20 March, 2010
Young Americans Flock Overseas to Teach English
He works at least eight hours daily, then parties by night, often into the wee hours, with other expatriates, most from the U.S. or Canada, but some from Britain, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand. He goes to a gym daily, swills SoJu, a stiff vodka-like drink, fills up on Korean barbeque and sees "amazing" sights."I am not an English major, and people in America would not want me to teach their kids English... what I am good at and enjoy doing is helping kids become successful at something."He adds: "I came to live out a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I won’t have the opportunity to do again when I have a real job."
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
18 March, 2010
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Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
01 March, 2010
We Get Letters!
Thanks to all those who have written us over the past three years to offer suggestions, make comments, or just to thank us for the high quality of materials in the English Toolbox library. Usually the theme of the e-mail is something like, "I needed something very specific for a class, and you had it!" Our aim, as always, is to please, and it pleases us that we fill a niche in the ESL training market. We pledge to continue meeting your needs as we enter our fourth year in business!
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
17 February, 2010
Happy Birthday to Us!
English Toolbox is three years old today, and we're giving all of you a chance to share in the celebration. Just send an e-mail to info@englishtoolbox.com and write "Happy Birthday" in the subject line, and we'll give you five free credits! Current subscribers can get the credits added to their accounts. This promotion expires on 28 February, so don't delay (it sure beats birthday cake!).
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
29 January, 2010
So, Too, Either & Neither
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
25 January, 2010
ET Videos on YouTube
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
11 January, 2010
Using Screen-capture Software in TEFL
An interesting article with multi-media samples shows how to use software that records what's on a computer screen (including mouse commands) as an EFL teaching tool. Includes links to specific screen-capture software sites.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
03 January, 2010
Great EFL Blog
EFL materials author Mark Pennington writes a blog that expands on his published works. Great stuff for teachers working with beginner through advanced students.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
29 December, 2009
What English Sounds Like to Non-Native Speakers
This is an Italian comic performing a rock video song using only gibberish English. Sure sounds like the real thing, even though there is barely an English word in it!
http://music.todaysbigthing.com/2009/11/03
Happy holidays everyone. As English Toolbox prepares to begin its fourth year in business, we thank all our present and past customers for their support and encouragement. See you in 2010!
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
23 December, 2009
Adverbs of Frequency Video
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
14 December, 2009
Modals Video
11 December, 2009
China Bans Older Teachers
The Chinese government has apparently decided to no longer renew visas or extend contracts to English teachers over the age of 60. Dumping experienced teachers isn’t usually the best policy for countries trying to jump-start their language training, but maybe there’s some inscrutable rationale behind this decision... .
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
01 December, 2009
A TEFL FAQ
A very nice, brief description of how and why to become a TEFL trainer. It’s a bit Anglo-centric, but at least it stipulates that training is essential to a neophyte teacher.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
26 November, 2009
Quoted Speech Video
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
18 November, 2009
Win Free Admission to 2010 TESOL Conference
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
02 November, 2009
Obama Becomes Japan’s English Teacher
Publishers have since flooded the market with over a dozen language-learning titles, including “Speech Training: Learning to Deliver English Speech, Obama Style”; “Learn English Grammar From Obama”; and “Yes, I Can With Obama: 40 Magical English Phrases From Presidential E-mails.”
“Mr. Obama’s English is easy to understand because he pronounces words clearly and speaks at a relatively slow clip,” said Professor Tadaharu Nikaido, a communication specialist here.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
When Japanese is Like French
One of our favorite journalists is James Fallows of The Atlantic. Fallows has spent years living in Japan and China, among other places, and has become reasonably fluent in both countries’ languages. So we found this comparison interesting:
With allowances for obvious differences, it's useful (as I've mentioned before) to think of Japan's attitude toward its national language as being similar to France's, and China's attitude as being similar to America's.
That is: in France and Japan, the deep-down assumption is that the language is pure and difficult, that foreigners can't really learn it, and that one's attitude toward their attempts is either French hauteur or the elaborately over-polite and therefore inevitably patronizing Japanese response to even a word or two in their language. "Nihongo jouzu! Your Japanese is so good!" Correspondingly… Japanese people (to generalize) often seem self-conscious about potential errors in English. Of course, French speakers of English are marvelously non-self-conscious, even jauntily willful, about retaining their French accents, especially the trademark "z' sound for "th." " 'Zees ees what I mean..." (Yes, I am aware that the fricative th phoneme is the most difficult sound in English for non-native speakers, our counterpart to r's in French.)
The American attitude towards English is: everyone should get with the program, there are a million variants and accents of the language, all that really matters is whether you can somehow get your meaning across. Because there are so many versions of Chinese in use within China, my impression is that the everyday attitude of Chinese people toward language is similar: You're expected to try to learn it, no one will spend that much time mocking your mistakes, mainly they are trying to figure out what you're trying to say. Probably both the U.S. and Chinese attitudes reflect the outlook of big, continental nations that encompass lots of internal diversity -- and in America's case, absorb huge numbers of immigrants.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
27 October, 2009
Language Show Fair in London
The Language Show Fair in London bills itself as “the UK’s biggest event for language learners, language teachers, linguists and everyone who loves language.” This year’s fair starts 30 October, runs for two days, and features 185 exhibitors; details here.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
18 October, 2009
Teach English for $2.37 Per Hour!
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
30 September, 2009
Step Right Up!
Reasbeck said it took her two months to find the drugstore job after she graduated from Boston's Emerson College with a degree in writing, literature and publishing. She said she applied to as many as 50 employers nationwide.Today, on top of her teaching job, she works part-time recruiting other native English-speaking teachers. She makes 14,000 to 16,000 yuan ($2,000 to $2,300) a month."I could have a pretty comfortable life here on not a very high salary. English teachers are in high demand," she said.Reasbeck said most of her college classmates are in part-time jobs or unemployed."People are sleeping on their mom's couches, as far as I know," she said.
Labels: EFL, teaching English, TEFL
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