English "Fluentzy" from Illiterate Teachers
Are there any native English speakers in the house?This full page ad that ran on page 9 of The Hindu this morning typifies a growing industry of English language class hucksterism that is sweeping South Asia. Yes, English is the new global lingua franca, and yes, in order to cash in on the growing number of tech and outsourcing jobs you had better have a firm grasp of Anglo-Saxon grammar. But three month crash courses from billboard plastering bodegas is certainly not the way to go.
First the name. "Fluentzy"? You've got to be kidding me.
Do you really need that debilitating "Z"? All that casual marquee mistake does is prove that Prof. Kev Nair is only proficient enough to make his way passably on Internet chat rooms and SMS messages to pimple faced 14-year-olds.
Take a gander over to the website and you can get a full rundown of pedagogical tools, handbooks and links to dictionaries, but also several quotes from national newspapers that seem to endorse his product. Never mind that the quotes most likely emerge from the text of his own advertisements, I'm sure that anyone silly enough to sign up for his course has difficulty combing through his split infinitives and spectacular typos.
posted by Scott Carney @ 11:53 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
It might be true that this guy is a bogus and is probably running the show from a city corner shack awash with bogus certificates, but I do not see the problem behind his branding - I mean the use of Fluent'z'y.
Come on... it's a noun and just a brand name. We worship names like Yahoo and Google afterall. Anything goes for brand names. Go easy on him, will ya?
they been running this for quite some time... and i can tell u with quite some confidence, that its a total crap.. u could learn much more reading wren and martin instead.. still pathetic, check out the recent issues of compeition success review or one of those aptitude magazines.. they have this thing called the min power institute run by this guy in rajasthan called raj bapna i believe.. such a scam. he claims he earned 1500 rupees an hour, programming MS-Dos. thinking about it, thats 35-40$ an hour, anybody could do that in america esp during the IT boom..
Well... Scott,
I've been following your blog for a while, but I didn't think you would go as low as this.
About the brand name, I think govar has explained.
Scott, have you actually tried these books before you've blamed them? Or spoken to anybody who as used these books? And you've even labelled/tagged them under "fraud". What prompted you to do that? Have they actually gypped you out of any money? Or somebody you know of? I smell a really hot defamation suit coming up once their legal people get wind of this post.
And I think you probably did not bother to read the information they gave given in the ad. They say the books are for people who know English very well, but can't speak fluently enough. So calling it a "crash" course wouldn't exactly be fair, would it? And they haven't called it a "crash" course either.
Have you spoken with kev nair before you came to the conclusion that "Prof. Kev Nair is only proficient enough to make his way passably on Internet chat rooms and SMS messages to pimple faced 14-year-olds"? Or have you chatted with him before you came to this conclusion? You state it as though it were a fact! From the kind of sweeping statements you've been making, I don't think you have any idea about Nair, or his books. I have spoken to Nair (on the phone), about 12-13 years back. He came across as very articulate, knowledgeable and very helpful. I wanted something that would help my son (who was 22, and a graduate then) speak well. My son spent 2 months of quality time with the books, and believe me, there wal a world of difference in the way he spoke English (he was already good at writing English). I used the books after he was through with them, and I found that I made an improvement (I could already speak very good English, thank you - I'm a District Judge in India, and I need to speak very well to do any good in my job.)
And again, if you actually bother to read the advertisement, you'll find that it is not that "the quotes most likely emerge from the text of his own advertisements", but that the text of the advertisements contain these quotes, credited to each newspaper/magazine. And I don't find any harm in using more or less the same language that he has credited, in order to explain things better. (But I couldn't find the text in the quotes repeated anywhere and that is another matter).
These people have been advertising their books for over at least 15 years that I know of. I doubt a "fraud" (as you have labelled it" could last anywhere near that long. And I'm sure a newspaper like The Hindu will have anything to do with people who pull scams on their readers. If you don't know, that actually refuse advertisements from people who even remotely smell of fraud, unless they can prove the fact that they are genuine.
A blogger like you should be more responsible and discerning with the kind of things you write. This is coming form somebody who has bought the books from the publisher, has used them and found them to be effective for himself and his son. (I've come across at least 8-10 other people in my profession alone who have bought these books and found them useful).
Scott,
If you had browse thru the website and read all the content and sample chapters, you would have not made this comment.
Honarable Judge,
I am very much impressed by your feedback. I have ordered the books.
I believe it will work for me.
Hi Villain,
I am Raj Bapna.
Just a quick clarification: I am in no way associated with www.Fluentzy.com which is owned by Prof Kev Nair.
My work has been helping students use more mind power and study better to get more marks in exams. My websites are www.MindPowerIndia.com and www.MindMachineLab.com
Warm Regards,
Raj Bapna
I bought the book from Kev Nair and found the books are really useful. I am sure definitely its not a scam or fraud. I suggest this book everyone in my company and encourage them to buy this books instead of photo copy it. Coz. If a book is worth reading then Its worth buying.
regards,
Arivu.
mujhe to aapaki akal par taras aata hai
Hi friends,
Can I believe these books from Nair, are true and that system is not a fraud one.
I am in confusion to order them r not, so let me know about this
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