Steve Oakes: “Speakers are never alone, even when talking to themselves.”

 

Steve Oakes is the Head of Teacher Training at International House Budapest. He is CELTA and DELTA certified. He is also an imposter. Here are some of the errors that I found in his latest blog entry.

“The articulation of knowledge, observations, opinion and feeling in a social context (i.e. a context where the speaker is not alone—and speakers are never alone, even when talking to themselves)….”

• This doesn’t make sense. If speakers are talking to themselves, they are, by definition, not alone. Steve Oakes is probably trying to say that a person is not alone, even when he or she talks to himself or herself; however, this would not make sense either. When a person who is alone talks to himself or herself, he or she is still alone.

“Well, guess what: the quality, sophistication, accuracy, length, depth, etc of the students’ speech was significantly better when the interlocutor maintained eye contact.”

• This is an agreement error. This sentence has a plural subject. The verb should be “were,” not “was.”
• Steve Oakes is saying that the sophistication was better. This is not proper usage.
• Steve Oakes fails to cite the research.

“I also suspect that you don’t need research to convince you….”

• I would say “convince yourself.”

“Think of someone whom you regard as a good listener—the best listener you’ve ever known. Try to identify what it is they do that’s different from what most people do. How do they make you feel listened to?”

• This is an agreement error. “[S]omeone” is a singular pronoun. “[T]hey” is is a plural pronoun.
• “How do they make you feel listened to?” is awkward.

“…and focus entirely on the student and what they’re saying.”

• This is an agreement error. “[S]tudent” is a singular noun. “[T]hey” is is a plural pronoun.

“Combine your best powers of empathy with the golden rule (‘Do unto other…’)”

• According to dictionary.com, the golden rule is usually phrased as “Do unto others….”

See more errors committed by Steve Oakes…

 

Original source URL: http://teacher-training.hu/the-lost-art-of-listening/#more-1134

Copy that I made of original source on 05-12-2013: https://docs.google.com/file/d/14Q0UksU9UmhA-JM-eKslZsHd_wN_kEPhS96ZCg1avZlcwR3TzvHPXHcRXJhj07-smKMjhLXHs5fFHFbP/edit

We’re Cambridge ESOL. We’re experts. Give us your money!

Here is Cambridge English Language Assessment’s mission statement: “To be the experts in language assessment: delivering excellence and innovation.”

Here are errors that I found in Cambridge English Young Learners (YLE):  A guide for parents. Good job delivering all that excellence, Cambridge. What would the world do without illiterate and greedy fuckwads like you to dumb down the language. Again, good job! You’re so awesome.

“[T]hat” is the wrong pronoun. It should be “who.”

This is an agreement error. “[C]hild” is a singular noun. “[T]heir” is plural pronoun.

“[T]hat” is the wrong pronoun. It should be “who.”

This is an agreement error. “[C]hild” is a singular noun. “[T]heir” is plural pronoun.

This is an agreement error. “[C]hild” is a singular noun. “[T]heir” is plural pronoun.

• Support is not something that can be purchased on ebay by the lot. The author means “a lot.”
• Agreement error. “[C]hild” is a singular noun. “[T]heir” is plural pronoun.

The pronoun “they” has no antecedent.

What is “The three Cambridge English?” Is that the name for the broken English that is used at Cambridge ESOL?

This is an agreement error. “[C]hild” is a singular noun, and it is being used with plural pronouns.

Don’t be so proud, Germaine Teh Jhee Wei. You got conned by a bunch of illiterate riffraff masquerading as educators. I would take that certificate and use it to wipe your ass. That’s what it’s worth.

Original PDF location: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-qualifications/young-learners/

Location of the copy that I made from the original source: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByAKBmn_5EuJbFNTS01hMUZ4OUk/edit?usp=sharing

Young Learners webpage: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-qualifications/young-learners/

Steve Oakes, Head of Teacher Training at International House Budapest

Steve Oakes is the Head of Teacher Training at International House Budapest. IH Budapest offers a cheap CELTA course. Students of this course receive poorly written, ungrammatical documentation referred to as “the bendy file,”  because it is so skimpy that it bends.

I witnessed a bank robbery recently. The robber was caught the next day. I wish I could have told the bank robber before he committed the crime that if he felt that he had to resort to crime, he could rob people legally in the EFL field, without having to threaten people with guns. Anyone can excel in the EFL field, and the ability to create a grammatical sentence is not required, as evidenced by Mr. Oakes.

Here are some of the problems that I found in Mr. Oakes’ IH Budpaest biography page. I reported these problems to Mr. Oakes in a letter that was delivered to IH Budapest on February 20, 2012. I have not received a response from Mr. Oakes. I reported these problems to Dr. Mike Milanovic, Chief Executive of Cambridge ESOL, in a letter dated March 5, 2012. I have not received a response from Cambridge ESOL. As of February 6, 2013, Mr. Oakes' biography has not been revised.

 

Quoted text is in red. My revision is in blue.

"I immediately fell in love with teaching and made an instant career change, scraping by as a volunteer/lowly paid (and untrained) teacher for awhile and then going to Japan in July 1989, where I worked as a highly paid (and marginally trained) teacher for a few years."

• "[a]while" is an adverb. An adverb cannot be made the object of a preposition. What you mean is "a while."
• "going to Japan in July 1989" is a dangling participle. This becomes clear when some of the optional elements are removed, as follows:

I immediately fell in love with teaching and made an instant career change and then going to Japan in July 1989.

To correct this problem, you might change "going" to a verb and place it in a separate clause. Here is an example:

I immediately fell in love with teaching and made an instant career change. In July 1989 I went to Japan….

Cambridge University ESOL: Experts in language assessment, but shit at English

Description: Here are problems in the Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards Complaint Form, dated July 2007. Quoted text is in red.

 

"When Cambridge ESOL receives the signed complaint form, we will forward it to the centre, who will be asked to provide a formal response to the issues you have raised."

• While a center has people in it, it is not a person. Accordingly, "who" is the wrong pronoun.

 

"Cambridge ESOL will advise you and the centre on the outcome of your complaint usually within twelve weeks of the receipt of the completed complaint form. However please be advised that some complaints may take longer to investigate."

• "[O]n" is the wrong preposition. It is not "on the outcome." It is "of the outcome."
• There should be a comma before "usually."
• There should be a comma after "However."
  
  

"For all complaints, Cambridge ESOL undertakes to keep centres and candidates informed of progress."

• This is poorly written. "[U]ndertakes" is not the appropriate word here. You might want to use "endeavors."
• Placing the modifier at the beginning of the sentence is awkward.
• "[P]rogress" is vague and not clearly defined.
  
  

"It is not possible to investigate spoken comments that were made or incidents that took place during the course where there is no record of them"

• There is no period at the end of this sentence.
• "[W]here" indicates a location. Since you are talking about an absence of a record, I would suggest using "in the event that" instead of "where."

"I understand and agree that as part of the complaints procedure, my complaint, my portfolio and other relevant documents and correspondence will be looked at by the independent complaints investigator…."

• There should be a comma after "portfolio."
• I would suggest using "examined" instead of "looked at."

Bad English for teenagers

Send your child to International House New York, where he or she can learn bad English.

“[C]hild” is a singular noun. It is incorrectly being referred to with the plural pronoun “they.”

“And for added protection, we have teamed up with Student Guard Insurance to provide coverage for your child while they’re in the United States.”

Source: http://www.ihnewyork.com/english-for-teenagers-nyc.htm

Take the Executive English course at IH New York and enjoy an exciting business career in the mail room

The “language services” have “customized options,” not the business professionals, which is what this sentence saying.

“We offer language services for corporate and business professionals with flexible, customized options ranging from one-to-one tuition, mini groups of six and tailor-made closed courses for companies - at IH or in your own place of work.”

How does IH New York have a location in its location in Manhattan? Is IH New York’s location in a different dimension?

“And our location in our location in busy Midtown Manhattan makes IH New York the perfect place to study Business English in New York!”

Source: http://www.ihnewyork.com/business-english-new-york.htm

International House World Organization: Provide great environments to learn

It would be nice if the aims of International House included writing grammatical sentences that make sense. The sentence below has faulty parallelism and bad punctuation. It is also very poorly worded.

“The aims of IH remain essentially the same as in Haycraft’s day, with a dedication to promoting international understanding through education, provide great environments to learn English and to take foreign-language classes and the raising of teacher-training standards worldwide.”

Source: http://www.ihnewyork.com/ih-new-york.htm

About International House World Organization

If International House World were so committed to “implementing high standards of quality,” I think it would see the agreement problem in the sentence below. “[N]etwork” is a singular noun. The verb to be should be conjugated as “is,” not “are.” The verb must agree with the subject, not the object of a prepositional phrase.

“The International House World Organization (IHWO) is a network of language schools worldwide that are committed to implementing high standards of quality and innovation in education and training.”

 

Source: http://www.ihnewyork.com/ih-new-york.htm

IH New York: We can’t write, but we want to teach you English

 

"Students enjoy the benefits of learning English at a world-class university campus with modern spacious classrooms while also being able to take advantage of being based in one of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods!”

This is saying that the students are based in one of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods. What IH New York means is that the university campus, where the school rents space from, is based in one of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods.

Source: http://www.ihnewyork.com/

Juliet Wilson: Expert in language assessment, but not so hot with English

31 January 2012

Dear [UNDISCLOSED],

CELTA Course – C11 HU050 IH Budapest

I am writing in relation to your complaint about the CELTA course at C11 HU050 IH Budapest.

As you are aware your portfolio, the Assessor’s report on the course were examined at a recent Award meeting here in Cambridge.

The final Fail grade was confirmed. It was judged that there is not enough evidence in your portfolio to support a Pass grade.

In your original email you indicated that you wished to appeal the grade, in light of your confirmed grade, please could you confirm whether you wish to pursue this matter?

Yours sincerely

 
Juliet Wilson
Director
Customer Services
Cambridge ESOL
________________________________________
Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards
I Hills Road
Cambridge
CB1 2EU

web-site: www.CambridgeESOL.org/teaching

Experts in Language Assessment

 

“As you are aware your portfolio, the Assessor’s report on the course were examined at a recent Award meeting here in Cambridge.”

• I have no idea what “As you are aware your portfolio” means.
• “[R]eport” is a singular noun. It needs a singular verb. It should be “was examined,” not “were examined.”
  

“In your original email you indicated that you wished to appeal the grade, in light of your confirmed grade, please could you confirm whether you wish to pursue this matter?”

• Two main clauses are separated by a comma. The first comma should be replaced by a period.
• I would say “could you please,” instead of “please could you.”

CELTA trainers of the world, Unite!

Taken from the CELTA Trainers / APTT blog:

“[W]ho” is the wrong pronoun. A CELTA center is not a person

 

‘

Schools, continue to pay these dilettantes peanuts, horse dung, or whatever you can get away with. They’re not worth a single dime.

Learn from the English experts at IH New York Summer & Winter Junior Camp

• “[P]hoto’s should not have an apostrophe.
• I would spell out the number “3.”

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHNYsummercamp

International House New York Accommodation

 

“Our home-stay accommodation allow students to stay with a real American family….”

• “Accommodation” is a singular noun. It should be “accommodations.”

Visit “The Rockefeller Center” at International House Language School New York:

“Following lunch, kids get to spend the rest of their day day in fun-filled-activities, sightseeing trips and excursions such as ice-skating at The Rockefeller Center, visiting the observation deck at The Empire State Building, or taking a ferry tour around The Statue of Liberty. And thats just to name a few of the incredible sights that New York has to offer.”

• A “The” should not be placed before Rockefeller Center.
• “thats” is incorrect. It should be “that’s.” I would reword this.

Robbing unsuspecting foreigners with your bullshit language school led by “Cambridge-qualified” teachers. Good job, thieves!

“Capture” the “wonderful fun” at International House Language School New York

“Be sure to pack your camera and capture all the glorious sights there are to see and the wonderful fun there is to be had at International House "New York’s Winter Camp 2013”

I’ve heard of capturing the moment, but I’m not sure if the “wonderful fun there is to be had” can be captured by a camera.

The IH Budapest mentoring system

“A school has 8 full-timers and 40 part-timers, but can only mentor about 40 teachers.”

• A subject is needed after the “but” conjunction.

Source: http://prezi.com/sgzhfwh5eh4o/the-ih-budapest-mentoring-system/

St. Giles International: Get a CELTA. English not required

“Since completing the course, I have been able to immediately apply the TEFL concepts with positive results and feedback”

 

• The positive results are a consequence of the application of TEFL concepts. The person doing the applying is not doing so with the result.
• It’s unclear when the “feedback” is occurring, and who is giving the feedback. If the feedback is not being given during the application of TEFL concepts, then “with” should not be used.

Source: St Giles Teacher Training Brochure

St. Giles International, churning out those English language teaching experts

“I’ve made some good friends, from different backgrounds and experiences.”

• The comma is inappropriate
• It does not make sense to say that one has made friends from different experiences.

Good job, St. Giles London Highgate! With a testimonial like this, what illiterate would not want to obtain a CELTA certificate?

Source: St Giles Teacher Training Brochure

International House New York’s unforgettable visit

• One cannot use the singular noun “Program” with the base form of the verb “take.” IH New York means “will take.”
• I would not use the word “unforgettable” to describe something that has not yet happened.

Get the prestigious CELTA certificate in San Francisco and murder the English language

“Our English Language School in San Francisco have earned an enviable reputation for providing their program participants and graduates with a wide range of professional Job Guidance Services.”

The quote above has agreement problems. “School” is a singular noun, and it is being used with the verb “have.” In addition, the pronoun standing in for singular “school” is plural “their.”

Source: http://www.studyabroadinternational.com/USA/California/SF/San_Francisco_CELTA_about.html

Copy of quote: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1zcSSrFUYXhHgruVveLLyTJ4XK-5XGUYoj24Lxd-gZ2hi9W5BrEUGs7PtzTualLjCuyFgZkyxwXSpOv1R/edit?pli=1

“Follow IHNY advices [sic]”

I would stay away from International House New York’s “advices” if I were you.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

International House New York: Opening doors, then whacking them into your head

It’s “Learning English,” not “Learn English.” “Learn” is a verb. “Learning” is a gerund.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

Drink beer, teach English…

“Lots of fun” at the International House New York beer pong event.  Get drunk. Witness the decline of Western civilization.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

International House New York: “learn [sic] English is not as hard as you imagine

Quoting from International House New York:

Learn English is not as hard as you imagine.

Revision:

Learning English is not as hard as you would imagine.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

Powered by sabotage

Hi, I’m Eszter Baumann, trainer at International House Budapest. I made this blog possible.

International House New York students “retake the activities with maximum power”

I’m not sure how IH New York students can “retake” an activity, but they are doing so “with maximum power.” I wonder if they have enough power to travel back to the planet they came from.

I don’t know how one participates “on” a Happy Hour. How does one get on top of the people who are drinking? It sounds very uncomfortable for everyone.

Also, it’s Labor Day, not “labor’s day.”

 

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

International House New York: Not so patriotic

It’s Patriot's Day, not “Patriot Day.” The gobbledygook that I highlighted should be rewritten.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

International House New York doing too much drinking

What is the function of the apostrophe?

I doubt if $1.00 beer specials are really “going around” They are perhaps “going on.”

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

“International House NY teachers put their hearts and souls on it!”

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

Good job, Cambridge ESOL!

“I recommend TKT to any teacher who wants to assess their skills and knowledge in teaching English.”

This testimonial from the Cambridge ESOL website contains an agreement error. “[T]heir” is the wrong pronoun for “teacher.” One can use “his or her” instead. Also, this sentence is poorly worded.

Source: http://www.cambridgeesol.org/sector/teaching/index.html

International House New York strives for “New Yorker cultural experience”

Quoting from the International House Language School New York Christmas Party flyer:

“One of IH New York’s commitments is to give the our students a real New Yorker and American cultural experience.”

• The article “the” is placed before possessive pronoun “our.”
• “New Yorker” is being used as an adjective.

Full source:

International House New York “full of fun calendar.”

“Fall has come?” “October is already started?” “[F]ull of fun calendar?” “What best happens around?”

This is a joke, right? IH New York can’t actually be writing like this and operating an EFL business.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHNYsummercamp

“[Y]ou’ll lern [sic] much more…”

I don’t recommend that you “lern” from International House Boston.

It’s spelled “learn,” not “lern.”

Source: https://www.facebook.com/IHBoston

International House Boston graduates another professional

Kyle Hansen writes the following about his experience as a CELTA graduate:

“It’s role in centuries past….”

This is so wrong that it makes my eyeballs swell.

It should be:

“Its role in centuries past….”

Source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/international-house-boston/kyle-hansen-tells-us-about-his-experience-as-a-celta-graduate/142087512556748

Can Tasha Hacker hack the English language?

This quote is from Ms. Tasha Hacker’s YouTube video. She is one of the founders of International House Boston and International House New York.

“…we began to think seriously about opening up a language school, and it made sense that we would join an organization which, like duh like us, value teacher development….”

(“[L]ike duh” was clearly a slip.)

“[O]rganization” is singular; accordingly, the verb should have been conjugated as “values.” In addition, the pronoun “which” is not correct. It should be “that,” as it is a restrictive clause. It is very easy to make these errors while speaking. What disturbs me is all the errors on Ms. Hacker’s websites.

IH New York reaches for the sky, but falls short in grammar

“Group” is a singular noun. There is only one group going to the top of the Empire State Building. “[T]hem,” which refers to this “group,” is plural. This is an agreement problem. 

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

Celebrating hurricanes and using bad punctuation at IH New York

God, in his or her infinite wisdom, invented the comma. One thing that the comma does is separate clauses.

IH New York needs to put a comma before the “and." Better yet, the two clauses should be written as separate sentences.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork

International House New York and “the [sic] hurricane [sic] Sandy”

It’s not “the hurricane Sandy.”

Correction: Hurricane Sandy

Pitiful!

Source: http://www.facebook.com/IHnewyork