Raoul's China Saloon (V5.0) Beta
The Teachers' Lounge => Requests for Info on Employers (ON-TOPIC) => Topic started by: wiley316 on June 19, 2013, 11:49:28 AM
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Anyone heard of EF franchise? My Inbox came with an E-mail from EF this week and I've so far heard bad things about their management running, thought + they apparently pay on time.
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There's no one specific answer. Some are great, others are horrendous. As a franchise, it will depend on which particular one you mean. Back in Changchun, we had 2, one great, one sucked.
You're going to hear lots of negative, here's a positive:
One of the things that will happen is that you'll have access to lots of modern equipment and books. You will also become a better teacher quickly which is good if you want to do more than a year of this. They have plenty of social events coupled with many long working hours means little down time. Usually the classes are not too big compared to other private schools.
Your "happiness level" will depend on what you want too. If you want basic pay and minimal hours, then bad choice. If you plan to develop and are willing to sacrifice personal time, go for it
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Wayne the guy in charge of EF Daqing is a pretty good guy. I don't work for him but have had positive dealings with him. The teacher I know that are there are generally happy.
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The key question is: do they have on-call plumbers in case your water heater breaks?
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I had a good enough experience in EF Xi'an for a year, and its many branches were all reputedly well-run. Staff mostly happy.
The problems will be bog-standard language mill problems. They will work you hard and you will have admin/office hours.
They also pay well and give good apartments. There is a clear structure to the courses too, whether you like this or not.
Overall a good gig for new-ish teachers/new-ish teachers in China. Good place to get your feet with plenty of support.
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Anyone heard of EF franchise? My Inbox came with an E-mail from EF this week and I've so far heard bad things about their management running, thought + they apparently pay on time.
No, and we have never heard of McDonalds either. Haha. What I mean by that is they are one of the most famous franchises for English mills in China. Anyone's experience with EF would generally apply to that particular center only, and likely only within a range of a few years as management changes often, similar to many fast food joints.
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I think Day Dreamer's post sums up the better branches pretty well. You should ask to talk to as many current teachers (the more China varied experience the better) there as possible to get some kind of accurate idea.
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One tip = EF have a nation-wide recruiter that can place you anywhere. See instead if you can contact branches yourself, especially if you think you have found a good branch.
See, these branches are franchises and they resent having to pay the national recruiter. Also, you can get a better sense of the individual branch if you are negotiating directly.
Not sure how feasible this is, but I managed it (NEARLY 10 YEARS AGO OH FUCK WHERE HAS MY YOUTH GONE???? aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao)
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I also worked at an EF close to 10 years ago. My branch is now defunct but it was a cool job at the time with a really awesome DOS. The DOS makes a huge difference at EF. Some are great, some suck.
I will second the claim that (if you get a good one) they'll teach you how to teach. EF provides a lot of teaching support and feedback -- they make you observe other teachers before they put you in the classroom on your own and you're supposed to periodically participate in peer evaluations with your colleagues. They also will have your DOS observe your classes and give you feedback. The curriculum is very set, you get books to follow and the kids are split pretty accurately into levels by age and ability. EF can be a good first gig I think, provided you get a good center, although most teachers I know eventually move onto other things.
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OP, it's great that you are doing your research and everything, but are you ever gonna actually take the plunge and move to China? So far you have asked us about:
- future leaders consultants
- DD Dragon
- Disney English
- Metan english
You never really ask many specific questions, or give us much info', or provide any follow up, which is fair enough, but sooner or later you are just going to have to choose a school...
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...choose a school...
Maybe tell us a bit more about yourself too so we can help more - you've picked the bigger names which suggests that you are worried about security of employment and conditions of work. Is this so? What's your interest and motivation in coming to China?
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Eh, it's been 6 months since he registered. Maybe he's an INTP like myself. I prepared for over a year before coming to China.
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Eh, it's been 6 months since he registered. Maybe he's an INTP like myself. I prepared for over a year before coming to China.
Excuse my ignorance, but what's an INTP?
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Excuse my ignorance, but what's an INTP?
It a personality type from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator)
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Yes. More specifically:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTP
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Sorry guys I know I am testing the water out here being little indecisive, I have plans to move to China soon and just want reviews on different schools so I can get the right place, often I think reading this above EF seems pretty run of mill school anyway, shouldn't expect any shocks if I go with them. Thanks guys.
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Deciding on a Shenzhen EF employment...
I am looking at spending the next few years teaching English, maybe not all in China. The great part about this contract is it starts in April right after my current seasonal job ends. I've grown really tired of having a month or two downtime between my summer and winter jobs. I have never been to China but have been reading quite a bit about it over the last few years. I am for sure going over to learn Mandarin and experience the culture, not for partying. I've been an educator most of the last 10 years (coaching/outdoor rec with a bit of classroom).
I don't have any TEFL cert, another reason why this contract is tempting. The other idea I'm thinking about is take a CELTA course in Thailand next April then start looking for work then. With a degree, a CELTA cert, and currently being in Thailand it would be very likely I could find work in May (in China)?
My ideal situation is teaching at a university in Harbin, Kunming, or Chengdu. Is settling for teaching kids/teens in Shenzhen a poor introduction to this field and country? It sounds like they do offer some free cert training. Or would I be much better off in the long-run paying the $2500 for the IHBangkok CELTA course?
I've read everything I can find online about EF. I can deal with the summer session long hours and push from the management and parents. My biggest worries are I won't get a mix of ages and EF will be unsupportive of me after my contract for moving somewhere else within the company (either a new location or to start teaching adults).
I do want to become a good teacher and I am the type of person to jump into something and work to learn the ropes. Posts like this, http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?topic=71.msg123950#msg123950 , make me consider English First because it sounds like I would learn a lot and would be a strong start down the professional path for teaching ESL.
Anyone able to voice anything new to help my decision? Thanks!
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Deciding on a Shenzhen EF employment...
I am looking at spending the next few years teaching English, maybe not all in China. The great part about this contract is it starts in April right after my current seasonal job ends. I've grown really tired of having a month or two downtime between my summer and winter jobs. I have never been to China but have been reading quite a bit about it over the last few years. I am for sure going over to learn Mandarin and experience the culture, not for partying. I've been an educator most of the last 10 years (coaching/outdoor rec with a bit of classroom).
I don't have any TEFL cert, another reason why this contract is tempting. The other idea I'm thinking about is take a CELTA course in Thailand next April then start looking for work then. With a degree, a CELTA cert, and currently being in Thailand it would be very likely I could find work in May (in China)?
My ideal situation is teaching at a university in Harbin, Kunming, or Chengdu. Is settling for teaching kids/teens in Shenzhen a poor introduction to this field and country? It sounds like they do offer some free cert training. Or would I be much better off in the long-run paying the $2500 for the IHBangkok CELTA course?
I've read everything I can find online about EF. I can deal with the summer session long hours and push from the management and parents. My biggest worries are I won't get a mix of ages and EF will be unsupportive of me after my contract for moving somewhere else within the company (either a new location or to start teaching adults).
I do want to become a good teacher and I am the type of person to jump into something and work to learn the ropes. Posts like this, http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?topic=71.msg123950#msg123950 , make me consider English First because it sounds like I would learn a lot and would be a strong start down the professional path for teaching ESL.
Anyone able to voice anything new to help my decision? Thanks!
If you're not married to the idea of EF and don't mind the cold give me an email and I'll give you another option.
Psd4fan@gmail.com