The man’s name is Ralph Connor, and his dodgy Tefl operation goes under the name of the Living Language Tree (http://www.livinglanguagetree.com/). He describes it as a “training organisation”, but in truth he is a solo operator who hires either his drinking partners or newly qualified TEFL teachers with no experience. Worse, he continues to hire people entirely without teaching qualifications to teach classes of teenagers ranging from 12 to 15 years old. He is unable to work with children in the UK, due to his previous conviction for drug offences. He has also hired teachers who have drug convictions and who are forbidden from teaching in the UK. His stable of teachers is very small and consists largely of his dubious “mates”.
His website is a master class in bullshit and spurious claims. He claims to represent a “community of experts”, and offers services like “specialist research” and “teacher training and voice coaching”. However, he is not qualified as a teacher trainer or a voice coach, and his only research tool is Wikipedia. He is not a specialist in any subject except the brewing industry.
He is hired to run English courses by a number of schools in Austria for children aged 12 to 16. These schools are in Klagenfurt (Bundesreal Gymnasium, Klagenfurt-Viktring, 9073 Klagenfurt-Viktring), Linz (BG/WRG Gymnasium, Kornerstrasse Linz) and Baden. You can find an example of his achievements with Austrian children here.
He has employed some very dubious individuals who have no TEFL qualifications at all. For instance, his website states that he provides filmmaking course, which is combined with TEFL instruction. When asked about this course and whom he had in mind as a teacher, Mr Connor confessed that the man he had in mind was a fellow drinking partner. When questioned further (he was quite drunk at that time, which is probably why it was so easy to extract these confessional details), he admitted that this drinking buddy had no TEFL qualifications. He said that he enjoyed employing him simply because “He’s got no qualifications. He likes a drink and he has a big personality.” Some of the inexperienced teachers he hires also feel coerced into going out drinking with him. He creates the impression that this is expected of them, and they feel he will not hire them again if they refuse.
Of course, being an alcoholic himself, Ralph Connor prefers to hire those who enjoy drinking. This is no surprise, as those who have had the misfortune of working for him will have seen him begin his drinking at 2pm and carry on until 5.30am on a school night. He will then proceed onwards to school reeking of alcohol and sleepwalk through the day until he can resume his binge. Those Teflers who are not similarly inclined will be swiftly dropped from his books. At least they can say that they have had close experience one of the hairier corners of the TEFL world.
He also purports to offer teacher training. This would be laughable, given such a delusional claim, if it wasn’t so infuriating and aggravating, because it is individuals such as Mr Ralph Connor who are responsible for driving down standards in the TEFL industry. Mr Connor does not have a DELTA, CELTA or a PGCE to back up such a claim.
English in Action (www.englishinaction.com) employed him for a number of years. He left their employ for reasons unknown, and his version of the matter changes depending on his audience. The head of English in the school in Linz later revealed that Mr Connor offered to undercut EIA and that is how he founded his so-called business. He poached his clients from EIA. I understand that EIA are still very unhappy with him over this.
So, there we go then. Does anybody else have experience of working with this most charming and talented Tefl leech, Mr Ralph Connor?
86 comments:
I've worked with Ralph Connor for EIA and he is one of the most professional, imaginative and popular teachers I have come across in my 30 year career.
I have never read such a malicious, slanderous load of rubbish as this blog.
Ralph is a charming, talented and likeable person who treats his fellow professionals with respect.
I cannot say the same about the distasteful writer of this spurious, malicious verbiage.
mm
Aaave drunk with 'im for years and he'sh ma bes' mate
I worked with Ralph and I am a qualified teacher, with a degree in Acting and a CELTA. Ralph employs teachers he thinks can bring something to the kind of creative workshops he runs, which are English in Use including lots of drama, workshops and games. Students love his workshops and teachers enjoy them too. Ralph is a very generous employer, looks after his staff as if they were his own and always takes on your ideas and uses the gifts you bring to the table. As for the drinking, Ralph is a social animal, a people person. Sure, I admit Ralph likes to rally the troops and get everyone out socializing, and he's English, so where else would that happen but in a pub over a few drinks? If someone doesn't feel like going out, that's fine with Ralph, and frankly if you're not strong enough to say 'no' to a drink when you don't want one it's a skill worth learning! Ralph Conner is a great guy, an innovative leader and a loving family man. Nuff said.
Hmm...
Why are you 'extremely happy to dish the dirt' on Ralph? Is it because you're consumed by envy or because you worked for him once and weren't asked to again (surprise..). as one who purports to fight for the little man in TEFL you're particularly brave at taking on the small organisations which don't have funds for legal action against such libel. Scared of taking on the British Council with all its flaws?
As someone who has worked for Ralph (I have a CELTA, MA, PGCE and teacher training experience - sorry if this upsets a central premise of your argument) and as a former EiA DoS who worked with Ralph, I can tell you one of the reasons Ralph left EiA. Austrian schools frequently requested him back the next year he was so popular. As EiA wouldn't be dictated to by their clients it was fairly obvious there was a business opportunity. The fact he's still there and has expanded the busuness is testament to his success.
Yeh, but is he a pisshead or not?
So hee poached Eia's clients: Good for him. English In Action are the subsidiary of a corporate entity, behind which lies a private equity company (American), currently expanding.
The model that follows such ventures is to push to maximize profits while demanding that investment is recouped. It is not just an absence of certification which is an issue, it is the way the industry is becoming dominated by McDonalds / Starbucks type organisations, just as aggressive in their strategies and who have no scruples where it suits them.
Ralph likes a drink. That's about the only truth in your article. Obviously, the idea of enjoying a drink is anathema to the "heavy drinking Teflr's answer to ET Professional".
I'm assuming that you're able to back up your allegations, and they're not just hearsay, bitterness and jealousy? I'd hate to think that your only source would turn out to be in any way dodgy. Seeing as you're "extremely happy to dish the proverbial dirt", you must have a watertight case, right?
Oh dear, so another Tefl pisshead gets his cage rattled and starts kicking off. How pathetic!
'What goes around, comes around' is what the cliche states, and it's certainly true here too.
As for 'Ralph likes a drink', well, so do most of us, but there's a limit, and when non-drinkers get sacked, that's taking things too far.
Ralph, why not just revel in your new-found infamy? Like if you were blind drunk in a ditch!
Let's have a few facts here, away from the drama.
Does Ralph have a teaching qualification?
Is/Was he a member of AA?
Does he discriminate against non-boozers?
You want facts? Seeing as the article is particularly short on them, I suppose here is as good a place as any.
Yes, Ralph has teaching qualifications.
Ralph does not drive, so I doubt he's a member of the AA, RAC, or any other provider of breakdown cover.
No, he does not discriminate against non-boozers.
Interesting to see a retraction and a post removed subject to a legal request on this blog. Maybe it's best to check facts before publishing uncorroborated bullshit.
this is just a joke website, that is full of bitterness, because you have not had any degree of success in your life. hence why sandy isnt your real name is it ?
the story is completely made up by someone bitter and jealous.
you havent checked any facts relating to this story yet you stick by it.
if you had checked any facts like any normal person putting out such a piece of work that could be detrimental to the income and reputation of someone. you would have realised after a short period of investigation that this is just a made up article.
i think that you sandy whoever you are, are a disgrace to the people who work hard within tefl.
why dont you reveal who you are and where you teach, if you teach at all ?
who got sacked working with ralph - nobody.
come on stop being anonymous sandy. reveal who you really are, its so easy to bad mouth people hiding behind your made up image.
i hope google takes this appalling blog down soon. as i have seen it has taken some of your previous ones.
did google take your previous blogs down because you hadnt checked the facts and was making spurious claims.
why run such a story without checking the facts ?
how can you get all high and mighty without checking the facts of such an article before publishing it ?
where is your conviction to back this article sandy without checking the facts ?
the article has been sent to you by either a competitor or someone jealous of ralphs success.
it contains a numerous made up points.
so sandy are you alex case ? who are you ? why do you hide ? is it because you are a lazy loser who has to do a blog to get your frustration out on the world, are you waiting to be discovered ? are you so lazy you havent checked the facts on many of your stories ?
what exactly have you done to improve the tefl industry ?
NOTHING.
just another made up story on your blog.
Let's consider the questions about this person:
1. Is Mr. Connor a qualified teacher trainer? His website states that he is a teacher trainer, after all.
2. Likewise, is he a qualified voice coach? There are industry standards to possessing one, which is a specialist field in itself.
3. Does he have a criminal record of any kind?
In view of the fact that this is a site for the TEFL industry, I am appalled by the woeful grammar, sentence construction and general level of English.
This is evidenced in the comments above.
Look, I'm quite prepared to admit I'm wrong here, and I might have been hoodwinked. If so, it's the first time, and I'd be quite prepared to offer an apology to RC if that is the case.
So, Ralph, just send me a copy of those qualifications mentioned above (teacher, teacher-trainer, voice coach), and I'll remove the posting.
Otherwise, it would appear that you've been guilty of hoodwinking a few others, eh?!
I reckon you could be waiting a long time for those docs, Sandy!
"i hope google takes this appalling blog down soon. as i have seen it has taken some of your previous ones."
"so sandy are you alex case ?"
Who might this semi-literate poster be?
This blog is not just injurious to Ralph. It is also an insult to the qualified and experienced teachers and trainers who have worked with and for Ralph. We have been labelled unqualified and his "drinking buddies".
I have a certificate in diploma in TEFL, an MA in Writing and am experienced enough in teacher training to be working as mentor to Malaysian teachers with the British Council.
I worked for Living Language Tree because newly qualified teachers were getting more and better work with EIA.
My drinking is limited to the odd glass of wine maybe once every month or two.
Neither am I afraid to use my real name instead of hiding behind a fake identity.
I'm very pleased to see so many other people sticking up for Ralph and refuting the lies and allegations on this unpleasant blog.
I was determined not to post here as I didn't want to give you the attention you so obviously crave, but your poisonous pursuit of Ralph has become so ridiculous I couldn't resist it...
So, to begin, what's with all the questions and demands Sandy? You must know that defamation is unique in British law in that the burden of proof is on the person making the defamatory statements? Ralph is under no obligation to send you anything. If you don't think Ralph has a teaching qualification and want to share this opinion with the world, it's up to you to prove it. If you can't (and you can't, because it's an outright lie), you shouldn't be publishing it on your blog. Now there's a fact for you.
Regarding teacher training and voice coaching, can you indicate where exactly on Ralph's website it says he's a teacher trainer and voice coach? No? That would be because there's no mention of it. If you'd actually read the content of the website, you'd see it states that Living Language Tree can 'offer' teacher training and voice coaching. Nowhere does it state that Ralph conducts teacher training and voice coaching personally. It's quite obvious from previous posts that Ralph has experienced teacher trainers in his 'stable', so don't you think he might have contact with experienced voice coaches too? That seems perfectly plausible to me. Perhaps we should just ask Ralph to change the text so it says that Living Language Tree can 'organise' or 'arrange' teacher training and voice coaching so as to avoid confusing anyone in the future. Would that make you feel better?
As to your question about criminal records, it's a verifiable fact that Ralph has taught children with UK schools on numerous occasions, undergoing enhanced CRB checks each time. You never know, Ralph could well have something in his past (maybe he received a caution for cheeking a policeman in 1991?), but apparently nothing that would prevent him from working with children. Unless it's your specific intention to question the professional integrity of every UK school that has CRB checked Ralph throughout his career, I would say you're on pretty shaky ground there.
At this juncture, let's just take a tally of the people you seem intent on defaming:
- Ralph (obviously)
- everyone who has worked for Ralph
- the Austrian schools who invite Ralph and other teachers back year after year
(careful here: I believe defamation is a criminal offence in Austria)
- everyone Ralph has ever worked for in the UK
That's a pretty impressive list considering nothing from your source has been verified. Honestly, what are the chances of someone with no qualifications and a serious criminal record conducting a successful 12 year teaching career working in numerous schools in the UK and abroad without their past being flagged up? Are you so egotistical that you can flatter yourself into thinking you've uncovered 'facts' that countless other people have missed all these years? Did you not sit back at any point and think: "An unqualified, alcoholic criminal who only employs criminals and alcoholics and refuses to hire people again if they don't drink. Mmm, this seems too good to be true..."? My suggestion is that you didn't - simply because you didn't see past the 'kudos' you thought you'd be getting by 'exposing' it on your onanistic, self-congratulatory website. It's like you're blinded by your desperation to believe it all, despite any evidence (or indeed, likelihood) to the contrary.
I read an interview you gave in 2009 (http://tefltastic.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/sandy-mcmanus-interview/) where you said your reason for blogging was your "strong sense of injustice", which I find strange. Tell me, where's the justice in publishing unsubstantiated claims about someone you don't know? Justice for whom? Justice for you somehow? Justice for the patently bitter anonymous source who made the whole thing up? Justice for the world? How's your Messiah complex working out for you there Sandy? You also said "I used to stand up to bullies at school, and protect my mates from them too, so I guess it's just in my genes". Forgive me for asking, but who's the bully and who's the bullied here? Is the bully Ralph, a family man with two young children, who's spent years building up a business through a network of experienced professionals only to have someone publish a bunch of lies about him, or is it his faceless accuser, hiding behind a blog saying (rather childishly, I might add) "show me your teaching certificate and I'll take the blog down"? It seems pretty clear to me and, I would imagine, to everyone else who's taken the time to write in Ralph's defence here. You may well have started out with high ideals, but from where I'm sitting, it looks like your moral compass has been seriously skewed by your desire for internet 'fame'.
Your saying "I'm quite prepared to admit I'm wrong here, and I might have been hoodwinked" offers the clearest evidence that you haven't bothered to check any of the information you've so glibly published. Yes, you have been duped, not least by yourself. Maybe it's time for a rethink. Have you ever considered that you might be the one bringing down standards in EFL? How can making uncorroborated claims about people possibly be raising standards? Is there any other industry in which this kind of casual defamation might be in any way acceptable? Are you serious about 'making a difference' in EFL or is your blog just a self-serving vehicle for polishing your ego? Once you've considered these points, all you need to do is take the blog down and try to make recompense. If not, you'd better be prepared to justify every single one of your statements. And I'll be there in a long line of individuals and schools fully prepared to provide Ralph with all the evidence he needs to refute every malicious claim you've made.
That, I believe, is the long and short of it.
Merry Christmas.
Why have my comments just been removed? Why are you censoring posts Sandy?
so true
ralph doesnt deserve this terrible piece of slander
ralph is in fact one of the most respected teachers that i have ever worked with.
ralph is a well educated and qualified teacher, that has even written extensive course materials in the past.
this blog has been brought to my attention and its awful and undeserved.
This is my second attempt at posting this. My previous attempt was censored for some reason...
I was determined not to post here as I didn't want to give you the attention you so obviously crave, but your poisonous pursuit of Ralph has become so ridiculous I couldn't resist it.
So, to begin, what's with all the questions and demands Sandy? You must know that defamation is unique in British law in that the burden of proof is on the person making the defamatory statements? Ralph is under no obligation to send you anything. If you don't think Ralph has a teaching qualification and want to share this opinion with the world, it's up to you to prove it. If you can't (and you can't, because it's an outright lie), you shouldn't be publishing it on your blog. Now there's a fact for you.
Regarding teacher training and voice coaching, can you indicate where exactly on Ralph's website it says he's a teacher trainer and voice coach? No? That would be because there's no mention of it. If you'd actually read the content of the website, you'd see it states that Living Language Tree can 'offer' teacher training and voice coaching. Nowhere does it state that Ralph conducts teacher training and voice coaching personally. It's quite obvious from previous posts that Ralph has experienced teacher trainers in his 'stable', so don't you think he might have contact with experienced voice coaches too? That seems perfectly plausible to me. Perhaps we should just ask Ralph to change the text so it says that Living Language Tree can 'organise' or 'arrange' teacher training and voice coaching so as to avoid confusing anyone in the future. Would that make you feel better?
As to your question about criminal records, it's a verifiable fact that Ralph has taught children with UK schools on numerous occasions, undergoing enhanced CRB checks each time. You never know, Ralph could well have something in his past (maybe he received a caution for cheeking a policeman in 1991?), but apparently nothing that would prevent him from working with children. Unless it's your specific intention to question the professional integrity of every UK school that has CRB checked Ralph throughout his career, I would say you're on pretty shaky ground there.
At this juncture, let's just take a tally of the people you seem intent on defaming:
Ralph (obviously)
everyone who has worked for Ralph
the Austrian schools who invite Ralph and other teachers back year after year
(careful here: I believe defamation is a criminal offence in Austria)
everyone Ralph has ever worked for in the UK
That's a pretty impressive list considering nothing from your source has been verified. Honestly, what are the chances of someone with no qualifications and a serious criminal record conducting a successful 12 year teaching career working in numerous schools in the UK and abroad without their past being flagged up? Are you so egotistical that you can flatter yourself into thinking you've uncovered 'facts' that countless other people have missed all these years? Did you not sit back at any point and think: "An unqualified, alcoholic criminal who only employs criminals and alcoholics and refuses to hire people again if they don't drink. Mmm, this seems too good to be true..."? My suggestion is that you didn't - simply because you didn't see past the 'kudos' you thought you'd be getting by 'exposing' it on your onanistic, self-congratulatory website. It's like you're blinded by your desperation to believe it all, despite any evidence (or indeed, likelihood) to the contrary.
OK, I'm quite prepared I might be wrong and have been 'set up' by somebody who might have a personal grudge. If that's the case, I'll happily remove the posting.
Just email me evidence of RC's teaching credentials (and I don't mean some Mickey Mouse Tefl certificate), and I'll do so. Otherwise, you should be the one, Ralph, removing the fake claims from your site.
It's Christmas, and I'll be generous. Email me a copy of your teaching diploma, and Santa will give you what you desire!
"what are the chances of someone with no qualifications and a serious criminal record conducting a successful 12 year teaching career working in numerous schools in the UK and abroad without their past being flagged up?"
Pretty good - surprisingly so, I reckon. The BBC employ(ed) lots of people like that!
Enough ex-colleagues and employees people have spoken in Ralph's defense now. Save yourself embarrassment and quite possibly an Austrian lawsuit and post an apology to Ralph. You never know, perhaps he'll have the grace to employ you so you can experience first hand what a generous, altruistic, creative innovator he is.
And Ralph can offer expert voice coaching because in his stable of teachers he has professionally trained actors and singers, myself included.
I ran into this tiprat in Taiwan over a decade ago. He was a bloody boozebag back then. He put more effort into his partying than his day job. Looks like he's been calling on his mates to come to his aid here. Big on talk, light on details; as flash as a rat with a gold tooth. As we say down under.
This blog was brought to my attention by my son. My partner is a former client of Mr. Connor.
I can confirm that he promised more than delivered with regards his teaching.
I can also confirm that he was not invited back because he was perceived to be sloppy, complacent and unprofessional in the delivery of his courses.
This blog does a great service to the industry. I salute you for your courage.
The Essex wide boy has been calling round his chums, I see. Rallying the troops is in evidence.
So, in an attempt to sort the obfuscation from the chaff, I'm still attempting to understand if the question has been answered: does Ralph Connor have a teacher training qualification?
Surely, this is a simple question to answer?
Even if half of these allegations are correct, I wouldn't want him anywhere near my children. Would you?
The TEFL industry is full enough of these shysters.
I can second that earlier comment.
I knew him when he was in Taiwan - he liked a drink then. Very much so. Nothing wrong with that.
Unfortunately, I encountered him recently. He is not the man I once knew. He used to suck his strength out of the bottle. But now, the bottle sucks the strength out of him. Again, nothing wrong with that. But his lessons have suffered as a consequence. His delivery has suffered. And along with that, so has his ability to sort the truths from the lies he peddles.
I pity him.
Excuse my English. My colleague told me about this blog. I worked in a school in Graz which employed him in the past. He was not invited back because he was unreliable and unprofessional. The students complained that he smelled of alcohol. He was forgetful and never on time. He made big promises but did not deliver. The children did not respect him.
Thank you for posting this Sandy.
I work with him. We call him lunch time o' booze. Hahahaha!!!
That's a very disturbing video; it makes many of his supporters appear to protest too much. I would not let him in a classroom in that state.
Anonymous said...
That's a very disturbing video; it makes many of his supporters appear to protest too much. I would not let him in a classroom in that state.
HE IS NOT EVEN IN THE VIDEO !!
come on sandy, it takes a person of integrity to know when they are wrong and have been had on.
but you seem to persist with the crusade of nonsense.i think as this goes on. you seem to come across in a worse light.
this is beyond a joke now.
do you carry on with this appalling slander because you dont believe there will be any comeback on you sandy ? thats not a threat, i am just curious as whether you have given any thought to how you will deal with legal action taken against you.
because while you are hiding behind a false name sandy, you are traceable.
you have published an article which is complete slander. which could be proven as such in court.
so you hide behind this made up name, in the belief that if it all goes pear shaped, you can just walk away. wrong wrong
i would also suspect that you are the person sandy posting the negative comments, because the person who submitted this article to you has been identified and i would imagine they wont be posting anything else on here.
How strange, Ralph, that you should up the ante on the threats, when all you really need to do is provide a copy of your teaching qualifications.
And no, it's not me posting the threats. So I guess you have made a few enemies, eh, Ralph?
There's more evidence to follow soon, I am told. So watch this apace. Or email me those certificates, Ralph.
MORE EVIDENCE
HAHAHAHAHA
YOU DONT HAVE ANY EVIDENCE FOR YOUR POST IN THE FIRST PLACE.
sandy you have gone beyond asking for teaching qualifications with your slander.
to say you just want a copy of ralphs qualifications after you have published a slanderous post about him and his company.
send me a copy of your qualifications and i will remove the post.
your blog has gone much further in an attempt to take his character away.
you get some kind of perverse pleasure out of this situation hiding behind your made up name.
what are you getting out of this, trying to ruin a decent guys character ?
WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU HAVE TO SUBSTANTIATE YOUR BLOG ?
TO SAY YOU HAVE MORE COMING ? YOU DONT HAVE ANY CURRENTLY TO BACK UP WHAT YOU HAVE SAID ALREADY ?
JUST HEARSAY FROM SOMEONE WHO IS BITTER.
i really think there is something really sick and twisted about this whole attempt to slander ralph.
sandy whoever you are, you should be deeply ashamed by your actions.
More bluff and bluster from the Connor camp. At least, that's who we presume it is, as the source is always 'Anonymous'.
Care to give your name too?
Oh, and the teaching qualifications also, of which you appear to have NONE!!
BTW, I've seen off MUCH bigger fish than you Ralph.
Think about that one.
Sandy the more you post, the more i feel sorry for you. this is just a game for you.
i dont think anyone who really knows ralph can take your article about him seriously. but it is unjust for him to be on the receiving end.
you are just getting some kind of pleasure out of this. your replies are those of someone who lacks any kind of sense of perspective or can sense the upset that these series of published lies have had.
you must have a really small p*nis to put BTW,ive seen off much bigger fish than you ralph.
as people that know ralph, we have gone to the trouble to post, because this article is such a load of made up rubbish.
we have nothing to prove. but why should we watch on the side.
i think u are the one with bluff and bluster, hence why you have a whole made up self image.
it would seem the only thing certain is there is someone you have slandered.
you get a sense of importance out of this sandy dont you ? because this sense of self importance, is more important to your character than verifying how true the article is.
your craving for significance, is more important than the detrimental effect this article may have on ralph and his family.
Perhaps with a bit less of the psychological assaults (also without evidence) and a little more evidence of teaching qualifications we could draw a line under this whole affair.
Eh, Ralph?
Or do you prefer to blow the tempestuous winds of bullshit once more?
its all about the signifance you feel as a result of publishing this made up article.
you feel a sense of power, asking for qualifactions, like you are the judge of this situation.
lets have a quick recap shall we
1. this blog is run by someone who is hiding behind a made up name.
2. i have no idea if the other articles have been researched by 'sandy' to check the accuracy. but in this case, they clearly have not.
3 so 'sandy' accepts and publishes random submitted articles, by those who are bitter and maybe missing a slate or two from upstairs.
4. sandy would seem to lack the ability of a news of the world journalist on a lot of levels, but like them, is quite happy to put a story out if it creates some significance in his life and upsets others regardless.
5. what has sandy done to raise standards in the tefl industry constructively ? not a lot.
6. it has been higlighted to 'sandy' that this is a made up story. but rather than removing it after consideration of its content. he asks for qualifications. i think you are really unpleasant and missing the point of the nature of this situation sandy.
7. no threats made to sandy. but he now thinks there have been. so in reality, there are two people with issues with reality. one the instigator of this slander and sandy who would like to interprete events to reinforce his own significance.
8. i was reading private eye yesterday and thats quite clever, they generally check their facts before publishing and its amusing. you sandy are none of these.
Clearly Mr Connors prefers to fan "the tempestuous winds of bullshit" to supplying the evidence that would bring this game to a halt.
We have to wonder why...
so its just a game to you sandy.
thats all i wanted to hear.
THIS IS A GAME TO SANDY.
take a few minutes out sandy and think about the possible effects that these unproven slanderous comments could have on ralph and his family.
oh its only a game.
i think the only thing anyone rational reading your blog has to wonder, is when google is going to take it down. because this blog isnt about free speech and raising tefl standards, its about giving you sandy a sense of significance on the internet as i would guess you have no significance in real life, so this is an outlet for your general frustrations. a chance for you to feel a glimmer of importance and signigicance by trying to ruin someone elses business. yeah sandy its just a game.
do you sit around at work eating your pack lunch telling your colleagues how you stuck it to them.
that you have seen off bigger fish.
gandhi spoke about becoming the change you want to see. is your blog a reflection of what you want the tefl industry to become.
Scratched record, Ralph. Time to change that wonky disk.
What I have posted comes from one of your former employees. But you prefer to play 'shoot the messenger' than address the issues raised. And invoke Gandhi in your protestations of innocence!
So you realy do have NO teaching qualifications, right? Such an articulate bullshitter you truly are!
you are complicit in the publication of this slanderous article sandy.
Actually it's 'libelous' rather than 'slanderous'. I would have thought an English teacher would know that.
Clearly you are not 'one of us', but 'one of them' - the Tefl shysters!!
BTW, this is cracking stuff to put on Dave's ESL Cafe. I'm sure it will be well-received there.
Ralph, either you crawl back into your hole, or you send the diploma/s.
Simples, really!
Ralph, I have no dog in this fight, but you would come across better if you posted sober and used basic things like capital letters:
so its just a game to you sandy.
Four elementary mistakes in one sentence is not a great defence of your teaching.
It's also not a good idea to make empty legal threats- if you're going to sue, then sue, but many have made exactly the same threats here and they come across as bullshit rather than scary. One person said she was going to get her "legal department" on the case. Nothing came of that either.
And which of Sandy's sites did Google close down?
Perhaps the anonymous blogger (there is evidently only really one attacking Ralph) would care to name the school in Graz? I was DoS in a Graz school the year after Ralph. As I remember, Cara was there too.
its not ralph posting on here, so dont start putting my writing skills or lack of on ralph, besides do you think i would spend time making it perfect, i was going to say you get what i am writing, but you dont, you are just someone with a twisted sense of reality.
ralph has made no legal threats against you and neither have i.
where are the legal threats sandy, you cant even read.
point them out sandy, tell me, where are the empty legal threats.
How strange that the 'testimonials' page on the livinglanguagetree.com site is the only empty one there!
this is all about you feeling a sense of significance isnt it sandy.
a game where u are the bully hiding behind a facade, pretty unpleasant.
the behaviour of someone that gets some kind of perverse pleasure out of trying to ruin someones good reputation.
sandy you have quite obviously not gone to any effort to substantiate the claims you have presented.
and like a moron, you carry on.
you have obviously experienced a very limited amount of success in your life and feel a general bitterness towards the tefl industry.
you may/probably been sacked by a school or two. you started this site because you have this incredible writing style that the wider world needs to experience.
it gives you a sense of importance, something to impress upon your workmates.
sure i would imagine there are some awful employees in the tefl industry. ralph isnt one of them, he has always gone out of his way in many ways to support his employees. he has gone out of his way to employee some of the best teachers anywhere.
you completely ignore any of this,
you lack any ability to see reason, to join the dots, to stop and think, to find out if the article you received by someone who has issues is true.
no you post it up and then enjoy the fact that you are receiving attention. you are no longer considering the article that you have published. you are just enjoying the taunting.
which is a reflection of your need to feel significance, because i doubt you have significance outside of this site, you are getting a little buzz out of taunting.
you are unable to substantiate anything you have published, so in your sense of self importance, you are asking for qualifications.
come on grow up sandy, find out the facts, then when you have. remove the article.
do you need help sandy ? there are many help groups out there that can help people to move forward in their lives and become productive members of the wider community.
Hmm, thanks for the lengthy attampt at character assassination, but it's really rather lame.
Even worse, now it's YOU who are dealing in apparently unverifiable comments!
Ok, so let's deal with this: "come on grow up sandy, find out the facts, then when you have. remove the article."
Like I said, I'll remove the article when I have facts about Ralph's teaching credentials.
I've contacted EiA regarding this, but I guess they're away on Xmas break.
Meanwhile, there is some interesting newspaper stuff about Ralph's past antics in the Cwmbran area emerging. Watch this space!
has this load of nonsense been sent to you by a bitter competitor sandy ?
have you established who exactly has sent you this story ?
have you been able to verify that they exist in reality ? I know this could be a bit challenging for you, as you dont exist yourself sandy, but try and think out of the box.
Even worse, now it's YOU who are dealing in apparently unverifiable comments!
if you send me your answers on a postcard, i will be able to verify if its true or not..... until then merry christmas to you, stay lucky.
i find that fish fingers and chips are quite a tasty combination. what do you think sandy ?
sometimes i wonder whether i should have been a great leader, following in the footsteps of other tefl teachers that can play scrabble.
tempestuous what a wondeful word, such drama flowing from that word.
what other words can you make from the word tempestuous.
what do you think the characteristics of a great tefl teacher are ?
I recall this guy from when I worked in a school in Central London. One of his students had a lengthy screamin fit in his class due to his rambling, incoherent lesson. On that day, he had arrived looking as if he had slept rough and he actually did smell of drink.
There is a lot of truth in this description of him. Thank you, Sandy.
I watched that video. It really isn't a good advertisment of his teaching skills. Is that really a whiskey bottle on the table? The students are actually taking the mickey.
Avoid this shyster!
I knew him when he was a teacher in Taiwan. He was a joke! Thank goodness this has been posted to reveal to the world what this shyster is all about.
Great blog, Sandy!
more comments posted by sandy and attributed to others, nice one sandy small pen*s.
obviously another busy teaching day for you sandy or have you been fired from another school.
You still not sobered up yet, Ralph?!
I see that Ralph's decided to stay late in the pub tonight. ... Wonder what he'll do when they kick him out?
I see a reference to Mr. Ralph Connor's Central London days.
He was certainly infamous for his unrepentant carousing and revelry.
Well, it's certainly 'all gone quiet over there' now!
I see the Welsh capacity to waffle and bullshit has somehow deserted him now.
Regarding the claim that the comments from "The Connor Camp" are always anonymous - mine aren't. Being a qualified, experienced teacher and trainer, now with the British Council, I have never been approached by Ralph to post on this site and have no personal interest except to refute malicious claims. The comments against Ralph are always anonymous.
It is very pleasing to see Mike Turner's post in support of Ralph. If Mike has the extreme graciousness to do this, after Living Language Tree has "poached E.I.A clients," surely "Sandy" -whoever you are - certainly no one I know as I have happy memories of working in Austria with really nice people from EIA, LLT and Austrian Schools - in addition to Tawan where the kids obvioiusly adored Ralph - it would be better for all if you showed half of Mike's generosity of spirit and retracted your allegations about Ralph and stopped smearing those of those of who like and respect him
Yes, and Ralph's teaching credentials appear to be 'anonymous' too - or rather, non-existent.
Unless you'd care to put us all right on that one, eh Ralph?
Interesting what a search of Google throws up. Mr. Connor's linkedin profile states he offers:
"English courses by telephone, intensive in-country English courses, proofreading/copy-editing services, voice coaching, presentation skills and teacher training."
I wonder if Mr. Connor has any accreditation as a teacher trainer, copy-editor and voice coach.
I'm having real problems working out which side to believe here. To help me decide:
- Sandy, what research did you do before publishing this piece?
- Others, how did you end up on this post?
Well, the 'I rest my case' evidence is this...
Ralph Connor's only teaching qualification is a Tefl certificate that he picked up via the dole office in Cheltenham many years ago. Hardly inspires confidence, does it?
As for his suitability for working with kids, I can state most categorically that he would not pass a CRB check, which is why he works only abroad.
The 'Cambrian News' of September 23, 1999, reports a certain Mr Ralph John Connor as being referred to Crown Court on charges of drug possession and supply in April of that year.
Perhaps Mr Connor himself would like to inform us regarding the outcome of that little episode?
Thanks Sandy, but that doesn't answer my question of where you got your evidence from before you published the original post. At the moment I have the terrible feeling that the people on the other side are right that you published one ex-teacher's email without any further research done.
The first two comments come from Google identified bloggers. The next two posts from cara louise, not caralouise, are anonymous, as is the one from Mike Turner. He got a couple of friends in at the start, but there's nothing to suggest that the rest is any less anonymous or genuine. Look at my name- you can type anything in.
Some of the anti comments are suspicious- they're posted close together, suggesting that a single person is behind some of the later ones. The earlier ones seemed more convincing, or less unconvincing.
I'd take both sides with pinches of salt.
I'll leave it to Sandy to detail his research, but the text suggests that he did at least ring him up and ask him, and nothing has emerged that contradicts what he said.
Alex,
your assessment is spot on - none of the 'facts' here were verified or checked; they're obviously from one disgruntled individual. As one of the teacher trainers on Ralph's books, I'll be happy to discuss this with you personally and give you my name - I don't blog and therefore do not have a blogger's ID (note: Ralph does not claim to provide teacher training himself - another error in this blog)
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