New Zealand Centre for Culture and Education in Gangnam, South Korea

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"NZ Centre for Culture and Education, Gangnam, Seoul South Korea.

Delusional management comprising of 2 Korean directors and 1 NZer that believe and implement slave-like mentality managment and employment practices.

The contract is dubious and potential teachers are misled into believing that they do not have to work more than 2 saturdays a month, working hours are flexible and initiative is rewarded. The management problems in this place are historic particularly since the employment of the Education Director who is a NZer. Management have gone so far as to make racist comments to pull staff into line.

Staff have been bullied to work on public holidays for marketing events. Staff who have resigned have been told they are not allowed to, fired, screwed out of their final pay, told that the management will make it very difficult for them to leave and they will never be able to return to South Korea again.

The management are using the NZ brand to make money and thats it. There is no NZ cultural program and the goodwill of highly qualified NZ teachers who either resign or do not renew contracts is exploited.

The employment and management practices of the NZC are an embarrasment to New Zealanders, what makes it worse is that it is endorsed by a NZer who sells out the teaching staff.

Unfortunately, this organisation is NZ Embassy affiliated and takes full advantage of free resources provided by the NZ Embassy on behalf of NZ tax payers."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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The British School Maglie, Italy

Yet another British School posting on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?
"I had an awful time at The British School Maglie in southern Italy a couple of years ago. It was enough to put me off teaching forever. The owner is a typical Italian macho. The school is in an isolated area. The school boasts hi tech this and that but the reality is very different and the teachers are really unhappy. During the year at least three teachers just walked as they had been treated so dismissively.
I've seen a few postings about The British schools. This one is definitely to be avoided."
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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Only Brits Need Apply?

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section" and continuing a similar theme that was posted a while ago. I've posted it here in the spirit of free speech, but go easy with the rotten tomatoes. The spelling/grammatical errors undermine the argument somewhat. Typos are one thing, but all too often The Inspector's eyebrows are raised by bad spelling, which from teachers of English, posting on the TEFL Blacklist is a tad rich.

For the record, The Inspector does not believe that native speakers should be placed on a pedestal. Non native speakers can do just as good a job, especially if you don't believe in the sanctity of the communicative method. The issue of work permits and visas is hardly the fault of language schools. Employing exclusively native speakers is however another matter.

"Does anyone believe that a E.U. sponsored monopoly is begınnıng to take hold on the ESL industry? More and more jobs are statıng, ''British speaker wanted,'' or ''Only E.U. citizens may apply''. I personally believe all schools should have a corporate policy against non-dıscrimination based on natıonality for ESL and should pressure centers to accept natıve speakers from non-E.U. countrıes. For example, what give British citizens a majority hold over a country such as Romania. My family left Romania in 1947 because of the Communists, and I am told that because I am not an E.U. citizen I cannot apply. Personally, despıte beıng a certified instructor, I am consıstently turned down for jobs because the Eastern European centers are unwılling to sponsor a vısa or they say that the requırements are ımpossıble to meet for US citizens. The other common response is ''part-time'' or ''freelance'' which is easily translatable as - no visa support, no health insurance, no housing, no teacher permit, thus no legality. These gray areas of national law can easily cause an inexperienced teacher to be deported or detained. I have personally witnessed this situation take place on more than one occasion. A manager can act as though these really arent a concern, but they should be of grave concern to any illegal worker in any industry. What any company is doing with this type of structure is not attract professional teachers, but persons who may be in the country under special circumstances, i.e. married to a resident, university student, etc. I don't believe this situation adds value to the corporation, instead it detracts from what is important - retaining qualified and interested individuals. One of the reasons why ESL seems to attract the ''backpackers''. Why should British citizens be the only nationality sanctioned to teach English in the E.U.?"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Wall Street Institute, Spain

The Inspector came across this Wikipedia article, which illustrates neatly the kind of minds grinding away in pursuit of "Wall Street Institute" profitability.

"In 2002 there were as many as 130 WSI branches in Spain. Many of these were franchises. With the collapse that same year of rival school Opening English, which used a similar computer-based teaching method to that of Wall Street, the Baltimore company saw 88 of its Spanish franchises close before the end of the year.

Today there are less than 20 Wall Street Institute branches open in Spain.

Wall Street and Opening English used a similar method to charge their customers. Customers would sign up for an extended period of time in order to avail of cheaper rates. However the contract which they signed was not with Wall Street but with a financing operation unconnected to the English school chain. Thus when students of the two schools, unhappy with their progress, tried to rescind their contracts early they discovered that they had to take the issue up with the bank that underwrote the financing company who issued their contract. Wall Street does not teach children. The majority were unsuccessful in their claims.

When Consumers Associations took up the plight of many disaffected students, the issue became a national story and loop holes in Spain's commerce laws were shown to be being exploited by the chain schools, who did not have to take any responsibility for the customers' dissatisfaction with the quality of the services they offered.

The relevant laws were subsequently amended."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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EWHA Little Campus Dal-dong Ulsan, South Korea

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"For anyone looking for work in Ulsan South Korea. EWHA Little Campus in Dal-dong is one of the worst schools in Korea to work for. During my year there I encounted lies, fraud, illegal goings on, bullying and theft. I was asked to pay for bills that were not mine and no one could show me a receipt for the bills. I had things stolen from my desk in work by a fellow ENGLISH TEACHER!! I also suffered bullying and name calling from this girl (who had previously been in trouble with the police in England) she is underqualified, inexperienced and generally untrustworthy...no idea how she managed to be accepted to work with children. The school did nothing to address these issues. For anyone wanting a happy experience teaching in Korea DO NOT teach in EWHA Little Campus, it will steal your soul, your spirit and your passion for Asia."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Shanghai Gold Apple Bilingual School

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Shanghai Gold Apple Bilingual School - steer clear of this 'school'. It's more like a business than an educational institution. Although pay was always on time (very low though), organization was HORRENDOUS. Nobody took the time to help the foreign teachers; teaching 30 students (with some students excelling in English, and others who didn't even know how to say how are you...) was an impossibility - especially since the kids viewed our class as playtime (apparently though so did the official teachers), and nobody listened to our constructive complaints - they were always just pushed to the side...

The school is located in the middle of nowhere (although construction for more shopping areas began right when we were leaving), and it takes about 55 minutes to get into Puxi and 40 minutes to get into downtown Pudong.

You do get relatively good accomodation. Two rooms (bedroom + living room), and a bathroom - traditional showers. No real kitchen though.

Anyway - just stay away from this school if you want to have a reasonably good time in China. Its major issue is the ridiculous lack of organization. When homeroom teachers tell you that the exams we give the students don't really mean anything - well, there you go. Don't waste your time."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Sorrento Lingue Sorrento, Italy

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"I'd like to nominate Sorrento Lingue in Sorrento, Italy aka Sorrento Sweatshop Lingue.

If you mind:
- working 10 to 12 hours a day without a lunch break or time for preparation;
- dubious pay slips that even the accountant cannot explain and always inevitably gets wrong every month;
- less pay at Christmas to reward you for your hard work and efforts (a Christmas tax I believe, or so I was told;
- 10 month contracts that will be changed after you have signed them (i.e. a 40 hour week dubiously being changed to 40 teaching hours per week!);
- arrogant staff on ego power trips treating you like a slave because they're Italian and you're just the foreigner - (be prepared to be constantly reminded that you should be ever so grateful to have this job otherwise you will end up on the streets) even if you are over-qualified for the position, come from a country far richer than Italy and are financially secure;
- a dodgy and unhelpful DOS who will do everything in his power to make your life unbearable;
- working Saturdays without paid overtime; and
- no holiday whatsoever

Then Teflers everywhere …. I'd give this place a miss if I were you! You have been warned."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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British Institutes Rimini, Italy

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Please, please, please STAY AWAY from British Institutes in Rimini (Italy). The director, Valentina Douglas, will take MONTHS to pay you - or not pay you at all! They will load up your schedule, give you classes at the last minute, and give you a hard time reimbursing you for your gas (petrol) money. I swear I am not the only person with a problem , there are many, many people who have quit and / or are waiting to be paid. She even treats her Italian staff and teachers this way, not just her foreign workers.

I swear, I am not on a vendetta, this is the truth!"

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English World, My English World Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, China

henovqPosted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"I nominate English World, aka My English World, aka English World Business Liability Co. Ltd., Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, China. In 2005-2006, English World was investigated on 3 different occasions. First by the Tongliao Public Security Bureau due to the fact that teachers were teaching under "F" visas, which is illegal. "F" visas are reserved for those invited to China to conduct business, not to teach. Lian was informed of the investigation beforehand by a friend who works with the PSB and all of the foreign teachers had to be interviewed by the PSB. We were told by Lian to tell the PSB that we did not teach, but rather that we participated in the writing of textbooks and did promotional work. We went through with the interviews, but it was very hard on alot of us because we knew what could happen if we were caught lying. But, it was either that or lose our jobs. The second time we were investigated, Lian left the office and a woman and 2 men from the Department of Education came to investigate...they went through Lian's filing cabinet and rifled through the desks.

They had alot to say about a sign that Lian had on the door to the office that claimed we were a school (it was written in Chinese) and because she didn't have the permit to be able to operate a school, or have foreign teachers, they said that she was breaking the law. These Department of Education people returned again and insisted that we all have medical examinations done, and to make matters worse representatives from the Department of Education were present in the room when we had our examinations, and saw us half-naked and it was quite humiliating to us foreign teachers. So, there were at least 3 occasions while I was there in which there were investigations. Until recently, illegal recruiters could fly "under the radar" so to speak, but now there have been alot of changes to the Chinese visa process which will make things alot harder for people like Lian.

I believe there will be no "F" visas issued between March 2008 and October 2008. Also there is no such thing as a visa extension anymore (Lian used to get a doctor to write a note stating that the foreign teacher was too sick to go to Hong Kong to get a new visa so that they could go there with an expired visa to renew it) Usually it worked, but I believe the authorities began to catch on...ask Nate, an American foreign teacher who worked for her. Lian told him that although his visa was expired she "had it covered"...he went to Hong Kong, was detained and fined for having an expired visa...at his expense of course. I went to Hong Kong with an expired visa and was questioned, but they let me through just because I was lucky.

Before I left for Hong Kong, Lian told me that she made a call and that it would all be fine. When I told the immigration officer upon entering Hong Kong, he laughed in my face and said that there was no such thing as "making a call" in such matters...an expired visa is an expired visa. Luckily, he let me through, but I felt like such a fool. I also read something about there being no visa switches anymore, starting in March 2008...before, you could come to China on a tourist visa and change it to a Z visa (which is what you need to have to teach) but now whatever visa you come in with is what you have to stay with; you can't switch it anymore apparently, and if it's expired, you need to get a new one by leaving China for 5 days (I think it used to be 24hrs, if that.), provide travel receipts and prove that you are affiliated with a government approved agency and so on. (For an "F" visa that is, but good luck getting that in Hong Kong without good solid proof, especially if you're not American or Canadian.)

Anyway,with regard to your question why Lian can have dealings with the school board and so on, while not being legal...it's not that hard to justify. Not many Chinese know about permits to employ foreigners (from the S.A.F.E.A.) or visas or anything like that. They're pretty much going on her word. Then there is the whole aspect of how "money talks" in Chinese society. Things often move a little quicker and a little more quietly when it's greased with a few 100 RMB bills.

Also, the schools are not going to care if the foreigners don't have the proper documentation, only Lian and the foreigner will get into trouble...maybe just the foreigner. Chinese don't know much about policies for foreigners, especially where foreigners living in Tongliao is still a relatively new thing for that city. They don't have alot of experience dealing with such matters. You can actually check with the State Administration of Foreign Employee Affairs (SAFEA...they have a telephone number on their website) and they will tell you if the place you are woking for is permitted to employ foreigners. The last time I checked, Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities was the only school in all of Tongliao with a permit, and also able to provide "Z" visas. As for the name of the company it has been changed, because she had to have the word, "business" in it in order to get away with having "F" visas which are only allowed for business oriented companies, not for teaching. By the way, after leaving China I did some research...foreign employees living in China for less than a period of 2 years are exempt from paying taxes so, if she's taking taxes off of your pay...it's going into her pocket.

I had Chinese ex-employees of hers tell me that they were apalled at how she used to keep the taxes for herself and the foreigners were not even supposed to pay taxes. Alot of things go on "in Chinese" that the foreigners do not understand...things that would make you sick. Did you know that all of her teachers are different prices to the schools? If a school isn't willing to pay whatever for a white foreigner, then she will say, "well, I can give you a Filipino or a Black for that money, but not a white person". Kinda makes you feel a little bit like a herd of cattle doesn't it? Oh well...the way I look at it, everything always comes out in the wash eventually. No bad deed goes unpunished and people always pay for their dishonesty.

As long as there are people willing to teach for Lian, then she will make money from them. I just couldn't stay around anymore, because I was tired of being treated as less than a deserving human being. There is no need to try to pick falsehoods out of what I say at all...I have no reason to make things up about English World. I know what I'm talking about, because I have been in China for a long time. This is a horrible company to work for...stay far away!"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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The Language House, Malaysia

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"'The Language House' in Malaysia. Beware! A momey making racket! No concern for education, teachers are given absolutely no respect. Students pour in by the hundreds from the middle-east, Korea and China expecting good teaching. Close on six hours contact time, 1 hour preparation time. Payment also sucks! If you are looking for a job in Malaysia, don't settle with less that RM3500 a month, free accomodation or alowance, medical benefits, 18 day paid leave a year! They will tell you to put up with unbelievable nonsense. If you complain, they will tell you to be professional! They are the most unprofessional bunch under the sun! Be warned and warn anyone wanting to teach in Malaysia."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Wall Street Institute Buenos Aires, Argentina

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"I nominate Wall Street Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina (there are about 30 centers, and I've worked at 3). It's commonplace here to disrespect teachers, apparently, and pay them pitifully, and lie to the customers to get them to sign up, ...

- You will get 13 pesos/hour (U$D 4), and way fewer hours than you were promised when you began, meaning that you will only be earning, approximately, a measly 1000 pesos/month (U$D 300). My rent is 900 pesos, so you can imagine what a fantastic wage WSI was gracing me with.

- The ultra-neurotic manager rudely criticizes teachers about their hair and attire.

- The director doesn't even speak English, never says hello and is never friendly.

- The turnover rate is staggering. I wonder why!

- The teachers are grossly over-qualified and exploited. Most don't know better until after they get screwed over, at least a month into it.

- The WSI materials are full of spelling mistakes and wrong answers in the keys!

- Students complain about getting cheated by the salespeople, getting things promised that turned out to be lies and they can't get their money back.

- If a class gets cancelled more than hour or so before it's scheduled, you don't get paid for it unless you do "busy work", and if there's nothing to do ...

- They don't respect teachers' time. If the last class is cancelled or the student doesn't show up, you do not get paid for it, no matter what. Why? Because you were going to leave anyway ...

It is ridiculously inadequate and and a blow to your dignity to work there."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Hampson school in Mlada Boleslav, Prague, Czech Republic

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Maybe this doesn't count as a nomination, because I haven't worked for the school, but I almost did.

Hampson a school in Mlada Boleslav, 50km from Prague. They use accelerated learning techniques based on relaxation and fun, and run intensive immersion courses. It's run by Pavel Sudik, who also has a sideline in organising corporate firewalking events.

I'm interested in accelerated learning methods so I sent a speculative note and CV. They responded in five minutes, saying "At the moment we have one opening for native speaker. Full time contract starting immediately. We would appreciate to know your decision about joining our staff. You could start to teach tomorrow."

So suddenly they have a vacancy, and they've just about offered me the job without checking my qualifications or referees, and they'd like my decision instantly.

They sent a brochure which mentioned that the pay is 120 crowns (after tax) per hour taught. There's no monthly wage - you get paid by the lesson, so if there's no students, there's no pay. Assuming 25 hours teaching a week, that's barely a living wage. The brochure said there'd be health and travel insurance provided, plus accommodation provided, but was extremely insistant that I must sign a years contract immediately on arrival.

I emailed again asking if they could refund my air fare to Prague (because I'm bankrupt), and they responded saying it wasn't company policy but they'd make a special exception in my case - because I'm so highly qualified with a CELTA, an MA and two months teaching experience.

Now, I'm in my first TEFL job - which I'm trying to leave because there's literally no students, hence my application to Hampson. Why should Hampson be so eager to get hold of an inexperienced teacher like me? Why do they want me to sign their contract so quickly? Why are they offering to pay my travel costs? And...why don't they want to interview me first? I offered twice, they declined.

The day after the first exchange of emails, Pavel Sudik's wife telephoned to encourage me to come. Her English isn't great, so she said she'd ask Hampson's one native English speaker to call me later so we could talk properly.

He called exactly on time...and it was very strange. I asked about wages, teacher turnover, course content and accommodation, and his responses were slow, vague, confused and noncommittal. Maybe he was being watched, I don't know. But...he honestly sounded as though he were drugged. His answers were not just perfunctory, they were drawling with long gaps.

I am, basically, freaked out by all this. There's no way I'll work for them because the pay just not enough to pay my debts. But am I imagining it, that there's something creepy about that place?"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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LTC Eastbourne, England

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"LTC Eastbourne. Just don't work there. The place is a mess. The principal is a bully and hated by all the staff.

In summer school you are overworked for no pay and the place is a mess.

It's full of racist middle-aged teachers who are bitter about failing in life and graduates who don't have a clue and spend all their time drinking.

You get no support from management either and the photocopier never works meaning you have to do lessons off the cuff every day."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Pro Linguis, Belgium

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Be careful about taking a job at Pro Linguis in Belgium. Although the teaching is reasonable (when you get any) the contract is worthless and the state contributions you will have to make from your wage are outrageous. There are no guaranteed hours, the (free) food is rubbish and the place is very remote, so it's not a place to consider for a job. Unless you like being a monk or a nun..."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Every International School of Choueifat - SABIS supported school

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Every International School of Choueifat/SABIS supported school.
I am writing about my experiences as a Choueifat. I have worked at a number of schools in several different countries. I have been looking back on my whole experience and feel driven to share my experiences. Anyone who is even considering becoming part of Choueifat/SABIS needs to be forewarned. They are continually looking for teachers because they have extremely LOW retention rates. Their sole aim is financial gain at any cost.

They proclaim to care about staff. This is the boldest face lie any human could ever encounter. They do not treat staff with any human decency, but instead bully, blaming for them for every short fall of the schools practice. Choueifat/SABIS employees people whose main duty it to spy and report back to the higher up in power. They call them “supervisors” who are supposed to be monitoring the children’s behave, but is only a small part of their job. They encourage students to engage in this behavior as well, not only reporting on other students, but teachers as well. Choueifat/SABIS does not believe teachers should deal with classroom discipline because teachers are incapable of this.

Choueifat/SABIS discriminates based on nationality and bases pay dependant on where a employees comes from despite the fact the living cost the employee is working in is the same in a country whether one is from Ireland or from Egypt. There are no standardized employee policies and procedures, but vary from person to person. The organization is run by mainly Lebanese, with rigid outdated ideas about education and curriculum delivery.

Choueifat/SABIS claims to take a holistic approach to education. This is one of the biggest lies out there. They utilized a very draconian method which focuses on one type of learning style. They utilize a whole class teaching methodology which believes classes does not matter. They use the points methods which is based on the belief, though it has never been proven by academic research study, which claims every child can learn every concept at the sometime with one form of presentation. There is no deviation from the Choueifat/SABIS curriculum. Teachers are given s set amount of topics which must be covered weekly despite the fact that some students fall behind and others are not challenged and loose interest. Constant examinations are given which causes memorization of information, but lack the development of critical thinking skills. Teaching methodologies do not support or even develop the research or studies skills student need to be successful when studying at Universities. And god forbid, a student has a learning disability or other need which requires additional support service. I have heard first hand from a “top administer” that such things may exist, but the cost of employing school psychologist or teachers with training in special education is not cost effective.

And when children are not successful the Choueifat/SABIS the child is labeled as stupid or lazy when in fact the child most possibility would be successful if provided the learning supports and opportunities which are available in most western nations. The number of students who have been permanently emotionally and psychologically traumatized by this is system is shocking.

This is a warning to both parents and teachers alike. DO NOT GET INVOLVED in this organization unless you are willing to compromise your integrity and basic humanity. Do not allow the administration to deceive you into their lies and deceit."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Komalingua sl, Basque Country, Spain

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"While this is not the worst EFL school I've worked for in terms of working conditions, salary and general treatment (apart from their recruitment strategy: see below), there is no good reason for which an EFL teacher (especially a native one) should decide to work for a company placed in a small town in the middle of nowhere (and where there is nowhere), spending his day driving (if lucky, going by bus or walking if unlucky) among mountains from seven in the morning to seven in the evening, when there are hundreds of better location in Spain. This has been my worst choice ever in terms of location but I was misled in making it by the lies of the centre director. Beware: she's desperate to get people for the school (and to keep them there when they arrive) and will tell absolutely any lie about promotions, payrises and the such in order to drag you to this place forgotten by God and men!"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Komalingua sl, Basque Country, Spain

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"While this is not the worst EFL school I've worked for in terms of working conditions, salary and general treatment (apart from their recruitment strategy: see below), there is no good reason for which an EFL teacher (especially a native one) should decide to work for a company placed in a small town in the middle of nowhere (and where there is nowhere), spending his day driving (if lucky, going by bus or walking if unlucky) among mountains from seven in the morning to seven in the evening, when there are hundreds of better location in Spain. This has been my worst choice ever in terms of location but I was misled in making it by the lies of the centre director. Beware: she's desperate to get people for the school (and to keep them there when they arrive) and will tell absolutely any lie about promotions, payrises and the such in order to drag you to this place forgotten by God and men!"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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BONAS International School Valencia, Spain

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Please beware---BONAS International School in Valencia, Spain is a SCAM.
They initially asked me for a 250 euro deposit to show my seriousness for the position which I paid...then an additional 950 euro (which thankfully I didn't pay) b/c it was 'more than they anticipated' for my arrival.
When I refused, they said they would refund my original deposit to 'retain their good name' which they have yet to do.
BEWARE!"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Berlitz Zagreb, Croatia

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Berlitz Zagreb Croatia is nearly identical to its Turkish counterparts. 40 odd hours of unpaid and irregularly training, a Canadian LIS who can't tell time and confuses Tuesday and Thursday and who prefers to communicate changes telepathically, promises of ample classroom hours only to be rewarded with late or missing pay, unfulfilled working permits etc. They're also constantly hiring and have known to have a nearly complete turnover every 3-4 months. I'd recommend collecting garbage or volunteering for work in Iraq before this place. Hope it's not too late for inclusion."

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Berlitz Istanbul, Turkey

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"

I wouldn't recommend Berlitz Istanbul. If you are interested in seeing a foreign country for 6 months and experience a new culture then this place is a no-brainer. But, if you are looking for medical benefits, a teacher's permit, travel pay (all promised in the original contract) forget it! This thief has no honor. They even pocket the teacher's income tax at the end of the year!"

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Eurolingua Brno, Czech Republic

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Eurolingua in Brno, Czech Republic is best to avoid.

After one interview and seeing the premisis, I opted not to take a job offer with them and decided that I will not work with them ever.

The woman who runs the place has very little in people skills or social graces and said to my face that she refuses to hire people legally, won't help employees with taxes. Basically, she said she gives you the money and the rest is your problem and don't ask her for help.

The bureaucracy in the Czech Republic for foreigners is quite daunting, so you certainly don't need an employer like this

While I have not worked there personally, I have a colleague and a former student who both have done teaching work there (they are both Czech) and neither had much good to say about the owner of the school or her people skills, they also went on to say that many students were not happy at the owner's business practices on one level or another."

_________________________________________________________

Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Daleena International Language Centre in Malaga, Spain

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"Not too sure if this is strictly one for the blacklist as I doubt this school really exists!!

Just wanted to warn others not to waste time with these guys- any recruitment process will end with them asking you to wire money.. its just a scam!

They may operate under other names also- but if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is."

_________________________________________________________

Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Yang Jeong Academy, in Yongin City, South Korea

Posted on the "nominate a school for blacklisting section". Any comments?

"I nominate Yang Jeong Academy, in Yongin City, South Korea. The director prioritises building new apartments over paying teachers, Korean teachers always get paid late, so they are often understaffed due to them quitting after a month. Foreign teachers have had to battle with him to get their final payments. The glorified secretary (or self-proclaimed assistant manager) is the pettiest Korean i've ever met. She tries to scam you out of money, and when i called her on it, she turned into a silly teenager, got everyone at the academy to ignore me for a few days and made my work as much of a nightmare as she could. As extra punishment, they added free english lessons for her to my timetable, so i would have to come into work early, only for her to not bother showing up. I've heard from previous employees that she has done this every year. She's given a fair bit of control over the foreign teachers, and abuses that whenever she can - she's withheld pay, she's taken money from pay without permission and in breach of contract, she's refused to give vacation - we had to ask her permission for so many things that were already in our contracts. There were numerous occasions when they breached our contract terms and tried to lie and claim we had oral agreements, then tried to make us sign new agreements. They made oral agreements with us, refused to put them in writing, and then denied having ever made them - most of my year spent there was a battle for something.
They tried to send me to teach illegally at a school, and when i asked them if it was legal, they insisted it was and told me they'd check. Thankfully, i had a korean friend who called immigration for me and found out it was completely illegal, which is what the academy were also told, but they still wanted me to go because they didn't want to pay a korean teacher extra to cover the classes. To add to this, the book they wanted me to teach was all in Korean, and i was told to just find a way to teach it. I refused to go as i was illegal, and we'd had several people in the area recently caught for the same thing, and again i spent the rest of the day being shunned by all the teachers, whilst they plotted ways to punish me.
The academy has a reputation in the area for treating foreign teachers badly. I would never work there again - there are so many better places, and it's just too much hassle and pettiness."

_________________________________________________________

Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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The Brits and TEFL jobs in Europe.

I don't actually agree at all with the following anonymous posting that was made on the "nominate a school for blacklisting" section. But, as you all know, your beloved sleuth is a fair minded and honourable chap and as such has decided to allow you all to mull over this posting. At least it makes a change from the barrage of spin arriving from TEFL International.

"Does anyone believe that a E.U. sponsored monopoly is begınnıng to take hold on the ESL industry? More and more jobs are statıng, ''British speaker wanted,'' or ''Only E.U. citizens may apply''. I personally believe all schools should have a corporate policy against non-dıscrimination based on natıonality for ESL and should pressure centers to accept natıve speakers from non-E.U. countrıes. For example, what give British citizens a majority hold over a country such as Romania. My family left Romania in 1947 because of the Communists, and I am told that because I am not an E.U. citizen I cannot apply. Personally, despıte beıng a certified instructor, I am consıstently turned down for jobs because the Eastern European centers are unwılling to sponsor a vısa or they say that the requırements are ımpossıble to meet for US citizens. The other common response is ''part-time'' or ''freelance'' which is easily translatable as - no visa support, no health insurance, no housing, no teacher permit, thus no legality. These gray areas of national law can easily cause an inexperienced teacher to be deported or detained. I have personally witnessed this situation take place on more than one occasion. A manager can act as though these really arent a concern, but they should be of grave concern to any illegal worker in any industry. What any company is doing with this type of structure is not attract professional teachers, but persons who may be in the country under special circumstances, i.e. married to a resident, university student, etc. I don't believe this situation adds value to the corporation, instead it detracts from what is important - retaining qualified and interested individuals. One of the reasons why ESL seems to attract the ''backpackers''. Why should British citizens be the only nationality sanctioned to teach English in the E.U.?"

TEFL International - Bruce Veldhuisen

The Inspector's siesta has been shattered by an onslaught of very lengthy postings with the same message " Bruce Van Heldhuisen" is a great guy and just plain misunderstood.
One of them is so long it could rival "War and Peace" for length.
Anyway this is an extract from Bruce's rant:

" Honestly, are a few hits worth the publication of libelous information? Just so you can make a few bucks off of GoogleAds? That seems pretty mercinary to me.

Publish this comment."

Ehrm sorry Bruce but credibility is important here. Take a look around the real estate of The TEFL Blacklist. There are no Google Ads at all, anywhere. Why not? Because The Inspector can never be accused of being "mercinary". Bruce you of all people, as a TEFL course provider, really should have used a spell checker if you can't spell. It's spelt "Mercenary" and that accusation can not be applied to your noble sleuth.
_________________________________________________________
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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AES Academy of English Studies Folkestone

Academy of English Studies Folkestone,
8 Cheriton Place, Folkestone,
Kent, CT20 2AZ - UK

Avoid this place like the plague. The Inspector has received a number of tip offs over the past year. This outfit is owned by Riad Touah and Karen Touah.

Apparently, AES is run like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and Karen Touah would appear to be a total headcase and suffering from the usual ego power trip that is unfortunately endemic in TEFL. Riad isn't a native speaker and unfortunately a little birdy has told the Inspector that Karen isn't a very good teacher.

No matter she's probably very good at accounting.

Get your barge poles out and don't say you haven't been warned by your noble sleuth.

_________________________________________________________
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Chronological Postings

In response to a request from the redoubtable Alex Case here is your opportunity to hit a double whammy (so to speak). Add your comments to whichever thread you happen to want to add a contribution and then simply copy and then paste it in this section as well. Don't forget to add a note explaining where the original was posted. That way people can, if they choose, simply read all the postings made to all the threads in chronological order. 

Girard English House, Kitami, Japan

Well I'm flabbergasted. Bludgeoned into submission and wisely abandoning the frail protection offered by blog-city, Sandy has risen from the cyber dead. To mark the occasion here is a reprint of the final posting that immediately preceded his exit from The TEFL Blacklist and led to the subsequent entry of your noble sleuth.

P.S. That old adage of "watch your back" should now be "watch your IP address".

Sandy takes no prisoners whatsoever, and whether you like it or not..............he's back.

And as for Jean-Guy Girard. You have had a temporary reprieve of about 18 months. Be grateful for small Murphies.


Friday, June 23, 2006
Girard English House, Kitami, Japan

I was recently employed by Girard English House (GEH) in Kitami, Eastern Hokkaido. After about 2 months, I decided to give my notice. For the record, I did work out the 2 months notice that was stipulated in the contract. I left the job because I felt that my employer was dishonest with me about certain aspects of the job before my arrival. I also didn’t like the way the school was run.

GEH is a small eikaiwa with one location in Kitami and another in Abashiri. The school is run by a Canadian man, basically out of his house. (The main location in Kitami is also his house.) The school employs two foreign teachers at a time. I felt the need to warn people about this school since, although they are a small school, they are frequently advertising for new teachers.

Here are some of my qualms with the school:

* In the job ad for this job it states that there are paid national holidays and paid vacation. While national holidays are paid, the vacation time is not. Because of this, you only receive the advertised salary (250,000 yen) six or seven months out of the year. The vacation time that you are paid for is taken from your yukyu days. So if you get sick at all during your contract, those days are deducted from your pay.

* In the job ad, it does say that driving is required. I was nervous at the idea of driving in Japan, especially in Hokkaido. When I asked the school owner how often I would have to drive he said once a week. He told me this over the phone and also in writing. However, once I arrived, I found out that I would be driving almost every day, sometimes just within the same town and other times I would drive for over an hour (each way).

* My biggest problem with this job was that the foreign teachers are not allowed to socialize with the teachers from other eikaiwas in town. Once I arrived at the job my boss presented me with a contract in which I had to agree to this. The penalty for talking to these people at all was ‘loss of privileges.’ If I were to have talked to one of these teachers about a work related topic, the contract stated that I would be fired. In hindsight, there is no way I should have signed this. But at the time, I had just arrived at my first TEFL job and I didn’t want to rock the boat.

*We were also discouraged from socializing with the local JETs, as my former employer said they were all losers.

* At one point, my former employer found out that the other foreign teacher and I had been going to a certain bar in town that other foreigners also go to. He then told us not to go there, because he claimed that the bar owners were spies for the other eikaiwas in town.

* I was told in the interview that all of the teachers had stayed on for at least 2 years and that one couple had actually stayed for 4. In reality, the two teachers that left before me had been there for only 2 months and they’d had another teacher come and go that year after only a few months. One of the Japanese staff (no longer employed there) told me that the couple that had supposedly stayed for 4 years had only stayed 2 years.

Now, about the contract…

* When I interviewed for the job, I was told that driving time was included in the 40 hour work week. But in the contract it states that driving time is outside of these 40 hours.

* The teaching hours that I agreed to were no more than 25. The contract states 30.

* Teachers are allowed to socialize with students but must ask permission of the school first.

* If the teacher breaches any of the clauses of the contract, he/she may be fired without notice. I’m pretty sure that one is totally illegal. It is my understanding that the employer must always give 30 days notice or a month’s pay in lieu of notice.

Now you may say, ‘why on earth would you sign this contract?’ Good question. I was hearing one thing from the employer and the contract said another. I thought that I could trust the employer and he made it sound like a good job. I was much more cautious when I went for my new job.

In the end, I did speak with the teachers from other schools and I found out some interesting things. For example:

* The owner of GEH used to work for another eikaiwa in town and he’s said to have taken a lot of their business with him.

* He has been successfully sued by 2 of his former Japanese employees.

* He was quite vehement that the teachers from the other eikaiwas were ‘unqualified losers’ but he had actually offered many of them jobs at GEH if they had been willing to leave their current jobs.

If you do decide to apply for this job, I would encourage you to make sure you ask very specific questions about the job and make sure you know what you’re getting into.

posted by The TEFL Blacklister @ 6/23/2006 06:10:00 PM
7 Comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so true!!!
A lot of illegal stuff is happening inside GEH!!!
July 10, 2006 4:00 AM
Anonymous said...

Indeed indeed. A terrible place, all because of a certain owner. I stayed there 1 year. I was never given the non-socialisation policy to sign (maybe because I'd been in Japan for a while already and He realised I wouldn't agree to that? I'm not sure). There's dishonesty going on in many places, although he's a very slippery customer. I suggest, if you work there, join a union (form a local chapter if necessary) and get Him sorted out.
July 14, 2006 8:42 AM
The TEFL Blacklister said...

Well, I'm just glad I can be of some help to any future 'mugs' who might be considering a move there.
July 14, 2006 10:26 AM
Jill Ball said...

This post has been removed by the author.
October 07, 2006 6:55 AM
The TEFL Blacklister said...

And now the boss of GEH is trying to sue me, intimidate me, and God knows what else. He claims it's all lies - so why not post your rebuttal, stupid?!
December 24, 2006 6:15 AM
Anonymous said...

I'm not going to get involved but Sandy you risk losing your job if some of your ever increasing enemies ever find out where and who you are and denounce you.
You could do a better job if you were totally sure of your facts, before you libel innocent schools/recruiters as they are the most likely to really want to nail you and expose you.
I am a firm sandyM supporter but I do think sometimes on the flimsiest of evidence you sometimes shoot from the hip before thinking and it totally devalues your potentially valuable blog.
As for your victim I haven't a clue about the place but I do know a bit about libel and you would be crucified if someone ever revealed who you really were. I expect you'll be tempted to pull this posting which would be a pity as there is a need for people like you - just exercise a little less venom as it may prove your undoing and the web would lose a useful blogger.
An anonymous TEFLER (who doesn't want to lose his job)
December 26, 2006 1:48 AM
The TEFL Blacklister said...

MORE of THE SAME!!!

WATCH OUT FOR GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE IN KITAMI, HOKKAIDO!!! [JAPAN]

Dear Prospective Teacher,

I have been living and teaching in Kitami(a small city in Hokkaido) for quite some time now. I must caution anyone thinking of accepting a position offered by GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE. In the short time that I have been here, I have seen eight different foreign teachers come and go from this school and none of them have had anything good to say. In fact, all with the exception of one, have expressed to me that it was an awful experience. The school is run by a man named Jean-Guy. He used to work for another school in Kitami called ASC. He either left this position or was fired. (I honestly don´t know which) He then opened his own school and has since been making a living in Kitami. While all schools within the Kitami area co-exist in relative peace, Jean-Guy has proven himself to be a vicious liar and a generally manipulative individual. I wish I could go into more detail as to my personal experiences pertaining to this but I must protect my own identity, as I have to live here and not make my school a greater target for him. His social policy is remeniscent more of a gestapo than any english school I´ve ever heard of. He does not allow his foreign teachers to converse(either professionally or personally) with any other english teachers or associates thereof. Since Kitami is such a small town, this generally means EVERY foreigner in Kitami. He attempts to convince his teachers that Kitami is filled with spies attempting to infiltrate and destroy his business, while the only one destrying his business is himself. He has been successfully sued twice in Kitami by two of his teachers for breach of contract. (Yet he will vehemently deny this) I spoke to both of the teachers involved and neither of them would have anything to gain by lying. Anyways, I don´t want to keep writing this. Truthfully, I would rather not say anything bad if I don´t have to. I simply feel a responsibility to forewarn any foreigner considering one of his positions. If you don´t believe me, ask him for recent references and find out for yourself. Then again, considering the type of person Jean-Guy is, he will probably try to talk you out of reference checking, or just give you phony ones.

Tread Cautiously,

Regretfully Anonymous

Regretfully Annonymo [2006-02-17, 23:22:00][ID: 1529-9791]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This posting is completely true. I had the horrible experience of working for this man. He lies constantly about the most stupid and pointless things. He is paranoid beyond belief. One of those people who never has anything good to say about others, but has nothing but positive things to say about himself. The only people he treats worse than his native English teachers, are his Japanese teachers. You can speak privately with several past and present teachers to discover the truth, but I think that would be a waste of time. There are plenty of opportunities in Hokkaido for Native English teachers. Smart teachers will avoid Girard English House at all costs.

P.T. [2006-04-25, 17:11:00][ID: 1529-20091]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I too had an experience that was bad!! I was intimated and threatened by this man. I realised very soon after starting this job that I wouldnt be staying long, after he asked me to lie about my professional career. DO NOT go to this school, unless you are not bothered by these comments.

Lesson learnt [2006-06-12, 13:09:00][ID: 1529-23188]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I might be just repeating what is said about GEH, but Jean-Guy says seriously nothing but lies! And this posting is almost painfully true!!! Stay away from GEH!

Annonymous [2006-07-10, 08:13:00][ID: 1529-23891]
December 26, 2006 7:11 AM



ENGLISH SCHOOL WATCH


WATCH OUT FOR GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE IN KITAMI, HOKKAIDO!!! [JAPAN]

Dear Prospective Teacher,

I have been living and teaching in Kitami(a small city in Hokkaido) for quite some time now. I must caution anyone thinking of accepting a position offered by GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE. In the short time that I have been here, I have seen eight different foreign teachers come and go from this school and none of them have had anything good to say. In fact, all with the exception of one, have expressed to me that it was an awful experience. The school is run by a man named Jean-Guy. He used to work for another school in Kitami called ASC. He either left this position or was fired. (I honestly don´t know which) He then opened his own school and has since been making a living in Kitami. While all schools within the Kitami area co-exist in relative peace, Jean-Guy has proven himself to be a vicious liar and a generally manipulative individual. I wish I could go into more detail as to my personal experiences pertaining to this but I must protect my own identity, as I have to live here and not make my school a greater target for him. His social policy is remeniscent more of a gestapo than any english school I´ve ever heard of. He does not allow his foreign teachers to converse(either professionally or personally) with any other english teachers or associates thereof. Since Kitami is such a small town, this generally means EVERY foreigner in Kitami. He attempts to convince his teachers that Kitami is filled with spies attempting to infiltrate and destroy his business, while the only one destrying his business is himself. He has been successfully sued twice in Kitami by two of his teachers for breach of contract. (Yet he will vehemently deny this) I spoke to both of the teachers involved and neither of them would have anything to gain by lying. Anyways, I don´t want to keep writing this. Truthfully, I would rather not say anything bad if I don´t have to. I simply feel a responsibility to forewarn any foreigner considering one of his positions. If you don´t believe me, ask him for recent references and find out for yourself. Then again, considering the type of person Jean-Guy is, he will probably try to talk you out of reference checking, or just give you phony ones.

Tread Cautiously,

Regretfully Annonymous

Regretfully Annonymo [2006-02-17, 23:22:00][ID: 1529-9791] This posting is completely true. I had the horrible experience of working for this man. He lies constantly about the most stupid and pointless things. He is paranoid beyond belief. One of those people who never has anything good to say about others, but has nothing but positive things to say about himself. The only people he treats worse than his native English teachers, are his Japanese teachers. You can speak privately with several past and present teachers to discover the truth, but I think that would be a waste of time. There are plenty of opportunities in Hokkaido for Native English teachers. Smart teachers will avoid Girard English House at all costs.

P.T. [2006-04-25, 17:11:00][ID: 1529-20091] I too had an experience that was bad!!
I was intimated and threatened by this man. I realised very soon after starting this job that I wouldnt be staying long, after he asked me to lie about my professional career.
DO NOT go to this school, unless you are not bothered by these comments.

Lesson learnt [2006-06-12, 13:09:00][ID: 1529-23188] I might be just repeating what is said about GEH, but Jean-Guy says seriously nothing but lies!
And this posting is almost painfully true!!!
Stay away from GEH!

Annonymous [2006-07-10, 08:13:00][ID: 1529-23891]


MARKS ESL FORUM

STAY AWAY FROM GIRARD ENGLISH HOUSE IN KITAMI

Posted By: Rgretfully Annonymous (210.170.202.196)
Date: Sunday, 19 February 2006, at 5:03 a.m.

Word to the wise. Stay well away from this school unless you enjoy being forced to sign social policy contracts. Every aspect of your life will be invaded and monitored by the paraniod and manipulative owner named Jean-Guy. He is very nice and helpful before you arrive and when you become one of his teachers, you are treated like a disposable posession. You are not allowed to converse with other foreigners. (He will say this is a lie, but what he means is that you can not talk to any other teachers, while every foreigner in Kitami is an English teacher.)Be prepared to have absolutely no social life except going on pathetic field trips with his family. Several of his teachers have sucessfuly sued him for refusing to pay them. (Although he will vehemently deny this) Ask to speak PRIVATELY with SEVERAL of his teachers from both past and present and you will discover the truth about this nightmare of a school.

http://tefltrade.blog-city.com/the_true_calibre_of_efl_school_owners.htm

« H E » Sandy :: email link
About .45? That's the IQ, I mean. And I say this because some stupid geezer wonderful guy in Japan is threatening to sue me, and persecute me to the ends of the Earth, and all because of this little piece [LINK DELETED] that turned up on the Tefl Blacklist blog (which, as I am sure you all know, is nothing at all to do with Sandy McManus). I mean, I didn't even write the damned thing, and now it's apparently all my fault!

Where Has The Inspector Gone?

"Goodness gracious. Not a post in ages. What on earth has happened to the old fart?"

I'm sure there has been the odd muttering that either I've copped a sniper's bullet from The House of Windsor or have simply been shagging myself senseless with the lovely Rosita in Pamplona at night, whilst puffing gently on a nice Cuban cigar with a glass of the finest Highland single malt after a nice siesta in the afternoon.

In truth postings arrive on the different threads that most of you probably aren't even aware of, so The Blacklist has seen a steady trickle of information and misinformation, especially from old Bruce at TEFL International, and since the demise of Sandy your beloved sleuth has been even more acutely aware that real information about the TEFL business is in short supply.

So I've taken time out to reflect on the future of the blog.

Oh and it's about time the Oscar winners for 2008 were announced.

_________________________________________________________
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Paul Lowe. A Threat to Free Speech!

Paul Lowe is becoming a real nuisance. The Inspector has received this request from Alex Case and is pleased to offer whatever help he can. The beauty of the Internet and especially Google is that everyone has a voice. Mr Paul Lowe is now attempting to silence any voice that might be even mildly critical of his business methods - remember this is the same person that was selling fraudulent Trinity certified TEFL courses after he had been struck off by Trinity. A lot of teachers graduated to find that their TEFL certificates were Mickey Mouse qualifications.

So this is what Alex requests.........

"If you could put this up as its own post or spread the word in any
other way, would be much appreciated:

An appeal to TEFLers everywhere.

I would be grateful if you could help me and TEFLers everywhere by
sparing ten minutes to read this and do one of the actions suggested
below

Some background: 2 weeks ago a certain Paul Lowe of Windsor
Schools/Windsor TEFL came out of nowhere and into my life by
threatening to sue me and the owner of the site my blog,TEFLtastic, is
on. Obviously boosted by the success this effortless method had in
shutting down Sandy McManus's TEFLtrade blog and Wally Windsor's site,
he didn't even think it was worth spending a few minutes checking what
TEFLtastic had to say about him before firing off a threatening email.
I can say that with full confidence because before I reprinted his
email mentioning legal action there was not one reference to Paul Lowe
or Windsor Schools on my blog.

So, why should you care? Apart from the specific loss of a couple of
blogs, I would argue that there is a major principle at stake here, one
that could affect all of us and one that we are approaching a critical
period with.

The TEFL world on the internet is rapidly changing from one where a
quick Google search can bring up a full and colourful range of views
from teachers, students, trainees and the occasional crank, to one
where any TEFL related searches will find you yet again on Cactus TEFL
or i-to-i TEFL. My accidental brush with Mr Lowe has helped me come up
with a plan to tackle that loss of our influence. Whether it will be a
successful last stand or not I can't say, but here's how to go out with
our guns blazing:

My proposal is to make a lesson of Mr Paul Lowe of Windsor
Schools/Windsor TEFL that other school owners and TEFL training
organisations can learn from by making sure that everyone who searches
for him on the internet hears what we have to say, and making sure
there are enough of us saying it that he has to give up the use of
unjustified threatening emails to silence us. As diversity of voices is
the whole point, I won't even suggest what you could say about him, but
here are some simple and time efficient ways of using this opportunity
to show the TEFL big boys we won't be gagged:
- Paste this and/or your own comments into an email and send it to
everyone you know, especially people in TEFL
- Leave a brief message of support here or anywhere else he or his
school get a mention
- Google him or his school and only click on the pages that give an
independant viewpoint
- Give links to such pages in your blog, MSN page, Facebook page, email
signature etc.
- Paste this post and/or make a comment in your blog with suitable
tags, or in any of those other places mentioned above
- Start a new thread on this topic in TEFL and other forums
- Start a suitably titled new blog with info and links on Paul Lowe and
Windsor TEFL-it takes literally 5 minutes to set up a free blog on
Blogger or Wordpress,and if I can anyone can!
- Write to Paul himself at paul@windsorschools.eclipse.co.uk and let
him know what you think

I hope I have convinced you that by making our voices heard in this way
we can all benefit in the longer term, or at least that I am genuine in
my attempts and worth 5 minutes of your time to help.Any help at all
would be much appreciated

Thanks

Alex Case, TEFL teacher and blogger."

_________________________________________________________
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Richard Bradford TEFL?

This comment was left by a Mr. Anonymous on the "Who Killed Sandy McManus" post. What The Inspector finds most interesting is not the content so much as who could have been the author. There are quite a few clues, in fact to work out what sort of person might have written it, in fact it's a bit like Cluedo. Who dunnit? Was it Colonel Mustard with a revolver in the Billiard Room. Before you read it here are the following pointers:

• The author works in EFL
  
• The author is 37/38 years old
  
• The author first started working as an EFL teacher in 1994
  
• The author is probably British as EFL rather than ESL is used to describe the profession.
  
• The author left teaching in 2002
  
• His last post paid £1000 a month so certain countries can be eliminated
  
• He now clearly is rather full of himself
  
• He looks down on EFL teachers now
  
• He has a highly paid job and is either senior management or owner of a business
  
• The business is not a language school
  
• The author probably has poor people management skills. Arrogance does not make for a good working atmosphere in any business.
  

Well assuming that there are no red herrings in the comments I would guess that there are enough clues to have a pretty good guess as to who might be the author. Richard Bradford of Cactus TEFL would be a possibility but he doesn't own Cactus as far as The Inspector knows and the author has apparently started his own business. Cactus as agents don't actually run a language school but take a commission as agents for TEFL courses/English homestays/language courses they sell.

He/she is probably an agent in EFL hence the comment about wanting to take on someone with a salary of £40,000 and involving a fair bit of admin and some travelling.

Whoever you are Mr/Ms Anonymous thanks for the posting. What an insight into the mindset of an EFL agent!

Any other guesses as to who it might be? Anyway here it is ........................

"I used to find such comments on low wages tiresome but now they just amuse me.

I remember I instigated a bonus scheme to help people realise that if they did what only what they were contractually obliged to do, they could earn a little more. As I could have predicted when you give staff more for them doing what they have always done they become less happy. Why? Well, I’ll let you work that one out. In one instance of a teacher who was always late, got miffed because he didn’t get any bonus for the punctuality element. Can you believe it!

See if you can disagree with any of this

Most people who enter efl are young graduates who have very little ambition or skills and don’t have any prospect of a good career in the UK commensurate with their perceived value as a graduate so gain a cert to go and live abroad for a while. It has been a truism for at least two hundred years that if you can’t make it in the home country you go abroad. They go abroad and work for low wages which they don’t really care about as it seems like an extended holiday and are glad to have the chance to survive in a foreign country/culture. They are now qualified (long expensive training gives them a professional status as an efl teacher – well 4 weeks and £800).

They return for summer school work for a few years and then they start to think they are not really getting anywhere so they’ll return to the UK to make some real money commensurate with their value as a professional, qualified, experienced graduate.

Of course permanent posts are quite rare and almost all are poorly paid. Why is that? Because every year there are more and more “qualified teachers” (remember that long and expensive professional training?). For supposed graduates the fact that almost all of them have no grasp of the basic laws of supply and demand says something doesn’t it.

Remember however that the longer one stays in this business as a teacher the more entrenched in a losing mindset you will become. Hey presto the only outlet is to complain about how other people don’t give you things (higher wages) which are your birthright as a professional, qualified, experienced graduate. So wearying, so sad.

That is not to say there aren’t some nice people in the business but the overwhelming majority are those who have abjectly failed in their other chosen pursuit (usually artistic) and are complete losers in every way, boring, lazy and lacking ambition.

I think the apotheosis of this type is Sandy Mcmanus. If I didn’t have better things to do I would start a website to name and shame all the useless twats I have had to deal with, but why bother? It won’t improve my life. What will such people ever understand about working for six months, 15 hours a day, 7 days a week for no money at all, and you have had to remortgage to pay wages to the sort of “professionals” who walk off the job, and worse.

I’ve met hundreds of these types. Indeed I was one myself. Although I don’t remember complaining about how other people didn’t give me more money. My first efl job at the age of 26 paid £60 per week. That was in 1994. I have been in EFL since then and worked hard. Pay attention to that last sentence. My last job as a teacher in 2002 paid £1000 in a good week. In 2005 I earned £77,000. I once had a school but left that business as having to deal with all the criminals, shysters and useless teachers stressed me out too much. Still in EFL but do not own a language school (thank God). How much do I earn now? about £11,000 per month. If my financial predictions pan out in about 15 months it should be about £66,000 per month.

I can hear the gasps of disbelief. Funny thing is, it isn’t that much. Loads of people in the City earn these sorts of figures. “Why, How?” Oh how I wish the Guardian would teach readers the basics of supply and demand, even a short article on working hard instead of waiting for handouts would be helpful

In case any of you think this is a silly boast, think again. Apart from the fact none of you know me, nor are you ever likely to, money in fact means very little. Making it is just a game. And no, I’m not going to tell you how. Just like wisdom, all the answers are out there, you’ve just got to work it out for yourself. Unfortunately very few of you will. I can guarantee that anyone who complains about how other people won’t give them something for free is unlikely ever to learn anything, which will ever help them get out of such a situation. The essence of success (if that is what you choose to call it, btw why are you all so avaricious?) is to work out how to give more to people while they give you less. Ok, I’m sure many of you didn’t know that, although I am confident that giving away that little secret will not help any of you. Stony ground.

Remember 95% (exactly) of the population will never amount to anything. Do you know why? I hope there will be a post with the correct answer. If there is, I will respond to it. Indeed if someone does come up with the correct answer and they need a leg up financially or in any other way, I’ll help them. I can guarantee however that almost all responses to this post will be negative and there ye shall remain. I’m rambling a little here but I haven’t quite lost faith in people yet. I am in fact looking for someone to do a job for me in EFL. Quite easy, quite a lot of admin, a little travelling and 40k for the right person.

None of you who work in schools and complain about your wages have ever spotted a decent employer and said to them, “I am going to do something for you for free because I like working here”, or “I want to be paid less” If any of you have any balls, just try it and see what happens. Those with the right attitude are always spotted sooner or later and given a chance to better themselves. There are many who started at the bottom with nothing and went right to the top. Do you think they got there by saying to those who mattered, I’m going to do less but I want more from you?

I expect you’ll all be posting how bad I am. I can’t see that I am but no doubt you’ll find something to bleat about. But before you do, consider who creates jobs, pays taxes which run the country and pays for all the health and education you lot consume. And who pays to look after the old and the sick? and gives more money away to charity than you lot earn in a year? What do you contribute?"

Posted by Anonymous

Who Killed Sandy McManus?

I suspect foul play. Last year Sandy was blackmailed by the "Headmaster" in Japan and handed over the keys to the TEFL Blacklist to your noble sleuth. Now suddenly and unexpectedly he has abruptly ceased his Tefltrade blog.

His list of enemies it must be confessed was rather long. I have a suspicion that someone has finally tracked him down.

I notice that someone has nominated Paul Lowe for an Oscar. He's certainly been after Sandy for some time.

Old Sandy used to let rip. Now alas it's R.I.P.

_________________________________________________________

Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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