EFL Geek 3.0 - ESL & EFL in Korea

Random Quote

As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life - so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
---- M. Cartmill

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
---- Arnold Lobel

I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
---- Mitch Hedberg

Technology will not replace teachers...teachers who use technology will
probably replace teachers who do not.
---- Ray Clifford

We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything.
---- Thomas A. Edison

To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three men, two of whom are absent.
---- Robert Copeland

Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
---- Terry Pratchett

Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?"
---- Kelvin Throop III

No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
---- Sheik Abd-al-Kadir

As soon as I buy the moose head, I have to go pick up some KY jelly.
---- Mary Roninette Kowal

To have another language is to possess a second soul.
---- Charlemagne

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
---- H. G. Wells

I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
---- Albert Einstein

A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.
---- John Ciardi

The least of learning is done in the classrooms
---- Thomas Merton

Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin

Drink coffee! Do stupid things faster!
---- unknown

A magician pulls rabbits out of hats. An experimental psychologist pulls habits out of rats.
---- anonymous

America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
---- Evan Esar

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.
---- Kin Hubbard

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
---- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
---- Malcom Forbes

Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
---- Edward R. Murrow

I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
---- Isaac Asimov

Those who know nothing of foreign languages, knows nothing of their own.”
---- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749 -1832)

ER Sig call for presentations

Call for presentations

The KOTESOL Extensive Reading Special Interest Group (E.R. SIG), would like to invite presentation/workshop proposals for:

The 2009 Symposium on Extensive Reading in Korean EFL

The Symposium is co-hosted by the Korean English Education Society (KEES), and will be held in Sookmyung University in Seoul on November 14th. The Symposium is a day-long event devoted to extensive reading practices and research. This year’s plenary speakers include Dr. Kim Jeongryeol, Marc Helgesen and Dr. Rob Waring.

All presentation-proposals that concern the application of, or research on, extensive reading in the EFL classroom are welcome. Presentations on extensive listening, vocabulary acquisition through reading, and EFL reading in general will also be considered.

The deadline for proposals is September 15. Send a presentation title and 100-200 word abstract to Scott Miles (E.R. SIG Chair) (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .
For more details see the E.R. SIG pages on the KOTESOL website, and/or contact Scott Miles (E.R. SIG Chair) (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Aaron Jolly (Event Chair) (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Thursday Aug 6, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Public_Service_Announcement | Conferences |

Not sure

I’m not sure if this blog has died or not. Needless to say I don’t post here very much. I’m considering selling the domain, but also don’t want all of my content to disappear – is that egotistic or what? I suppose if I got a good enough offer I would let the domain go, as well as Let’s Learn Korean, but it would have to be pretty good.

I’m still teaching, at least until summer 2011 when I repatriate back to Canada so there is a fair chance that I’ll post something here somewhat regularly between now and then. I am still open to guest authors, but am going to be a little more careful about who I approve as it looks like the last couple of them were more commercially oriented than I liked. Personally I want guest authors here to be active teachers with something to say to other teachers.

Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Monday Aug 3, 2009 at 07:50 PM
Random_Ramblings | Guest Author |

20 Free English Language & Literature Courses

If you are trying to learn or teach the English language, there are a number of free online English Language and literature courses that can help with your quest. Many of these courses are offered through colleges and universities. Here are 20 courses to try today:

Beginning English – This free online course from About U offers eight lessons for beginning English speakers. The course is delivered via email and takes eight weeks to complete.

Beginner’s English Course – Learn English Online offers an 11 unit course that is split into 52 easy-to-cover lessons. The course is aimed at beginners, but intermediate learners may also find it useful.

American English Audio Course – This free 40-unit audio course introduces students to American English. The course focuses on practical conversations and the type of academic language used at U.S. universities.

Online English Course – 1-language.com offers several free English courses, including this 70-unit online course. The course has sections for beginners, elementary speakers, and intermediate students.

Intensive Grammar Workshop – This grammar workshop from About U offers intensive grammar instruction for intermediate/advanced-level speakers. The workshop is delivered via email and takes 13 weeks to complete.

English Pronunciation Course – The English Club provides several free courses for EFL/ESL learners. This online pronunciation course includes several self-study modules and an accompanying forum for discussion and questions.

Read the rest of this post

Karen inscribed these words of wisdom on Thursday Jun 18, 2009 at 04:10 AM
useful_web_sites | Materials |

Beware Foreign Teachers

With all the bad press foreign English teachers get in Korea it’s hard to stay positive. It also seems that there is some scaremongering going on about foreign teachers and swine flu. Anyhow ZenKimchii posted a pic of a poster his boss put up to let off steam about this issue. For those to dense to realize this is clearly tongue in cheek.

Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Thursday May 28, 2009 at 07:15 AM

30+ EFL Teachers Quarantined

So it appears that 30+ EFL teachers in Korea have been quarantined for testing positive for swine flu. One of the teachers is maintaining a blog Under Quarantine The teachers seem rather upbeat:

Last night people smuggled Soju into their rooms. It feels something like Prison Break. I’m sure our value will fluctuate depending on how many cigarettes we have and how many we can trade.

However the American embassy doesn’t seem concerned as we can see in this entry titled Embassy Fail it’s not like embassy’s are here to help their citizens or anything. The Canadian embassy is even more useless in my opinion.

So last night we called the U.S. Embassy just to inform them of the situation. We weren’t asking for help or anything, but just because we felt they should know that, I dunno…30+ OF THEIR CITIZENS ARE BEING DETAINED! It’s not like we’re worried the Korean Health Ministry of Medicine for Make Healthy of Koreans is going to take us out in the woods, shoot us in the back of the head, dump us in a pit and throw lye over our corpses, it’s just that a few of us felt better about our government knowing where we were, which I realize is an irony as I type it.
bq. Anyways, the lady on the phone was very helpful!
bq. Me: “Hiya! I just thought the Embassy should be aware that 30+ U.S citizens have been quarantined right outside Seoul for suspicion of swine flu exposure.”
Operator: “Okay, well it’s a weekend, and we’re closed. Monday’s memorial day, so could you call back on tuesday?”
Me: “You…you’re serious?”
Operator: “Is it an emergency? Cause if it is we have someone we can call.”
Me: “Um…let’s see, there’s 30 americans in quarantine for swine flu exposure. Basically, we’re arrested. It’s totally cool, don’t worry—we’ll call on tuesday—”
Operator: “Okay, thanks for calling.”
Me: “No wait—”
click