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

Six Signs Which Should Make You Worried About a ‘Teacher’: 2^nd Sign [Part i]

So, let’s continue with the next sign which should make you worried. This sign goes very much to the philosophy and work ethic of a teacher, so I will need three posts [(i), (ii), and (iii)] to fully explore this. This is the first post of these post, Part (i).

Sign That You Should Be Worried 2

The school or teacher only uses a whiteboard.

It’s really simple. There’s no excuse for this anymore. Even in my early days of teaching, the classroom had an ‘OHP’ (= Overhead Projector) allowing plastic ‘transparencies’ to be placed on a machine on the table. This projected images onto a screen.

These days, of course, the projectors are linked to computers, and PowerPoint programs can be used. There are also ‘smart’ whiteboard; electronic whiteboards, and other pieces of technology.

So why is your teacher ‘talking and chalking’ on a whiteboard? It belongs to a TEFL world from 30 years ago. Those days were old and primitive. Things were slower and more inefficient. The technology has now moved on! Why haven’t the teachers?

Here are three reasons why using a whiteboard is bad.

1

Whiteboards are incredibly inefficient. They waste so much time as the teachers write. It is just too slow. And then it is all erased. Tick tick tick. So much wasted time. And can you even read the handwriting? And as the ink particles settle all over the place, and the room gets dirtier and dirtier, you might realise that in IELTS preparation, you need to learn a lot, and learn it quickly. The ‘talk and chalk’ approach doesn’t give you this.

2

Whiteboards don’t allow pictures to be easily shown, and such visuals are essential to good teaching. It is a key part of any TEFL training course.

Even in my early days of teaching (Bangkok, 1990), I at least held up magazine pictures all the time. I began collecting them in special folders. That happened when I first worked for British Council. Now of course, I just click a button, and the beautiful illustrative picture is instantly there, projected directly onto the screen. My lessons are full of such pictures. Pictures are interesting, engaging, and easily recognisable, and that helps your learn!

A classroom that doesn’t use pictures is the opposite, and whiteboards make it that way.

3

Whiteboards are static and still – a boring. On a whiteboard, nothing moves, nothing flashes, and nothing can be revealed piece by piece. There is nothing cute, nothing innovative and nothing dynamic. It is the very opposite to a controlled, programmed, and projected image. It is just bad.

The next post will consider this same issue of whiteboards versus powerpoint, and draw some conclusions about the ‘talk and chalk’ teachers.

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

• to project (v) // a projector (n)
• to be transparent (adj)
• to chalk (v)
• to be primitive (adj)
• a particle (n)
• to be visual (adj)
• to be illustrative (adj)
• to be engaging (adj)
• to be static (adj)
• to be innovative (adj)
• to be dynamic (adj)

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

(37 of 50) MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) & TAIWAN:

Six Signs about a Teacher Which Should Make You Worried: 1^st Sign

So, if you have read all these posts, you should be able to work out many of the signs that your teacher/school is not a real teacher/school, but instead just a person off the street armed with all the tricks to get your money.

But now I’ll move to six signs which should make you just ….. very worried about the teacher/school. These signs do not mean the teacher is a bad, not real, or fake, but they do mean you should think very carefully, and find out more.

You are advised to take these signs very carefully.

Six Signs Which Should Make You Worried: 1^st Sign

Sign That You Should Be Worried 1

The school or teacher does not allow observation.

No observation? Hmmmm. Why not? Is the school or the teacher hiding something? Do they know that if you did observe, you might see a reality which they don’t want you to see?

Let me ask you a question. Would you buy a car without seeing it? Would you buy a house without seeing it? What about a bicycle? A computer?  

Obviously, if you are going to buy anything which you need to rely on, you need to see it! If you can’t do this, you are going in totally blindly, and that’s dangerous. As I say on my website: ‘True gold is not afraid of fire.’ That’s a translation from a Chinese proverb, and it’s certainly true.

So why do students pay so much without even knowing what they will get? It does not sound like a good idea to me, and remember, after you pay, it can be very difficult to get your money back. How about at least asking questions such as …

1. Does the teacher have TEFL qualifications?
2. Can I see them? Are there certified copies on the wall?
3. What language does the teacher use in the classroom?
4. Can I see the coursebook which is used? [It’s not from mainland China, is it?]
5. Is an overhead projector used? [The teacher isn’t just going to write on a whiteboard?]
6. How will the teacher correct my written homework? [Not in the class, I hope!]
7. Can you explain the method the teacher will use in the teaching? [There is a method?]
8. Can you describe a typical class?

Also, be careful of videos of classes. The school/teacher would obviously show you a ‘model’ video of a classroom. It would be their ‘best’ teacher, and the students might be all be ‘fake students’, and it’s all just a performance. Also, be careful of video testimonies. These are often faked as well. [Trust me: I’ve seen it happening – for example, students giving video testimonies even though they had never been taught before, in order to get discounts on a course they want to do.]

To sum up, you need to see YOUR teacher, and you need to see a REAL class – the sort of class you are actually paying for. Remember, sometimes you are paying a lot of money for this.

The next post will consider the 2^nd sign which should worry you.

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

• a reality (n)
• to be blind (v)
• a proverb (n)
• to be certified (adj/V3)
• a projector (n)
• a model (n)

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

Hi 我是LUKE

首先附上人權 : L>8.5 R>7 W>6 S>6.5

我不知道為什麼這次作文會掉下去因為平常都是6.5的，印度人真的是hen嚴格，但是過了

我也不打算再複查，終於要出國，一路上要感謝的人太多，在此回饋一下版上，也希望版

上的大家都能金榜題名如願上自己喜歡的學校。

我今年29歲高中指考英文43分，畢業之後想當然爾就沒再接觸英文了。希望我的成績能夠

給大家一點自信，原來你也可以!

首先，好的老師或補習班真的能夠讓你比較好進入狀況，如果你是像我一樣很久沒有接觸

英文或者上班族沒太多時間。看了版上的推薦我選擇了補習Andrew作文班來加強自己的弱

項，因為之前考過了幾次都是5-5.5收場，沒想到 ! 補習之後考了還是5.5！千萬不要覺

得太訝異，因為還沒有完全領悟老師的奧義。在我重複閱讀老師的書以及回想老師提到的

作文架構，發現原來雅思作文還是有脈絡可循。思考老師提過的重點並抄寫老師的範文，

老師不希望同學死背內容，但架構是死的，跟論文一樣，從：背景>動機>目的>方法>結論

每個人研究的都不同但是架構永遠不變 按照老師的架構 開頭語、連接詞，段落轉換起

承轉合，穩穩地寫最後讓我後來一直都維持在6-6.5，我知道沒有很高但對我來說真的夠

了。老師的名言就是：要有耐心！ 沒錯的，慢慢來比較快。謝謝老師

BTW我不4在工商，都是我ㄉ過程，我覺ㄉ老師很不錯經驗豐富課程紮實在此推薦給大家。

個人體悟的雅思應考密訣就是：自信應考

以下是強拚90天的操作方式歡迎服用，內容有點長但我覺得看完不會後悔。 =============================================================================

聽力部分 :

穩定的持續練習精聽泛聽，然後*重複*做考題即可達標。重複做考題有太多

的好處特別是可以了解自己的弱項，然而在重複解題的過程中能夠慢慢地找到屬於自己的

解題方式並且最重要的是重複做考題可以增強自信心，自信心對於考試真的太重要了，真

正的考試絕對不容許猶豫，所以重複做考題讓自己有會考很好的錯覺，就絕對會考好這我

敢保證。接下來進入題目：最高指導原則就是自信解題，考試的過程中務必盡量抓空檔寫

每道問題的中文意思，然後不要太過於專注聽導致腦筋打結，放空放鬆自然能夠變通，翻

開題本後先快速掃過每道題型讓自己有個底，翻到第四大題開始閱讀，看清楚填空題題型

最多要你填幾個字先圈出來，然後把每道空白的左右邊上下文關鍵字標記出來，要你填什

麼答案當下就可以先猜看看了，中文寫下應該是要填入：東西、錢、動詞、時間、等等；

這是放諸四海皆準的包括其他大題的填空甚至閱讀也是一樣。第三大題的對話選擇題是比

較難以快速閱讀的因為字很多，關鍵在讀每道題目，兩個人在說話，是誰說的相當重要要

圈出來，填寫答案時記得使用刪去法，聽到不對的就不要客氣直接劃掉這樣就可以幫助你

鎖定正確答案，記得雅思聽力經常回馬槍先講Ａ然後後面才說但我覺得Ｂ是最好的選擇，

要不然就是一開始就已經講正確答案Ａ了，後面屁一堆沒意義的ＢＣＤ干擾你做答；這就

是放空放鬆的價值所在，慢慢聽保持一定的專注跟抽離就可以選到最正確的答案。最後，

考聽力只有一個關鍵性的策略，只要能夠達到保證6.5以上就是：自信作答

自信作答實在太關鍵了，每個答案都珍貴在有限的時間內必須確保你的準確率唯一的方法

就是自信寫下每個答案，把時間拿去做反覆檢查確定題目的要求跟拼字有無正確比著墨一

兩題花費太多時間好太多了，寫了就寫了不要後悔導致下一題沒有聽到或浪費時間

閱讀部分 :

穩定的持續練習閱讀各種素材包括外國報紙等等，考雅思需要大量的單字量

對於我來說我自己是比較難背單字的往往在背單字的過程中一定要搭配句子並且抄寫一次

才會比較好背，有人說過：你只要重複在不一樣的地方看到背過的單字20次你就會永遠背

起來，所以閱讀大量的文章對我來說不僅僅可以練習閱讀速度也是我最主要背單字的方法

；然後一樣*重複*做考題即可達標。重複做考題有太多的好處特別是可以了解自己的弱項

，然而在重複解題的過程中能夠慢慢地找到屬於自己的解題方式並且最重要的是重複做考

題可以增強自信心，自信心對於考試真的太重要了，真正的考試絕對不容許猶豫，所以重

複做考題讓自己有會考很好的錯覺，就絕對會考好這我敢保證。接下來進入解題：最高指

導原則就是自信解題，自信解題在閱讀測驗中尤其重要，經過我個人實測，專注著墨在每

道題目的準確率一題一題慢慢做的成績跟我自信寫過去最後再回頭檢查的成績一樣甚至更

低因為寫不完或太趕，考閱讀的過程中不必理解每道題目的完整意思，看題目找答案依舊

是不變法則；雅思很人性，因為題目都按照順序。雅思很人性，當你意外的從第二段開始

讀照順序把題目全部解完但發現怎麼最後一題答案找不到，不用多想不用緊張直接回頭看

，答案一定在第一段。雅思很人性，當只有3題T/F/NG你已經寫了T跟NG也很確定就是這個

答案那沒問題，剩下最後一題原則上都是F。雅思很人性，假設在閱讀填空題中你覺得第

一題答案應該填入animal但你卻看到第二題的題目問句中有animal，這時候請放心的把第

一題animal擦掉重新找，因為絕對不是animal。在讀閱讀測驗的過程中從頭到尾一定一定

一定要專注不能放空，因為不小心放空時間就過去了，考閱讀沒有最後10分鐘的填答案時

間所以必須在過程中就要把答案寫上去。總共三篇40題通常第一大題簡單給你暖手用的最

後一篇通常最難但每個人的難易理解不同因為單字涉獵範圍的關係有所出入，基本上是第

一篇最容易，翻開題本後先快速掃過每篇的大標題讓自己有個底，選一個你感覺順的寫，

通常有填空題或問答題的寫最快，因為有太多參考點可以讓你鎖定答案，就我的經驗來說

最快解完的題目組合就是：問答或填空+T/F/NG這種二合一的題型，通常都很好找而且都

會照順序排，這種題型原則上都會出現在第一大題然後15分鐘以內就可以解決讓你信心大

增，我在寫閱讀填空問答題的過程中會在題本上把答案圈出來方便之後檢查然後直接填入

答案券因為寫單字太浪費時間，只有T/F/NG我會標在題本上方便確認，但基本上我寫完一

題就會填在答案卡上了，節省時間而且要預判可能沒機會再回頭確認。最後，考閱讀只有

一個關鍵性的策略，只要能夠達到保證6.5以上就是：自信作答

自信作答實在太關鍵了，每個答案都珍貴在有限的時間內必須確保你的準確率唯一的方法

就是自信寫下每個答案，確認答案就馬上填在答案卡上不要等，把時間拿去做反覆檢查確

定題目的要求跟拼字有無正確比著墨一兩題花費太多時間好太多了，寫了就寫了不要後悔

，回來再檢查才不會導致沒有讀完浪費時間。閱讀時間很重要而且考官報時實在很煩，搶

時間！當考官說：還有40分鐘！你已經讀完1/3的第二篇相信我你會很愉悅，保持自信與

愉悅的心情考閱讀，才會快。快就贏！我的紀錄是寫完還有15分鐘而那次我的閱讀7.5分

寫作部分 :

最高指導原則就是自信寫作，TASK2考過的題目很多但其實有脈絡，因為雅思

很人性，所以題目都跟人有關舉凡：科技的進步是否會讓貧富差距加大還是靠近、大眾傳

播對於人的影響、引進大量外國資訊是否會衝擊本土產業、觀光對於本國人的影響、建立

完善的鐵道系統好還是公路系統、有些人覺得研究過去資料是浪費時間不如投注心力在未

來的防範你覺得怎麼看、傳統文化這麼死板不如去放棄去追求新的流行你怎麼看。以上都

是雅思考題，都跟人、環境、科技進步之後的未來有所關聯。所以重點來了就是

Technological development (evolution)幾乎都可以當作最開始的兩個字想下展開，原

則上分四段，第一段背景 絕對要確立你站在哪一方，不管背景屁再多在第一段結束之前

In my opinion 後面接立場，這樣才會有分數。再來就是二三段起承轉合自己舉例切忌不

管再扯都要堅持自己的論點不要寫一寫倒戈那就完了，最後一段就直接將In conclusion

漂亮的寫出來然後唬爛結尾，所以平常背很多漂亮的句子很重要，可以讓開頭或結尾有一

些美麗的句字架構或詞彙出現，建議多背。有些人說不要背模板因為雅思討厭，我完全同

意，但要背架構！一些好用的連接詞跟好的架構能夠讓你很快建立寫作的茅點，所以我建

議找一個簡單的架構TASK1 TASK2都一樣分別找到一種4段式的架構就可以幫助這兩篇作文

順利的發展內文，我所謂的架構是每段的開頭，而不是那種華麗且無意義的詞彙堆疊。關

於那個150跟250字數根本就是笑話，我的文法與單字量非常的爛，就我的經驗來看TASK1

起碼要破170字，TASK2 起碼要破300字才有機會進6分，在我沒寫到這個字數的那幾次不

管我自己為寫得再漂亮都只有5-5.5，所以請相信以字數170跟300作為練習的最低標準。

考試破6絕對沒問題。這些都是我在Andrew上課內化跟自己練習與實戰的體悟！

口說部分 :

最高指導原則就是自信口說，關鍵的口說 TASK2考過的題目很多但其實有脈

絡，因為雅思很人性，所以題目都跟人有關舉凡：你最喜歡的企業家、你最喜歡的植物、

你最喜歡的一項禮物、你最喜歡的季節、你平常都做什麼維持你身體健康、你覺得科技對

人的影響、你認識的人做過一件事情你一直都很想去做的。以上都是雅思考題，都跟人、

環境、科技進步之後的未來有所關聯。口說只有一個秘訣 : 拼命講講到他要你停！

還有，聽力閱讀答案一律使用大寫，好用不騙

以上 再次祝福各位考生金榜題名 英國見

—

So, let’s continue with the last sign of being fake/not-real.

Sign 6 of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher

The school or teacher makes the absolutely impossible claim: “I can predict the answers in the IELTS test.”

I could link this to Sign 3: the claims of ‘guarantee IELTS 7’. The same logic applies here.

But let’s look more specifically at “I can predict the answers.’ This is the new trend in Taiwan right now as I write. Fake students are putting messages on the social media about how their teacher ‘knows the answers in the IELTS test.’ Why is this claim a sign of fakeness?

Because saying this is an outright and blatant lie. And a real teacher – one who cares about your learning – would never lie like that. Your first questions should be …

What do you even mean by ‘know the answer’?

Do you mean just a vague prediction such as ‘Task One will be a bar chart’ or ‘It will probably be a map’? If that bar chart has ‘change over time’ – that is, a time axis, for example, 1980 to 2000 – then this item is actually equivalent to a line graph (with the bars holding up the lines). The same logic applies to pie charts (one for 2005 and one for 2010). If it doesn’t have change over time, then it is all about comparison, but every single task is different to every other task. I have seem hundred of IELTS Writing Tasks over my teaching career, and they are all different! So, even if the teacher is lucky to guess the general type of writing task, does such an ambiguous prediction mean ‘predicting the answers in the IELTS Test?’ If it does, it is next to useless to you, the test-taker.

In other words, all IELTS Task Ones and Task Twos are unique, different, and need individual thinking (rather than memorisation). The real teacher prepares you with the thinking skills, and grammar and writing skills, to deal with IELTS. The teacher doesn’t boast about ‘predicting’ things.

If these people claim anything more specific, the next question is what magic knowledge do they have to make this prediction? Do they have paid spies in IDP and British Council and the IELTS Asian Regional Management Centre? Do these people slip them the real questions the day before the test? Is such behavior ethical? Is it the sign of a professional teacher? Is it the way you are supposed to have your English tested?

I have worked in the IELTS industry for 20 years, and I don’t pretend to be able to predict the questions. Consequently, I don’t say I can predict the questions. But I am an honest (and real) teacher of IELTS preparation. Even if I could predict the answers with some degree of certainty, I don’t think I would give this information. As I mentioned, it is actually quite meaningless

Anyhow who says they can predict the answer is NOT. Got it?

Well, that’s the end of the ‘six signs of fakeness’. Here’s a summary.

The Six Signs Of Being Fake/Not-Real

1. The teacher speaks mostly in Chinese.
2. The teacher uses memorisation, or use books and material that do this.
3. The teacher/school makes claims of ‘guaranteed scores’.
4. The teacher talks and ‘explains’ all the time in class.
5. The teacher advertises, ‘You only talk to me’.
6. The teacher claims (s)he can predict the answers in the IELTS test (whatever that means).

Now, let’s move to signs that should make you worried about the school or teacher.

Some of these should make you very worried indeed. The signs don’t mean the teacher/school is necessarily bad or not-real or fake, but …. well … to repeat, you should be worried, and investigate further. The next post will consider the first of these signs.

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

• to be blatant (adj)
• to be vague (adj)
• to be equivalent (adj)
• to be unique (adj)
• to be ambiguous (adj)
• to be ethical (adj)
• to investigate (v)

Hi everyone. Due to the beginning of the new teaching term, I was busy, and put a few other posts here, but now it’s time to continue the series about CLT and Taiwan. We are up to Post 35, which continues to look at that murky and fraudulent world of ‘magic IELTS’ teachers. There’s more of them coming all the time, so for your own benefit, you really need to know and read the signs.

Six Signs of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher of IELTS/English: 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Sign

Okay, I used one posts for the 2^nd Sign of being a fake/not-real teacher. Now, I’ll use one post for the next three signs. Here we go.

Sign 3 of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher

The teacher/school makes claims of ‘guaranteed scores’ or ‘special techniques’.

If you ever hear claims such as:

• I don’t teach you English; I just teach you how to get the answer in the test.
• My method gives you IELTS 7.
• This is a guaranteed IELTS 7 course.
• I got IELTS 8 in the IELTS test; I’ll show you how to do it.
• This course shows you how to get all the answers.
• I have special IELTS techniques.

… the people saying this are lying to you. All these claims are based on a ‘magic’ or ‘guarantee’ theme, and it is an obvious fact that there are no guarantees and no magic in IELTS. IELTS is based on English abilities; and no matter how good a teacher is, your IELTS results will depend on …

1. your starting level of English,
2. your work ethic (that is, willingness to work hard),
3. your attitude to learning,
4. your intelligence,
5. your ability to learn languages,
6. practical realities, such as the time you have to study, how busy you are, how stable your life is, your ability to attend every class, and arrive on time,
7. some degree of luck.

If a teacher or school makes any claim of ‘guaranteed answers’ or ‘special techniques’, it simply shows the teachers or schools are dishonest. They are saying what you want to hear in order to get your money. It’s that simple. Do you think that sounds like a good beginning? Are they people you should trust? 

Sign 4 of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher

The teacher talks and ‘explains’ all the time in class (and it’s usually in Chinese).

This is the ‘traditional’ approach, the approach a non-teacher, or someone who doesn’t know anything about TEFL teaching, might first think about. A TEFL-qualified teacher should know better, and should be more concerned about helping you learn. A not-real teacher might do this, simply because they don’t know the truth.

I don’t need to talk about this. Just read posts 3–25 of this series, and everything is explained in detail. Also, think again of the simple analogy: learning a language is like learning to drive a car. You can be ‘explained to’ for years about how to drive a car, but you won’t be able to actually drive it until you sit in the seat, and try. The TEFL-trained teacher takes every opportunity to put you in the seat and try (= practise English).

This also explains about the next sign of being fake/not-real below.

Sign 5 of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher

The teacher/school advertises that “You only talk to the teacher”, or “Pairwork speaking is not important”.

This is a new trend in Taiwan. Wow! It is simply mad! No real TEFL teacher would ever do this. Ever! They would immediately fail the observation in any TEFL training course. If you kept doing this, you would fail the course. If you only talk to the teacher, then you don’t practise English much at all. You don’t sit in any ‘seat of that car’, and you never try. It is the very opposite to what is supposed to happen in an IELTS/English class.

TEFL professionals talk about ‘student talking time’ (STT), and ‘teacher talking time’ (TTT), and one of the most basic rules in a class is to ….

…. maximise STT and minimise TTT!

TEFL professional should live by this rule, but it takes effort, preparation, thinking, and skill. It also takes experience, and as the serious TEFL-trained teacher gets more experience, (s)he develops better and better techniques for following this rule more effectively and efficiently (for example, through the use of PowerPoint: See Posts 37 – 39). So, remember, you students always have to ‘drive the car’.

I’m a Cambridge-accredited teacher trainer, with over 20 years experience, so you can imagine how shocked I am when I hear schools or teachers boasting, ‘You only talk to the teacher’. Wow! Unbelievable! Taking Taiwan back 50 years into the past, back to the horse and cart. Is this a modern nation? It is NOT when it comes to the teaching of English/IELTS. And that’s why the standard is still so low in this country; that’s why the average IELTS writing score remains 5.5. Because the teaching remains the same.

Why do these people promote such a backward and awful claim?

The answer: because so many students accept this, and give them lots of money.

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

• murky (adj)
• a guarantee (n)
• ethic (n)
• to be blatant (adj)
• an analogy (n)
• an observation (n)

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

Hi everyone.

Well, Term 4 is now over, and here are the class photos.

IELTS Reading & Speaking. This finished on Thursday night, but two students didn’t turn up, and another wanted to take the photo. Do you like my beard?

Now, here’s the IELTS Writing & Listening (afternoon) class.

Do you like my shirt? No, it’s not a mistake. It’s meant to look look that. 

Finally, here’s the IELTS Writing & Listening (night) class. Again, a few students didn’t turn up at the very end, and one took the photo.

Well, Term 5 starts this coming Monday, and it all begins again. So, if you want a REAL teacher of IELTS, with REAL qualifications and REAL experience who REALLY knows about IELTS, contact us.

Just click here aisielts.com, or contact details.

Hope to see you in my class!

作者eatcakes1 (惦念)

看板IELTS

標題[心得] 一個月一戰7心得和推薦

時間Fri May 25 20:05:50 2018

借用先進們的格式，文長。

考試目的：歐陸留學

英文程度：學測英文14 英聽B、A 大學畢

準備時間：2018.3/26-5/4

考試成績：Overall 7.0 聽 6.5/讀 7.0/ 寫 6.0/ 說 7.5

準備教材及課程：Andrew老師雅思聽說讀寫班及其用書

心得：

一戰7，有些運氣但已經足夠去唸想要的學校了，或許就跟Andrew老師說的一樣，可能熟

悉題目類型和考試形式能夠讓你多個0.5，但整體反映出來的就是你的英文程度在哪，成

績就在哪。老實說歷屆和單字沒有著墨太多，至少沒有像當初大學考試那樣拼命。藉由一

個月的密集班，除了迫使自己接觸英文、使用英文外，也順便熟悉這個以前完全沒有接觸

過的考試類型。

自己是屬於能隨時隨地用中文回答任何類型的問題(而雅思英文考的其實就是以英文

去理解、表達這個世界)，並侃侃而談的人，面對雅思，我設定主要學習目標是要將知

識和經驗，轉化成正確道地的英文(表達出來的形式)，而老師上課時講解世界風俗民情

或是分享自身經驗時就是我特別用力聆聽的時刻。老實說沒有額外太多練習，跟著老師

的腳步去熟悉題目形式，和答題時的眉眉角角，許多人推薦的TED並沒有採用，而是選

擇平常喜歡的英文國家地理頻道和雜誌及Discovery。事後想想，還是建議單字及聽力涉

獵的廣度要大一些，這樣字彙量和經驗的分布也會較為平均。

另外我認為，如果缺乏英文表達的機會，Andrew的課是可以給你足夠機會鍛鍊的，在課

程進行中，不論是回答老師的問題，或是同學間交流練習，我都盡力去嘗試形塑一套自己

的英文說話習慣與邏輯，而大量的寫作練習也讓我找出自己的行文節奏(例如說習慣用的

轉承語，或是語氣)。此外，對於問題是不知道說什麼的人，在這一個月的課程中我有遇

見而且他們也有所進步，老師的課程某個面向就是敦促學生去思考這個世界、探索自己的

周遭和自身，並設法以英文傳達交流。推薦Andrew給回家功課認真做，上課認真聽而且厭

倦填鴨的學生，以下分別是聽說讀寫細項心得。

[聽力]

我自己也沒有很好，應該要再多聽多練，去熟悉和聽出同義字、詞、語句以及習慣語速。

單純聽哪一個字的話其實沒有太大問題，只是雅思時常會「換句話說」，或是抽換不同的

字彙，而這在語速提高的狀況下就相當致命，有時候會根本沒有意識到某句話是自己所想

的那種意思。

[閱讀]

其實閱讀的內容個人覺得和台灣升學考試大同小異，只是篇幅更多，藉由Andrew課程練習

的部分，對我而言在於問題形式(填充、配合、NOT GIVEN和TRUE之間等等可能思維上會有

模稜兩可之情形的敘述)，而這和台灣傳統英文考試有較大的不同。透過一個月左右的課

程熟悉答題的節奏和常見的題目類型。

另外我自己覺得最困難的題型，是答案數量大於段落數的段落語意，即便可以很快的判斷

出特定幾個段落，但在時間壓力下時常最後會有兩三組糊在一起。

[寫作]

考試那天遇到我幾乎沒有替代字彙的題目，只好想辦法盡量避免重複用字。對於一般學

生，描述某種情境最精準、恰當的字或詞彙可能就是特定一兩個，如果不知道可能整體就

會變得相當拖沓。

一個月的課程安排，循序漸進地從老師身上學習歐美邏輯性的段落安排方式和句式，老

師很強調文中語句的必要性和支持力度(如果你是屬於肚子裡墨水很多的人)，可以藉此將

文章精煉，而若是平常中、英作文都不知道寫什麼的人，老師也有安排小組討論及引導環

節，可以趁機見賢思齊，並聆聽其他人有哪些自己從未想過的好論點。老師批改作文其實

真的很用心，學生犯下哪一類型的錯誤他都會將其標示出來，而透過訂正時的學習，我覺

得相當有效。本身學測作文大概是16、17的水平，但是雅思的寫作要求不同，許多原先看

似正確的語句、內容，其實在雅思批改者眼中是充滿問題的，而Andrew老師會幫你一一指

出。

我覺得不論是Task1或是Task2老師教授的段落安排都相當實用，他也會利用不同主題來

引導我們討論或是豐富自己的論點和背景知識，畢竟每個人所學不同。而寫作部分坦白說

，單字量除非特別全面的去記憶，不然一定會有所偏頗，像是我在Task1寫作練習時，寫

出一篇老師說可以有8分左右水準的文章，但其實是剛好那個主題是流程圖而且用字多和

三類組有關，而實際考試時就遇到了捉襟見肘的狀況，在老師的指導下，如果回家都有努

力練習，我覺得除了用字(字彙量)還是得靠自己記憶熟悉以外，基本上寫作的其他部分都

能夠有顯著改善。

[口說]

我的口說經驗未必適合所有人。很多人不論中文英文在口語表達時會緊張怯場，或是想

不到要說什麼，但我的中文基本上沒有任何這樣的問題，缺乏的是兩種語言之間的良好轉

化，而造成一個問題——適合回答的經驗和想法相當充足，但是英文口說能力無法駕馭

(愛在心裡口難開的那種感覺)。所以上課時，我更著重在同樣的情感、經驗，Andrew老師

如何去表達、闡述，他對於某項事情可能與我有相同觀點，而他說的每一句話對我來說就

是最好的學習內容(道地的英文與類似的情境、情緒、想法)，此外老師很強調不要死背套

招(就是那種聽起來很華麗，但實際上很空洞的言語)，要陳述自己的想法與有趣的經驗(

做一個有故事的男人/女人!)，此外老師也會介紹一些口語上常用的承接用字，讓整個回

答過程聽起來更自然順暢。

而面對考官的部分，我覺得就把對方當成你的朋友，認真誠懇地去訴說你的故事、經驗

和想法。還記得口試那天第二部分主題是智慧手機，我老實回答說當年在學校，智慧手機

剛剛問世不久就像是將軍的勳章或是貴族的象徵，只要擁有它，同學就是一陣吹捧，走路

晃起來都有風，結果考官微笑愈笑愈大，最後用手摀著嘴巴一直笑。

最後，謝謝觀看的你撥冗，祝大家順利。

—

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

Six Signs of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher of IELTS/English:

2^nd Sign

Okay, I used two posts for the 1^st Sign of being a fake/not-real teacher. Now, I’ll use one post for the next sign. Here goes.

Sign 2 of a Not-Real/Fake Teacher

The teacher uses memorisation, or uses books and material that do this.

Again, if your teacher or school does this, it is time to walk out the door and never come back. Anyone who did this in a CELTA teacher-training course would immediately fail that lesson, and be told never to do this in a class. Anyone who did this in a language school in Australia would be quickly fired. Memorisation is not teaching, and it is an insult to you as an intelligent human being.

Read the Sign 1: Second Story again. You will see that those who have studied English abroad know the truth. Some of them find the Taiwanese system ‘unbearable’. But do you? Again, the memorisation ‘technique’ is very widespread, among teachers, schools, and junk IELTS material. If any of it appears, it just reveals your teacher is not really a teacher. It’s also a disaster for the IELTS test, trust me.

Important Note

Do NOT Believe What These People Say; Find Out What They DO!

Many teachers and schools are now beginning to claim that don’t use memorisation. Maybe this is a response to these pixnet posts, especially the few written in Chinese (which most people read). Perhaps the content of all these blog posts, and the constant message both my wife and I give to students, is making a change in students’ thinking. Perhaps, many are now realising the obvious truth: that memorisation is a BIG sign of fakeness.

It’s interesting, after we put our first article in Chinese criticising memorisation, I have even read someone responding with a passionate defence of memorisation (written in Chinese). This person made all sorts of impossible and logically absurd conclusions (‘memorisation promotes critical thinking by showing the underlying logic of English’). But, as I mentioned, what’s interesting is that some of these people are now trying the opposite approach – pretending that they actually do promote critical thinking in their classroom, and never ever use memorisation. In short, these people copy much of the argument which is now on this pixnet blog.

The big question is, what do these people actually do in the classroom? Always remember, it’s not what these people say, but it’s what they DO IN THE CLASSROOM which matters.

Of course, it is possible you might decide to believe them, but when the actual teaching begins, you will find out the truth. That’s when you should demand your money back, and walk out of that course. Just read the signs.

And here’s quote from Benjamin Franklin. Half a truth is often a great lie.

And here’s the usual question to end these ‘fakeness’ posts.

Why do these people use memorisation?

The answer: because so many students accept this, and give them lots of money.

The next post will consider the next three signs of being fake/not-real.

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

• an insult (n)
• a disaster (n)
• to be passionate (adj)
• to be absurd (adj)

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

Well, let’s have a little break in this ‘CLT & Taiwan’ series of posts (currently looking at fraud teachers, which is quite sad, but necessary to do). Let’s instead give something happier and more uplifting. My Saturday IELTS class just finished, and here’s the class photo from the last day.

It was great teaching them all, and let’s hope for good things in the future for everyone, right.

Wow, this is a far happier theme, right? [But, I’ll need to finish that other ‘CLT & Taiwan’ theme, since you as consumers need to know the truth].

That’s the great thing about being a teacher: you can help people in their lives, and feel so good about yourself in doing so. Trust me, it’s a great feeling, and it’s one of the reasons I try so hard.

Click on aisielts.com for more information about courses.

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

Six Signs of a Fake/Not-Real Teacher of IELTS/English:

1^st Sign: Two Stories

In the previous post, I mentioned the 1^st (and worst) sign of a fake teacher: when the teacher speaks and explains using Chinese all the time. When this happens, you don’t need to think. Just immediately ask for your money back, walk out the door, and never go back. That teacher is a fake. Tell everyone about it.

Remember the comparison I made early on in this series of posts? Someone could explain to you for years how to drive a car, but you will never be able to drive it – until you get in the car, and practice driving. Similarly, teachers could ‘explain’ to you for years how to use English, but you will never be able to use it (speak, read, write, or listen) until you begin using it (speaking, reading, writing, and listening to it) meaningfully in the classroom.

But the majority of teachers in this country still ‘explain in Chinese’. They are even famous. This fact deserves some reflection. Thus, in this post I will give two personal stories about this 1^st sign.

Sign 1: First Story

I once worked at a BIG language school here in Taipei where every single ‘teacher’ just used Chinese. The most ‘famous’ teacher just walked in and lectured in Chinese (about the TOEFL test) to hoards of students. Then walked out. That simple.

When I checked the credentials of all these ‘teachers’ on the school’s website, there was nothing at all related to TEFL. All these ‘famous teachers’ had degrees in subjects such as Philosophy or Business or Linguistics, or they came from (or claimed to come from) ‘famous’ universities in America. (‘So they must be good, right?).

Maybe they were ‘not-real’ teachers – that is, they thought they were helping others (but actually weren’t). But I even wonder about this. When talking to some of them, it was clear they knew they were wasting the students’ time. They joked about the uselessness of the whole industry. Deep down they knew that they were just playing the game: the game where the teachers pretend to teach, and the students pretend to learn. And everyone has it easy – just sitting there listening to Chinese. It’s a widespread game, and it’s been played for decades. And it’s a game that many people don’t want to change – after all, it’s how they are making so much money.

Let’s compare it to my country, Australia. In my country, none of these people could ever teach in any language school. They would never ever be hired. They would never even be interviewed. If they were hired by mistake, their incompetence and inability to teach would be quickly recognised, and they would be promptly fired.

In Australia, there is regulation, and every language schools must be accredited through NEAS. NEAS is a globally recognised body that checks the quality of all schools, and to be recognised by NEAS, every teacher must have TEFL qualifications.

I worked at Monash University English Language Centre for five years, where every teacher had TEFL qualifications. There were regular ‘professional development sessions’ (PDs), the Director of the language institute was a Cambridge Teacher Trainer, and he eventually helped train me to become a Cambridge teacher trainer myself. Then I started training teachers in CELTA courses (alongside another teacher trainer). The centre itself was professional and modern, with ceiling top projectors and computers in every classroom. Class sizes were limited, and all the teachers used ‘communicative language teaching’. It all had to be this way. The centre was NEAS accredited.

So, you can imagine how shocked I was upon seeing what happens in Taiwan: an entire school dedicated to teaching you English, and not a single teacher there is actually qualified in teaching English. Not a single one of them could get a job in their own countries. But in Taiwan … well, they can even become ‘famous’ (but they have to speak Chinese to do this, unfortunately). Wow!

Sign 1: Second Story

This is a very short, but very illustrative story. A new student contacted AIS (my studio) a week ago. This student had studied English in America for three years, and had returned to Taiwan, and wanted to prepare for IELTS here.

She visited several IELTS schools here in Taipei to observe IELTSpreparation classes, and her response to us was, ‘I just couldn’t bear it!’ (or, in Chinese, ‘Show bu liaou’). This student explained to us, ‘All I saw was a lot of stupid memorisation, and students sitting there like robots repeating stuff.’ And so on.

When she observed my teaching, she came up to me, and said, “I recognise the way you teach from my time studying in a language school in Seattle.” And yes, this student has agreed to do both of my IELTS courses (Writing & Listening, and Reading & Speaking) in the next term [Term 5].

But why couldn’t this student bear what she saw in the other schools?

Because she had studied English in a western country in an accredited language school, where all the teachers had to be qualified and well-versed in TEFL methodology, and so she knew what real teaching was meant to be like. She could compare it to what happens in Taiwan. So she knew the truth.

But do you? To learn this truth, you don’t have to study English in America for three years. You can just read this series of posts. Easy, huh? Unfortunately, very few students bother to read these posts (although reading English with a dictionary to help you is GREAT preparation for IELTS).

I’d like to finish this 1^st sign of bad teaching with a simple question and an answer, and I will finish most of the next 10 posts in this same way. This question and its answer are designed to make you think. Here goes.

Why do these teacher use Chinese all the time?

The answer: because so many students accept this, and give them lots of money.

In the next post, I will give the 2^ndand 3^rdsign of being a fake/not-real teacher.

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

• hoard (n)
• philosophy (n)
• linguistics (n)
• to be prompt (adj)
• to be accredited (adj)
• to be entire (adj)
• to be illustrative (adj)
• to be well-versed [in sth.] (adj.)

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

(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 .