Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 March 20

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March 20

hit a person in the jaw and make his front teeth rattle

Would you please teach me the meaning of "hit a person in the jaw and make his front teeth rattle" in the following passage?

Mr Sampson, bland and familiar,said he was quite certain they could get her the very thing she required. He showed her sketches.

"I know there's nothing here that would do, but I just want to show you the kind of thing I would suggest."

"Oh no,that's not the sort of thing at all," she said, as she glanced at them impatiently. "What I want is something that'll just hit 'em in the jaw and make their front teeth rattle."(W. S. Maugham,Of Human Bondage, Chapter CVII, p.529.)

124.96.130.80 (talk) 03:25, 20 March 2013 (UTC)yumi

Essentially, it means the same thing as "knock their socks off", "blow them away", or "pleasantly surprise them out of the blue". Essentially she wants something so perfect that it will surprise the recipients so directly that they will almost feel the impact physically. ~AH1 ^(discuss!) 03:46, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

French term for "air raid shelter" in World War II?

I need the right Google search phrase for a question on the Humanities Desk. Thanks in advance.

In French we say: "abri antiaérien". This spelling is from Le Petit Robert French dictionnary, but it is sometimes spelt: "abri anti-aérien" (for instance in French Wiki: fr:Abri anti-aérien). — AldoSyrt (talk) 12:46, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

You may need a translation for "World War II": "seconde guerre mondiale" or "deuxième guerre mondiale". — AldoSyrt (talk) 12:54, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Many thanks. Alansplodge (talk) 13:16, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Resolved

Reverse TEFL

I know that Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is getting to be somewhat popular in the US. Specifically, you take a 1-3 month EFL training course (how to teach English) and then get placed somewhere abroad (ideally, for me anyway) for 6 months - 2 years, and are paid at least enough to make a little bit of money doing so.

My question is, are there programs that do the reverse? Prentending for a second that I would be a Native French speaker, would I have the opportunity to get a similar teaching certification and then go abroad somewhere to teach it through a similar *TFFL* (Teaching French as a Foreign Language) program?

Thank you,

Falconus^{p t c} 16:21, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

There isn't as much demand for such things. Perhaps there are tailored teaching certificates for French, Spanish and Chinese, but I doubt there are for much else. Remember most TEFL certificates are simply made up by the language school and certified to meet a certain standard - the only ones which have any kind of official body behind them specifically are CELTA and TESOL. When I did TEFL, I had colleagues who could speak other languages fluently or natively, and the language school basically contacted them whenever they got an opportunity to teach them - but this would only be, say, 3 hours per week German/Italian/whatever, compared to 15-20 of English. If you wanted to go abroad to teach French in a non-French speaking country, you'd probably just have to show up at the language school and say you're a native speaker - filelakeshoe (t / c) 16:30, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Maybe he could ask the Alliance Française? -- AnonMoos (talk) 17:18, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

A TEFL qualification is not even necessary. Many language schools abroad will take native speakers (or near-native), so long as they have a university degree (in any discipline - this is just a formality for the working visa - or you can get a working holiday visa if you don't have a degree. or get married and get a spouse visa - as I say, it's just a formality and has nothing to do with your teaching ability). I have been teaching all around the world for 17 years at all levels, from nursery school right up through school, university, corporate/business, and adults, as well as appearing as a speaker at seminars, and I don't have a TEFL cert. Never needed one. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 18:14, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

I like how you distinguish people found in schools, universities and business from adults.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:03, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

I suppose he meant adult in the sense of containing or dealing in explicitly sexual material. If something exists, then, there is the adult version of it. Why would it be different in the case of TEFL. OsmanRF34 (talk) 22:39, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

I was being (ironically) serious. To reiterate, I like the distinction. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 03:49, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, Jack. The distinction does actually exist in the TEFL world. 'Adults' refers to 'adults who are studying for reasons other than business, such as for travel, to watch movies/read books in their original, as a hobby, to do something with friends, etc.'. 'Business English' is considered separate. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 11:20, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Not sure what you're being sorry about. Thanks for the information. I still like the distinction, and intend to keep on liking it. Cheers. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 16:42, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

• I suspect, if you are interested in teaching French to non-French speakers, then an organization like La Francophonie may have programs for something like that. --Jayron32 20:35, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Some French government information about qualifications here. They warn people that simply getting the qualification does not entitle you to a job (qualifying as a school teacher in France does, although not in the school or city of your choice). These are all university-level qualifications. I expect there are also certificates you can get from private colleges. Itsmejudith (talk) 23:33, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

There are plenty of "GAFL" courses, many much more academic than a CELTA: [1]. Henry^Flower 04:08, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks everybody! Falconus^{p t c} 14:53, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Etymolgy of Stow

I have made some remarks at Talk:Stow,_Lincolnshire#Etymolgy_of_Stow and would welcome contributions there from those more learned on English place name elements than myself.--Robert EA Harvey (talk) 19:45, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Done, though I can't claim to be learned on that subject. Marco polo (talk) 01:36, 21 March 2013 (UTC)