David’s English Teaching World

The lingo of the urban youth is all set to get a voice in the form of a unique conference by Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad (MICA), claims Chitra Unnithan in the Business Standard. Aimed at understanding the Indianisation of English, ‘Chutnefying English’: A Hinglish Conference at The Grand Hyatt in Mumbai in January 2009, is about how the English language in India is undergoing a significant transformation in its grammar and vocabulary, as it borrows from colloquial Hindi in its day-to-day parlance.

The conference aims to look closely at the economics and cultural politics of the hybrid language, ‘Hinglish’, and will attempt to understand its place in the linguistic economy of India.

“Over the years, there has been a polarised relationship between English and Hindi. At one time, the country was divided on the issue of English usage in the country. During research, I found that the battle has been interestingly resolved without much effort, thanks to Hinglish. We have given up the pretence of sounding like English and no longer want to speak the Queen’s English. And Hindi cannot help but borrow certain words from English. Moreover, this has become the language of the urban youth and campuses across the country and we aim to give a serious treatment to this mixture through the conference,” says Rita Kothari, an associate professor at MICA.

The conference, which caters to the generation that speaks a mix of Hindi and English, will bring the academia and industry together to reflect on the use of Hinglish with well-known personalities like actors Nandita Das and Rahul Bose, television host Cyrus Broacha, admakers Santosh Desai and Piyush Pandey, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, besides corporates, academic and media professionals from India and abroad.

“Several factors like Bollywood and its permeation can be attributed to this change. Even a veteran like Gulzar, for instance, uses English lyrics for his Hindi songs these days. The advertising world has also contributed in this direction with ads like ‘Hungry Kya’ and ‘What your bahana is?’. Another factor that has led to the widespread use of Hinglish has been the increase in the migration of people within the country and in English-speaking countries. The conference is an attempt to study whether this hybrid mixture is likely to become the language of urban India,” adds Kothari.

Situated, as it is, at the heart of the South East Asian region it is no surprise that Thailand is home to many expats. It is not only convenient geographically; it also has a modern infrastructure making it a convenient place from which to do business. The ease of living and the variety and beauty of places to live also mean that Thailand is also a popular place to retire. It is a country where a modest pension can go a long way.

For those wishing to make their home in Thailand the first and most important hurdle to jump is that of visas. Although visiting as a tourist is a simple process, negotiating the bureaucracy for a longer term stay is more complicated. If you are employed in Thailand you will need a work permit. This involves your employer providing proof that you are genuinely employed. You then apply for a non immigrant visa, preferably from your country of origin, which allows a stay of three months. During that time you need to complete the process of getting a work permit at which point you will be granted a one year renewable visa. For a retirement visa you need to be over fifty years old and prove sufficient funds.

Once established in Thailand you will need health insurance. Private health care is excellent and, compared to western countries, is also very cheap. However cheap it is if you should be unfortunate and need major medical the cost does mount up. There is not really any need to be covered for outpatient care since the insurance payouts are minimal and it is cheap in any case. BUPA BlueCross is an international company that can take care of all this. Opening a bank account in Thailand is very simple. You do not necessarily need to show residency but it helps. The Kasikorn Bank is the one that seems most foreigner friendly. You will be issued with an ATM card that also functions as a debit card.

If you want to work in Thailand there are opportunities but it can be complicated. The single biggest need in all of Asia, given that English is the global language of commerce, is for people who can teach. These days you will need to be educated up to University standard and you will definitely fair better if you also have a TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) or TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification that qualifies you as a properly trained teacher. Apart from that there is work in the tourist industry if you have skills in diving or the hospitality industry. Wages in Thailand are generally fairly low if employed locally but then so is the cost of living. This works both ways. Many people choose to work “remotely” for companies in their own countries and with advances in technology and the reasonable living costs this is an increasing trend.

When living in Thailand the expat does have to get used to things that would generally not be an issue in Europe or the US. Although in many ways very advanced, Thailand is also very newly developed. One has to deal with a, sometimes, chaotic bureaucracy, a legal system that lacks definition and a police force that is underpaid and therefore unorthodox in methods of law enforcement. If you are asked for extra curricular payments and you are guilty the most important thing is to remain friendly and keep the costs down. In the main this will involve minor traffic infringements and the standard ‘fee’ to walk away is about 200 baht. When it comes to serious crimes, especially drugs, law enforcement in Thailand is punitive to put it mildly.

One thing that every expat in Thailand learns sooner or later is patience. Things don’t always happen as quickly as they should and sometimes they don’t happen at all. To show anger and impatience, however justified, will probably just make things worse. For the expat the first phrase of Thai to be learned is ‘Mai Pen Rai’ or ‘never mind’.

In news that is unsurprising for anyone remotely familiar with any state school system anywhere in the world, an acute shortage of teachers in government-run schools across Uttar Pradesh may stymie the state government’s plan to introduce English as a subject from Class 1.

This is just one of the topics explored in greater depth over at the ELT World News blog, which features ever more of the highlights of what’s new in the world of TEFLing.

Taiwan’s first English language village has recently opened in Taiwan, where Taiwanese children go twice a week for English immersion classes.

The Happy English Village features themed classrooms: a bank, a hotel, an airport waiting room and a coffee bar amongst others, and attracts 120 students. It was the idea of a non-profit organisation called the King Car Education Foundation.The idea came to General Director Morgan Sun after visiting similar immersion villages in Korea. Concerned about the relatively poor ranking of Taiwanese students on the IELTS exam, compared to Japanese, South Korean and Vietnamese students, he decided it was time for an immersion village in Taiwan.

He hopes that the emphasis on speaking with the volunteer foreign teachers at the village, will shift the emphasis away from rote-learning and exams in the Taiwanese education system, towards communicative learning through real-life experiences.

I previously featured Kazakhstan as a teaching destination in an excellent article by Paul Bartlett entitled The Real Kazakhstan: Eager to Attract Foreign Expertise. Paul has been hard at work spreading the word in another article, this time in the Guardian: Teaching in Kazakhstan .

From the TEFL point of view, Kazakhstan is still largely an unknown market. Almaty offers the best hopes for less experienced teachers, as it is home to a number of private language schools who are always looking for native-speaker teachers. An initial TEFL qualification will enhance your chances.

The pay is not great – rent and prices in Almaty have risen significantly in recent years – so before accepting a deal, check that it includes enough to cover your rent and other outgoings.

Although Paul does a pretty good job of breaking the Borat stereotyping of this country, he still hasn’t convinced met hat this should be my next teaching destination! Learn more about teaching English in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan at the teaching English in Russia and Ukraine website and at the forum.