TEFLWatch Pulls the Plug on ESL Forums

TEFL Watch, a website dedicated to aiding ESL teachers make informed decisions about employment, has shut down its forum. After weeks of intense pressure and backhanded tactics from Thailand private language school owners to remove their names from the site's forum blacklist...
For further information please see the following link to our new website:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/03/26/teflwatch-pulls-the-plug-on-esl-forums.aspx

ESL Scams Part 2: Exotic Locations

In Part 1 of this series, we examined the "The Money Up Front" scam. In this scam, a school asks the potential teacher for 'commitment' or 'processing' fees before the commencement date of employment. In part 2, we explore the use of Exotic Locations in explaining the attraction and success of teaching scams through the example of my own personal experience with a scam two years ago in Valencia, Spain. Scams that use exotic locations such as Valencia, which is not a popular city for English as Second Language, convolute the first kind of scam by offering these "money up front" fees as refundable. They also locate their scams in exotic locations, by which I mean a city or a country with small ESL markets and in a location where research into the school or their offers is difficult to ascertain.

To read full article please see:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/03/15/esl-scams-part-2-exotic-locations.aspx

Neil On Trail: Thailand

Five months after his October 19th 2007 arrest, Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian schoolteacher charged with sexually abusing a 9-year-old Thai boy, has begun his trail in Bangkok, Thailand...

View the full article at:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/03/11/neil-on-trail-thailand.aspx

ESL Daily Website Opening

Welcome to ESL Daily! This site is dedicated to the distribution of news relating to the global ESL market. After months on blogspot.com we are proud to finally find a home at www.esldaily.org We cover every kind of news story associated with English as a Second Language as well as offering advice on subjects such as ESL Hotspots for 2008 and how to avoid scams, which draw on our own teaching experience. From fake degrees in Taiwan to India's burgeoning ESL market to the Chilean education fair, ESL Daily wants to keep teachers informed of what is going on around the world in the ever-changing, fast paced profession of teaching English as a Second Language. As we continue to grow in the coming months, we will be adding several new features and even contests in an effort to connect and involve teachers around the globe. So keep coming back for the exciting new developments. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback. From the team at ESL Daily, thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon.

ESL Daily: By the Teachers, For the Teachers.

Invest while teaching in 2008

By Jim Korea

Previously we talked about saving money (http://esldaily.blogspot.com/2008/01/saving-money.html). However, there are ways to make money while teaching ESL overseas. There are the obvious solutions like asking for a raise, do some overtime, and teaching privates classes. However, these solutions may not be for you. Perhaps you are not in a position to ask for a raise. Your school does not offer overtime, or pays even less than your regular pay. Teaching privates may be illegal in your host country or the school frowns upon it. Instead, we will focus on how to invest your money while teaching.

Previously we talked about exchanging money into other currencies. Not only does this prevent you from spending your money, but if done properly, can make you money as well. For example, if you converted $1000 US into Euro one year ago, you would have received € 769 Euro. Today it would be worth $1132 US. That's 13% growth in one year; no bank offers such an interest rate. The American Dollar did fall this year, but it did not fall by 13%. One thing to consider is in the past currencies have risen and fallen due to large events like the Olympics. China is hosting the summer Olympics this year. Chinese currency COULD rise significantly during the Olympics. You may consider investing a little money into Chinese RMB prior to the summer and then convert it back before the Olympics are over. One thing to keep in mind, banks charge a percentage of the money converted for every transaction. Expect to loose about 2.5% each time you convert. (you can track currency history through the following site: http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory

Perhaps banking is not your thing and you prefer something you can touch. Perhaps you are a gold lover? Gold and silver are climbing on a daily basis. As of today, gold is at $862 US per Oz, up from about $620 US per Oz a year ago. Roughly a 40% increase in one year is better than keeping your money in the bank collecting dust. Gold is easy to carry from one country to another as well. Silver is also expected to climb in price. Unfortunately, silver is quite heavy and not as easy to transfer from country to country. (See conversions here http://www.thebulliondesk.com/)

Okay, so converting money and buying gold is not your thing. But before you start investing in the stock market, there are other ways of making money to consider. You can earn extra money on the Internet. Ever thought about starting a Blog or website? For setting up a Blog check out http://www.blogger.com/ or http://wordpress.com/, it’s completely free and easy. To make some money you can sign up for https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_US/. And the best part is the minimal investment: zero.

You can also try Recruiting. Some countries pay up to and even over $1000 US per English teacher. Try contacting a recruiter and ask to become a “sub-recruiter” or simply ask if can help them find a teacher. Generally the recruiters will pay you half the rate they charge the school. You find the teacher, and they find the school. You can network with your friends to find new teachers or you can look on the Internet on job data bases.

These are just some ideas for investing or making additional income. If you have any other ideas post a comment after this article. We would love to hear your ideas and feedback.

Saving money

By Korea Jim

Most new ESL teachers are often living abroad for their first time. And for many it is also their first time earning a steady income. If one considers that many ESL teachers around the world earn enough money to be regarded as middle-class in their host countries, it is a wonder why saving money never ceases to be a difficult task for new teachers. It is far too easy to fall into the trap of living paycheck to paycheck. The new teacher must be diligent this does not happen to them or it could ruin their experience. So here are some basic ways to save money while living abroad and teaching. Let us know if this advice is helpful to you by adding a comment at the end of the article.

1. Use public transportation. Taxis are cheap in many foreign countries, but the fares add up over time. Use the bus or other public transportation when possible.

2. Pay your bills first or set money aside for when the bills come.

3. Keep your money in the bank, or perhaps even send money to another bank in either your home country or open a second account in your host country.

4. Convert a percentage of your money into another currency like $US or Euro. This does three very convenient things: First, it adds a measure of security to your money because of the stability of these currencies; second, it can also reduce the physical bulk of currencies that lack large denominations such as $50 or $100 dollar bills. When you're traveling with a lot of money, this can make a big difference; third, it prevents your from spending the money and thus helping you save.

5. Every penny counts, literally. Remember to save your loose change. I've been able to pay for plane tickets to my favorite vacation spots with the change from my jar of coins.

6. Learn how to cook at home and try to eat the local food. Western food is imported and sold at outrageous prices, especially at restaurants. If you're really dying for a steak or an imported beer, go grocery shopping and cook at home. This can save you a lot of money while satisfying your craving.

7. Budget yourself when going out. Leave your cards at home and bring just what you need.

8. Try to save enough money for emergencies. A good rule to live by: always have enough money for an airplane ticket home. Living abroad can be unpredictable and you never know when something will come up where you have to leave your host country. Airplane ticket money provides a measure of personal security as well as peace of mind.

By following these simple rules, your teaching experience will improve and you will have something more to go home to and not just an empty bank account.

New Year’s Resolutions

By Spencer McCall

My favorite time of year is here again, Resolution Time, December 31st, New Year’s Eve. And not a moment too soon. No matter how much I’ve F*#@ed up this year, I know I can change it. Goodbye 2007. We’ve had our differences. Welcome 2008; before we begin this relationship you should know I don’t like surprises.

I like New Year’s Eve because I can reflect on what has happened in my life over the past year as well as what has happened to others I care about, know or perhaps just read about in some juicy gossip magazine from the supermarket checkout line. One thought that always manages to cheer me is that whatever bad things have happened in my life over the past year, someone else has had it worse. So to those new ESL teachers who are thinking, “What the hell have I done?” Cheer up. There are those of us who have been doing this for a lot longer. And to those veteran teachers out there just remember what it was like when you first started teaching and the complete disoriented feeling you couldn’t douse with alcohol, though try you did. Cheer up! At least you’re not a newbie anymore. And there is always something you can change about yourself to make not only teaching, but also living in a foreign country a more enjoyable experience for yourself. Go explore a mountain or drink Sake for the first time. Get out of the house more and travel. Or perhaps say no to the fifth bar at the end of the night. These are all good ideas (careful with the Sake). So whatever you decide, we here at ESL Daily support you in your commitment to change because no matter how good the kids are some days and no matter how fine the weather may be on a Saturday, this is not an easy job. But for those of you considering Underwater Arc Welding as you sip champagne this New Year’s Eve, just try a making a resolution first.

As you read this list of resolutions, we here at ESL Daily hope they give you pause to reflect on your own life and the many changes you will make in the coming year. Please feel free to add any resolutions to this list in the comments section below the article.
And Happy New Years from everyone at ESL Daily!

Resolutions 2007

1. I will think more about the Earth this year, because thinking of sick people always seems to work (I’m not a hundred percent sure) so I’m going to throw some positive energy out there for Mother Nature and hope things turn out alright. (I want to give a shout out to Korea’s oil spill here).

2. I will pray for Al Gore to stop opening every speech with “We have an inconvenient truth . . .”

3. I will abstain from clear alcohols.

4. I will stop swearing under my breath in the classroom.

5. I will not give out my phone number at the bar.

6. I will learn more Korean (not really, but I just know this is a good idea).

7. I will actually read the books I buy and not just try to look like some old University drop out hippie who thinks it’s cool to read Freud for leisure.

8. I will stop relying on Yahoo! News for all my information on the rest of the world.

9. I will only watch three movies a week, maybe four, tops.

10. I will stop laughing at horror films and the many inventive ways they imagine people dying.

11. I will not cry the next time Will Smith dies in a movie, I swear.

12. I will stop trying to find porn on YouTube as it is equal to drooling over the Sears catalogue. (Anyone remember Fall ’98?).

13. I will continue to download as much music and as many movies as I can from Korea’s super cheap and super fast Internet.

14. I will work harder on remembering people’s names

15. I will pray people start forgetting my name so I don’t have to commitment to #14.

16. I will find a new hobby that does not involve money or alcohol.

17. I will become more interested in the culture of my host country.

18. I will not eat pork more than once a week.

19. I will cook for myself at least twice a month (This will be tough).

20. Oh yeah, I will stop smoking and drinking. LOL!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Why Can't I See ESL Daily in China

By Jim Korea

The picture shows areas of the world where Internet access is restricted and ESL Daily may not be permitted for viewing.

Earlier this year, Chinese Internet Authorities closed access to about 18,000 websites. Nobody knows when or if access to these websites will be reestablished. The government blocked Blogs and any other sites that might contain public opinions. You can see it here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0925/p01s06-woap.html Unfortunately ESL Daily News is hosted through Blogger, one of the primary targets blocked.

The ESL Daily team is trying hard to find a solution to the problem; unfortunately there is no simple answer to this situation. However, those living in China (And other countries that block internet access) can view the site though a proxy server. That is, a site that masks the users identity. Rather than appearing to be in China, a proxy server masks the IP address of the user so it appears they are accessing the website from outside of the country. The following link should work for China: http://www.pkblogs.com/esldaily

Other Free proxy servers include: (Just include the URL www.esldaily.org in the field when asked)

Hide My Ass. http://hidemyass.com
Ninja Proxy. http://www.ninjaproxy.com
Shy Surfer. http://www.shysurfer.com/
Big list http://www.privax.us/

I apologize for all Chinese viewers, and I hope Blogger will be reestablished in the future.