Ms Linda started off this thread by warning others to steer clear of the school that she spent two apparently unpleasant months working for. She was asked by Wendy to clarify her initial complaint - which she did.

Solongtinik jumped on her straight away accusing her of holding a grudge and demanding to know whether or not she was Chinese or foreign. Solongtinik had no right to ask anything about Ms Linda's racial origin, as it had no connection with her complaint and nothing to do with Solongtinik either. Moreover, Solongtinik would do well to greatly improve his/her own English - it is truly dreadful. Also, in picking on Ms Linda's name as being suggestive that she is Chinese, he has something of a cheek because his own name suggests that he might come from the Andromeda Galaxy!

Finally, KS, whilst I accept that you addressed her complaint, more of your posting was devoted to questioning her racial origin too, which is no business of yours either. You did that by criticising her English - yet your own English is more questionable than hers.

I quote:

"But no one should put up with treatment as this!"

You should have written "But no-one should put up with such treatment as that! (or "treatment such as that! Omission of the word "such" was wrong and your tense was wrong too. As Ms Linda was complaining about something that HAS happened, then all further reference to it should also be past tense (i.e. "that" instead of "this")

"And if did happen to you I am sorry to hear that it did."

It is a rule in written English that you must never start a sentence with the word "And"

"I know a little first hand the treatment of schools like this."

That last statement is verging on gobbledegook. Whose treatment do you know about? It could be argued that your statement refers to how schools are treated by other parties. In this case as Ms Linda complained about how she was treated by the school, we are left to presume that your statement is intended to echo that. Correct use of English, however, would have removed the need for us to presume.

If you are going to take pot-shots at someone else's English, then at least use good English yourself in the process. You might have written "I know a little at first hand about the treatment that can be handed out by schools like this" There are other compositions that could be similarly used - I merely give you an example.

Finally, your remark about schools being profit-driven is true but if schools were not making profits they would cease to trade and the likes of you, me and Ms Linda would be without jobs. The schools are simply doing the same as you and I. Like you, I earn a salary for my work. It is a decent salary by Chinese standards and I am able to eat and dress nicely and live well and still regularly save around 75% of it. If I were to curtail my personal expenditure, I would easily save more than that.

How would you react if your school were to make remarks implying that your savings suggest that your salary is too high? Be fair, schools are as entitled to make profits as you are to save as much of your salary as possible. It is, of course, no business of your employer to know or comment on how much you spend or save and likewise it is no business of yours to comment on what profits they make. If you don't like being petrol for their engine - please remember that it is they who provide the petrol for your engine too.

They provide the students for you to teach, the building in which you work, the accommodation in which you live, the documentation that allows you live and work legally in this Country and they provide you with your salary and maybe your ticket back home at the end of your contract. What do you provide? The singular service of teaching the students.

The opening of this response, however, dealt with the racial undertones in the postings made by you and Solongtinik. No-one should need to reveal his or her nationality in order to complain here. I have heard many so-called "native English speakers" who cannot put an intelligible sentence together because of their heavy national accents, so to imply that Ms Linda is not a "native English speaker" because of very minor nuances in her English is racially motivated and uncalled for. Both you and Solongtinik display bad English far worse than Ms Linda's

Dave