(32 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

About Fake/Not-Real Teachers of IELTS/English: 1^st Sign

In Posts 26 and 27, I outlined the ‘modus operandi’ (= method of committing a crime) that ‘fake teachers’ can use. Then I explained why you should not automatically ‘respect’ someone who claims authority in IELTS, but instead ask for evidence and proof of all claims. But I also accepted the fact that, in this culture, people are reluctant to ask their teacher for proof of their credentials. Hmmm. That’s a problem.

Even as I write, that fake teacher from Posts 26 and 27 has been putting posts on PTT. However, as I mentioned before, other students have put warning about him. Wow, these current posts of mine on this blog can not be more relevant! Everyone, it’s happening right now.

It’s time to wise up! You need to at least read the signs of fakeness/not-realness in the people who claim authority as English/IELTS teachers, and thus be able to recognise the truth (without asking anything). So now, finally, after all the background issues have been covered, I will move on to practical advice.

How You Can Know the Truth

Now, I will give a list of 6 key signs which show your teacher is either a fake or not-real. Obviously, being a fake is the worst, by far, and if you know this, you should immediately dissociate from that teacher. If the teacher is a not-real teacher (= someone who genuinely thinks they are helping you), you could choose to continue or not, but the learning will be limited.

Before I begin, I’d like to repeat one thing (to answer the criticism: ‘Why do you think you know about teaching?). I’d like to repeat my credentials. Here they are in Chinese (so you can REALLY get the message).

The most important credential is that I am a Cambridge CELTA Tutor – someone who taught CELTA teaching certificates to new teachers. I made decisions about whether to pass or fail people. Judging teaching, and what is good and what is not good, was my job for FIVE years when I worked at Monash University. So, I have the authority to give judgement.

If you are an intelligent consumer, if you care about your future and your own money, you should read on. Let us begin with the first sign.

Sign 1 of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher

The teacher speaks/explains mostly in Chinese.

This is the clearest and most obvious sign. If your teacher does this, you should quickly finish with them, and look for another. It’s that simple. They are not teachers, and you will learn very little.

You should know all this from the first 15 posts of this series, which made it clear that …

• any TEFL–trained teacher knows not to lecture/explain/talk in Chinese,
• any TEFL-trained teacher who really wants to help you knows not to do this,
• all the ESL/TEFL/language-acquisition research has proven it does work well at all
• more modernn teaching methods have been developed in response to this research (e.g CLT!)

Okay, you know all the theory (if you have read all the previous posts), but I’d still like to reflect a little on this situation, since it is so widespread in Taiwan. I will give two personal stories to illustrate this issue. These stories will be in the next post. You need to read them.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to wise up (v)
• to dissociate (v)
• criticism (n)
• credentials (n)
• an authority (n)
• to be widespread (adj)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

作者Esgibt (idiot)

看板IELTS

標題

時間Sun May 6 23:12:02 2018

雅思成績

買書前

L 8.0 R8.5 W6.0 S6.5 Overall 7.5

L 7.0 R7.0 W6.0 S7.0 Overall 7.0

L 7.0 R7.0 W6.0 S7.0 Overall 7.0

買書自學後

L 6.5 R8.5 W7.0 S7.0 Overall 7.5

尚未買老師的寫作書籍前，我的寫作一直無法突破。

為了讓寫作提升，我上過密集班以及一對一家教，用盡各種方式想讓寫作進步。

可惜還是沒有突破。

某天逛網路書店看到Andrew老師出版的寫作書，

於是上網查詢老師的相關訊息後，輾轉和師母聯繫上。

由於我的時間跟課程時間無法配合，於是師母就建議我買老師的書自學。

我在2018年4月2號開始把老師的書仔細閱讀作筆記。

老師的書編排的很棒，有組織、邏輯，我都按照內容編排進行閱讀跟作筆記。

我會把該注意的重點或寫作結構寫在自己的筆記本，

在閱讀的過程中我也會去回想、比較以前我寫的文章，

到底跟老師所提出的重點差在哪裡？

我也會把我以前所有寫過的文章拿出來，

按照老師所提出的邏輯跟寫作方式，重新整理文章的邏輯順序。

此外，書中有提到比較適切的寫作表達方式以提高寫作分數。

例如：

教育類的文章不要一直用some people 可以用education group代替，

讓文章對象或方向更明確。

老師也特別強調千萬不要用模板因為那不會讓你寫作分數提升。

老師的書也很貼心，會告訴我們一些寫作時常會犯的錯誤。

我有發現我的作文裡某些部分，就有老師所說的，我就會記起來寫筆記避免再犯。

我終於在2018年4月14日那次的考試中，寫作從萬年6.0提升到7.0，

真的很感謝老師的書籍。

如果同學有時間的話可以去上老師的課，

相信同學上過老師的課以及努力學習的話一定能考到你要的分數喔。

【作者沒PTT帳號，代作者貼文】

—

(31 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

About Fake Teachers of IELTS/English: Introduction VI

In my last post, I wrote,

‘Can everyone at least accept that there are frauds out there, and that they are actively operating? It is simple a fact of life, right?’

Interestingly, in the news recently there was a story about 50 people, mostly Taiwanese, performing some sort of telephone scam operation in Poland [Huh? Why there?]. They have all been arrested, and are on their way back to face the music. This is why in the previous post, I also concluded,

‘Therefore, surely we must all accept that it would be naive and foolish to blindly believe any person to whom you give large amounts of money.’

But there’s a problem, and in this post I’d like to explore it.

You Can’t Criticise Teachers, Right?

I advise all my students to always ask to see the qualifications of anyone who claims to be a teacher of IELTS/English. I ask them to dispute impossible claims such as, “I guarantee IELTS 7” or “I can predict the questions in the IELTS test” or “I’m the director of Camridge ESL”. I tell the students to ask, “How can you do that?” and ask a lot of “Can you show me proof of …” questions. But the response I often hear from my students is,

‘In this culture, we can’t ask a teacher those questions.’

But unfortunately, as I have explained, you need to ask those questions [and please ask me those questions, or just click on Teacher Andrew’s Credentials]. If you can’t ask your teacher those questions, then I have to ask you the same questions.

How can you be really sure your teacher or school isn’t one of those ‘fake teachers’?

But then students say to me,

‘But Andrew, Taiwanese people do not like hearing criticisms of their teachers. In this culture, they must respect teachers.’

So, this is obviously a very sensitive issue, and a big problem for you. What’s the right way, and what’s the wrong way? [Well, there’s the link to the picture up the top, right?] The problem lies in the fact that (1) there are many dubious teachers around, but (2) Taiwanese students feel too embarrassed to ask for proof of credentials, or even listen to criticism of these teachers. So, what do you do? What’s right; what’s wrong?

My reply is this.

The right way is to show respect for teachers if these people are teachers – real or not-real! But are they?

The last question is the key! Please show respect if your teachers are sincere individuals genuinely trying to help you? This means you can even respect ‘not-real teachers’, since at least they think they are helping you, so their hearts are in the right place. Sometimes it isn’t their fault that they have not been trained in TEFL theory and methodology, and don’t know the best methods to use. They just never had the opportunity or life experience to become informed about language-learning. But at least they are trying to help you, and yes, that deserves respect.

But, again, the big question is, is that person a real/not-real teacher?

I want to ask you all two questions in return. Here they are.

What are your answers to these questions? They should be NO and NO.

Go back and read the previous Posts 26 and 27, and ask yourself, do you respect that person I described (and remember, that post is based on a real example who tricked large amounts of money out of very many people)?

So, to anyone who says, ‘You can’t criticise teachers’, my reply is this.

• These people are NOT teachers!
• Do not respect these people!
• To repeat, they are not teachers!
• They are bad people doing bad things!
• You are the one who pays a high price!
• You pay the price because you don’t ask the key questions or read the key signs.

The next post will cover the final background issue about the ‘being fake/not-real’ issue, as well as introducing the first sign that you need to know.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• a scam (n)
• to face the music (v phrase; idiomatic)
• to be sincere (adj)
• to be genuine (adj)
• to manipulate (v)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

Well, I haven’t put a new post on this blog for a while.  I’m still working through the ‘CLT and Taiwan: What you need to Know’ series on this blog. There’s 50 of them, and I’m still stuck in the mid 30s. But don’t worry; I’ll get there.

The reason for the delay is that I’ve been extremely busy with teaching, correction, and powerpoint update. Term 3 was totally full, so the correction was certainly a big task – especially since I correct very meticulously. Term 4 is now starting, and that’s more setting up. But what made me even more busy were all the issues with my publisher, as well. My IELTS Reading Book is selling out; and I’m working on updates and changes for the new print-run; and there’s my new IELTS Listening Book. So, there were meetings, and proofreading, and deadlines.

Well, now I say goodbye to four separate IELTS classes [see the four above photos], and today I started the first of the new courses: Sunday IELTS Integrated Skills. Tomorrow I start two more: IELTS Writing & Listening (afternoon) and (night) [MWF] and the day after, I start IELTS Reading & Speaking [T/Th].

There are still a few places left in all of these if you are interested. Just contact us, but be quick. If you miss out the first few classes, it is too late to make up classes; and you’ll have to wait to the new term (Term 5).

Hope to see you in my class.

Hi everyone

Sorry about the long delay in putting on a new post. AIS Term 3 had filled up, which meant 12+12+12+12+12 students, and each one with Writing Task Ones and Twos which needed correction most lessons. In addition, I have had to go to my publisher to discuss the new IELTS Listening Book, and work on that also.

Well, last weekend the IELTS Integrated Skills Sunday Course finished, and here’s the class photo. Tomorrow, the IELTS Reading & Speaking will finish, and on Friday so too will the IELTS Writing & Listening classes, so there’s a lot of photos coming in the next few days. It is my habit to put them on pixnet, so that you can see the real thing.

Good luck everyone (in the photo). It was great teaching you all, and let’s all hope for success in IELTS and in life.

(30 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

About Fake/Not-Real Teachers of IELTS/English: Introduction V

In the last post, I explained the different between fake and not-real teacher, and gave some possible reasons why this is a particular problem in Taiwan – that is, why there can be so many teachers who are not really teachers, but just average people passing themselves of as IELTS authorities, and using tricky methods to convince you of this, and making lots of money in doing so. Here were the possible reasons I mentioned.

(1)  The English-language teaching industry is totally unregulated.

(2)  It deals with huge numbers of students – a huge market to be milked.

(3)  These students have the instinct to trust anyone who calls themselves an authority.

(4)  These students want quick and easy answers.

(5)  The IELTS test means a lot to them.

(6)  There are huge amounts of money to be earned.

[PS: relating to Point (6), the news this morning (Friday 13^th March) talked about a ‘famous’ teacher in Taichong who made $30 million NT a year (!!!!!) – although the news was about the fact that he just hanged himself, so obviously all that money brought complications to his life that he couldn’t handle – or was it just the unlucky ‘Friday 13^th’ day? Okay, technically, the teacher hanged himself the day before.]

Wow! Add those six factors all together, and you have a magnet for the wrong sort of people and the wrong sort of schools, those whose instinct is not to help you with English or IELTS, but to get your money. Yes, that would explain why the ‘fake teacher’ problem is so prevalent, and why the social media is so full of tricks and deceit.

But do you agree with me? Do you deny all this? Maybe you reject the whole argument? Maybe you are saying, ‘That’s all rubbish. My teacher is wonderful, and helped me get a high IELTS mark!’  Hmmm. What can I say to this? Well, it is possible that your teacher was indeed wonderful, and actually did help you get a high IELTS mark. They are definitely out there. But it is also possible that … maybe … you just think that. Every situation and every teacher (and ever student’s claim) needs to be carefully assessed, wouldn’t you say?

Surely we can all agree that everyday experience has taught people to be careful? I’m sure most of you readers have received the ‘scam’ phone calls. These people often claim to be from overnment agencies (for example – the National Health Agency), and claim that your National Healthcare Card is missing. Then they ask for personal details … and slowly play their tricks on the unsuspecting victims.

There are even fake postmen, pretending to be delivering mail, but actually trying to get you to sign document, give identities … and, again, slowly play their tricks on the unsuspecting victims. So, surely everyone (no matter how much you disagree with me) should be alert to the possibility that they are being tricked, right?

Can everyone at least accept that there are frauds out there, and that they are actively operating? It is simple a fact of life, right? In every country, including my own, Australia. Therefore, surely we must all accept that it would be naive and foolish to blindly believe any person to whom you give large amounts of money. Anyone who did this would be like the picture at the top of this post: prey to the confidence tricksters.

Surely, it is not offending anyone if I suggest that your should check the qualifications and credentials of a teacher, and more importantly, ask for proof of these, or at least do that basic assessment of the teacher and the situation? Isn’t this just the most basic precaution that any careful and intelligent consumer should take?

In the next post, we’ll look at a cultural problem students here have on this issue.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to pass yourself of as [sb.] (v phrase)
• a magnet for sb. (v phrase)
• to be prevalent (adj)
• scam (adj) & (n)
• a victim (n)
• to be naive (adj)
• to be foolish (adj)
• to be blind (adj)
• to be dubious (adj)
• credentials (n)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

(29 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

About Fake/Not-Real Teachers of IELTS/English: Introduction IV

Now, perhaps it is time I explained what I mean by (1) ‘fake teacher’ and (2) ‘unreal teacher’?

1. Fake teachers are like the one described in the previous posts – people who totally trick you, and know exactly what they are doing. Fake teachers are deliberately lying, deliberately abusing your trust, and deliberately manipulating the social media. Fake teachers know they are fake, and just want your money.

2. The ‘not-real’ teachers are honest people, and might think they are helping you, but have no TEFL training, little skills, and no real knowledge about how people learn languages. The ‘not-real’ teachers are … well, not real. In other words, they are people trying to help you, but they aren’t really teachers, and consequently you don’t learn much.

The not-real teachers can be nice people, and we can respect their efforts, but in the last few posts, I have been focusing on the worst sort of person – the fake teacher. In the last post, I posed the questions:

• How can they get away with this?
• Why is it allowed to happen?
• Why do students not realise the truth about them?
• Why does this happen so much in Taiwan, and not in Australia?

Let’s explore these questions, and try to list some reasons. But before beginning, we all have to admit that there are tricksters, frauds, and con-artists in every country, and every culture. My country, Australia, has them, too. Yes, there are bad people every where, and in every profession. However, my country also has regulation and organisations whose job is to try to control, monitor, and uphold the standards of all professions – including the teaching of English/IELTS.

1.

So, that’s one reason why it’s different here. Unfortunately, there is no such regulation, or regulatory bodies, in Taiwan. The teaching industry is totally unregulated and unchecked. Absolutely anyone can do absolutely anything here.

2.

What might be other reasons? Well, Taiwanese society is very very competitive, and education is seen as the means of beating others. The bushiban industry in particular benefits from this instinct to study, study, study, study …..

3.

Also, here there is a Confucian background (that is – a background culture based on the teachings of Confucius, who emphasised respect and order and a strict hierarchy of obediance to people). This creates a greater willingness to simply ‘believe’ people who call themselves authorities.

4.

There is also an instinct many students have to want to memorise to get answers in a test, and the belief there are easy ways to ‘crack’ a test. This is part of the educational culture here. Thus, anyone who promises such an easy method based on this is often believed, because people want to believe it, or because they know no better. This is particularly the instinct for English language ‘proficiency’ tests, where it is considered quite valid to ‘crack’ a test, not through being good at English, but just through having sneaky and often unfair practices, such as memorisation, breeches of test security, prediction of the questions, predictions of the patterns of answers (in A, B, C, D questions, for example). Sometimes these strategies are simply outright cheating.

Well, for whatever reason, all this is considered part of the game here. What it means is that ‘teachers’ don’t have to actually ‘teach English’; they can just play this game.

5.

IELTS is important to many students. It is their key to getting abroad, getting a better job, and changing their lives. Unfortunately for IELTS test takers, the test is one of ‘ability’ or ‘English proficiency’. It doesn’t lend itself to all the sneaky stuff from Point 4. However, given how importance the test is, students – particularly low-level students – will ‘clutch at straws’, seeking anyone who promises easier answers.

6.

Finally, there is the lure of money, and we have a saying in English: ‘money corrupts’. It’s the shortest saying in English – just two words – but it says it all.

So, let’s think about it. In Taiwan, we have a (1) totally unregulated English-language teaching industry. (2) It deals with huge numbers of students who (3) have the instinct to trust anyone who calls themselves an authority, and these students (4) want quick and easy answers, and have a willingness to believe promises, and accept any sort of teaching, and (5) this test means a lot to them, and finally, (6) there are huge amounts of money to be earned by people who can ‘play the game’ well. Hmmmmm. Just think about that.

The next post will begin to draw some conclusions about this.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to abuse (v)
• a con-artist (n)
• to uphold (v)
• to be Confucian (adj)
• a hierarchy (n)
• proficiency (n)
• a breech (n)
• to clutch at straws (v; idiomatic)
• a lure (n)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

(28 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

About Fake/Not-Real Teachers of IELTS/English: Introduction III

Go back and read the previous post – all about how easy it is for anyone to make lots of money ‘teaching’ IELTS in Taiwan. You are probably thinking that this situation can’t happen here – but it can, and it does! One person – probably the worst of all – did exactly as I described in the previous post. He operated for years. I had one student who gave this fake over $200,000 NT over a six-month period, in red enveloped in coffee shops. When we questioned this student, he admitted to us that he had learnt nothing. He also said that the teacher promised it would be one-to-one teaching, but there were always about five other students in the ‘coffee-shop class’. Presumably they were all giving envelopes stuffed with money. Ah, naive, gullible, and … dare I say it … hmmm, let’s be polite … ‘not so smart’ people!

While shaking our heads in disbelief, our immediately question to this student was,

“Why did you keep paying this person so much money?”

The answer:

“Because he kept promising I could get IELTS 7 if I continued.”

Here are some more Q & As.

Question

“Did he ever speak English? Ever?”

Answer:

“No, he just spoke Chinese all the time.”

Question

“How much do you earn a month?”

Answer:

“$35,000 NT.”

Let’s just think about that. The student had  …

• paid over $200,000 NT,
• which is over six months of his salary,
• and used six months of his time going to coffee shops,
• and HAD LEARNT NOTHING!

Finally, a fake teacher – a person who on the inside resembles the picture at the top of this page –  a horrible human being who should be in prison – got all that money for doing almost nothing! When I think about this, I almost want to cry. 

Well, if I had to give a ‘happy’ point, this student (upon our advice) immediately stopped going to this ‘famous’ teacher and the ‘coffee shop classes’. Furthermore, the ‘teacher’ was eventually exposed by some students on PTT. A few months later after this event, a brave student decided to tell the truth. She put a warning about what happened when she went to his ‘classes’ (and the description was truly bizarre – this ‘teacher’ is obviously a sick individual, and possibly dangerous). A few other students of this ‘teacher’ followed with their descriptions. The ‘teacher’ fought back, with attacking sneering posts on PTT (pretending to be coming from other ‘students’), but eventually the weight of all the opposition proved too much. Why don’t you go onto PTT now and try to find this posts?

But the key question is: is this fake teacher the only one? The answer is … of course not. There’s simply too much money to be made. Use false credentials, blatantly lie about qualifications and the IELTS results of your students, and make large amounts of money. Do you want to know the specific names of the people doing this? And remember, that’s YOUR money. YOU are giving it to them.

So now, you are probably thinking, ‘But my teacher isn’t doing anything like this!”

But are you sure about this?

Are you REALLY sure about this?

Have you even thought about this?

Have you intelligently assessed your teacher to make sure?

If you are honest, the answers are probably NO, NO, NO, NO. If you are honest, you just think you’re sure, right? And you think this simply because everyone says [blah blah blah]. Because you read on the social media [blah blah blah]. And that teacher says s(he) is a [blah blah blah], and has done [blah blah blah], and their blog says [blah blah blah].

My first response is to say that all the ‘blah blah blah’ is just words on the social media and self promotion. That ‘blah blah blah’ is exactly what the evil teacher I have just described did. None of that ‘blah blah blah’ is actually proven to you. And you have never asked for proof, have you? 

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Before looking at the questions which you should be asking yourself, I’d like to examine why would such a thing would even happen? Why is it allowed to happen? Why does it happen in Taiwan, and not in Australia?

I’ll answer these questions in the next post.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• presumably (adv)
• to be naive (adj)
• to be gullible (adj)
• credentials (n)
• to be blatant (adj)
• self-promotion (n)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

(27 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

About Fake/Not-Real Teachers of IELTS/English: Introduction II

In the previous post, I mentioned if you are totally dishonest, corrupt, sneaky, malicious, do not care about your students, and clever at manipulating the social media tools, you can earn lots of money by ‘teaching’ IELTS in Taiwan. If you have these ‘qualities’, you need to take the following steps to start earning your money.

How to Earn Lots of Money in Taiwan:

Making the Money

Step 1

Just give yourself a ‘teacher name’, such as …. hmmmm … ‘Teacher Peterson’. Open 7 different PTT accounts. PTT is the popular online conferencing board. Write a post on this board saying that you (‘Peterson’) are teaching IELTS. Give an absolutely ridiculous motivation for doing something for free.

For example, say that your father died of cancer, but before he died, he made you promise to be nice to people, and now you want to fulfil your father’s wish. [Don’t laugh; that’s what the fake actually said – but I am getting ahead of myself]. Or say that you are independently rich, and you feel guilty about having so much money, so you feel it is your turn to help society. [Don’t laugh; he said this, too, using a different ‘teacher name’].

In short, write some totally ridiculous piece of nonsense trying to establish that you are an innocent, ultruistic, and noble human being who genuinely wants to help others around him, and aren’t interested at all in getting money.

Step 2

Remember to lie about your experience and qualifications. Tell everyone you have a masters in TEFL, and a PHD in linguistics, and five years experience in London teaching IELTS at Queen Mary’s College, and trained teachers at St. Peters John University in the Advanced Literature Department. Remember, you will never have to actually prove anything. If you don’t know what to say, ask for the potential students to send you copies of the qualifications, saying something like, ‘Before I teach anyone for free, I want to know if they are the right sort of people’. Then study the copies of the foreign qualifications people send in, and repeat some of them as your own.

Now ask students to meet you in coffee shops for ‘free’ lessons. The ‘free’ part will draw students in, and then after that, tell them they actually have to pay if they want the ‘real’ IELTS lessons.

Step 3

Use your other PTT account to pretend you are a student, and put posts on PTT about how your ‘Teacher Peterson’ helped you to get IELTS 7, 7, 7, and 7.

You can even create a fake pixnet account, saying how wonderful the teacher is. Then write lots of follow up comments about how perfect the teacher is, and how you got high IELTS scores. Just write …

‘In three weeks I got IELTS 7, 7, 7, 7 – shock, wonder, wow! Teacher Peterson is amazing!”

Remember, students will all hit the ‘like’ button. Some of the more simple-minded may give sycophantic comments.

When you write the testimonies, the Chinese writing for all of them can be similar, and even badly written (because remember, you are uneducated, without even a university degree). In fact, the Chinese doesn’t even have to make sense. You can even cut and paste the same paragraph into two different testimonies, and play the role of both male and female students. No one seems to notice or care. Everyone just presses ‘like’!

Finally, you can even type up ‘official’ IELTS test result line messages, pretending they are from IDP or British Council, and take pictures of these, showing the results 7, 7, 7, 7, and put these on PTT with the fake ‘testimony’.

Step 4

When you meet students in coffee shops, tell them that the ‘free’ part is only for the first lesson, and they will have to pay for the ‘real’ teaching. Keep telling them they are guaranteed to get IELTS 7 if they do this. If anyone doesn’t get a good mark, just keep telling them they need to continue their studies.

Step 5

Can I repeat one thing? You have to continually be sneaky and dishonest, and not care about your students. And one last thing: you can’t have any ethics or a conscience. In short, you have to be totally corrupt.

Now, continue with Steps 1 – 4, and start counting all the money you are making. If you do Steps 1 – 4 for long enough, you could even become ‘famous’, and the big money just flows in.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to be ultruistic (adj)
• draw sb. in (v)
• to be sycophantic (adj)
• to paste (v)
• a role (n)
• ethics (n)
• a conscience (n)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

To remind you, here is the structure of this series.

Posts 1 & 2               Introduction

Posts 3 – 5               The Historical Background (of Teaching Language)

Posts 6 – 11             The Principles of Modern Language Teaching

Posts 12 – 15           Some Reflections on This

Posts 16 – 25           A Conversation of Someone who (Strongly) Disagrees

Posts 26 – 32           Introduction to the ‘Fake Teacher’ Problem

Posts 33 – 35           Five Signs of a ‘Fake Teacher’

Posts 36 – 43           Six Signs Which Should Make You Worried

Posts 44 – 47           How to Use these Signs // Analysing a Fake Teacher

And now we are up to Post 26. Let’s start then.

About Fake/Not Real Teachers of IELTS/English: Introduction I

This, and the next seven posts, are introductions to the ‘fake’ teacher problem, or the ‘not real’ teacher problem. What’s the difference between ‘fake’ and ‘not real’? I’ll explain that in Post 29 of this series.

Firstly, this and the next post will give an example – and the example is of a fake. This example is shocking, and it shows the damage to students (and your country) that this whole fake/not-real issue is causing. Unfortunately, the fake teacher can actually thrive in this country, and you might not be aware of this.

However, ‘fake’ is a strong word, right? And here I’m talking about people who call themselves ‘teachers’. These are people you might personally like; people you have been trained (brainwashed?) to obey and respect. There are certainly many sensitive personal, cultural, and human issues involved here.

Because of this, (as I said at the start) I have no less than six ‘Introductions’ to this next series of posts on this ‘being fake/not-real’ theme. Here is the first introductory post, to make you think.

How to Earn Lots of Money in Taiwan: Getting Started

Hey, do you want to earn lots of money really easily? Here’s how to do it – by teaching IELTS in Taiwan. The qualifications are, you need to be …

1. totally dishonest,
2. very corrupt,
3. sneaky,
4. malicious,
5. not care about your students,
6. clever at manipulating the social media tools.

In other words, you have to be … sort of … like the picture at the top. To repeat, if you have these ‘qualifications’, it’s very easy to earn big money ‘teaching’ IELTS, because …

• you don’t have to be able to speak English.

[You’ll just speak in Chinese the whole time].

• you don’t need any teaching qualifications.

[Remember, no one cares about them, no one believes they are necessary, and you can just lie about them anyway, because no one will doubt you, or ever ask for proof.]

• you don’t need a room or any equipment.

[You will meet students in coffee shops.]

• you don’t need to make or create anything.

[You’ll download material from any junk IELTS website].

• you don’t need any teaching skills or need to know anything about the IELTS test.

[You’ll just make students read and memorise the material].

So, if you have the previous 1 – 6 ‘qualifications’ (and unfortunately, many people do), then you could go for it, right?

In the next post, I will explain the steps you need to take to begin making the money.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to thrive (v)
• to be brainwashed (adj/V3)
• to be corrupt (adj)
• to be sneaky (adj)
• to be malicious (adj)
• to manipulate (v)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

A Conversation with Someone who disagrees (x)

Here, I will finish my answer to the 11th comment from those people who do not agree with me, who might say:

‘Why should anyone trust you? You just want money!’

My Response

I admire your skepticism. Please show that skepticism with every IELTS Preparation (and always ask for their credentials!). As well as the four reasons in the previous post, you should also trust me because of …

5    my IELTS books.

There are six of them now, including two IELTS Test Practice Books, all written by one person, myself. Take a look at the books, and you will see they are the very opposite of all the ‘junk IELTS book’ out there. My books are full of content, with methods and systems, exercises and practice in a mixture of grammar, vocabulary, strategies, and IELTS test material. These books are obviously produced by someone who is an expert in his field, and spent a lot of time writing them [eight years, actually].

These books are published in Vietnam, and the Test Practice Books are distributed throughout South-East Asia and the Middle-East. I am currently working on the seventh (and final) book in my IELTS series: the IELTS Listening Book. After that, the whole set (7 books) will be published internationally.

These books are an absolute guarantee that I’m a dedicated professional, intend on helping others succeed in life.

You should also trust me because of …

6  my willingness to allow observation (showing I’ve got nothing to hide, and am fully confident that I should impress any intelligent and informed observers).

7  my website: aisielts.com

This website has grown to be a great resource for IELTS students, as well as a proof of all my claims and past history. (e.g click here). You should respect a teacher who actually provides proof of everything he says.

8  this pixnet blog.

This blog does not consist of empty boasts, meaningless guidelines, trivial gossip, false claims, and bad advice.

You will see that the blog is a solid and professional. It is a resource of IELTS and English practice material and advice, all designed to help you. You should realise that all the pixnet inputs took a lot of thought, preparation, and work to create, and show my experience and ongoing willingness to help you.

Only someone who is very professional would invest so much time in this.

Okay, now I’m at the half-way point of this series of 50 posts. I trust you’ve been interested enough to keep reading. Remember, reading and checking up the vocabulary at the end of eachpost is good for your English.

So, what happens in the next 25 posts? Well, it gets interesting. The next subject I will explore in depth is the ‘fake teacher’ syndrome. I promise you, if you care about your learning and your country, you need to read this.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to distribute (v)
• a guarantee (n)
• to be confident (adj)
• to boast (v)
• to be trivial (adj)
• to gossip (v)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

A Conversation with Someone who disagrees (ix)

Let us continue (and finish) our imaginary conversation with that person who strongly disagrees with everything I have said. I will list the final comments, and give my answers. They are pointing at me now, and accusing me.

11^th Comment

Why should anyone trust you? You just want money!

My Response

I admire your skepticism. Please show that skepticism with every IELTS Preparation teacher you encounter (and always ask to see their credentials!).

My answer to your comment is that I don’t just want your money. Money is actually my secondary consideration. My primary consideration is …

…. to help you !

Yes, I want you to succeed in life. I want you to achieve your goals, and achieve everything that you can. That’s what makes the world a better place. That’s why I did the Cambridge CELTA course, then flew to Bangkok and began teaching (for very little money, actually) – and spent a year there, sweating in the heat and humidity of Bangkapi (on the outskirts of Bangkok). That’s why I taught in Caracus, Venezuela (check it up), South Korea, and Australia (at Monash University’s English Language Centre). That’s why I kept studying the art of teaching English to foreign learners, and keep training myself, and spent eight years writing my IELTS books (which don’t make me much money at all!). That’s why I am working on my next book: IELTS Listening – a huge job, and it won’t make me much money at all (again). I do, and have done, all this in order to become a better teacher, provide better resource material for students, and help people.

The trouble is, I’ve met too many people who made the wrong choices, wasted their time and money, and have gotten nowhere with people who DON’T want to help them. That’s why I speak out here. And why should you trust me? Let me be a bit more systematic in my explanation (rather than just generally give thoughts, as in the previous paragraph). Here are eight reasons (and there are more). You should trust me because of …

1. my credentials. [Please click on this word].

This is one of the most important reasons (hence it is given first). Remember, almost no teacher ever wants to show credentials. Ask yourself, “Why not?” And also ask yourself, “Shouldn’t people care about this?”

Would you go to a doctor who wasn’t really a doctor? What about a dentist? What if they were actually just people on the street just pretending to be doctors and dentists? In Taiwan, anyone can pretend to be a teacher; anyone can pose as an expert – and many people do. The reason they can get away with this is that no one seems to care about credentials! It’s time to start caring about them, don’t you think?

You should also trust me because of …

2. the proof I offer of my credentials. [Did you click on that word?]  Click again, HERE.

3. my experience.

4. my track record.

Check PTT, and read the feedback. Search for my name, and do all the research about me that you want. If you come to my classroom, I can show you a booklet full of testimonies from students from schools where I have taught in the past.

And in the next post, I’ll give another four reasons why you can trust me.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• skepticism (n)
• credentials (n)
• to pose as sth./sb. (v)
• to get away with sth.
• testimony (n)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

Hi everyone

Here’s a photo of the IELTS Writing & Listening Class, and it all finished last Friday, and it was great teaching them all. The IELTS Reading & Speaking Course finished the day before. Good luck guys (and girls). I feel so good that I was able to help you in life.

But it all begins today, Monday 26th, with Term 3. I’ve got two IELTS Writing & Listening Courses (afternoon and night), and the IELTS Reading & Speaking Course (starting tomorrow night). Well, I’m sorry to see the last of the people in the photo (although some of them are in the new IELTS Reading & Speaking Course), but I’m always happy to meet new people, too.

People are all different, in appearance, personality, intelligence, and skill-levels, but they are always interesting, and I always love helping them. Both Writing & Listening Courses are FULL (!!!), so I’ll be meeting 24 people today, and we’ll be having a GREAT time in the classroom. There’ll be jokes, laughter, interaction, and self-discovery, and the PowerPoints I have been developing over the last 12 years will make it all clear and memorable.

Tomorrow night, I’ll meet another 12 people [yes, the Reading & Speaking Course is FULL, too!), and do it all again. It will be very hard work, particularly all the correction of the IELTS Writing Assignments, but I LOVE teaching. What I really love is the feeling of helping others. My wife and I have met so many students who were not helped at all, and that’s so sad. That’s why we are happy to be here: dedicated professionals, trained, qualified, experienced, and dedicated to helping you. That’s why I work so hard, that’s why I’ve invested 12 years of dedicated work into PowerPoints development, and over 20 years of work in writing IELTS books, studying TEFL theory, and developing practical skills in teaching. Because the better I can help people, the better I feel.

Well, Term 3 is full, so it’s too late to join, but there’s the … 

Sunday Integrated IELTS Skills Course

… beginning April 29th.

And there’s Term 4, beginning April 30th, with the …

IELTS Writing & Listening,

IELTS Reading & Speaking.

Hopefully I’ll see you in one of these IELTS course, right?

A Conversation with Someone who Disagrees (viii)

Let us continue our imaginary conversation with that person who strongly disagrees with everything I have said. They are like the picture above, and they certainly don’t look happy, right? They may even get personal in their comments. I will list one of those comments, and give my answers.

Their 10^th Comment

I don’t care what you say. My school/teacher is wonderful, and I like the style of teaching they/he/she use.

Furthermore, this person says you’re no good at all, and none of your students ever learn anything from your class!

My Response

Always remember that the least effective methods of teaching English (that is, one based on mechanical memorisation, constant use of Chinese language to translate and explain meaning, and unthinking unchallenging inactivity by the students) require the least effort, least knowledge, least skill, and least commitment from both teacher and students. The teachers using this approach have easy lives, and so do their students, who just spend time in the classroom without learning much (but have been convinced to pay lots of money for it). The teachers chat in Chinese, give you Chinese printouts downloaded from the Internet, and fill in all the classtime explaining things in Chinese. Because of this unchallenging atmosphere, you might feel happy with these teachers, and like them as people. Most significantly, if these teachers have convinced the market that they are an ‘IELTS expert’, they can be getting rich in this way.

Obviously, these sorts of teachers don’t want anyone to know the truth about language learning. Money corrupts people, and makes them interested only in themselves. That means these sorts of teachers want to keep the thinking here in Taiwan locked in the 1970s, so they can keep earning their easy money. They don’t want their ‘rice bowls broken’, to use a Chinese idiom. Obviously, these people are the ones who will most aggressively object to my thoughts. So, if your teacher says any sort of 10^th comment, a wise response would be to ask for evidence that it is true – that is, ask those people to outline a coherent argument why they have that attitude, and to prove it.

The most important step is to then analyse what they say with COLD HARD LOGIC! I have read some of the counter-arguments (translated from the Chinese), and they make NO sense at all. I ask some of my friends, ‘Does that make any sense to you?’ and they say, ‘Even in Chinese, it’s not logical.’ However, then they shrug their shoulders, and add, ‘But I’m an intelligent person.’ Hmmmmmm.

Well, you might also ask that teacher to show you proof of their TEFL credentials, TEFL achievements, and TEFL experience. Ask to see the original copies of any documents (because people can claim anything, remember). You might then also compare those credentials (if they exist), to mine. [Just click on http://www.aisielts.com/about-om/about/my-credentials/  where everyone is displayed and proven]. You then have to draw your own conclusions.

Moving from the teachers to the students, everyone has a right to ignore my advice about the best teaching methodology – but think carefully about what I have discussed. Remember that comment: ‘But I’m an intelligent person.’ Don’t you want that comment to apply to you? Don’t you want to confidently make that comment yourself? Stubbornly insisting on your view when you have no evidence at all to support it is not intelligent. Allowing yourself to be easily tricked by others is naive. Those who get ahead in this world assess people and situations carefully, and weigh up the evidence with an open but critical mind. Successful people use that cold hard logic, and make choices based on that. If you want to be successful, you need to think carefully, and ultimately, the decision is yours.

We will look at the final critical comment in the next posts.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

[Wow, there’s a lot of vocabulary in this post!]

• to corrupt (v)
• an idiom (n)
• to be aggressive (adj)
• to be coherent (adj)
• to shrug one’s shoulders (v phrase)
• credentials (n)
• to be stubborn (adj)
• to be naive (adj)
• to assess
• evidence (n)
• ultimately (adv)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

This person doesn’t look happy, right? They might even be saying, “You have no right to give your views on a blog.”

A Conversation with Someone who Disagrees (vii)

Let us continue our imaginary conversation with that person who strongly disagrees with everything I have said. They are like the picture above, and they certainly don’t look happy, right? I will list their comments, and give my answers.

Their 8^th Comment

I don’t care what you say. A Chinese-speaking teacher can explain everything to me, and understands me better. We share the same culture, and I definitely need someone to explain everything to me.

My Response

     I think I answered this comment in the 13^thand 14^thpost of this series. Go back and read them again.

Their 9^th Comment

You have no right to give your views on a blog.

My Response

Are you serious? [And yes, unbelievably, people have attacked me for this for real, saying those very words; ‘You have no right to give your views on a blog!’]

Maybe this is cultural – it is something a western person NEVER EVER would say. The comment goes right to the heart of freedom of speech, civil rights, and democracy. [Have you heard of them?] It’s absolutely amazing to me that people will actually say these words, and I’ll repeat them: ‘You have no rights to give your views.’ Those people would love Adolf Hitler, too. They wouldn’t like Martin Luther, and would probably be cheering as Jesus was crucified. We can’t allow trouble-makers like that to upset the apple-cart, right? Get rid of them quickly!

But, on the good side, the people who said these comments were definitely … hmmm … well, let’s just say, they were the sort of people who made me put that picture at the top of this page.

Anyhow, about the ‘no right to give your views’ comment, do I really have to explain? Well, here goes. People have blogs in order to give their views. That’s the point of a blog. You have the same rights on your blog. Only by giving views can people learn. Only by listening can they rise out of ignorance and unknowingness. When other people start attacking and suppressing free opinion, it gets VERY dangerous. It can lead to an environment full of lies and propaganda, run by businesspeople, money-makers, and self-interested groups. If no one can judge at all, then anybody can do anything. Telling someone not to intelligently judge and not to make comments is the same as telling someone not to think! This is what bad people from the teaching industry want you to be like: someone who doesn’t think. Having students who don’t think, don’t judge, and blindly believe is perfect for them. That’s how they are making so much money. However, it is not perfect for you!

Nothing gets better, and no one learns, unless people judge, assess, think, and above all, speak! It is VERY important to allow free speech. It is the most fundamental element of social progress, and democracy. Allow free speech! Embrace free speech! Be very happy that it can happen! But also judge what you hear very carefully; think about the motivation of those saying it, and check their credentials, sources, and background, and try to work out ulterior motives. As my website says [click this link], follow the three rules: be skeptical, critical, and demand proof. But allow people to speak, right?

Maybe you could also admire my courage for speaking out against the bad practices, dishonesty, and corruption in the bushiban industry. Remember, if no one speaks out, nothing will ever change, right?

We will look at another (critical) comment in the next post.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to crucify (v)
• to upset the apple cart (v – idiomatic)
• ignorance (n)
• to suppress (v)
• propaganda (n)
• to be fundamental (adj)
• ulterior (adj)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .

Does this person look like they will agree with me? Probably not, right? They don’t look particularly happy about anything.

A Conversation with Someone who Disagrees (vi)

Let us continue our imaginary conversation with that person who strongly disagrees with everything I have said. They are like the picture above, and they certainly don’t look happy, right? I will list their comments, and give my answers.

Their 7^th Comment

I don’t need a teacher to teach me English or vocabulary. My teacher shows me “how to get the answers in IELTS.”

And why are you attacking him/her?

My Response

You have to be very cautious about any teacher’s claim about ‘magic techniques’ to get ‘answers’. Many teachers only want to get your money, and will say anything to get it. Can I quote one students who came to us.

“My teacher said I could learn how to get the answers. But I couldn’t understand anything, and I couldn’t get any answers. Then I was told to keep doing more courses. When I eventually did the test I got a low IELTS mark. Now I realise I was tricked.”

Yes, tricked out of a lot of money (about $60,000 NT). Unfortunately, IELTS Preparation is an industry where big money can easily be gained by false promises and trickery. The truth is, in the IELTS test, “getting the answers” comes from being better at English. Yes, there are tips and strategies (and I teach those), but all these tips and strategies rest on the foundation of being better at English.

Your job is to assess the claims of any teacher, and use your common sense, and think very carefully. The three most important rules are …

1. check the credentials of that teacher,
2. ask for proof of these credentials (since any person these days can claim any qualification, right),
3. watch out for all the danger signs of bad teaching practices [and you can check some of my other pixnet entries for those – look for ‘Tricks to Watch Out For’], or go to …

Posts 33 – 35              Five Signs of a Fake Teacher,

… and …

Posts 36 – 43              Six Signs Which Should Make You Worried.

As this is only Post 21 (as I type right now), you will have to wait for these posts (which will eventually come in the near future – so be patient).

Moving on to the second comment: “And why are you attacking my teacher?”, my reply is that I am not targeting any specific person, but only explaining what you need to look for in a good teacher, and helping you to understand the nature of language-learning so that you, the consumer, can be better informed, and thus more intelligent. That’s very good for you, and you should be happy. I am not ‘attacking’, I am ‘informing’ and ‘educating’. Those are good qualities. I am only thinking of you. Maybe you should be thanking me for this.

However, obviously any ‘teachers’ who …

• don’t follow any TEFL-recognised method of teaching,
• do fit any accepted model of good language teaching,
• use deceit as a basis to their marketing,
• are deliberately tricking you,

… will all feel ‘attacked’. But I am not focusing on anyone specifically, just that type of teacher, and the nature of the teaching industry generally. And I have a right to do this, right?

A final thought is that, if your teacher is truly decent and honourable (and I hope they are), then they should agree wholeheartedly with all  these thoughts. Decent teachers want the best for you; decent teachers want to teach in a way that helps their students. The point is, if you have a teacher who doesn’t like my comments, it is a VERY dangerous sign. My comments are based on (1) good sense, (2) obvious logic, (3) TEFL research and theory, and (4) a regard for the students. Anyone who disagrees with me just doesn’t have some or all of these 1 – 4 qualities. And that should start you thinking, right? It should start you thinking very carefully indeed.

We will look at two more (critical) comments in the next post.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

• to be cautious (adj)
• a technique (n)
• a strategy (n)
• credentials (n)
• to target (v)
• to focus (v)
• wholeheartedly (adv)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .