Sunday, January 25, 2015

Inverted Idioms



As the residents of my state prepared for a cold front, one of the local television anchors remarked, "We are in store for a big chill."

His meaning was that extremely cold weather was about to descend upon us, but that is not what he said. 

The word store in the idiom “in store for” means, “a stock of something laid up for future use.” Figuratively speaking, events or conditions (like a cold front) are “in store for” those who will experience them in the future. The people of the state were not in store for the big chill. The big chill was in store for the people of the state.

Here are some examples from the Web that get it right:

More Snow in Store for Turkey, Jerusalem This Weekend

The New Congress: What’s In Store for Natural Health?

That same television anchorman, reporting news about two businessmen, said,

They’re in the works of opening up two new restaurants.

The businessmen are not “in the works”; the two new restaurants are “in the works.” 

One meaning of works (noun) is “the working parts of a machine.” For example, one removes the back of a clock to reveal the works inside.

“In the works” is a figurative expression meaning “being prepared” or “in development.”
The processes or stages of getting something done are being compared to the workings of a machine. 


Here are some examples from the Web in which the expression is used correctly:

A new big solar panel farm in the works in California

Beamdog confirms that a new Baldur’s Gate game is in the works
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Comment: One might say that “in the works” means “in the process”.

 One might say that it means that, but it doesn’t mean that. One might say “two” means “three” in which case 2 + 2= 6 makes sense, as well. The phrase “in the works” refers to endeavors, not to people undertaking them. Saying, “They’re in the works of” doing something is like saying, “They are on the drawing board with ideas”. The ideas are on the drawing board, not them.

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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Five Great Reasons to Teach Overseas!



Where in the world would you like to go? Let me tell you how you can get there and be paid for it!

Here are five GREAT reasons why you should think about teaching overseas for a year or two:

  1. Schools around the world need English teachers URGENTLY! At home, jobs are had to find but not overseas as a teacher. China and South Korea alone need hundreds… even thousands of qualified native English speakers to teach in their schools.

  1. You get to experience a new culture, a new language and travel!

  1. Meet and make many new friends.

  1. Schools will often pay your airfare. You pay initially but the school will pay you back and pay return airfare at the end of your contract. Besides a salary and benefits, you may get free Internet access, free language lessons, free or subsidized housing, settling in allowance, meals and even  transportation (in some countries this may be a bicycle).

  1. Teachers usually get lots of vacation time – a fantastic chance to explore the country and neighbouring nations.

  1. Did I say FIVE reasons? Let me give you another TWO! Overseas teaching experience looks great on your résumé. Most companies these days are either multinational or have overseas connections. They like to hire people who have international experience.

  1. All you need is a degree (any discipline) and a TESOL certificate to make it happen and we can help you achieve your goal.

Interested? Check out our web site. We have been training people to teach overseas since 1998 and have graduates teaching around the world. Browse our web site. See what graduates say.

If you are a native speaker (or fluent in English), we can have you TESOL certified and ready to go in four to six weeks. Some of our students are snapped up even before they complete our course! We are delighted to send their certificate to them at their new school.

This is your chance to Go Somewhere You’ve Always Wanted to Go! Start by going to our web site and register for our TESOL course. $375 is the full certificate course tuition and a very small investment in your future.

Dr Robert Taylor
Sunbridge Institute of English

Monday, January 19, 2015

Plenty of New Teaching Jobs!

Where would you like to teach? There are plenty of new jobs just posted this week. You can always check them out on our website: http://www.teachesl.org/jobs.shtml but to save you time, there they are...



This Week's Worldwide Jobs
Cambodia 1,  China 100+, Colombia 1, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 4, East Timor 1, Ecuador 1, France 3, Germany 4, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 7, Hungary 1, Indonesia 14, Ireland 1, Italy 21, Japan 7, Kazakhstan 2, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 2, Luxembourg 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 2, Poland 4, Russian Federation 11, Saudi Arabia 25, Singapore 2, Slovakia 2, South Korea 2, Spain 32, Taiwan 3, Tanzania 1, Thailand 4, Turkey 4.

Haven't got your TESOL Certification yet? This is what most schools are asking for these days. With Sunbridge, you can earn your TESOL Certificate in 4-6 weeks!