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EF Hangzhou
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zactherat



Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 295

PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

* ^_^ *

Last edited by zactherat on Sat Oct 20, 2012 1:35 am; edited 1 time in total
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Andy Pandy



Joined: 10 Oct 2012
Posts: 4
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://ef-hangzhou-china.blogspot.co.uk/

As soon as you arrive, they put that little collar on your neck, and you are now their property for the remainder of their contract. They never explain probation periods or anything until you get there. That is a severe breach, as that is a completely different contract from the one they created for you prior to arrival. I am beginning to understand that they do in fact breach their contracts and terminate them in order to escape paying end of fare bonuses etc. The monthly turnover and unpaid airfare at EF Hangzhou it self could have contributed itself to almost 35% of the companies annual revenue!

I still fail to understand why a worldwide and multinational company such as English First has not been sanctioned as of yet for their forthcomings. What goes around comes around and the recent reviews as can be clearly seen online are a sign that people are not going to stay quiet forever. English First's reviews are building up and more than 50% are overwhelmingly accurate, and disappointing.

After reading the article, I also remember that many of my colleagues also had an issue with English First not paying taxis for us to attend all these tests and medical on our days off. Some of the medical tests took almost all day. We were not aware of this, and we were not going to be paid for our expensive taxi rides to the clinic. Moreover, many teachers had not been informed to bring their visa receipts in order to claim a refund. It seemed to be a purposely made decision in order to paying out more money that they promised to pay. Little things like this matter when you are abroad, as you expect professionalism and things to be straightforward after traveling half way around the world to a foreign country. This left staff extremely disgruntled. Lucky for many of us that have been left out of pocket by English First. Many of their revenues will in turn be affected by the accurate articles that have been published. Soon they will struggle desperately to get people to work in their centers, and stay at their centers. Which I believe is the up and coming situation. They heavily rely on new recruitment, and sales, and this is not a long term business savvy solution.
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Andy Pandy



Joined: 10 Oct 2012
Posts: 4
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://ef-hangzhou-china.blogspot.co.uk/
Chinese Children Slapped and Abused
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221817/CCTV-shows-Chinese-teacher-slapping-young-pupils-120-times-just-half-hour.html

Chinese Teacher Slapping Young Children - See the shocking video as evidence of more abuse in China!

English First Employment Scam

After my recent article about the potential abuses that could take place for children at English First, this article just reaffirms the validity of the claims that children need more protection in China. The teacher can be clearly seen abusing the poor child and hitting her. There is no audio on the video, so it's difficult to gauge the actual situation.

China needs to adopt western policies faster if it wants to become an actual competitor as an economic power.

English First was also caught recently firing staff in English First Beijing, due to trying to fake and illegitimately employ teachers without the legal government requirements such as degrees and proper TEFL qualifications, which are accredited. As a result many teachers were fired. I am sure these won't be the last people to have lost money as a result of English First. Yet, still the market remains so unregulated. There needs to be major sanctions and changes immediately. I have also been made aware that my posts are blocked in China. However, they are unable to block these posts in the West.

English First Employment Scam, EF Hangzhou, EF, English First, China, Work in China, EF Beijing
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5h09un



Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Andy Pandy wrote:
http://ef-hangzhou-china.blogspot.co.uk/


blogspot is blocked in china.

that article you linked refers to a school in taiyuan, not hangzhou.
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gerberbaby



Joined: 26 Mar 2015
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 2:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm being recruited by them. Does anyone work for them now (or has worked for them recently)?
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Noelle



Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 361
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To the poster above:

I worked for this EF school (the East Hangzhou branch) many years ago (2004) and cannot speak about the situation there now. But what you're doing is very wise. Try to get someone who is currently there, knows someone there or has recently been there to contact you with information.

When I went to EF Hangzhou, I was new to the industry, barely qualified with nothing more than an EF TEFL certificate I'd gotten in Canada a month before. At the time, the Hangzhou schools were said to be 'role models' for other EF language schools in China. The facility I worked in was brand new and very nice. The owner was decent and so was the director of studies, for the most part.

But it was definitely a business first and foremost and not a place of learning by any standard of mine now. Again- this was a long time ago. And the previous posters on this thread are quite correct about the hours and pay as well as the turnover situation. I don't believe those EF schools are known for retaining teachers for very long.

That said-- it was still a mostly good experience for someone who didn't have anything to compare it to. And Hangzhou was an awesome city to live in back then. Probably even better now. If that East school is still open and in the same place, that's a very nice location too:)

Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.
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gerberbaby



Joined: 26 Mar 2015
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Noelle. I haven’t spoken to anyone there yet, but have to teachers at other schools. The experience appears to differ a lot between sites, and especially between "owned schools" directly run by EF and "franchise" schools run by 3rd parties in their name. It sounds like the experience is usually better at owned schools, and they told me I had the option of only applying for "owned" schools. However, I also realized that they take new teachers almost continuously throughout the year, and the workload at the adult centers fluctuates less than kids' centers. So there’s no rush yet, and I can see what else is around while looking into EF.
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