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Non-Native English Speaker, advice please?

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  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by bibbju:
    The only poster being pernickety on this thread is you. The OP's English grammar isn't really up to the standard expected for an English teacher. You'd prefer people to lie and possibly set the OP up to fail instead of suggesting the OP uses his/her other valuable skills/experience to make a living?
    Pernickety...me??? You are talking mince you numpty! I have not passed any comment on the OP's standard of English so how can you make such an accussation against me?

    My last post was in support of another poster who obviously has experience in the field of teaching and better placed to judge whether the OP has potential and can cut it as a teacher.

  2. #22

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    It the most amazing thing to see people create through the use of the written word a very vivid description of ones character. I would say that it is in very poor taste to throw barbs at a poster and firing judgements on a persons language ability simply through a post on a forum. OP I would suggest you take what you read here, like you would a first years essay, 99 percent crap with maybe a one percent yield of useful information. You have a degree, and obvious propensity to converse and write in the language. With a teachers certificate, you will be well placed to secure a position 'somewhere'. Contact some language centers and get your information from the 'horses mouth' so to speak. Good luck!


  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock:
    Every post you write demonstrates some other aspect of the English language that you don't understand. What you should have written is:Your English is good enough to be understood, but really not good enough to teach it. The only context I can think of where "advices" would be reasonably common usage is in bookkeeping where you might say "purchase advices" or "sales advices" but even then it really feels a bit unnatural.
    Your revision of the OP's response is also full of grammatical errors.

  4. #24

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    What was noticable to me was not so much the very minor errors as it was the kind of errors...very typical Chinglish stuffs. (See what I did there? ) I don't teach English, so I have no idea whether these things would actually disqualify someone from teaching English in Hong Kong--it's entirely possible that such mistakes would go unnoticed by the vast majority of the population (including employers!) Moreover, if he/she is aware of these little things, I'm sure they could be corrected and eliminated with very little effort. Good luck to ya.


  5. #25

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    OP, your English is not perfect but honestly, it's really not so awful that it should deter you at all (especially since you are just writing on an internet forum). The mistakes are very minor. Just from what you have written, it definitely sounds much better than 97% of Canto speakers in Hong Kong. If you are also fluent in Cantonese, it would be a huge advantage in teaching as you could explain many things more clearly than a freshly graduated native speaker who has absolutely no knowledge of Cantonese. With the sort of academic background that you have, it's probable you might have been able to avoid getting pulled up on the finer points of grammar (through essay writing etc) so I would just buy a couple of English grammar books to brush up on it and to refer to. If a student is coming/ the institution is hiring just for the experience of interacting with a 'gweilo' it's possible that they might be disappointed. However I think a sensible student/institution would look past that and see the advantages that would come from having someone who can speak both languages reasonably well.

    However, I agree with others that your academic background and language abilities could get you a much better job in terms of remuneration. Still, it would be a good thing as a stop-gap measure until you find something more suitable. Good luck and I'm sure you will be fine

    " Hi all,

    I am new to this forum, so any information/advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

    I was born in Hong Kong but moved to Ireland when I was ten (I am now in my 30's). I had gotten got both my BSc (Maths) and MSc (Computing) in Ireland (for some reason we were taught that using the words 'had gotten' as a past tense of get is incorrect- can't remember why- apparently it's still used in the US though). I was then offered a teaching position (post-grad students) in the university. I had to resign after 18 months due to a family matter. Having been in the restaurant business for the last five years, I decided enough is enough.

    I am now currently (redundancy - you can say 'now' or 'currently' but using both is not correct)) in Hong Kong. My plan is to do an online TEFL course to brush up on my grammars and then hopefully find a part-time job teaching English to Kindergarteners students , whilst doing the Trinity CertTESOL course part-time. My goal is to teach English in a Language Learning Centre. I know I have the disadvantage of not being caucasian, but I speak fluent English and Cantonese, and am also proficient in reading and writing Chinese. Is the "right" way to go about this or am I completely off track?

    Any advice is appreciated."

  6. #26

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    I have met English teachers many of whom are not qualified to teach or have terrible accents. If they can secure a job why can't you?


  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drunken Master:
    I have met English teachers many of whom are not qualified to teach or have terrible accents. If they can secure a job why can't you?
    Perhaps this is why the standard of English used in HK is deteriorating....people with average (to poor) English grammatical skills now teach English to get a visa without considering the impact on the people whom they are teaching. It's a sad reflection on HK that this is considered acceptable and that many of the locals who are paying for this "teaching" don't know any better.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by xp78:
    Your revision of the OP's response is also full of grammatical errors.
    I'm always keen to improve, so please would you let me know what errors I made? Thanks.