LetThemTalk on Australian TV

LetThemTalk on Australian TV
Originally uploaded by LetThemTalk

Last Sunday Australian TV came to film a French course at LetThemTalk Paris. Channel 9's Getaway travel programme came along with their presenter Natalie Gruzelski.

The filming took about 2 hours. We were lucky to have a group of students and our French teacher Hakim present to help out.

I'm not sure when the show will come out but I was told "in a few months".

Menu For Hope 2009

Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising campaign raising money for the UN World Food Programme with projects in over 75 countries helping local people in communities facing malnutrition to become self-reliant on food. Find out more information about Menu For Hope on David Lebovitz's website. Alternatively read the article on Chez Pim's food blog

LetThemTalk are offering 2 bid items for this year's menu for hope. You can bid for one or 2 sets of 5 "Cafe Conversation" French conversation courses in Paris, these are French courses that take place every Sunday afternoon in a cafe in central Paris. More details here. In order to bid for these or any other of the items on the auction please follow the instructions below and make your bids by 25th December 2009:

To Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle

Here's what you need to do:

1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.

2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code.
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

LetThemTalk Paris Blog

Speaking Englisch
Originally uploaded by malias.

Here is a shameless plug for The Other Blog that I write. In fact it's principally a blog of links to articles and videos of stuff I use while teaching English here in Paris. There is also a bit of English Grammar thrown in for good measure for those who need it. Nevertheless, here is the link. I hope you find it enlightening. LetThemTalk Paris blog

The Wall Street Institute Paris

The worst interview I ever had happened some 18 years ago while in Madrid when I went for a job at the Wall Street Institute. I'd spoken to arrange the interview by phone and had talked to someone with a deep husky voice who explained a few things about the role to me.

When I arrived at the school I was led into a room and was confronted by a sizeable black American woman. After the usual pleasenteries I said that I had spoken to her colleague over the phone and he had told me x, y and z.
She stared at me for a moment and then said in a quite aggravated manner that 'it was me you spoke to'. I got out of there as quick as I could.

The Wall Street Institute is like the Starbucks of language schools. You'll find many in Paris and their advertising is everywhere notably in the Metro where the ad claims (usually showing a photo of a businessman punching the air in delight) that their students have a '97% success rate'. That is, on their own internal test. Wasn't it Disraeli who said that "There are lies, damn lies and statistics"

One of the students where I teach English in Paris used to go to the Wall Street Institute. He hated it. Basically he spent most of the time in front of a computer doing exercises and once in a while a teacher would come by to check things. He paid a lot of money but got nowhere so he came to us.

If I could just convince a few more of the Wall Street Institute's clients in Paris to come to my classes instead (perhaps 3%) then I might start to make a decent living here.

Post script: After posting the above I came across this interesting website about the Wall Street Institute in Paris and elsewhere TEFL blacklist - Wall Street Institute

Post post script: I recorded this skit called not the Wall Street Institute Paris

Trying to be interesting

"I TOLD YOU NO PHOTOS!!"
Originally uploaded by malias.

I'm not much of a writer but I do like to put pen to paper (or is it fingers to keyboard) whenever I have a free moment.

I've always had an interest in history and with this in mind I've added a new section the website I'm involved in. I was looking for a theme and in I decided on two things. Firstly, there must be a connection (no matter how vague) to Paris, France or the French language (as it's a Paris based website) and secondly it must be interesting.

So far I've compiled 5 tales plus one page about franglais.

So if you want to see the first film ever made and learn about its filmaker, Louis Le Prince and how he mysteriously disappeared.

Or, how the British poisoned Napoleon

Or how it was the English who invented Champagne

Or how a Bohemian con man sold the Eiffel tower.

Or find out about the history of absinthe and how it got banned around the world

Then follow this link. Interesting, very interesting