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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 20:37:08 GMT
The thing is there is nothing to really encourage native speakees of English to learn another language because everyone speaks English anyway. I did a Spanish course last year. God it was hard and it was only for beginners! Problem is these days it's all done in this immersive style. You walk into the class as a complete newbie and there's a Spanish lecturer jabbering away at you in Spanish. How are you supposed to understand it? Might work with kids but it doesn't work with me. Give me a nice list of verbs and pronouns to learn and I'll do it but DONT TALK TO ME IN IT. Jejeje.  Yeah you have to start at a basic level. Study some vocabulary and basic grammar. Once you have basic knowledge, an immersive course can be helpful. But starting with an immersive course gets you nowhere. |
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Post by DuchessConstance on Sept 30, 2016 21:01:03 GMT
How did you guess?  I love your moustaches. 😍 |
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Post by 49thand8th on Sept 30, 2016 21:12:20 GMT
I did a Spanish course last year. God it was hard and it was only for beginners! Problem is these days it's all done in this immersive style. You walk into the class as a complete newbie and there's a Spanish lecturer jabbering away at you in Spanish. How are you supposed to understand it? Might work with kids but it doesn't work with me. Give me a nice list of verbs and pronouns to learn and I'll do it but DONT TALK TO ME IN IT. Jejeje. Yeah you have to start at a basic level. Study some vocabulary and basic grammar. Once you have basic knowledge, an immersive course can be helpful. But starting with an immersive course gets you nowhere. My first American sign language class (in college) was immersive. And our teacher was deaf, so we had to pay attention and learn. There was an interpreter the first day, but after that, all non-ASL communication was done by him writing on the board or pointing at a page in our book. It was actually a fantastic experience, once we shed the people who couldn't keep up. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 21:48:33 GMT
I did a Spanish course last year. God it was hard and it was only for beginners! Problem is these days it's all done in this immersive style. You walk into the class as a complete newbie and there's a Spanish lecturer jabbering away at you in Spanish. How are you supposed to understand it? Might work with kids but it doesn't work with me. Give me a nice list of verbs and pronouns to learn and I'll do it but DONT TALK TO ME IN IT. Jejeje. Yeah you have to start at a basic level. Study some vocabulary and basic grammar. Once you have basic knowledge, an immersive course can be helpful. But starting with an immersive course gets you nowhere. I enjoy doing Spanish, I understand the basics and find I think very interesting. Once you know the tense endings then it makes things so much easier |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 21:56:45 GMT
I had a go at learning Spanish, but was a bit frustrated that my course was entirely conversational when I really could have done with a couple of hours just sitting and declining verbs every now and then.
Also I could never remember which nouns were masculine and which were feminine, which didn't help much either...
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Post by d'James on Sept 30, 2016 21:59:12 GMT
The thing is there is nothing to really encourage native speakees of English to learn another language because everyone speaks English anyway. I did a Spanish course last year. God it was hard and it was only for beginners! Problem is these days it's all done in this immersive style. You walk into the class as a complete newbie and there's a Spanish lecturer jabbering away at you in Spanish. How are you supposed to understand it? Might work with kids but it doesn't work with me. Give me a nice list of verbs and pronouns to learn and I'll do it but DONT TALK TO ME IN IT. Jejeje. It's difficult because there's so much research done all the time. When one trains as a language teacher, they say they like you to find your own way as a teacher, but really they like it done a certain way. The problem is of course that everyone learns differently and the immersive approach will work for a certain percentage of people but not everyone. I always preferred a more grammar-based approach myself (when learning). |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 22:42:28 GMT
I learnt French and Spanish at school though I've forgotten nearly all of it now. I can read French a bit, but I've always found it far easier to recognise words than to recall them so speaking foreign languages is incredibly difficult for me. Since then I've dabbled in Dutch and Welsh, without much success. (I can pronounce all the stations on the Cambrian Coast Railway with ease, but that's a skill that is rarely of any great use.)
I had trouble in my Spanish exam because I couldn't pronounce rr properly and the examiner had an extreme lisp, so it was a miracle I managed to get a C.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 2, 2016 10:41:30 GMT
Please, send good vibes! I just submitted my application to be part of the front of house staff at ATG!!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 11:06:14 GMT
Please, send good vibes! I just submitted my application to be part of the front of house staff at ATG!! What theatre did you apply for, if you don't mind me asking? |
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 2, 2016 11:10:40 GMT
Please, send good vibes! I just submitted my application to be part of the front of house staff at ATG!! What theatre did you apply for, if you don't mind me asking? You don't apply to a single theatre, but to ATG. Then, if your application is succesful, one of their theatres contacts you, but you can't choose which one. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 11:21:29 GMT
What theatre did you apply for, if you don't mind me asking? You don't apply to a single theatre, but to ATG. Then, if your application is succesful, one of their theatres contacts you, but you can't choose which one. Oh when I look at the ATG recruitment page, it does say the roles they have available at at what venues they need jobs for |
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 2, 2016 11:31:19 GMT
You don't apply to a single theatre, but to ATG. Then, if your application is succesful, one of their theatres contacts you, but you can't choose which one. Oh when I look at the ATG recruitment page, it does say the roles they have available at at what venues they need jobs for I think it depends on the job and on the time? Like, right now they're looking for a senior assistant at the Savoy, but for the usher job they say "London venues" |
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Post by DuchessConstance on Oct 2, 2016 11:44:59 GMT
Please, send good vibes! I just submitted my application to be part of the front of house staff at ATG!! The best of good vibes to you! 🦄👏👍👼🏻 |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 11:46:24 GMT
Please, send good vibes! I just submitted my application to be part of the front of house staff at ATG!! I hope to be your colleague next year then  |
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Post by niallpalmer on Oct 2, 2016 18:11:35 GMT
I don't know if this has ben said in another post, but sometimes it's also worth dropping in a CV in person - particularly to the few independent theatres (Shaftesbury, Criterion etc). Also, do email more than once - it's easy to end up in a pile of CVs in a filing cabinet and often it's all about applying just at the time someone is hiring! Also, Rep theatres like the National are good, especially if you don't want to have to listen to the same show for fifteen years! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 20:56:56 GMT
I don't know if this has ben said in another post, but sometimes it's also worth dropping in a CV in person - particularly to the few independent theatres (Shaftesbury, Criterion etc). Also, do email more than once - it's easy to end up in a pile of CVs in a filing cabinet and often it's all about applying just at the time someone is hiring! Also, Rep theatres like the National are good, especially if you don't want to have to listen to the same show for fifteen years! Thanks for your advice. There are certain shows I wouldn't mind listening to for fifteen years though |
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Post by Peach on Oct 2, 2016 21:33:32 GMT
I had a FOH interview with ATG at the beginning of the year. You will need to be keen on theatre but more importantly be confident, able to deal with (difficult) customer situations and upsell merch. There was a group interview (about 15 of us) where you had to do role plays, an on the spot task to see how you worked in a team and a basic numeracy test; how much change from £20 for 3 ice creams and a glass of wine sort of thing.
Look at their recruitment page on the website, it gives a lot of clues as to what they are looking for and read their mission statement so you are clued up about the company and how your personal strengths fit in with that.
Good luck!!
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Post by Anniek on Oct 3, 2016 7:11:07 GMT
Ha! pointone another Dutchie here on board! Succes! Belgian actually. You probably know who I am now  Hahaha I do! Let me know when you move, that will save me some postage! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 8:03:10 GMT
Belgian actually. You probably know who I am now Hahaha I do! Let me know when you move, that will save me some postage! Haha will do. I won't move until at least July though |
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Post by foxa on Oct 3, 2016 8:47:16 GMT
I had a FOH interview with ATG at the beginning of the year. You will need to be keen on theatre but more importantly be confident, able to deal with (difficult) customer situations and upsell merch. There was a group interview (about 15 of us) where you had to do role plays, an on the spot task to see how you worked in a team and a basic numeracy test; how much change from £20 for 3 ice creams and a glass of wine sort of thing. Look at their recruitment page on the website, it gives a lot of clues as to what they are looking for and read their mission statement so you are clued up about the company and how your personal strengths fit in with that. Good luck!! Yes, to back up what Peach said. A few years ago my son went for an ushering job and found the group interview aspect excruciating. They had hundreds of applicants and, as Peach says, they were put in largish groups and then there was a lot of role play, etc. I think they had to tell a funny story, build something with their bodies. He said some people were off and running, miming things, being hilarious, but for a quiet, arty type it was a bit of an ordeal, and he didn't get through. Funnily enough he works in America now as a theatre photographer and assistant front of house manager - no group interview or role play required. Go figure. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 9:05:45 GMT
I had a FOH interview with ATG at the beginning of the year. You will need to be keen on theatre but more importantly be confident, able to deal with (difficult) customer situations and upsell merch. There was a group interview (about 15 of us) where you had to do role plays, an on the spot task to see how you worked in a team and a basic numeracy test; how much change from £20 for 3 ice creams and a glass of wine sort of thing. Look at their recruitment page on the website, it gives a lot of clues as to what they are looking for and read their mission statement so you are clued up about the company and how your personal strengths fit in with that. Good luck!! Yes, to back up what Peach said. A few years ago my son went for an ushering job and found the group interview aspect excruciating. They had hundreds of applicants and, as Peach says, they were put in largish groups and then there was a lot of role play, etc. I think they had to tell a funny story, build something with their bodies. He said some people were off and running, miming things, being hilarious, but for a quiet, arty type it was a bit of an ordeal, and he didn't get through. Funnily enough he works in America now as a theatre photographer and assistant front of house manager - no group interview or role play required. Go figure. What? That doesn't make any sense. Sure, you have to be able to have a decent conversation with customers, but I don't see why there's a need for ushers to be performers as well |
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Post by foxa on Oct 3, 2016 9:24:13 GMT
Yes, that's sort of what he thought. He's pleasant and knowledgeable about theatre, but no way could he really shine in this situation. BUT that was a couple of years ago, it may not be quite so bad now (or others night not mind it so much.)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 9:24:15 GMT
I imagine it's something to do with seeing how you deal with working in a team, handling unexpected situations, communicating untraditional information to strangers, and solving problems creatively, but sometimes I do fear that these exercises sort of obscure their original point.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 9:25:21 GMT
Yes, that's sort of what he thought. He's pleasant and knowledgeable about theatre, but no way could he really shine in this situation. BUT that was a couple of years ago, it may not be quite so bad now (or others night not mind it so much.) And for which company was that? Was it ATG? |
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Post by foxa on Oct 3, 2016 9:31:18 GMT
Sorry, I don't remember (and now feel bad if I'm scaring you off.) Just be forewarned that it could happen so you aren't surprised if does require some teamwork, etc.
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