Tag Archives: News

What does Brexit mean for TEFL?

Posted on 24/06/2016 by alexcase

The answer is, of course, that nobody knows because it all depends on various negotiations and maybe individual policies of the countries involved on working visas, but here are some possibilities: Americans finally have equal opportunities with Brits when it comes to … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English in Europe | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Does Jihadi John have a CELTA?

Posted on 01/03/2015 by alexcase

A lot of news sources are reporting that Mohammed Emwazi, allegedly the ISIS member nicknamed Jihadi John, did a “Celta” course before unsuccessfully applying to teach in Saudi in 2012, but apparently the only source of that info  says “His … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged | 3 Comments

Mixed results from Denver court order to improve teaching of English

Posted on 27/10/2014 by alexcase

This is a genuinely interesting story, but it also made me wonder what other court orders could influence our industry: – A court orders a teacher to allow a pair of students who are flirting with each other to stay … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged | Leave a comment

TEFL in the news August 2014

Posted on 23/08/2014 by alexcase

Most recent stories top: Dope smoking TEFLers arrested in Korea (Korea Times) 17 years TEFLing in Taiwan – what the hell do I do now? (Guardian) Malawi adopts English medium schooling (Al Jazeera) VSO/ British Council to send first foreign teacher … Continue reading →

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ISIS Schools – is the name just a coincidence?

Posted on 07/08/2014 by alexcase

I’ll admit that it’s unlikely that ISIS Schools have a connection to the more recently newsworthy ISIS, but apparently the whole Birmingham Islamic Trojan horse thing was true despite the letter that started the row being a fake, so maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged | 1 Comment

ECC may have bought data stolen from owner of Berlitz

Posted on 19/07/2014 by alexcase

According to the newspaper Japan Times, the data on 75,000 high school students that large Japanese language school chain ECC bought might have been among that stolen by someone working at Benesse, owner of the Berlitz and ELS chains, plus the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlitz, Eikaiwa | Tagged | Leave a comment

How to cash in on Scottish independence – a guide for TEFLers

Posted on 27/03/2014 by alexcase

I have no idea what it might be like for an independent Scotland or the remaining “rump UK”, but the Scotch going it alone could be a real boon for people in TEFL like us. Here are some ideas how … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Vietnam bans teaching of English in regular pre-school classes

Posted on 07/03/2014 by alexcase

Actually, it’s all foreign languages, but I’d already made the title of this post too long trying to avoid the inaccurate title of the original piece: Ban on teaching English to pre-school children raises controversy Actually the policy seems quite sensible … Continue reading →

Posted in pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Teaching English in Vietnam | Tagged | 1 Comment

English tests for UK visas suspended after BBC reveals fraud

Posted on 10/02/2014 by alexcase

Seems being responsible for the awful TOEIC tests is the least of ETS’s sins: Students visa fraud exposed in BBC investigation Student visa English tests suspended over fraud claims More on ETS and their products on TEFLtastic: ETS is crap … Continue reading →

Posted in ETS | Tagged | 6 Comments

Modern Language Association convention stirs worldwide controversy

Posted on 03/01/2014 by alexcase

Despite the unlikely headline, this is not one of my attempts at news-based satire, but a genuine news story. It’s something to do with Israel. Sources: Modern Language Association convention to feature academic boycott panel and resolution slamming Israeli denial … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged | Leave a comment