Job Discussion Forums

[roywebcafe]

I am here in zaragoza and am also from the west midlands. I can vouch for it being alot nice r in many ways to the west mids. I can even walk to the bars and cljubs without getting a bus like i did in Birmingham. Its a student city and very lively. If keeping fit is your thing it has plenty to offer there to.

[leracquet]

Andrew: there is nothing libelous about telling the truth. Mr Sergio Sampietro is the most libelous person in Zaragoza, being the one who most brings the name of his own school into disrepute.
The fact that you protect him in this way is deceiving and what's even worse is that you are willing to let other people be fooled with your lies about how great such a place is, when you know full well that it is not. I think it's very sad that you have to resort to threatening Smmcartney for telling the truth.
Most English teachers in Zaragoza will vouch that Number 16 is certainly not a good place to work at, and not because of the method or the teachers, but for the lying, thieving and trickery that goes on.
Mr Sampietro is an unscrupulous man who lies in court, fires his staff illegally and even cheats his own clients.
By all means, come to Zaragoza, there are plenty of schools here, but my advice is to stay far away from that place: the reason why they have to look for staff members abroad is because they can't sucker anyone in Zaragoza to work for them.
As for PaulD, (If you really exist: no one knows of any Paul who may have worked there.) I recommend changing your CV, as long as Sergio continues there, no-one will take your work experience at Number 16 seriously.

[clarke501]

Hi, does anybody have any insight on Inlingua Zaragoza that they can share?

[smccartney]

PaulD,

Someone came here to ask for information on a school in Zaragoza. Having worked in that school I decided to help by sharing my opinion, which I'm totally entitled to do, and I received a threatening email! Perhaps he forgot he doesn't own me anymore! lol

I don't like direct methods but SYM is possibly the best of the bunch. Like you say, it has "good bits" but unfortunately Sergio thinks he knows more about language teaching than the author of the method and Cambridge ESOL department.

Stephen

[El Inglés]

Hi everyone,

I hope that the forum members reading this thread are mostly interested in some relevant answers to the original question. I'd rather not comment on smmcartney and leracquet's personal and legal issues, and although many of the comments are directed at me, affect the more than 20 personnel we have working here, and are demonstrably false or highly misleading, I'd prefer to avoid a further descent into petty name-calling, empty accusations and pointless my-word-against-yours arguments.
It's very important, indeed fundamental, to the success of Number 16 that teachers have realistic expectations when they join our team. So I'd invite anyone thinking of joining us to come along, see the place for themselves and speak with the people who work here now. If you're not already in Zaragoza or are unable to make the trip here, perhaps you could try contacting some of our teachers via our social networks. Given how much the academy has grown and improved over the last couple of years, I'm sure our current staff, especially those who have witnessed all these changes, will be able to give you a clearer perspective than teachers who haven't worked with us for several years.
Thanks for posting that thread spiral78. The creator of the Speak Your Mind method has contributed, he’s by far the best person to clear up any doubts about the method and we have regular discussions and meetings with him about how the method is applied.

I wish all the best to everyone looking for English teaching jobs in Zaragoza and elsewhere in Spain.

[smccartney]

Well there you go folks, perhaps the school has improved over the last year or so. Perhaps teachers are no longer forced to work illegal hours, maybe they get all their holiday pay at holiday time? I don't know! It is even possible they follow the method as it was intended to be followed.

I know things originally got worse after a lot of teachers left in 2011, made pay for so-called training if you left etc. Although it is possible they have finally learnt their lesson an treat teachers as humans now.

If you want to take the chance and go there, I'd just suggest being careful.


Stephen

PS Serigo FFS stop threatening people with legal action for expressing their opinions! As we say in Belfast, "catch yerself on"!

[El Inglés]

I think Smcartney's advice is sound for applying for any academy. Make sure you have a contract, and make sure you understand it. Obviously, legal documents have to be in the language of whatever country you're working in, but you should be able to get a translation and it can also be worth getting some independent legal advice. Don't assume that labour laws will be the same as in your country (EU regulations apply throughout Europe but there are still some differences) and don't rely on second or third-hand information.

[nosensenonsense]

Aww yes Number 16. This school has set a reputation even in my neck of the woods. I have talked with and known a few people that have done some time there. Word so easily finds a way to spread like fire or a certain kind of STD.

So some people do not like their boss and they whine about it a little bit. It is very hard to find a boss that you do like. I am sure this Sergio person will put the sake of his business on top of his priority list rather than trying to make the jobs of his teachers easier. This is what bosses do. I'm sure he has a copy of the book “how to make other people think that it is not your fault.” which is issued to every boss on the planet. I also think that this same book is also issued to quite a few BEE employees as well.

Issues such as this should be taken with a grain of salt.......except when thus said person goes out on a limb to make an ass of him or herself. So far based on what anybody can see by reading this post you can see that this has happened. Some examples are below.

It is painstakingly obvious that the post from “sergiosampietro” was indeed not written by the man himself. Through deductive reasoning I would say some sort of apple polisher or goon. Who else would actually take the time to start an account under his name and defend him? I guess it would also be safe to say they were told to do it.

This same body of text also does nothing else if not gloating. Telling the user “smccartney” that he was a good teacher because of the method instead of saying that the teacher makes the method good. This alone is a total sign of unwitting ignorance of the topic at hand sprinkled with hubris. Gloating about how many numbers yadda yadda this and yadda yadda that. It is the teachers that keep the students in that class, not your re-packaged system.

Unfortunately, he can be arbitrary all he wants because he is one of the biggest games in town. Well this is what I have heard. If a teacher leaves due to whatever reason he can find plenty more where that came from and the cycle starts all over again. He can just buy more time to do whatever he wishes. Smart move for any boss out there.

Now some would say "if he was really taking the SYM system and bending it to his will do you think that that Ian McInally would take notice and say something to the guy?" This is a great and valid point! I think that if somebody is using something you created in a way that you do not approve of they would of course say something about. Here is another valid reason. Either way Mr. McInally makes money off of the whole process so he can just sip on pina coladas and get paid.


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