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

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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

“IH New York students at the Rockeffeler [sic] Center….”

It’s spelled “Rockefeller,” not “Rockeffeler.”

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

International House Boston needs your help

Can someone please tell International House Boston that “graduated” is a verb, not a noun. IH Boston has a lot of trouble with this word. Also, a comma is needed before “with.”

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

Technorati Tags: CELTA,Interntional House Boston,IH Boston

The doctor is in the International House Boston

I hope the good doctor knows English better than International House Boston. “[G]raduated” is a verb, not a noun. A comma is needed before “Doctor.” “[O]ur” should be capitalized.

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

Technorati Tags: International House Boston,CELTA

Teaching House: About Jobs

Here are some of the errors in the Teaching House “ABOUT JOBS” FAQ. Quoted text is in red.

Original source:http://www.teachinghouse.com/faqs/celta-jobs.html

• “Are there really lots of teaching jobs out there?”
  
  Jobs are not offered by the lot. Teaching House Boston means “a lot of jobs.”

 

• “And with the CELTA being the most-widely accepted qualification at these schools (and, at some schools, the only accepted qualification) taking the CELTA at Teaching House is the first step to gaining access to these jobs.”
  
  This sentence is not grammatical. This becomes clear when I remove the parenthetical:
  
  And with the CELTA being the most-widely accepted qualification at these schools taking the CELTA at Teaching House is the first step to gaining access to these jobs.
  
  One of the problems with this sentence is that it is missing a subject. “[Taking] the CELTA at Teaching House” is not the subject. It is a modifier for “schools.”
  
  
• “Because of this, every country in the world recruits and employs ESL teachers to live and teach English abroad.”
  
  It is incorrect to say that “every country” recruits ESL teachers. First of all, countries do not recruit ESL teachers. Schools and organizations within countries recruit ESL teachers. Some countries, especially English speaking countries, have many qualified ESL teachers. Employees within these countries do not recruit ESL teachers from abroad.

Technorati Tags: Teaching House,jobs,FAQ,CELTA,country,ESL

IH Budapest puts its CELTA and DELTA training on sale

Step right up, folks, and get your International House Budapest CELTA / DELTA training ON SALE NOW!

The prices are INSANE! All inventory must go!

Source: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IH-Budapest-Celta-Delta-and-Teacher-Training/203707452979799

Technorati Tags: IH Budapest,International House Budapest,teacher training,CELTA,DELTA

Teaching House Boston: A better class of illiterate CELTA trainers

Here is the photo of Boston that Teaching House Boston shows on its web page. I come from Boston. Boston is not a beautiful city, but it is not ugly. I am somewhat awed by how ugly this school managed to make Boston look. I am not completely sure that this is Boston.



(The quoted text from Teaching House Boston is in red. Here is the original source.)

“Offered in Boston (in the heart of the historic district,) Teaching House's CELTA training course is hosted at Faneuil Hall…”

The comma should not be placed inside the parentheses. There is this remarkable invention that tells people where to put things like commas. It’s called a style guide. Teaching House Boston might want to consider buying one.

They all hold a CELTA and either the DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults) and/or a Master’s degree in Education.”

They all hold certificates or degrees that one is supposed to be impressed by, but can they all use conjunctions? The above sentence uses a either…and/or correlative conjunction. Maybe this type of conjunction exists on planets in the far reaches of the galaxy, where the members of the staff of Teaching House Boston probably come from, but on earth, English does not have such a conjunction.

“The combination of our rigorous course standards and the accreditation provided by the University of Cambridge ensures that our teachers go on to obtain desirable teaching jobs whether they choose to teach English in the United States or teach English abroad.”

The authors do not understand what the word “ensure” means. There is absolutely no guarantee that course graduates will obtain “desirable teaching jobs.” The only thing that Teaching House Boston can ensure about its CELTA course is that students will be $2,500 poorer after they pay for the course.

(This post is a reprint of this article in Bastard Universe.)

Technorati Tags: Boston,Cambridge ESOL,CELTA,EFL,English Language School,ESL,grammar,Teaching House Boston

OPEN HOUSE DAY at THBoston

Dear International House Boston,

Please don’t call women guys. It’s sort of tasteless and arguably sexist. If you must call women guys, please don’t capitalize the word. Please capitalize the first word of a sentence. Also, please use a serial comma and capitalize the word “English.”

I really think you should be setting a better example.

Thank you!

Another amazing day of bad punctuation in Boston

• Girls remember as well as guys. Without a comma after "guys,” International House Boston is making a comment about the memory of guys. Since “guys” is the start of a sentence, the first letter of the word should be capitalized.
  
  Correction: Guys, remember that….
  
  
• “[T]o” is the wrong preposition. It should be “at.”

 

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

Technorati Tags: IH Boston,International House Boston,enroll

International House Budapest has more than one lot of news

International House Budapest brings you news by the "lot." IH Budapest also wins "anew contract." The author means "a new contract." Perhaps the new contract is a contract hit on the English language.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IH-Budapest-Celta-Delta-and-Teacher-Training/203707452979799

Technorati Tags: Anna Csíky,IH Budapest,International House Budapest,Mark Tansey

International House New York takes “it's [sic] students for plenties [sic] of fun!”

International House New York is taking "it's [sic] students for plenties [sic] of fun. You’re [sic]…"

• "[I]t's" is a contraction for "it is." It should be “its.”
• "[P]lenties" is not a word.
• "You're" is incorrect. It should be "You’ll."
• There should be a comma after "Tomorrow.”

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

Technorati Tags: International House New York,IH New York