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Monday, June 04, 2007

TEFL Jobs in Turkey

Turkish schools on The TEFL Blacklist:

UKLA Academy Bursa


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22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I worked for a recruıtment company RFT. The job was ın Turkey and ıt sounded wonderful but the students were horrıble! I was told by RFT that I should resıgn and they would fınd me another job! The job they offered me I could not afford to take. The salary was much to low to survıe ın Turkey. I later resıgn and my contract states they must provıde a plane tıcket to your home country. When ıt came to purchase the tıcket they just avoıded my calls and threaten to deport me. They brought me to Turkey !

Anonymous said...

This outfit is still advertising for TEFL teachers through 'Serious Teachers' website.

Anonymous said...

who are you working with? I know you put your school down as in Bursa and I am thinking of working with them and taking a job with Anafen in Istanbul. I have lots of friends and they said it was a good school. Also, the contract I have says that you have to finish 3 months to be reimbursed for the only way flight to Turkey and only if you renew after a year would they pay for a flight home. Who were you talking too...this makes me nervous!

Anonymous said...

I might be working for them too in September. This sounds very worrying.

Anonymous said...

Eyüboğlu educational instutions in Istanbul advertise themselves as an International setup but clearly aren't. Stay away.

newzild said...

I also worked for RFT in Turkey and had a terrible time.

The company is run by Koray and Zanore.

My girlfriend and I were told we would have four camps each. But when we arrived after spending 300 Euros each on transport we were told there was only one for my girlfriend and two for me.

My girlfriend's camp was only part-time, so she made only US$750 in two months - not even enough to live on.

Koray agreed to pay my girlfriend a per diem of US $400 to help her survive.

The worst thing was that when it was time to leave, Koray refused to pay our flight money (which our contract said we were entitled to).

Koray said he wouldn't pay the flight money because he'd given my girlfriend the per diem!

There were many, many other problems with these guys. AVOID!

Anonymous said...

I have been corresponding with Zanore from RFT, and have been thinking about taking a job with them. This makes me nervous, can anyone say more about them?

Anonymous said...

Hi I'm currently also looking at working in Turkey and have been contacted by RFT. I get so sick of schools taking advantage of the teachers. Anyone know of a good school in Turkey?
Thanks
C

Anonymous said...

RFT Turkey has cheated me out of money. They simply refused to pay me for working a summer camp. They are deceitful and unprofessional. Be wary of them. Try to find a job elsewhere. They are also doing other weird things there.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I am so sorry to hear that others have gone through the same trials and tribulations with RFT.

They brought us here promising us many things. Not riches and fame mind you, but just your basic necessities.

We were lied to in every way you can imagine.

I stress that this is not a bitter rant. We did all that they asked, and remained incredibly patient and loyal to RFT.

They lied about where we would live, where we would teach, what we would teach, how often we would teach, what they would furnish the house with (NOTHING), permits, time-off if we needed it, and sooo many other things.

In a nutshell, they are without a doubt the worst people to ever run a business. This sentiment is echoed by everyone we met who was here with RFT at the time. They cannot be trusted. If you do complain about things you will be threatened with deportation, police, etc.

Zanore and Koray actually dated too. This made matters worse. They screamed and yelled in front of employees. They forced some newcomers to live with them at their office/residence because they had nowhere to put them.

They fired people on a regular basis for absolutely no valid reason. They even fired their one and only office worker/recruiter because she stood up to them and defended the teachers' rights. She too was threatened with the police.

We have left Turkey since, but we did meet many good people here in Istanbul. There are lots of good schools around. It is ABSOLUTELY worth coming over here, just heed our words....STAY AWAY FROM RFT!!!

Anonymous said...

Yeah dıtto to the last post. Zanore and Koray lie and fight in front of people. They at tımes can be nice but only to serve their purposes. This isnt a bitter rant either, only a warning. They can find you a school to work for but they offer little support. They seem to take their commissions and run. Dont ever put yourself in a position where they owe you money.

newzild said...

RFT's website is one of the finest exercises in fiction I have ever read. It says teachers are given psychometric tests and have all their qualifications checked out.

When I worked for them, they were literally grabbing backpackers off the street and giving them fake degrees so they could teach.

I should add that they simply refused to give me all the pay they owed me. Koray said I had been "expensive" because he had to pay our English recruiter Paul Rogers 400 pounds for my CV. Therefore, he refused to pay my flight money.

I was incredulous and very loudly gave him a piece of my mind. Didn't get my money though!

Avoid these charlatans at all costs.

Key words: "Paul Rogers" Koray Zanore RFT Turkey

Anonymous said...

you should ask your girlfriend about her actions with the driver for RFT? Do not lie anymore...

Anonymous said...

Quıte honestly, I work for RFT and have not had any problems. Yes, there are occassıonally problems but nothıng that ıs not typıcal to workıng overseas. Comıng from Chına, I have seen the worst ın admınıstratıve crap but thıs company has not burdened me wıth aforementıoned troubles and, sadly, I thınk some of the complaınts come from people who have expected everythıng to work as ıt does somewhere else. Turkey ıs a country unlıke any I have worked ın and ıf I am goıng to complaın about somethıng ıt would be the company that RFT rescued me from (one that does not pay on tıme and does not provıde any support).
As for the horrıble students, I can relate and have had that sort of sıtuatıon before (not wıth RFT) so ıt ıs a work hazard (of sorts) but, ıt ıs no worse than workıng ın the States. My frıends who teach ın NYC are routınely threatened wıth an after-school stabbıng so I am just thankful my kıds are sometımes naughty but not weıldıng lethal weapons!!
Addıtıonally, I have to mentıon that a recruıtıng company does not get paıd for placıng a teacher who leaves...they get paıd by contract and that means for a school year. Keepıng thıs ın mınd, ıf RFT has a teacher who leaves then the money needs to be adjusted accordıngly. It ıs not lıke a one-tıme fınder`s fee.
My motıvatıon for postıng here was to at least be a voıce for those of us who are happy wıth RFT. As wıth any startıng company there are growıng paıns but nothıng that has put my out. Actually, they have gone out of theır way to try to take care of me and ensure that my sıtuatıon ıs acceptable.
A fınal word: sınce when does the prıvate lıfe of the owners matter? They have ındıcated that my housıng ıs chosen to help ensure that my prıvate lıfe ıs kept just that and I extend the same courtesy to them. I have heard my bosses argue about thıngs ın front of my a mıllıon tımes ın the States and ıt may be dısconcertıng to see people argue but, beyond that, ıt ıs not very unusual.

So wıth that saıd I can say that ı would refer my professıonal teachıng frıends to RFT.

Anonymous said...

To the last post...I am sorry that you have been hyp"KORAY"ized (or that you are one of the owners (wink wink)).

RFT is not a safe bet if you need to eat on a daily basis...they dont provide a kitchen, literally!

But you will be sure to get a crazy roommate who doesn't flush poo and pukes on floors. They clearly have no control over what your roommates do, but when you are told you will be living alone and you end up with 3 roommates when you get here, they are responsible! But hey, thats just what to expect working for a professional company going through 7 years or "growing pains"...harhar.

So people, veteran teachers and newbies alike - ignore the bull shit of the last post. For I have worked in Asia too and its bad but not as bad as RFT!

Anonymous said...

RFT Turkey is a bunch of scammers in my opinion. They may find you a job but they will use and abuse you and find ways not to pay you. For those of you who have had good luck with them it was just plain good luck.

Anonymous said...

I would like to say that RFT left me in the lurch. They sent me to the school but after that no support was offered. No work visa, no help, nothing. They did lie to me about some things and it was disappointing.

Anonymous said...

I would like to add my horrible experience. I hesitated writing this but cannot any longer.
First, RFT told me I did not need a TEFL before I came here. So I did not get one. When I got here in Turkey however I found out that I needed one for a visa. So then Koray told me he would get me a TEFL based on my experience. I thought that sounded weird but when they reassured me it was on the level, I agreed. But it never materialized. So I am here unable to get a visa at the moment.

Next, I worked a camp for RFT but they didnt pay me for it. After many many attempts to be paid they refused and even mocked me for asking to be paid.

They also provided no support whatsoever for the visa. They ignored my emails about it.

They also lied to my employer and told him I had a TEFL when I did not--this was before I came here.

I saw alot of things happend at RFT's office. Lots of fights with teachers--seemingly they all had similar problems. They were not getting paid or they were being cheated.

There is more I could say but this company is really scarey. They would not admit the truth about things and have left me in a pickle. It has been the worse experience in my life recently.

They also mocked me and tried to manipulate me. They tried to shame me because I got robbed actually three times and was having problems as a result. Instead of support from them all I have gotten is ignored emails, theft, and ridicule. Oh and dishonesty.

They make fun of the teachers who have had problems with them,saying they are nuts or bad people or liars, but really there cannot be so many problems and unsatisfied teachers unless there were problems with RFT themselves.

One of their own workers on staff told me personally that there was alot of dishonesty going on at RFT and she had trouble recommending them to anyone. This person no longer works for them.

All in all this has been a nightmare for me. I really hate posting this but dont want to see anyone else go through what I have been through.

There was also a great teacher here that left due to similar reasons. He had problems with RFT and left after a few weeks.

Zanore needs to clean house.
They need to realize that honesty is the best policy. Their company will never last if they don't.

Anonymous said...

rft turkey is very dishonest and may steal from you. they have no conscience. they lied to me over and over. do not use them. i warn you now. they also lie to the schools. be careful and go through another route to teach in wonderful turkey.

Anonymous said...

hi i am the poster who posted on november 15. i would just like to add that if you enjoy being abused financially, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, and other ways go ahead and choose rft (real fricking terrible). some people enjoy being treated like crap by a turkish and american team who have no conscience.

newzild said...

The last I heard they were dumped by their own recruiter in England (Paul Rogers) because they even refused to pay him!

As for the woman above who was robbed, one colleague of mine was staying in RFT accommodation and left to go on a two-week camp. When she returned, all the stuff she left in the accommodation was gone (read: stolen). She never got it back.

Anonymous said...

Newzild, who is Paul Rogers? That post confused me.