So ... is ESL merely the easiest way for any jackass -- you know, the "would-be's," the "has-been's," and the "never-wases" -- to enter the ESL game??? Not that I rank as God's gift to the ESL biz, the number of serious grammatical errors I've noticed on this board by so-called English "teachers" is, to say the least, most appalling ... if not criminal! The real shocker, however, is that such gross inefficiency doesn't stop with the ESL instructor in Asia, for, alas, it appears to be a universal problem of English language education. Of course, once in a blue moon , even I will be guilty of a typo, misspelling, or word 'omision' (whoops!), albeit the repetition of such problems appears to be evident on the part of many of the regular contributors to this forum ... and, I speak not only of those for whom English serves as a second language! ME -- I'm already around the proverbial bend, but as for so many of the younger teachers already deeply embedded within the the teaching of ESL ... "MEIN LIEBER GOTT! ZEHR UNGLAUBLICH IST DAS!" Or, as they so wisely say back in good, old Brooklyn, "It ain't-a good showin' ... NO HOW!"

I have long been a staunch supporter of the AZAR BLUE (grammar) BOOK while, amongst my students, I refer to it as "The Holy Bible of English Grammar!" Yes, I realize there are innumerable teachers here in the US who are quite competent in their use of this method, while, alas, so many others using same on a regular basis tend to robotically review its many exercises without PERSONALLY ingesting and/or manifesting much of the knowledge the book represents. As fortune would have it, far too many of those very same culprits will all too often wind up in schools in the PRC, Korea, and even in Japan. Thankfully, however, there ARE a few of us in this forum -- i.e., E_S_L in Asia and Dos -- who can cut the mustard like true professionals, albeit what we regularly witness is ... well ... it's positively appalling and hardly indicative of what Asian employers anticipate so far as their foreign experts' expertise is concerned.

Guys, I'm not at all suggesting that anyone quit ESL or go back to school. Quite to the contrary, I'm merely proposing we all put in a little extra time each day actually STUDYING the material we teach. Then, when we "practice" same on the Teachers Board, it will show! After all, WE are the foreign experts, whereas, not so very long ago, there weren't that many of us around for Asian ESL schools to boast of. Surely, in such a position of exclusivity, ours is naught but TO ACTUALLY BE the very experts we represent.

I thank you for your time.

Love to all,

The Arrogant One