April Teacher Get Together - Xochimilco
Xochimilco, again. One of our favorites, so we gather up the EFL teachers in Mexico City and surrounding area to get our on the canals about twice a year.
TEFL Watch - Changes
It seems the TEFL Watch has gone through some changes. Changed, but not gone. They are still serving the TEFL community in highlighting scams, bad schools, good schools and frauds.
The new site has been reconfigured under new direction and ownership, under the name TEFL School Reviews. It now looks like a blog, but they do still have a forum for interested teachers and schools to discuss the ups and downs of teaching aboad. The forum is located at http://forum.teflschoolreviews.com/ which has maintained all the old comments and postings over the last several years, so new readers can keep up on what’s been going on.
While I’m sad to see such a flagship as the TEFL Watch go, I’m happy to learn that their efforts remain through the new site.
Changes in Cuba - Part 2
It looks like this may be a long series of blog entries regarding changes in Cuba, which are coming more quickly than I had expected. This entry follows on my first entry on the incremental yet fast changes coming to the island since Fidel Castro resigned.
Major Hotel in Havana, Cuba
Both the BBC and CNN are reporting on changes Raul Castro has announced over the past week.
The Cuban government has lifted a ban on its citizens staying in hotels previously reserved for foreigners, hotel staff say.
It is the latest reform announced under new President Raul Castro.
Last week, the state said Cubans would be allowed unrestricted access to mobile phones for the first time.
The new Cuban hotel guests, like the foreign tourists, will have to pay in hard currency - on an island where the average wage is about $17 (£9) a month.
Learn English or Go to Jail
A judge in the US state of Pennsylvania has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail.
The trio, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, were told they could remain on parole if they studied English and got full-time jobs.
Judge Peter Olszewski said the unusual sentence was supposed to help the men. They will serve their full jail terms if they fail an English test in a year.
High incentive to learn the language I think.
This Week in TEFL Blogging
What’s being discussed out there in the world of TEFL blogging this week? Let’s take a look at what some of my colleagues have to say.
David, over at ELT World is chuckling over a story he came across regarding the Discovery of Vocabulary Lists by resourceful Arkansas teachers.
Arkansas: In a move that can hardly be considered revolutionary, Northwest Arkansas teachers have created a targeted vocabulary list this year to help students with limited English skills score better on state mandated Benchmark exams. The list shows specific words that students must understand to meet the state’s learning objectives.
Summer EFL Work Abroad
photo from nct.org
While many of you may be in the midst of spring break, or still shoveling out of this winter’s record-breaking snows, schools in many parts of the world are gearing up for ESL and EFL summer camps. If you’re looking to pack up and ship off the kids, or if you’re looking for work as an ESL instructor over the summer, here is a list of camps and schools you can check out online.
Amber Alert
Please take a few moments to review this entry and the link if you’ve seen this missing girl.
Reachelle Marie Smith. More information at http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/missing/reachelle.asp
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador - War Brewing?
Venezuela and Ecuador are apparently moving tanks and troops to their respective borders with Colombia after Colombian forces killed a major FARC figure.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is sending thousands of troops and tanks to the border with Colombia, marking a sharp escalation in regional tensions.
Speaking on his weekly television show, President Chavez also said Venezuela’s embassy in Colombia would close.
Mr Chavez said he was reacting to the “cowardly murder” of a leading Farc rebel by Colombian forces in a raid just inside Ecuador on Saturday.
Later, Ecuador recalled its ambassador to Bogota in protest at the incursion.
Raul Reyes and at least 16 other rebels were killed in the operation, which took place about 1.8km (one mile) inside Ecuadorean territory.
Changes in Cuba
Very interesting changes have come to Cuba, first with the announcement of Fidel Castro’s resignation as leader of the communist island nation this month, and now with his younger brother and newly-selected president Raul Castro signing UN agreements on human rights.
Specifically, Raul Castro appears to be signing on to the ‘legally binding’ code that guarantees the freedom of expression, and the right to travel abroad, as reports the BBC.
Cuba has signed two legally binding human rights agreements at the UN in New York, just days after Raul Castro was sworn in as the new president.
The covenants - part of the UN Bill of Human Rights - commit communist Cuba to freedom of expression and association, and the right to travel abroad.
Correspondents detect a possible signal of a shift in human rights policy.
February Highlight - Oaxaca, Mexico
With this entry, I begin a new series that highlights individual Mexican states…all 31 of them, each with its own culture, history, and TEFL job scene. I will try to bring some of each state’s history and features into focus, as well as to note important contributions made to the world of TEFL by foreign teachers working in the state of the month.
We start with the lovely state of Oaxaca, located in the deep south of Mexico.
