Sentence English Software™ – Easily Write Better Than Your English Teacher!

Sentence English software – A software can’t match the quality of manually correcting your writing or correcting your grammar? Wrong. There are now sentence English software applications that work in a very advanced manner to make writing easier and error free. Do you know what sentence English software is? Many people believe that the most computers can do, as far as helping people write, is to check for spelling mistakes. This may have been true some years ago, but now we have something that does far more -grammar software, that actually analyzes your grammar, punctuation and word usage, making corrections and giving you suggestions for better alternatives. sentence English software operates by using a very large database of written material, containing many commonly used phrases, and comparing that to what the user writes. Mistakes are found, and alternative words are suggested, much like an automated thesaurus. sentence English software uses a technology called NLP (Natural Language Processing), which reads your whole sentences in context, unlike an ordinary spell checker, which only words single words. Reading in context is important, because without context a spell checker can’t tell if you mean “their” or “there,” as both are words in English.

sentence English software is the patent-pending solution which automatically works with all text based tools, easily correcting all grammatical, spelling, punctuation or any other writing errors.

You may use it for: Study documents, Work documents, Business letter writing, Personal letter writing, Essay Writing, Article Writing, Creative Writing, Email, Instant Messaging, Facebook, Social Media, Blogging, Legal writing, Business writing and much, much more.

For people who must write a great deal, whether for school or work, sentence English software can make someone instantly more understandable in English. It’s like having a virtual writing teacher built into your computer. English is actually not one of the easiest languages in the world, even for native speakers. Well, consider the following five reasons why you might very well need it.

1. If you are in business and must send out correspondences, emails, reports and other information, you want your writing to be clear, correct and professional. This will enable people to better understand your communications. It will also improve your image as someone who writes well and clearly.

2. sentence English software can help increase your creativity as a writer, as in addition to correcting mistakes, it also acts as a thesaurus and suggests different words, such as descriptive adverbs and adjectives. This makes your writing more interesting and versatile.

3. If English is not your first language but you have a need to communicate clearly in this language, this is the perfect solution for you. You can write down the basic ideas of what you need to say, while the software will read and correct your mistakes and suggest alternatives.

4. If you spend time rewriting or editing your reports or other correspondences, sentence English software can save you a lot of time by automating these tedious tasks.

5. When you make mistakes in your writing and people notice it, it can have a negative effect in the way they think of you. If you are in business, trying to sell something, attempting to persuade someone of something, or even if you are just writing social emails, isn’t it better to be seen as someone who is well educated and can write well.

When you write letters or emails, you can do so faster and with more confidence, as sentence English software will correct your mistakes and suggest better word usage, much like a thesaurus. If you have to do much writing, for any reason at all, sentence English software can help you to communicate faster and more effectively.

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English Language Courses

Learning the English language is similar to unlocking a door filled with a whole new world inside. It has become essential that the knowledge of the English language is the new key to communicate with the world. With this in mind, it is important to start as early as now in learning the world’s second language. There are a lot of schools in Spain offering English language courses to those who want to learn the basics of the English language, its proper use and even just to brush up on their conversational English. Here are some of the schools in Spain that may help you in learning the English language:

Villaviciosa de Odón centre in Madrid, Spain opened in 1997 and since then have been providing the best quality of English learning to its students. All of their instructors are native English speakers so that is why they are most qualified to teach both adults and children. As part of their courses, they will incorporate activities using technologies that will help the students boost their English, allow students to borrow reading materials and references to help them in their study and organize different competitions, shows and quizzes to help motivate the student while learning at the same time. For new students, a level test will be given to determine their current standing in the use of the English language. Courses are held in a period of one year with four different departments and each with various levels. The classes are three teaching hours a week. Classes are held twice a week on alternate days, or there are intensive classes once a week on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Casa Lila is a modern four bedroom villa situated in a new urban area situated in the vineyards of the Hondon Valley midway between Hondon de las Nieves and Hondon de las Frailes, approximately 20 kilometres from Elche, and 30kms from Alicante and the coast.. A lot of homeowners in the area are owned by many Spanish, Dutch, Belgium and English people. We have many English speaking neighbours with whom you will be able to practice your new language skills. The tutors are qualified, born and brought up in South East England. They have experience in accommodating many foreign students into their home in England and teaching them to start or improve their use of the English language. The English language course is held on a weekly basis, wherein students settle on a Sunday afternoon. They will be given an ability assessment so that each programme is personalized for every student’s needs. The course intensive with 5 teaching hours from Monday to Thursday, however students are also given a lot of free time. The total cost of one week’s teaching is € 450 and € 800 for two weeks.

ABC College in Barcelona, Spain offers English language courses at all levels for adults, young adults and children. They offer one- to –one or in- company classes for their students. Their courses are general English, English for young learners, intensive, additional official examination practice, and business English. All teachers are qualified and experienced, all native English speakers who were trained to establish rapport and accommodate each students’ needs. The program is constantly updated to adapt to the level of the student’s performance. The use of the language is further reinforced by using instructional media in English and focus is placed on each student’s grammar and pronunciation. Prices range from € 290 to € 1410 depending on your length of study.

British Council in Bilbao, Spain has highly qualified teachers that will help you to hone your skills in English whether for personal or professional use. They encourage learning by allowing students to use media and other materials in English. They offer a young learner’s course, adult courses, conversation courses and summer courses. Both adults and children will undergo a level test upon registration to accommodate and adapt the program based on their knowledge.

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The Skinny on Teaching English in China

The Skinny on Teaching English in China

by Tom Carter

Having little luck finding an attractive job offer in the U.S. in 2004, I decided to take my skills where they were wanted — abroad.

Enticed by the “Teach English in China — No Experience Necessary” ads saturating the online classifieds, I emailed my resume with one hand and packed my bags with the other. I had no idea what to expect, but then, the great unknown can be what makes a job like teaching English in the People’s Republic so appealing.

As the world’s largest economy opens to foreign investment, education has become one of China’s thriving sectors. Confucius probably wouldn’t stand for it, but he wasn’t wearing pinstripe suits and driving a shiny black sedan. The country may be Communist in theory, but the renminbi — Chinese currency — is emperor.

A Chinese adage says that the best advice is often born from the most challenging experiences. After three years helping the sons and daughters of Han learn English, I’ve had my share. Westerners looking to teach in China may want to consider the following before packing their bags.

Some foreign English teachers may be shanghaied at least once during their time in China. Baiting unsuspecting Westerners to China with false promises of a high salary, deluxe apartment, airfare reimbursement, visa or other incentives is a common online scam. Blame it on temptation. Often Chinese laws are too fluid and relationships (“guanxi” in Mandarin) with authorities too intimate, leaving some foreigners with little protection against scams.

The moment I arrived in the Middle Kingdom I had what some seasoned expatriates call “the complete Chinese experience.” The “school” that had accepted my application turned out to be a nickel-and-dime operation run out of an apartment by a guy in his bathrobe. I’d come half way around the world for a job and found myself out of work.

I was literally lost in translation. Despair and a desire to return home to Mom set in. But I quickly learned that, commensurate with its sizeable population, China has a profusion of kindergarten, primary, middle and high schools and universities in even the most remote cities. In short order, I wound up with a position and salary more attractive than the one I had originally accepted.

Chinese parents may work night and day to pay for pricey English lessons so that their child can get a head start in this competitive society of 1.3 billion. Unfortunately, academics are not an issue to many of China’s new educational entrepreneurs who put profit before curriculum and quality. Classroom experience and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification is nice, but in many cases a Western face is all a native English speaker needs to land a teaching job in China.

In more reputable schools, most prospective English teachers don’t have it so easy. I endured a weeklong interview process, including a series of teaching demonstrations before 300 stern-looking parents, all while I was still jetlagged and suffering from culture shock. I must have done something right, because I was chosen to teach at a top school in the province.

Being rice-wined and dined by my prospective employer over 30-course banquet dinners did not distract me from negotiating a fair salary. Many foreigners (“laowai”) prefer to live in a cosmopolitan city like Beijing or Shanghai than a small town such as the one I had chosen, and I was able to use this preference as leverage during contract discussions. All deals in China, like the price of fruit at the marketplace, can be negotiated.

Most English teachers in China needn’t speak Mandarin in the classroom. Instead, we instruct students through a process of language immersion and simulation, which in time invariably leads to proficiency. Diligence and a little creativity are all that are really needed, but like performing on stage five times a day, it takes its toll.

Over the next few years, I would meet a number of disappointed young Westerners who came overseas as English teachers expecting to party all night and spend their free time pursuing adventures in the countryside. That, I would tell them, is a lifestyle for tourists, exchange students and embassy brats, not the hardworking teacher.

As a foreign expert English instructor, I’m scheduled for up to 30 classes a week and spend most of my free time planning lessons. I’m up at dawn with the older folks practicing their Tai Chi and not back home until after 10 p.m., about when the migrant construction workers also are getting off work.

I never thought I’d be an educator. I didn’t like most of my teachers when I was a kid. Teachers the world over are typically low paid, overworked and underappreciated. But the fatigue and the hit on my income — compared to what I might earn in the U.S. — are what I pay for being part of a rapidly-changing China. As it turned out, I’m not so bad in front of the chalkboard — I actually like it.

Online English Grammar Tests – Question Words

Designing a Workspace for your Home Business is Essential to Making your Work, Work

Working from home has become the trend since the advent of the personal computer and the internet.

No longer are people tied to the proximity of their outside office location and this has created the opportunity for entrepreneurs, salesmen, consultants and many other types of professionals to do the majority of their work in the comfort of where and how they choose to live.

The biggest challenge, most home office enthusiasts will tell you however, is getting away from your work when you need to and being productive during your designated work time.

The first essential consideration in setting up your home office is to try to locate it in a space that can remove you from noise destractions and family life. Many people find that converting their formal living rooms(which they rarely use)or guest rooms into their official office space works far better than designating an area in a master bedroom or family room for the purpose. The beauty of going to work is the mindset of focusing your attention to the task at hand. The beauty of being off work is to truly get away from it to relax. Having a computer call your name from visible parts of your living space can blur the line between work and relaxation and locating your home office in a blended use space can give you the unnerving feeling that you are never leaving work…or that you don’t have the concentration when you are trying to work. Keep the area separate.

Beyond the basic requirements of functional furniture and filing space, try to create a pleasant sense of surroundings to make your work schedule pleasant. Organize your work space where there is a place for everything. Piles of papers only add to the lack of focus that a home office already challenges. Install doors to keep family distractions to a minimum if possible. If the office is to be located away from the kitchen, consider a small refrigerator for beverages to relieve the opportunity to raid the refrigerator while you are working. Believe it or not, this is a common problem.

Give some consideration to how the office feels. A pleasant work environment will bolster your confidence in your success. Add artwork, plants and perhaps the paint the room an interesting color so that you feel good when you spend time working. This is even more important if you must see clients or collegues in your home office. You want to avoid the message that you are not a serious professional…both to yourself and other people.

As an interior designer for 22 years, I have worked out of my home office with great success. I love incorporating the overhead of an office space into my mortgage and the efficiency of not having to travel outside of my home when paperwork or research is essential to my projects.

Many of my clients visit where I live and work with a greater sense of who I am professionally. Make your office space in your home an essential part of your professionalism. Visit my website at www.barbaraenglishdesigns.com to see my work.

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English Language Learners Take Advantage of Technology

Learning English has always been a difficult task due to the language’s many intricacies and rules that are quite dissimilar to most of the world’s spoken languages. For example, while most languages place verbs after the noun (ball red), English does the opposite (red ball).

Despite the difficulty of the English language, it remains the world’s most spoken language and a requirement for anybody getting into international business.

English language learners today, however, have the advantage of centuries of language instruction experts contributing to modern technology to make the process much smoother and easier.

Technology for Today’s English Language Learners

While nothing can fully replace an experienced teacher, technology has done much to assist teachers in their efforts.

The most obvious use of technology to help students learn English used to be the television. Videos geared toward specific age groups and levels were prominent during the 70s and 80s. However, today with the availability of computers in homes, computer software has become the prominent technology of choice for today’s English language learners.

Computer software has many advantages over video instruction. Perhaps the most powerful advantage is software’s ability to automatically gauge a student’s progress and customize their curriculum and workflow accordingly, all without intervention from a human teacher.

Software learning has also evolved to the point that an English language learner can immerse themselves in a virtual environment where only English is spoken, and spoken in a manner that allows the student to learn to not just speak the language, but to begin thinking in that language. This is considered a vital area for learning English or any language.

The Need for English Language Instruction in America Grows Daily

American teachers today continue to see an increasing influx of students that don’t speak English as their first language, and many students that don’t speak English at all. American teachers are trained to teach in English. Even if a teacher speaks a foreign language and is able to communicate with non-English speaking students, the training needed to teach that student English, thus allowing them to prosper in a foreign land, is not apparent.

Every classroom in America, statistically, will have a few English language learners in it. With teachers unequipped to teach students English, technology has, by necessity, taken on a larger role in the classroom.

Without this technology, English language learners are often left to their own devices. For those without a supportive environment, English might never be learned without proper technology available in the classroom; sometimes the only place where a student gets the opportunity to speak any English at all.

English Lions Games

Tips for Writing a Good Memo in Business Communication

Business writing differs significantly from article or academic writing. Business communication is generally in the form of reports, policies, instructions, procedures, memos, letters, orders or rules & regulations. Memos are business letters but only for employees & used within an organization.

Memos are used to give information to employees such as changes in some procedures or rules, policy change or for specific purpose like request to attend a meeting. The format of the memo differs from business letter format. Memos generally contain sections like to, from, date, subject & text of memo.

Points to remember while writing a memo:

If you are sending memo to specific person, then you should write correct name of the reader. You can write job title along with name to make it more formal.

Subject should not be vague or unclear. It should be brief & specific, which can give an idea about the purpose of the memo.

Generally, memos do not contain salutation or complimentary closing.

The text in text section of memo should be concise, clear, to the point.

Avoid use of long and complex sentences that contain too much information. Short sentences make your message more readable and understandable. You can use headings & bullets to make your memo easy to read.

First paragraph in text area or opening paragraph should contain background of the problem & purpose of the memo. Memo’s recipient should get an overview of the memo by reading the first paragraph only.

In next paragraphs, you can explain the steps you have taken or methods and sources you have used to solve the problems.

Last paragraph should be the closing segment, where you can request your reader to take an action to solve the problem. Some people use conclusion at the end of memo to summarize the content. Conclusions are also useful for suggestions and recommendations or if you wish to make a request to the reader.

If there are any attachments, always mention at the end, after closing segment.

Always proofread your memo before sending it. You can use software programs, which are available for business writing, for proofreading & to check and correct English grammar & spellings in your memo. Some software programs enrich your text with adjectives & adverbs, which enhances the simple sentence into more professional and sophisticated one & suggest context related synonym for repeated words.

For information on business English writing software please visit

http://www.truevalue4money.com

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How Your Business Can Survice The Recession: Article 1 Of 2

Politicians, particularly in the western democracies, are searching for stimulus packages that will shorten the recession and save jobs, including their own!

But whether or not the stimulus plans “work”, there will be an end to the downturn. And there are lessons from the past that will help us when the recovery comes.

The first thing to remember is simply this. There will be a recovery! Do not despair. Businesses will survive the recession. Not all businesses, it’s true. But most will survive and emerge stronger, tougher and better managed.

The second lesson from the past is that we will need to be careful as the recovery starts, because businesses fail almost as often during the early stages of recovery as they do in the downturn.

The final thing to note is that markets will be different after the recession. New opportunities will emerge, and old ones will be gone for good. The competitive environment will have changed, and new technologies will be available. Management needs a highly flexible, opportunistic mindset.

It really will not be good enough to do business in, say, 2010 in the same way that we did in 2008.

One last thought. In the new post recession world there will be a greater need for English language ability in world business than everbefore. Contact Aim For English to find out how we can help. Aim is a kursus bahasa inggris in Jakarta, Indonesia. Aim specialises in Business English training, and at times like these, it’s time to train your staff. Having well-trained, enthusiastic, English speaking staff might just be the market difference your company needs to get through these difficult economic times.

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Is it Compulsory to Learn English as a Second Language?

In today’s times, there’s only one reason non-native English speaking countries want to learn the English Language. It is due to increased globalization and competition in competition. Since English as a language is being widely used in business communication today, this also used in casual conversation among people of different nationality. The World Wide Web or the internet is an example of place where English language is used. In fact, most of the websites of a non-native speaking country has English translation, not only to be understood by the internet community but also to market their businesses all over the world.

Under globalization and business competition, familiarity of the English language is one of the best advantages. Of course, having an interpreter is also good, but the interpreted words may lack the vital ingredient because you do not feel the emotion accompanied by these words being passed. Moreover, the interpreter, most of the time can’t and doesn’t cannot exactly interpret you because there are numerous words in your native tongue that don’t have similar and opposite translation in the English language.

Most of the English Learning Centers have found that non-native English Speakers have the following challenges:

English Grammar – An ability to frame grammatically correct sentences

English Fluency – Due to a habit of thinking in mother tongue, it takes a lot of time for a non-native English Speaker to communicate Fluently in English

Confidence – The status that English has takes away the confidence

Art of Speaking – Few are gifted with the art of communication, lack of that again adds up.

Today it is becoming necessary to learn English Speaking Fluently, in addition to the knowledge of Grammar, vocabulary, sentence framing, body language, public speaking, communication skills, effective presentations, group discussions, business English and Email drafting.

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Is Teaching English in China Really for You?

 

Teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in China is big business. Reports indicate that EFL is a 10-billion yuan (USD $1.4 billion) business and that the industry made a 700 million yuan (USD $9,800,000) profit in Beijing alone. It is estimated that of the 37 billion yuan derived annually from book sales in China, EFL-related materials constituted no less than 25 percent of the total market (Qiang and Wolff, 2004, p. 1). This ever-growing market of English language education in China has resulted in a massive recruitment drive of approximately 100,000 foreign teachers per year (People’s Daily Online, 2006) and, in 2006, it was estimated that more than 150,000 foreign experts were employed in China, recruited primarily from Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States (China Daily, 2006).

 

With so much money at stake, the Internet has experienced a burgeoning of China EFL-related websites all vying for the prospective foreign teacher’s attention and, ultimately, business. A Google search on the terms “teaching English in China” returns over 6.4 million results of websites run by Chinese recruiters, private English language schools, and veteran foreign teachers hoping to get in on all the action.

 

All these sites have one thing in common: They all glamorize teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) as a viable way to travel abroad and experience all the exotic mysteries and adventure China has to offer. Virtually every native English speaker with white skin between the ages of 18 and 60 is provided with “expert advice” about where and how to apply, and is presented with enticing advertisements for jobs, guides, manuals, travel gear and books, and just about anything else the traffic will bear.

 

The truth of the matter is that although some Westerners actually thrive as foreign English teachers in China, most do not. Obviously, if everyone who ventured off to China to teach oral English decided to stay, the need and competition for new recruits every year wouldn’t be as great and fierce as they currently are.

 

This article presents essential information that every prospective Westerner should carefully consider before making the life-altering decision to move to China for the purpose of teaching English as a foreign language. It is written by an American doctor and professor of psychology who has lived and worked in China since August 2003, and it contains valuable information adapted from the comprehensive Foreign Teachers’ Guide to Living and Teaching in China, written by the same author.

 

The Question of English in China

 

While the need for proficient English language skills among China’s 1.3 billion people might appear obvious to some, in reality, it is a highly debatable issue.

 

Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world today. It is estimated that there are 873 million native speakers of Chinese as opposed to only 343 million native speakers of English (NVTC, 2007). The vast majority of Chinese will never utter even one word of English after passing their comprehensive English examinations and graduating from college. A few will need to read materials written in English as part of their job function and far fewer than that will occasionally need to send an e-mail in English, but most will never need English to function effectively in their day-to-day lives—and Chinese students know this.

 

There is a small percentage of Chinese students, particularly those who come from affluent families, who have dreams of studying abroad and they will need a relatively high level of English language skills if they are to succeed. A few have aspirations of working at the front desk of an international 5-star hotel and others hope to find employment in jointly-owned Western-Chinese companies that may require the daily use of English—but most will return to their second and third tier cities working for the government or private Chinese enterprises where virtually no one uses or can communicate in English.

 

What most prospective foreign teachers do not realize is that English as a foreign language holds a very low position within China’s educational system. Students who score well on their national college entrance exam (the Gao Kao) will be assigned to or choose majors in the hard sciences or technological fields that support China’s 1978 economic reform movement referred to as the Four Modernizations, i.e., agriculture, industry, technology and defense. Fields of study in the humanities, including foreign language, are assigned to those students who scored too poorly on the college entrance exam to be admitted into the far more lucrative and desirable academic majors.

 

The bottom line is that most students simply do not see a clear association between proficient English language skills and direct future benefits. They look at their very successful fathers and the vast majority of China’s national political leaders who cannot speak a single word of English and wonder why they have to take extra classes in oral English with a foreign teacher when they are already studying English with Chinese teachers who, unlike their Western counterparts, can actually help them pass their proficiency exams.

 

If English as an academic discipline is so devalued in China and if the actual need for English language skills is questionable at best, why then does China need so many foreign English teachers?

 

The De-professionalization of English Teaching in China

 

The nearly insatiable need for foreign English teachers in China can be explained by two phenomena: one involving the public sector and the other involving the private sector. First, China’s Ministry of Education promulgated a highly contested and bitterly resented national requirement that states all students of foreign language must be exposed to a native speaker. However, China’s national labor laws prohibit any employer from hiring a foreigner for a position that can be filled by a Chinese national. So, in order to reconcile the two conflicting policies, the teaching of English in China was compartmentalized into two broad areas: professional and lay. The professional certified Chinese English teachers are assigned courses in grammar, reading, and writing, and the lay uncertified and often less educated foreign teachers help facilitate the practice of speaking and listening skills. Thus, although the State Administration for Foreign Expert Affairs (SAFEA) recommends a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and two years of field-related work experience, in reality, the vast majority of foreign English teachers in China have neither, because neither are necessary to help students practice their speaking and listening skills. The truth of the matter is any native speaker who is friendly, extremely patient, and enjoys children can do it successfully.

 

The second explanation lies in the fact that private English language schools absolutely need white faces in the school in order to attract customers. Despite the highly debatable reality of the situation, Chinese parents (as well as most foreign English teachers) firmly believe that good English language skills will afford their children both an academic and financial advantage later on in life. Consequently, many will drag their children to private English language schools when they are as young as four-years old, often at great personal financial sacrifice. In order to attract Westerners into China, school owners must offer their foreign teachers up to four times what they are paying their certified Chinese teachers, and the added business expense is hardly appreciated. There isn’t one Chinese school owner or administrator who wouldn’t immediately replace every single one
of his culturally-alien and costly foreign English teachers with a much less expensive and, often, better educated Chinese English teacher if he knew doing so wouldn’t cost him his business.

 

The Truth About Housing and the Myth of the “Comfortable” Salary

 

China maintains something of a schizophrenogenic relationship with its foreign English teachers. On one hand they are needed to satisfy a national educational requirement or to stay in business. On the other hand, they are deeply resented for it. This resentment is expressed in a variety of ways, both obvious and subtle.

 

In the vast majority of cases, the housing afforded to foreign English teachers is inferior even by middle-class Chinese standards. It is typically an 800 sq. ft. (or smaller) apartment that is usually in varying states of disrepair, undecorated, starkly furnished with a cheap, rock-hard “mattress,” and a 2-range countertop propane gas stove and a mini-refrigerator for a kitchen. The bathroom consists of a Western toilet, a cold-water sink with a water heater and shower head attached to the wall that is often not separated from the rest of the bathroom inside a shower stall. Requests for repairs or necessary improvements are almost always ignored or endlessly delayed in the hope that the foreign teacher will simply incur the expenses himself.

 

Outside of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, salaries for foreign teachers typically range from RMB3,800 to 6,000 (US$551 to $870) with an average of about 4500 yuan (US$653) per month for 14 to 20 hours of face-to-face teaching per week (depending on qualifications, location and school type). The reality is that this salary can only be considered as adequate, as opposed to comfortable, if the foreign teacher is able to live like a Chinese. Those who buy amenities like cell phones and Western DVD players, choose to eat at 4- and 5-star hotel restaurants for a culinary respite from cheap Chinese food, and otherwise try to replicate a quality of life they enjoyed back home will not be able to do so on 4500 yuan per month. The vast majority of foreign English teachers in China engage in outside part-time contract work in order to supplement their base monthly incomes.

 

So, Is There Any Good News?

 

In the context of students who, for the most part, could accurately be described as unmotivated to learn English, an educational role that is devalued and de-professionalized, managerial and collegial environments that are dismissive and resentful, and a remuneration package that is just barely adequate, does it make sense for anyone to teach English in China? Actually, as it turns out, it does for those who comprise one of two specific sociodemographic groups and go into it well-informed and with their eyes wide open.

 

Westerners who report the greatest degree of satisfaction with their decision to teach English in China comprise recent college graduates who are seeking a short-term adventure before resuming their normal lives back home and early retirees who already enjoyed a successful career, have some money in the bank, and are looking to stretch their savings and pensions in an Asian country. Those who report the least amount of satisfaction as foreign English teachers in China are Westerners between the ages of 30 to 50 who moved to China as a perceived forced choice as a result of having mismanaged their lives back home.

 

Western professors on sabbatical and certified primary and secondary school teachers—who are looking for a short-term teaching assignment—should only consider Project 211 universities and international schools, respectively.

 

Having just written this, there are some middle-aged Westerners who are able to beat the odds and do, in fact, carve out lives for themselves that are better now in China than they were before. Typically these are men who managed to acclimate to the vast cultural differences relatively quickly, married a Chinese national, can speak some Chinese, and now consider China to be their new home.

 

This article is just a brief preview of just some of the essential information contained in the comprehensive Foreign Teachers’ Guide to Living and Teaching in China. If you are seriously considering moving to China to teach English, you owe it to yourself to read that guide.

 

Notes

 

China Daily. (2006, April 4). Number of foreigners working in China soars. People’s Daily Online. Retrieved November 14, 2007 from http://english.people.com.cn/200604/04/eng20060404_255781.html

 

National Virtual Translation Center (2008). Languages of the World. Retrieved January 23, 2009 from http:// www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/worldlanguages.htm.

 

People’s Daily (2006, May 23). China to recruit foreign experts through Internet. People’s Daily Online. Retrieved February 23, 2008 from http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200605/23/eng20060523_267892.html

 

Qiang, N. & Wolff, M. (2004). EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions, Questions, Questions. Paper presented at the Sixth International Symposium on Applied Linguistics and Language.

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Tips to Improve Your English Pronunciation

These days, the English language is being used as a secondary or second language by many non-native speakers around the world. Since English has gone on to become the language of choice for communication between the people of different countries, it is a good decision to learn English as a second language.

The primary benefit of English language is that it is easy to learn. It is made easier if you’re able to find proper resources to learn English.

When you are developing English and Communication Skills, pronunciation plays a very important role. A wrong pronunciation can communicate something that you never intended to or may confuse the listener or at times not provide the message with clarity.

The biggest reason for this is that many words of the language are not pronounced the same way as they are spelt. Hence, you may have to concentrate on learning the correct pronunciation of words while learning English. However, if you follow the following tips, you will be able to pronounce correctly.

Tips to improve English Pronunciation:

1) Read English Text Loudly – as you read loudly, you will be able to identify the mistakes in your pronounciation.

2) Listen to the Same Text – softwares are available on the internet where you can type a text and it will be read out in a particular regional accent in English. So when you listen to the same text, your clarity will be more on the errors.

3) Speak with the Speaker – reading the text with the correct sounds (carrying on from step no. 2) your speaking system will get trained on how to pronounce each and every word.

4) Mirror Practice – practicing in front of mirror will help you develop correct lip, tongue and jaw movements to get the correct pronunciation.

Finally, find a person who has good English. Preferably, find someone who is a native English speaker and who can speak the language fluently. Practice by communicating with him or her. Use all your knowledge and experience that you’ve gained till now and try to make sure you speak as fluently as possible. One thing to remember is that it’s perfectly alright to mispronounce a word or two or even more. This is quite normal when you’re just starting out and will go away with regular practice. Make mental notes of where you go wrong while communicating and correct those mistakes the next time you speak.

Do not feel uncomfortable even when you are talking to a native English speaker. Stick to the basic rules of English grammar and use proper sentences and word forms. This is the best way to speak flawless English. Avoid complex sentences which may confuse you and make things even more difficult. Only when you’ve cleared your basics and practiced speaking with native English speakers a lot should you move to complex sentences. Focus on improving your English speaking capabilities and then move to other areas.

Practise Speaking English Online