English Language Teachers
the ones who go overseas and teach Johnny Foreigner how to speak the brain's natural language. The ones who then sign up for classes learning the local language.

Surely that cheapens the very idea of making them all learn the Global language, you dim cunt.
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 8:32, 15 replies)

This would be me
but teaching English isn't a crusade, it's just a job.
( Zuowan, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 10:12, closed)

dim cunt yourself
I'm not sure if you're a troll, because what you've written is certainly stupid enough...

Yeah, English is the 'world language' and I teach 'Johnny Foreigner', as you so charmingly put it, how to speak it. My students want to learn English. I do not claim English to be the only language that people should speak - I don't even claim it's the best. I do not 'make' anyone learn: my students want to learn English so I am helping them.

If anything, it would be hypocritical to expect my students to learn my native tongue without myself trying to learn theirs. It would be hypocritical to live in their country and not learn the language when I know full well that if one of my students came to England everyone would expect him/her to speak English. Nevertheless, I can always find English language menus in restaurants here and people in shops/banks etc. are always happy to speak English to help me. Could you walk into a high street shop/bank in England and speak French or German or Spanish and have someone reply in that language? No, because English speakers are too arrogant to try and learn other languages. I'm guessing you don't speak another language, do you?

I want to learn a second language because I realize it helps broaden ones view of the world as well as giving the potential to establish cross-cultural friendships/understandings which are very rewarding.

Return to your Daily Mail or whatever other low-brow xenophobic bollocks it is you base your dumb-f**k, wrong-headed ideas on...
(ComplexStuff Was confused by life on, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 11:21, closed)

I think
the original post was a joke.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 22 Feb 2009, 15:30, closed)

Yup.
Grrmachine lives in Poland and speaks Polish.
( Zuowan, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 15:47, closed)

Joke
I wasn't sure if it was meant as a joke (what with it not being funny and all...) but, fair enough, if it was a joke then apologies to Mr Grrrrmachine.
(ComplexStuff Was confused by life on, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 17:08, closed)

It's exactly the sort of joke I make
so yeah not funny to most people but would appeal to a certain type: me and him/her.

I get the feeling Alf Garnett type humour is no longer fashionable...
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 23:03, closed)

The British are crap at learning other languages
because there is not enough emphasis on it in schools. I was fortunate (?) enough to study French, German and Latin at school, and whilst my natural English hatred of the French means I think learning their language was a waste of time and effort, what with them being virtual Commies, German has proved useful, and there's been many a time I've been in restaurants overseas, read an 'English' menu and then referred to the German version to try to fathom out what the hell is on offer.

I've tried to learn Portuguese but it's fiendish. I try a few words when I go to the Algarve, but as soon as I say a few words, they automatically switch to good English. Quite embarrassing really. I have been to petrol stations on German Autobahns, struggled for the word for a big pack of fags, ie 200, and they've just known what I want, and served me in English. Can you imagine that over here- a Dane going to Esso and being given service in his language?

I have a colleague at an office in Europe who speaks German, French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, some Italian, a little Polish and is, I understand, now trying Arabic.

We're crap. We need to wake up.
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 16:40, closed)

The trouble is
As a friend of mine found out when she went to Germany as part of her German degree, she got very little opportunity to practice German on the locals. They all soon twigged that the accent wasn't local, and wanted to practice teh English on her.
(Sir Tainley Barking Ezekiel 23:20, Tue 24 Feb 2009, 0:38, closed)

LOL
cool!
(LongTomBadTom Does Makes Says Thinks, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 12:11, closed)

Boy from school did that for a year
before going to university. His girlfriend did it to, so that's both of them somewhere in Africa for a year, together. They split up just before that year started :-D
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 12:13, closed)

You know...
It's much easier to teach someone your language when you speak theirs. Think back to your school language lessions - imagine how difficult that would have been if your teacher only spoke french /german/spanish/martian?
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 13:05, closed)

in some schools they only speak the language being taught

(MrChimp previously Monsieur, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 14:00, closed)

It's a more effective way of teaching, at least for higher levels.

( Zuowan, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 14:52, closed)

바보
바보

Just kidding... 개자식!
(drunkenfud, Sun 22 Feb 2009, 14:07, closed)

Why Learn?
You have a better chance to get laid if you can communicate with a potental partner. This alone makes laerning the local language advisable, if not mandatory.
(danalan Pretty good, for an amateur., Mon 23 Feb 2009, 4:17, closed)