus their minds wonderfully,”

“we can’t say that it is going to help you up the employment ladder.” and

(more…)

Nice to see some kind of variation on the TEFL blacklist model- the change in technology makes the repetition of the same old complaints slightly less tedious for a while. I predict it will all end in tears. You can follow its attempt to get added to Best TEFL Soap Opera Part Two here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9205333585

Candidate number one

Involves me, and Paul Lowe’s threats to sue me for never mentioning him on my blog (!?) or something, still can’t quite work it out. “Bizarro!” as TESall.com put it. I thought, what the hell if I’m going down might as well go down with a fight and show some people power and so started an I Am Spartacus campaign to tell everyone in TEFL what had happened. Messes the story up a bit that it was all bluster and he never did sue me, and that every blog he wrote to saying I shouldn’t be allowed to comment on there because I was guilty of a “hate campaign” (along with UsingEnglish.com, whose apparent crime was publishing my grammar game worksheets) just ignored him. So, not sure this one wins, although it did all take a break after online rumours (still unconfirmed) of a suicide attempt…

Candidate number two

-involves Bruce Veldhuisen’s TEFL International and their one time guarantee of academic standards IATQUO. Or not, as some kind of feud goes on to this day with them each accusing the other of being unprofessional and worse, which kind of makes you wonder about the judgement of the other side for choosing to ever doing business with them, doesn’t it? It’s got the usual recipe of anonymous blogs set up by people who slag others off for doing just that and bringing people’s family into it, but still not sure it quite takes the championship.

Candidate number three

This is more like it. TEFL Watch turns into an anti-TEFL International slag fest, with needless to say Brucey’s side not keeping out of it. Then, in a twist worthy of Dallas (or at least Neighbours), an ex-forum moderator becomes the accuser in chief of the management of the site because he suddenly decides that Bruce V and his crew and being treated unfairly, eventually driving the owner of TEFL Watch to give the whole thing up and start writing about healthy grilling with George Foreman. Nice and juicy, that one, and haven’t even mentioned the allegations of having to flee the country for their personal safety. Could still be the greatest TEFL soap opera of all time, but let’s see how the last candidate plays out-

Candidate number four

Can the anonymous blogger throwing accusations about Sandy MacManus uncover Sandy’s real identity and so stop him being an anonymous blogger throwing accusations about? And how does threatening to make him lose his job in the Middle East help with that? Or has Sandy already uncovered “Michael Flynn“? And what script writer is being paid for melodramatic twists like death threats? And why would Paul Lowe, the chief suspect, go from repeatedly claiming to the police that he has never commented on any blog let alone started one of his own to suddenly tell the police where that blog with the death threat and many of his bizarre comments is?

Votes for one of the four or other candidates below please:

15 fun ways of using pre-school storybooks

15 ways of preparing for ELT management

15 variations on a grammar auction

15 common complaints about TEFL workshops (and how to respond to them)

15 things to find out about a TEFL certificate course

15 criteria of a good needs analysis

How’s that for a minimalist blog post! To make up for the lack of text, here are even more links:

157 articles and worksheets of mine on UsingEnglish.com

onestopenglish.com (the Macmillan website, where you usually have to pay to see most of my stuff but which has some kind of special offer on at the moment)

New stuff in August, for those who have recently joined us (welcome!)

And brand new worksheets etc actually on TEFLtastic:

Business English rotating revision board game

Complaints sentence expansion game

Dealing with complaints guess the situation

Dealing with complaints pairwork- Amusing and odd excuses

Email and internet abbreviations

Email language definitions game

Email rules business meeting

Formal and informal email errors

Telephone and email spot the difference pairwork

“Punishment“- Passive voice and tense review

Table manners Present Simple and Continuous mimes

Describing people workshop

English for Telephoning/ Negotiating double book review

Look for lines like this:

“I got a real buzz working with some of the teenagers who didn’t really want to be there”

Newspapers are full of PR releases repackaged as “journalism” nowadays, and I don’t just mean rags like the Mirror (source of the article the quote comes from), and TEFL has more than its fair share. Here’s hoping that some people try Google before deciding that working as a TEFL teacher is something you should pay for the privilege of.

It was a quiet month (if you don’t count the sound of the cicadas), but that will just give you the chance to read all of them for once, starting with a new series of “well balanced…” articles on Usingenglish.com:

A well balanced use of L1 in class

A well balanced use of error correction

And back here in TEFL.netland

15 ways to prepare for the CELTA etc

15 ways to do needs analysis

Academic Vocabulary in Use review

And not one of mine but edited by me

Imagine That (Mental Imagery in the EFL Classroom) review by Darren Elliot

If that isn’t enough for you (and how could it be?), you could have a look at the same post for July, my newly updated list of links to my stuff, or my newly updated worksheet pages with links to stuff by category.

Finally, if you like any of my stuff, you’ll love ELTgames.com, from the ever fab Jon Marks- it is a lesson to all the rest of us about what a truly professional TEFL internet could be.

Some courses, for example, demand a non-refundable interview/ application fee for the pleasure of being asked questions about grammar. Other courses, however, just say this:

“I understand and accept that should I be offered a place on the course I have applied for, I am committing myself to completing the course, and am therefore liable for payment of the entire course fee.”

Wait a minute- you what?? Let’s move that into other areas of life and see how it sounds:

“I understand that by coming for a job interview I am agreeing to work for you, even if I don’t like any of the answers to the questions I ask you at the end or the room we have the interview in smells of pee”

“I understand that by going on this blind date I am agreeing to marry you, even if the photo turns out not to be yours, and will be liable for alimony payments if I do not”

Etc.

Luckily, it was just badly written, didn’t mean that, and they are clearing it up after having it pointed out by me, but the person writing the blog I found this quote on was seriously thinking about paying it all in advance. If you should be only 23 and so incredibly naive too, let me spell it out in big friendly letters- AVOID CELTA COURSES THAT DEMAND INTERVIEW AND OTHER NON-REFUNDABLE FEES BEFORE YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WANT TO TAKE THE COURSE. Luckily, the vast majority of courses don’t charge such fees, giving even less justification to the ones that do (see my article for EL Gazette for more details).

Here’s the original  blog entry , in case you want to give some kind uncle advice or are interested in a TEFL trainer that takes suggestions for improvements (from me!) seriously and are considering Milan.

TEFL International is not only often quoted as one of the largest TEFL training organisations (see the stats below), it is also almost certainly the one most likely to set off a firestorm by mentioning it on the internet- hence its interest, and the need for these somewhat strict rules on comments: (more…)