teaching english

[Ken]

I don't get it either, Nelly. We should be encouraging people to make use of DR1 as a place to get information about the DR and answers to their questions. It will surprise me if we ever hear from canadiangirl again.

Afraid you and I are rowing against the tide.

 

[Bugsey34]

Why don't you people relax? Who gives a %^*& how her grammar was whether she wants to be a teacher or a construction worker, writing this message is not her job application and you are not her boss.

Sorry, canadiangirl, I would answer your question if I had the answer... but don't be afraid to post on DR1 just because some people have something up their rear ends and want to pick apart a post.

 

[MommC]

ooopppsss Rick....

typo........and I didn't proof read or edit so I'm guilty as charged.
Why are the members so negative? Interesting question......
I know I wasn't too negative when I first started posting but I guess seeing the same sorry posts day in and day out kind of makes one jaded after a while. Also to be considered is the shock factor! Maybe we all hope that by being brutal we can "bash" some sense into the reader or preclude grave injustices from being perpetuated on poor, unsuspecting souls!

 

[el_diablo]

Re: Canadiangirl ... I have no doubt ..

in your ability and competence to teach English as a second language in the DR or any other non-English speaking country for that matter.

Yes, you did not use proper Paragraph structure and Yes your questions were not ended with the proper punctuation mark, "?".

"I have no doubt in your ability"......should be..... "I don't doubt your ability"

"Yes,"...should never begin a sentence

"Paragraph" and "Yes" .....should not be capitalized

"were not ended".....should be.... "did not end"

"mark"...should be plural

"mark,"....should be.... "mark:"

" "?" "....quotes not needed

you should avoid the passive form of the sentence


el_diablo

this is your brain....this is your brain on drugs (listen for sizzle).....any questions?

 

[NoMoreSnow]

EL...

This is a writing style .... and it is intended to be "conversational" and was written for EMPHASIS. It is an appropriate style of writing for this Board and for this thread. The "Yes" is in response to an implied question. NO, I would not write a business letter in this style, nor would I write a legal brief.

The first thing that you learn -- once you have learned how to write -- it that the rules can be broken. So .... yes, contrary to what your English teacher taught you, you can start a sentence with "But", "Because" and even "Yes". What makes it correct is when and how you do it.


NMS

Edited to add

... by the way, had I used the "active voice" the entire TONE of the message would have been different and I wouldn't have achieved the desired effect that I wanted.....

 

[Nelly]

Re: ooopppsss Rick....

typo........and I didn't proof read or edit so I'm guilty as charged.
Why are the members so negative? Interesting question......
I know I wasn't too negative when I first started posting but I guess seeing the same sorry posts day in and day out kind of makes one jaded after a while. Also to be considered is the shock factor! Maybe we all hope that by being brutal we can "bash" some sense into the reader or preclude grave injustices from being perpetuated on poor, unsuspecting souls!

Thanks for trying MommC. I still don't understand why those are reasons to be negative but maybe I just missed your point. Bottom line is that people should be able to questions on this message board without getting attacked. That is the purpose of a message board, no? In Canadiangirl's case, she wasn't asking about TESL or finding a job, yet many took it upon themselves to offer their "constructive" criticism, some of which was down right nasty. Sadly, in two pages of responses, not one person answered her question. Generally speaking, why not just disregard those questions that do not meet your personal agenda or area of interest and avoid resorting to this level. Not only will you feel good about yourself but you will help support the integrity of this board as a great source of information. Just food for thought.
Cheers,
Nelly

 

[MommC]

Good point Nelly......

Guess it's the old "pack" mentality at work.
It could have something to do with the fact (personal observation??) that many people tend to view the DR through rose coloured glasses especially after a one or two week stay at an AI on vacation during a long cold northern winter.

 

[El Jefe]

Could it be because she titled the thread "teaching english"?

 

[Marilyn]

I agree with Nelly

I have been staying out of this thread because I really had nothing "constructive" to say to Canadian Girl so why offend her? Please remember that sometimes when you're in a forum or chat you don't check for spellings and you don't need to be a good typist to be a teacher, so she may have had typo errors which she didn't deem important enough to correct. OK, she may not be qualified to teach, but that doesn't mean that her self-esteem had to be decimated to nought the way it's been done here, IMHO some advice and less "destructive" criticism was what was called for here, not an open season on the girl. I'm sure she's young and she can improve her skills, so why not be supportive?

 

[sjh]

"so why not be supportive? "

Because reality sucks... If someone comes onto a public forum and asks for an opinion they should expect a response...

To answer what I believe is her question:
Everyone here is answering based on their own experiences and observations of others. Some people here are clearly bitter, some are realists or dreamers or "wannabees". If you stick around the site for a while, you will learn who to ignore and who to listen to..

 

[Ken]

What it really boils down to Nelly, shadley and Marilyn is the question of who this board is primarily for? Is it for those who are seeking information about the Dominican Republic and answers to their questions, or is it for the entertainment of the posters.

I tend to think it is primarily for those in need of help, but not everyone agrees.

There are some sections where the nature of the subjects invites, in fact expects, sharp responses (especially The Clown Bin and Men from Mars and Women from Venus). But Living isn't one of them.

Also, I see nothing in the rules of the forum that indicates that points are awarded or subtracted for spelling, composition and typing skills.

Personally, I hope that canadiangirl is tough enough to thumb her nose at the posters that are howling at her heels and not give up on dr1 just because her first post yielded too many of the feared brutal responses that kept her from posting previously.

 

[Bugsey34]

It's true that it is kind of ambiguous Ken... that's why I suggested before when the new format came in that there should be a set of guidelines, because how are people supposed to know what's wrong unless you explain how the board should be used?

The Living section is definetly for questions and information about living in the DR, not grammar review.

 

[sjh]

the grammar review was ONLY because the person in question wanted to teach english... If you cant communicate in the language, you shouldnt be teaching it.....

I cant tell you how many english teachers i meet in the DR who cant speak intelligible english.. I think we have enough of them ....

 

[MommC]

El Jefe and Shad make a good point.....

the thread is entitled "teaching English" and even if you don't want to take the time on a message board to compose a properly formatted post , if you have been a "lurker" on the board you should realize that a post with the above heading, written as it was, is definitely going to provoke the kind of "brutal" responses you are not wishing for. So.....wouldn't it have been more appropriate to name the thread "Why such negativity" or some such or take the time to compose a post is "proper" English to preclude any brutal responses?
I personally take great exception to people looking to come to the DR with empty pockets (there's enough of those in the country as it is), looking for a "convenient" way to earn sufficient pesos to hang around the country long enough to fulfill their desire to "party" and "get laid" Dominican style while at the same time subjecting students who wish to better themselves to a sub-standard level of teaching.
I think from La Professora's post she feels the same way, as do many others.

 

[Ken]

This is not directed at you specifically, MommC. Just happens that this post follows yours.

To justify the criticism, the rationale is that canadiangirl said whe was going to teach English. Did you really read the message and not just the title?

canadiangirl is clearly not someone dreaming of her first trip to the DR because she has heard the stories of friends about all the "fun" they had with those cute Dominican guys. She is also not coming to the DR with the idea she can finance her visit by picking up some easy money teaching English. Look what she tells us:

1. She has many friends in the Dominican Republic.

2. She has an apartment in the Dominican Republic, and

3. She has a lot in the Dominican Republic. ("lot" meaning real estate)

How many of the posters who tore her apart have made the same committment?

4. She also tells us she already has a job teaching for a couple of months. Presumably this is because people in the DR already know her, given the above. Have the people who thought enough of her to hire her for a short period asked dr1 for help?

This thread has already gone to 3 pages; on those pages are perhaps enough responses to her question to fill one-half page. Add another half page for efforts to steer the thread back to the question and away from the grammar analysis and you have another half page. That adds up to one positive page and two negative. That's a pretty poor average in my opinion, and it will probably get worse as those who feel I have offended them leap on both me and canadiangirl.

 

[El Jefe]

Ken,

The young lady brought this on herself. She titled her post 'teaching english" She does say she has many Dominican friends, an appt (normally an abbreviation for appointment), a lot in punta rusia (a lot of what). Her message is so compound and fractured it is hard to determine what she is asking or stating. For that matter it is hard to determine where the statements end and the question begins.

I know that you would like everyone to be pleasent and noncontroversial but, it ain't going to happen. Folks are just going to be themselves and say what they want. If Rob or Delores don't like what's being said, they have the power to delete or ban. Whether you like it or not, those with the most to share are usually also those that are quick to criticize or be sarcastic.

What is happening is a short thread with a couple of critical posts is now a discussion of what the forum is supposed to be. And now I've fallen into the same trap...

 

[Ken]

No, El Jefe, I don't want everyone to be pleasant and noncontroversial. There is now a place in this forum for controversy and verbal abuse. You won't see posts from me like the above in those sections.

But Living isn't one of those sections.

And, yes, I do think Rob and Dolores should be doing a better job of monitoring/editing the threads. IMHO, they err on the side of not offending frequent posters rather than provide a non-threatening environment for newbies to the board who are seeking information and assistance. I'd be willing to bet a lot that there are many people out there who, like canadiangirl, are very reluctant to post their questions/requests because they fear being brutalized. The fact that I can't say they are wrong to be afraid is why I think more should be done to control the posting in some of the sections.

 

[Escott]

I cannot and would not presume to answer for Rick, but I shall reply on my own behalf. First of all, I was careful to be as "unbrutal" as possible while still making the point that one needs a certain level of competence before one is capable of instructing others. I do agree that some of the replies were far more unkind, but mine certainly was not.

Your comments regarding her ability to teach was uncalled for, unwanted, not asked for and rude. Brutal is in the eyes of the beholder I guess. Now that is not to say that I am not above or below, as the case may be, being brutal meself.

That being said, I don't check my spelling here, my grammar nor do I give a RATS PATOOTIE how it happens to look. I use words like shoulda, coulda and woulda knowing that they are NOT proper. This is not a classroom but a place to get information. I have to tell you that if I had a quarter for everyone that told me how to do my job and run my business I woulda been retired at 25 instead of 52. That being said, I did fine disregarding everyones unwanted advice.

Sorry to bud in so carry on

 

[mainer]

No, El Jefe, I don't want everyone to be pleasant and noncontroversial. There is now a place in this forum for controversy and verbal abuse. You won't see posts from me like the above in those sections.

But Living isn't one of those sections.

And, yes, I do think Rob and Dolores should be doing a better job of monitoring/editing the threads. IMHO, they err on the side of not offending frequent posters rather than provide a non-threatening environment for newbies to the board who are seeking information and assistance. I'd be willing to bet a lot that there are many people out there who, like canadiangirl, are very reluctant to post their questions/requests because they fear being brutalized. The fact that I can't say they are wrong to be afraid is why I think more should be done to control the posting in some of the sections.

Ken,
My first post on DR1 was attacked from all sides. (Titled: Moving to DR with Children) I felt as though most of the people who replied thought that I was a blooming idiot. I actually felt that I had to defend myself quite a bit. I finally wrote a post detailing that I could afford to do this and why I wanted to. I suppose that if I were younger and less confident of what I wanted, I would have never reposted. I fully agree with your statement. I tried to quote just that part, but I couldn't figure out how!!
Mainer

 

[Nelly]

Well said Ken, now, if we could just get you to lighten up a bit on the starry-eyed Canadian tourists. lol