Job Discussion Forums

montague · Joined: 26 Jun 2012 Posts: 7

I was offered a position here. There are a couple old posts speaking negatively about the place in very vague terms. Any more concrete evaluation (specifics please) would be greatly appreciated.

Eagle Eyes · Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Posts: 121 Location: Istanbul

Zirve University in Gaziantep has a poor reputation for keeping its teachers. The students act like teachers and the teachers act like students. Do not work here the students are mostly spoiled and come from wealthy backgrounds and the turnover rate amongst EFL teachers is amongst the highest in Turkey! Shocked

wander&teach · Joined: 15 Nov 2009 Posts: 126

For the past year I have worked at Zirve University and can speak from personal and relevant experience. I have found that if a teacher acts professionally, he or she will be treated like a professional by the administration and the majority of students. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching at Zirve and feel that I have contributed to my students' futures. During my time here I have made several life-long connections with students and teachers. As with teaching young adults anywhere, at times you will have to maintain good classroom management practices, however, this is part of being an effective teacher. Teaching overseas in a totally different culture always presents challenges but overall I can say that my time at Zirve has been a positive experience.

Gaziantep is the sixth largest city in Turkey with a population around 1.5 million, and very much still developing. It has great growth potential, but currently it is still a very conservative and religious place. There is a lot of construction going on pretty much everywhere but some sections are developed and others are charming with an extensive and fascinating history. So, if you can accept a conservative setting, and appreciate history and religion, you will be just fine here. However, if you are looking for nightclubs and a lot of entertainment, you will surely be bored. Message me privately if you have any questions and best of luck in your job search.

Eagle Eyes · Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Posts: 121 Location: Istanbul

These people are advertising for teachers yet again on most EFL websites. Seems they just can't keep their current teachers from leaving..or running away! Rolling Eyes

billy orr · Joined: 15 Jul 2009 Posts: 229

The absence of recent negative comments suggests that Zirve has overcome its earlier problems.

Qaaolchoura · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:30 pm Post subject:

I've met some of Zirve's teachers actually.
First the pros: Zirve has high standards and generally only hires MA holders, often hires from abroad, and always does all the proper paperwork and I was told that they have the highest ESL pay rate in Turkey.

The complaints are as follows:
1. The college students are poorly behaved, acting like high school students, and the actual high school students (during summer months) are worse.
2. Housing (which is private accommodation with partial kitchen and full bath) is provided in an apartment building with students, which make for noisy nights and messy hallways.
3. While teaching hours are standard (20-25/week), teachers are expected to be in their offices from 8-5, making for long days. This is added to by the commute; the school being in the middle of nowhere.
4. Gaziantep is a dull city, which gets too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. (I don't fully agree with this, but it's a very common complaint.)

Personally, while I haven't worked there I'd be willing to if they offered me a job. I get the impression that a lot of these teachers are MA holders with experience in the Gulf, and are measuring it by the standards of the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain.

Regards,
~Q

montague · Joined: 26 Jun 2012 Posts: 7

Thank you all for replying. I haven't heard anything that I can't live with and since I don't have any other offers at the moment, I will hope for the best and take their offer. Worst case scenario=eleven months of pain.

tsaf kaerb · Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 4

Well, yet another teacher is jumping into a horrible contract.

All the negative comments that were written about Zirve were "mysteriously" deleted from eslcafe so if you're measuring any "improvements" by the lack of negative posts then you are sorely mistaken.

It's too bad, but esllist is currently rebuilding its site so you can't see the continuation of negative posts about Zirve (that didn't get mysteriously deleted thanks to esllists integrity).

Don't know any teachers who taught at Zirve who also taught at a school in the UAE so I'm not sure what Q is going on about; what I DO know is 1) Q stated that he/she actually hasn't taught at Zirve. 2) Q is writing several lines about a school he/she's never been to. 3) and about information he/she's getting from a few teachers he/she's met.

Enjoy Turkey and enjoy teaching by going somewhere else. If you've already signed a piece of paper and sent it digitally to Zirve be careful because they can use these digital copies to submit work permits or sign other legal documents without you knowing about it.

if you're upset about other teachers not posting specific details it's because we're all fed-up with "new teachers" who receive paragraph-long explanations as to why they should not accept a contract with Zirve and then the teacher DOES accept the contract and then cries about it later.

Qaaolchoura · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:56 am Post subject:

JohnRambo · Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 183

I think I would prefer the more western locales of Turkey such as Izmir or Istanbul. I don't think a very conservative area would be my cup of Turkish tea. The main thing is to be at a place of employment that has very good reviews, and it doesn't seem to have many good reviews, IMHO; that cannot be ignored.