Very much an organisation to avoid. One little scam they operate is to force you to learn their useless method, which in The Inspector's opinion has less value than parrot droppings.If you decide you want to leave during your contract they make you pay for your so called training and deduct a hefty sum from your salary.
Sharp practice from a Great White, or rather, Black Shark.
Smooth talking businessmen in flash suits, snotty receptionists and admin staff. All that glitters here is definitely not gold. Don't go near them or you'll lose an arm and a leg!Want to see Paris? See it on vacation not with this bunch of shysters. They are always advertising. It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to work out why.
The Inspector will return to the theme of franchising often. It's a racket, even operated by the Mother Theresa of language schools, International House. Another rogue outfit, hiding behind slick marketing, is of course Wall Street Institute whose franchisees have gone bankrupt again and again only to reappear like phoenix from the ashes with a new company fronting the name who naturally disown the debt of the previous lame duck. The franchisee pays megabucks for the right to use the name, other than that they pay lip service to the owner of the franchise.
Inlingua Paris can be found at the following addresses:
Inlingua Paris la Défense
CNIT Center
2, Place de la Défense
F-92053 Paris la Défense
Inlingua Paris La Plaine Saint Denis
ZAC des Cornillons
11, rue des Gazométres
F-93210 Saint Denis La Plaine
Inlingua Paris Levallois Perret
22-24, rue du Président Wilson
F-92300 Levallois Perret
Inlingua Paris Rive Gauche
109, rue de l'Université
F-75007 Paris
Inlingua Paris Roissy
Batiment Le Gaugin - Paris Nord 2
47 Allée des Impressionnistes, BP 50408 Villepinte
F-95944 Roissy Charles de Gaulle cedex
Inlingua Paris Versailles
3, rue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny
F-78150 Le Chesnay
Here's a list of all the other Inlinguas in France. Remember they are all owned by different people but are all probably tarred with the same brush. Ask questions before signing anything. If you don't get clear unambiguous answers get that barge pole out.
Here are the other Inlingua centres in France. Message to all Inlingua owners - I personally think that your organisation sucks. If any of you charming bunch of businessmen, who pretend that you are experts in language teaching, think that you have been unfairly tarred and targeted, The Inspector would like to hear from you. However please don't bother sending me the usual threats to break my legs or sue me. How sad that The Inspector sees through your slick marketing and thinks that your organisation is rotten to the core, but life's a bitch.
Inlingua Aix-en-Provence
Hemiris Bât A
115, rue Claude Nicolas Ledoux
F-13854 Aix-en-Provence/CX03
Inlingua Amiens
Rue des Jacobins
F-80000 Amiens
Inlingua Arcachon
Villa Tosca
11 boulevard du Général Leclerc
F-33120 Arcachon
Inlingua Belfort
ZAC de la Justice
rue Gustave Lang
F-90000 Belfort
Inlingua Besançon
MBR Services, Le Master's 21
Espace Valentin
F-25048 Besançon Cédex
Inlingua Bordeaux-Mérignac
Parc d'activité Kennedy
5 rue Henri Becquerel, Batiment F RC
F-33700 Bordeaux-Mérignac
Inlingua Boulogne sur Mer
1, blvd. de la Liane
F-62200 Boulogne sur Mer
Inlingua Caen
Parc d'Activités de la
10, rue Colonel Rémy, Bt.M18
F-14000 Caen
Inlingua Chalon Sur Saône
75 Grande Rue St Côme
F-71100 Chalon Sur Saône
Inlingua Clermont Ferrand
18, allée Evariste Galois
F-63170 Aubière
Inlingua Colmar
MBR Services Colmar
4, rue de la Houblonnière
F-68000 Colmar
Inlingua Compiègne
Les Tertiales Bât. A
ZAC de Mercières 1
F-60200 Compiègne
Tel: +33 3 44 97 05 05
Fax: +33 3 44 97 05 06
Inlingua Dijon
8, allée A. Bourland / BP 176
F-21005 Dijon Cedex
Inlingua Dunkerque
16, rue Georges Clémenceau
F-59760 Grande Synthe
Inlingua Epinal
7 bis, avenue de la Loge Blanche
F-88000 Epinal
Inlingua Evreux
13, rue de la Mairie
F-27000 Evreux
Inlingua Inlingua Haguenau
44, blvd. de Lattre de Tassigny
F-67500 Haguenau
Inlingua Hazebrouck
41, avenue du Maréchal Delattre de Tassigny
F-59190 Hazebrouck
Inlingua La Rochelle
Z.A les Minimes
6 Rue d'Artimon
F-17000 La Rochelle
Inlingua Le Havre
16, rue Pierre Brossolette
F-76600 Le Havre
Inlingua Lens
Ecoparc du Bord des Eaux
Boulevard F. de Magellan
F-62100 Hénin-Beaumont
Inlingua Lille
12 rue de Cannes, 3e étage
F-59000 Lille
Inlingua Lyon
74, rue de Bonnel
F-69003 Lyon
Inlingua Lyon Chassieu
20, avenue des Frères Montgolfier
F-69680 Chassieu
Inlingua Marcq-En-Baroeul
Château Rouge, BP 5051
278, Avenue de la Marne
F-59705 Marcq-En-Baroeul
Inlingua Marseille
33 Boulevard de la Liberté
F-13001 Marseille
Inlingua Metz
Espace Serpenoise
19, en Nouvellerue
F-57000 Metz
Inlingua Mulhouse
MBR Services Mulhouse
65, rue Jean Monnet
F-68200 Mulhouse
Inlingua Nancy
10, rue Mazagran
F-54000 Nancy
Inlingua Nantes
CAP OUEST Sat du Perray
2 bis rue Robert Le Ricolais
F-44300 Nantes cedex 04
Inlingua Orléans
2, rue de Patay
F-45000 Orléans
Inlingua Pau
86 Boulevard de la Paix
F-64000 Pau
Inlingua Rouen
8, rue Jean Rostand, BP 156
F-76144 Le Petit Quevilly CX
Inlingua Saint Jean-de-Luz
Espace Olano P.A. Jalday
F-64500 Saint Jean-de-Luz
Inlingua Saverne
Parc d'Activité La Licorne
10 rue d'Otterswiller
F-67700 Saverne
Inlingua Strasbourg
8, rue Hannong
F-67380 Lingolsheim
Inlingua Toulouse
Technoparc Basso Cambo
13, rue Paulin Talabot
F-31100 Toulouse
Inlingua Tours
Centre d'Affaires Axe
8, rue Honoré de Balzac
F-37000 Tours
Inlingua Valenciennes
Parc d'Activités de l'Aérodrome Ouest
rue Louis Duvant
F-59328 Valenciennes cedex
Inspector McHammered of the Lard
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12 comments:
I did the inlingua 'teaching course' many years ago, when they stepped it up from one week to two. All they did in the second week was repeat what they had taught us to do in the first week!
I tore up my inlingua teaching certificate a long time ago, after I did the Celta.
Many moons ago, when I first thought about TEFL, I interviewed at Inlingua's HQ in Birminham. Turned out that after charging you for their "course", they couldn't guarantee any work at one of their centres, and since their qualifications aren't recognised anywhere else, you could be left high and dry with a "teaching" cert that's not worth the paper it's printed on. Avoid like the plague.
inlingua Dijon, Bourgogne.
Until I can find something else, unfortunately I'm still working for inlingua DIJON.
In my opinion, there is no professionalism at all.
The person they have employed as 'Responsable' (supposed Manager) for the teachers has about 2 years experience (only in inlingua Bourgogne) and NO qualifications whatsoever in teaching. That, I think, says it all!
Nuls points inlingua bourgogne!
Hello,
I worked for inlingua Paris for 7 years. It was hard work yes, and sometimes the money was tight. (Luckily I lived with my partner in low income housing.) I can't say I loved working there, working in Paris in general is tough. But as far as professional experience is concerned, it is now three years after leaving, that I realise how much I learned from working there. The method seems pathetic when you work there, however after 3 years of communicative language teaching, I realise how effective the inlingua method is in terms of developing peoples speaking skills. I would love to learn Turkish with the inlingua method!
I don't think it is fair to bash inlingua without adding all the dodgy language schools in Paris. Many teachers have done the rounds and basically, ELT in Paris is to be avoided! If it is your career don't go there. If you are looking for a working holiday fine but save a lot before you go!
I don't think it is fair to bash inlingua without adding all the dodgy language schools in Paris
Bash away and name and shame then. The Inspector thinks that Inlingua sucks
One little scam they operate is to force you to learn their useless method, which in The Inspector's opinion has less value than parrot droppings.
If you decide you want to leave during your contract they make you pay for your so called training and deduct a hefty sum from your salary.
IS THAT LEGAL???!!
Probably and unfortunately - yes!
Did Inlingua actually ever charge the training fee to any of you? It was pretty rare that they did. Most people who did have to pay were charged for other reasons. i.e not showing up, being drunk at work, lateness.
Great blog, and a good idea to warn people and prevent them from making the mistake most newly arrived English speakers make when they arrive in France.
I worked for inlingua in Strasbourg, MBR Services, for several years.
Its franchised territory consists of (on your list) Besançon, Colmar, Epinal, Hagguenau, Mulhouse, Saverne, and Strasbourg. MBR Services is definitely an inlingua franchise to be avoided by both teachers and students alike.
Reasons backing this up are:
1)exploitation of employees;
2)lack of a coherent curriculum created for marketing and not developed in conjunction with current and established teaching methods,
3) a surprisingly uninformed responsable pédagogique),
4)lack of materials for both teachers and students alike, and
5)a strong conveyance of a 'teachers are disposable' mantra.
From the client point of view it is even worse:
1) Exploitation of a French law requiring business interest to spend a fixed amount on employee training (inlingua is there to gladly take your training money that would otherwise be absorbed by the government if not allocated;
2) cancelations are required to be reported one week before the scheduled class or the client is billed as if the class took place;
3) inability to provide a consistent training schedule nor the availability of teachers; and
4)inlingua actually uses a method used by many cults to create a feeling of dependence through a feeling of inability on the part of the students taught in the inlingua teachers training.
Finally as for the "inlingua method": eliciting, practice, production, etc. this is not a new nor unique concept and has been taught to and practiced by teachers in all forms of education around the world. The problem with MBR Services in Strasbourg is they have a responsable pedagogigue with no formal teacher training and therefore a lack of knowledge on how the inlingua method should actually be applied for the benefit of the client.
MBR Services based in Strasbourg, has also been sued by clients 3 times to my knowledge and twice during my tenure there.
There should be some form of Consumer Awareness Alert available that would help clients make an educated decision when looking to provide their employees with viable English training.
Kudos on your blog!
I will be forwarding your address widely!
MBR services are in fact the initials of Monsieur Michel Raux who owns all these "schools". Inlingua Strasbourg went into receivership years ago. I'm surprised it's still around.
I worked for Inlingua MBR in Belfort, for almost 3 years. (It's part of the MBR Services franchise owned by Michel Raux and operating out of Strasbourg.)
Everything that the previous commentors said about MBR is 100% true - and more.
I left, on medical advice, after becoming really ill and severely depressed from the stress of working for them.
Let's see - there were the mad hours I had to work, the long distances I had to drive to see clients, the amount of paperwork that they forced us to do that was unrelated to actual teaching (because they got rid of office staff to save costs and made the trainers pick up the slack), the psychological bullying and threats. Many phonecalls to my home after hours. A total invasion of privacy. Awful, awful company.
They blatantly lied to me about the hours I'd be working when I was offered the job, and then gradually forced me to work more hours than I wanted to, often until 8pm (after starting at 8am - never mind I was a single parent and had children to get to and from school and childminders) threatening to reduce my classes to nothing if I refused, (so that I'd be forced to resign and save them from the hassle of firing me.)
I received only 4 hours of 'training' and was then thrown into the deep end and left to swim. A client then complained that I didn't seem to know what I was doing (well of course I didn't) and I received a written warning from Michel Raux. How crazy is that?
I have since thrown away my Certificate of Training - it is worthless.
Even in treachorous winter weather (and I mean heavily snowed under roads and even in snow storms), I had to drive through dangerous mountainous regions to get to clients - no excuses were tolerated. I cannot tell you how close I came to having horrible crashes - on more than one occasion.
Their attitude to clients was equally as bad - arrogance such as I have never seen in any company before. My clients complained bitterly about being charged for last minute cancellations - which were usually due to factory lines breaking down and needing urgent attention. (Since when is an English class more important than getting a production line up and running again?) Inlingua refused to budge on that.
Having said that, most of my immediate colleagues/trainers were brilliant. It was just management that truly sucked.
My advice? Steer clear of Inlingua MBR.
In Paris, Phonalangue and Inlingua both tried to rope me into some unpaid "formation" (training). I had very long, bizarre interviews with Phonalangue during which they interviewed me in French (though they spoke French with American accents and mistakes and my own French is punished to near perfection) and tried to find anything possibly worthy of critique. Inlingua called me and practically begged me to come in for an interview. I had to hang up on them. Very pushy, unpleasant, cryptic people.
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