Mrs Hoover will be back in June 2011 for a new season of summer shows at the English Language Centre, Hove, Sussex.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Friday, 21 January 2011
STOP PRESS: Mrs Hoover will be giving a keynote address at the 45th IATEFL Conference..
COMEDY NIGHT WITH MRS HOOVER
Brighton on Monday 18th April 2011
Come and meet Brighton’s Leading Landlady for overseas students, delegate to the hostmothers of Great Britain and the woman who put the ‘hospital’ in ‘hospitality’.
Though not a trained teacher herself, Mrs Hoover has some robust opinions on how to teach English (“I’m a native speaker, it just comes naturally to me.”) And after four decades of catering for EL learners from all over the world, she knows a thing or two about cross-cultural understanding: “We’ve got the culture and it makes me cross when they don’t understand it!”
Hold onto your hats for an end-of-the-pier ride through the eccentric world of Mrs Hoover — Hostess to the World.
Fun, laughter, free biscuits and some (very) irregular verbs!
http://www.iatefl.org/brighton-2011/45th-annual-conference-and-exhibition-2011
Brighton on Monday 18th April 2011
Come and meet Brighton’s Leading Landlady for overseas students, delegate to the hostmothers of Great Britain and the woman who put the ‘hospital’ in ‘hospitality’.
Though not a trained teacher herself, Mrs Hoover has some robust opinions on how to teach English (“I’m a native speaker, it just comes naturally to me.”) And after four decades of catering for EL learners from all over the world, she knows a thing or two about cross-cultural understanding: “We’ve got the culture and it makes me cross when they don’t understand it!”
Hold onto your hats for an end-of-the-pier ride through the eccentric world of Mrs Hoover — Hostess to the World.
Fun, laughter, free biscuits and some (very) irregular verbs!
http://www.iatefl.org/brighton-2011/45th-annual-conference-and-exhibition-2011
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Had a nice chat with my new Colombian girl, Rosa...
Had a nice chat with my new Colombian girl, Rosa. She told me a lot of things about her home country that I never knew before.
Apparently, they have a proper government with a president and a council of ministers, and they even have elections every four years, like we do. She insisted that the rest of the world had the wrong image of her country. “They think we are all drug smugglers, or bandits!” she wailed.
“And kidnappers,” I reminded her.
“Yes, yes, all that. It’s so unfair!”
“Stereotypes are unfair, Rosa,” I said. “Some people in Europe associate us British with excessive drinking and hooliganism, yet I don’t know a single person with an ASBO*. Except of course for Mrs Baker at number 181 Davigdor Road.”
I was also surprised to learn that her country is in South America and used to be a Spanish colony; I’d always thought it was a part of Canada and had been a British colony.
* Anti-Social Behaviour Order, issued to individuals in recognition of their contribution to lawlessness in Britain, and often worn as a ‘badge of honour’ by ‘feral youths’. (See also: Hoodie, Hooray Henry, Prince Harry)
Apparently, they have a proper government with a president and a council of ministers, and they even have elections every four years, like we do. She insisted that the rest of the world had the wrong image of her country. “They think we are all drug smugglers, or bandits!” she wailed.
“And kidnappers,” I reminded her.
“Yes, yes, all that. It’s so unfair!”
“Stereotypes are unfair, Rosa,” I said. “Some people in Europe associate us British with excessive drinking and hooliganism, yet I don’t know a single person with an ASBO*. Except of course for Mrs Baker at number 181 Davigdor Road.”
I was also surprised to learn that her country is in South America and used to be a Spanish colony; I’d always thought it was a part of Canada and had been a British colony.
* Anti-Social Behaviour Order, issued to individuals in recognition of their contribution to lawlessness in Britain, and often worn as a ‘badge of honour’ by ‘feral youths’. (See also: Hoodie, Hooray Henry, Prince Harry)
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Got a call from the language school this morning...
Got a call from the language school this morning asking me if I’d take a VIP next week for a month. Apparently, he’s a Euro MP (whatever that means) and the school wants him to have the full five-star treatment.
Almuth, the accommodation secretary, said, “We’d love you to have him as you’ve had so much experience of so many nationalities and types and you’re used to dealing with tricky customers.” She’s right, too: when you’ve lived under the same roof with foreigners as I have these last 33 years, there’s nothing, however bizarre, that can faze you. But here’s the hilarious part: she says to me, “There’s just one problem — he’s allergic to cats.”
“And I’ve got two,” I said.
“Yes, I know,” she said.
“Jeffrey and Ian,” I said.
“Yes, she said, and she hesitated. I could hear her repeatedly clicking the button on her retractable ballpoint pen. “The thing is,” she said, “I was wondering if you could possibly have the cats placed in a cattery for the duration of Mr… er, Malherbe’s stay. Naturally, the school would meet the costs of their accommodation…”
Now I’ve had some strange requests in my time as a hostmother but this was priceless! I happen to know that Almuth herself is of foreign extraction, so I was willing to make allowances.
“My dear,” I said, “I think you’ve misunderstood one of the basic principles of family life in this country. I’ve sometimes had occasions to get rid of students because the animals didn’t take to them, but the other way round… Well, it’s unthinkable. Now if you’d asked me to have Leslie placed in temporary residential care, there might have been some room for manoeuvre!”
Almuth, the accommodation secretary, said, “We’d love you to have him as you’ve had so much experience of so many nationalities and types and you’re used to dealing with tricky customers.” She’s right, too: when you’ve lived under the same roof with foreigners as I have these last 33 years, there’s nothing, however bizarre, that can faze you. But here’s the hilarious part: she says to me, “There’s just one problem — he’s allergic to cats.”
“And I’ve got two,” I said.
“Yes, I know,” she said.
“Jeffrey and Ian,” I said.
“Yes, she said, and she hesitated. I could hear her repeatedly clicking the button on her retractable ballpoint pen. “The thing is,” she said, “I was wondering if you could possibly have the cats placed in a cattery for the duration of Mr… er, Malherbe’s stay. Naturally, the school would meet the costs of their accommodation…”
Now I’ve had some strange requests in my time as a hostmother but this was priceless! I happen to know that Almuth herself is of foreign extraction, so I was willing to make allowances.
“My dear,” I said, “I think you’ve misunderstood one of the basic principles of family life in this country. I’ve sometimes had occasions to get rid of students because the animals didn’t take to them, but the other way round… Well, it’s unthinkable. Now if you’d asked me to have Leslie placed in temporary residential care, there might have been some room for manoeuvre!”
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