Guardian Languages - Languages Out There

The Guardian Sweat Shop

Well I think we can all guess what you are up to Jason. Your business "Languages Out There" is a veritable TEFL sweat shop.

My son Hamish McHammered is arriving at the airport later on today so just a brief note on Jason West and his antics.











Young Hamish McHammered

Unfortunately dear Jason a full blacklisting is now in order for you ma lad!

If the Guardian wants to descend to the TEFl sewer through some kind of licensing/franchise (we've been here before with
International House methinks) then don't expect your noble sleuth to respect this kind of pricing structure which does the world of TEFL and teacher's pay generally no favours at all. Oh and if you want to get in touch with Alex Case, who does sterling work on Tefltastic, contact him directly, don't bother posting messages ostensibly for him, but in reality for a wider audience, on the TEFL Blacklist. They will simply get binned and you are now blacklisted after ignoring my last warning about sneaky behaviour.

To quote.........

Prices
" Teachers’ lesson plans come with a site licence. This allows the lessons to be used with all pupils at one language school location. Schools with more than one location should contact us to find out about our generous offers for multiple site licences.

Learners can buy self-study packs, and schools can also buy them for individual pupils. Don't forget Engage, our VoIP client – it's free to download! Learners only pay for the time they spend practising with fluent or native English speakers. The rate is £6.95 per hour (which is less than £0.12 per minute!) They can also use Engage free of charge to practice with other learners.

£6.95 an hour!. Once again thanks to the EL Gazette for exposing this shyster. And shame on the Guardian for not choosing their partners more wisely.

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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The Guardian Newspaper - Yet Again!

Your intrepid sleuth received this posting from the Guardian. He appears to have ruffled their feathers of late.

"Can you contact me at info@guardianlanguages.co.uk so that I can send you some information about Guardian Languages that you might like to read, check for yourself on our website and then publish?

Thanks

Jason"

Well Jason if you think the Inspector's brains have been so addled by fermented yak's milk that he is going to send you his IP address (for the uninitiated each email carries an IP address which is like giving someone your phone number) you are an optimistic idiot.

To send dear old Jason an email, the Inspector might as well give just him the phone number of his hotel in Pamplona.

Why don't you give me your home address, Jason, and I'll send Lady Florence McHammered around for a quick chat ;)

Dream on Jason.

By all means post a reply but try that sneaky dodge once more and your right of reply will vanish forever.

What has happened to the Guardian lately. It used to be a respected newspaper. I suspect they are a bit short of cash.

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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The Guardian Guards Its Profits!

Thanks for the EL Gazette for the next couple of stories. The first is about the Guardian which it is now alleged is breaking the law!

BRITAIN’S LEADING left of centre newspaper company is paying freelance native speakers of English the UK minimum wage to conduct conversation classes online. Guardianlanguages. com, a website belonging to the Guardian News and Media Group, is offering £5.52 an hour to native speakers.

Paying minimum wage is not illegal; advertising for native speakers is more contentious. To 'justify discrimination' Guardian News and Media believe they have to show that it is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’, according to Jason West, whose company, languagesoutthere, developed the programme. Legal advice given to the Gazette states that courts require hard evidence in order to justify discrimination. We asked the Guardian for their evidence but none has been provided.

Only native English speaker ‘partners’ qualify for payment but no educational requirements are specified. Qualified EFL teachers with nothing better to do will also initially be paid minimum wage rate. West is confident that over time qualified teflers will earn more as users are asked to rate the lessons they receive and ‘partners’ receiving consistently good ratings can ask for an increase on £5.52.

Qualified teachers in London earn about £20 an hour for private conversation classes. Those who do sign up in the hope of earning more than £5.52 an hour can opt to download one-hour lesson plans costing £20. In the UK 120 hours of course material retails at around £25. The same amount of material would be £2,700 from guardianlanguages. Asked to justify the cost difference West said he was confident about both quality and price of the materials. 'Self-study students can purchase packs for just £1 each,' he pointed out.

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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