September '09 Newsletter (3)
 
Hello to everyone Out There
 
I hope your backs and brains are in better fettle than mine are; this is a pissed off and upset newsletter with added hypertension (high blood pressure):
 
Listen to this newsletter online
Fair Trade English - the first move to level the playing field? (make things fairer)
Call centre (BPO) hell - I lose it (get very angry) and explain the problems and solutions
Second video of 'Introduction to teaching English Out There'
FWOABW feedback - thanks folks!
Old Jokes Home
 
Listen to me read this newsletter: you can see and hear me read this newsletter on our Facebook fans page, click here (careful I do it in one take, so no editing, and the mistakes are left in):

http://bit.ly/4iEtlg
 
Unhappy campers!  Who? Your average English teacher (of course) is an expert at having a whinge and you only need to look at some of the places they hang out online to see the simmering dissatisfaction with pay, conditions, and, well, lots of other things that get in the way and stop them reaching nuclear fusion with their students subconscious English speaking minds. I'm just joking, but I know you know what I mean :-) Anyway, I thought I would test the water and try to start a new division of ELT called Fair Trade English (I say 'Free Trade' on the video newsletter, but you know what I mean and it probably is a bit of a Freudian slip:-)  To that end I contacted the Fair Trade organisation that makes sure coffee and tea growers get a fair deal and are not exploited. You can read my email here:
 
http://www.languagesoutthere.com/articles/fairtradeenglish
 
Call centre hell. How many people have had similar experiences to this one I had last week? Have you ever totally lost it (got angry) with someone calling you from a company? Here I explain what happened to me when someone from my bank called me at an inconvenient time. I then explain why I think it happened and must happen all of the time and what can be done to fix it (other than having a heart attack, stroke or killing someone).
 
http://www.languagesoutthere.com/articles/bpocallcentrehell
 
 Recorded class given by me last week:
 
Tuesday 15th Sept 2pm London time:
 
http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/178623-Introduction-to-teaching-English-Out-There
 
Just sign up for free (takes two minutes) and watch the video to learn a lot more about English Out There.
 
Some feedback from LinkedIn about our amazing free ebook, For Want of a Better Word, which you seem to like a lot plus some other feedback about our course you need to see :-)
 
"Jason, thank you! As a former ESL teacher and hopeful English/ESL tutor, I'm sure it will come in handy! Best of luck with publication!"
 
"..delightful, thanks! If anyone knows where to get this little treasure, I'd be much obliged....."
 
...plus some other feedback, the first is a teacher from our London ESL/EFL teachers group who is teaching EOT One to One in London this week to a Japanese student.  They met for the first time in Leicester Square (by the statue of Charlie Chaplin) at 9am yesterday and Sara had not seen an EOT lesson until 6pm last Saturday!
 
"Dear Jason,
the gentleman is great (he is quite advanced - upper intermediate, I would say and has no problem speaking - compared to your usual Japanese student, that is) we had a lovely time, all is well!
Txs for eveything,
Sara"
 
...and more from LinkedIn...
 
"Hi Jason, I saw your video and I will buy the book for sure. I totally agree with your approach. I teach English and Portuguese and I use similar outdoor activities during my private Portuguese lessons with amazing results. I am very impressed with the way you organize the lesson plan and how you match public places with the class content. I've signed as a member as well and I am sure I will learn a lot from you! Congrats and good luck! Angela"
 
WARNING: sales messages coming up (and a joke)
 
The world's first ever English coursebook incorporating real practice using online social media and VoIP (golly that's a mouthful!) is now 'Look Inside' enabled on Amazon, so you can see the contents page and some of the materials inside, go to:
 
http://amzn.com/0956158900
 
This book saves teachers time and money whilst helping English learners to improve fast and spread a little global love by making friends with practice partners the world over.
 
How to use our unique materials...anywhere, online, offline, in the Antarctic with penguins.
 
http://www.languagesoutthere.com/articles/SevenEasyStepstoteachingandlearningEnglishOutThere
 
You still might not know (or care) but we have had a channel on Youtube for a while now...see students talking about their experiences of EOT:
 
http://www.youtube.com/languagesoutthere
 
Old Jokes Home:
Q: Who is a dog's favourite comedian?
A: Growlcho Marx.
 
Until next time...we now have just under 300 members, a veritable tribe is developing, why not try to become the 300th?
Cheers
Jason