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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:33 pm Post subject: $ salaries |
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I just noticed an ad for a school in Istanbul(city College or something) They quote the salary in $. I haven't worked in Turkey in over a year and a half. At that time everybody wanted $. Is this still the case? My salary is in $ here in the Gulf. However due to the weak $ against about everything I now earn about 350 pounds less amonth. Alot of people here are leaving due to the weak dollar. As I'll be back in Turkey soon should I be keeping an eye out for salaries quoted in Lira?
Cheers
PS Ghost. don't reply with a rant about not coming to Turkey. Having lived in Turkey for 10 years I know what I'm coming to and I can't wait |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 7:23 pm Post subject: Reply |
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You can have this poster's job if you want. It is up for grabs.
Salary: 1.200.000.000 to 1.300.000.000. You will save close to half your salary if you live normally. Saving normally around $400 a month.
Accommodation: Free with cable t.v. (Digiturk).
Days off: One to two days depending on schedules.
Clients/Students: 95% University students. Easy stress free.
Teaching load: Between 20 to 28 maximum. Many classes are simply conversation classes where little or no prep.
Materials: Using the Headway Series from Elementary to Intermediate. May also teach TOEFL and KPDS.
Locale: City of 500.000 located between Bursa and Ankara
Present foreign teachers: One South Africa. one Scottish, one Canadian (all males)
Perks: Free teas at school. Free Turkish lessons at school. |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the offer Ghost. But I currently save about $1800 a month without really trying-but that wasn't my point. You make your job sound pleasing. Seems reasonable salary and conditions. Can't really see why you are so against life. Remind us.
Sorry everyone else |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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@yaramaz. The last post was all your fault. You said you were getting bored with the lack of postings. So I thought I'd give Ghost a bit of flaming boost. |
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FGT
Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Turkey
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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I would suggest that conversation classes require MORE planning/preparation than others, not less. Comments? |
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yaramaz
Joined: 05 Mar 2003 Posts: 2384 Location: Not where I was before
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:31 am Post subject: |
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I agree that conversation classes take more prep. I teach my adult night class only two hours each evening, three times a week, and I spend almost as much time getting ready for it as I do for my 18 hours with the kids. This is because the kids have text books, teachers' books, workbooks, heaps of supplementary materials around the department and a national curriculum telling me where to steer the kids' brains, and my adult class has....me. I have to figure out what to talk about, what language points to introduce and use, what activities to make it interesting, what topics will be relevant and interesting, etc. During the class I have to work hard to keep the conversation rolling... I've actually stopped doing that class for a few weeks because I was too burnt out. |
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richard ame
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 319 Location: Republic of Turkey
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 9:05 am Post subject: Those conversation groups ! |
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Hi Yaramaz
Sorry to high jack the op,I start some conversation groups next week at a private firm and what was said earlier about the prep time needed set a few alarm bells off in my head . Basically its been a while since I did this sort of thing apart from the points already mentioned can you give me a few pointers ?
Back to the op ,dollars are quoted all the time but very few places actually pay them you are more likely to get Euros,especially in Izmir .I actually prefer the local stuff you get a lot more interest on your savings and generally its more convenient .Everybody talks in dollars here but its always TL that comes across . |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 11:08 am Post subject: reply to DMB |
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You're kidding - you save $1800 U.S. a month and want to leave the post? For that kind of money in the bank most would put up with it.
The Turkish job - well for this poster it is one big yawn...but you already know about that. There is no challenge.
But for some young people who are happy to just trundle along for a pay cheque and stress free teaching that may be the post for them.
Further - this is a smoking culture, and the old lungs are suffering because all of the second hand smoke everywhere (including the teacher's lounge). If smoking is not a problem for you this is the place. |
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yaramaz
Joined: 05 Mar 2003 Posts: 2384 Location: Not where I was before
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 11:15 am Post subject: |
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Hi Richard,
I'm not sure who you are teaching and what they want from the course. My course was a very... um.... special one, because the guy who runs the school hasn't a clue about teaching and only knows business... I was the first English teacher in his school as he usually offered engineering and computer courses. He targeted the local business community and essentially pulled together a class for me by promising everybody everything. What I ended up doing was asking the students what they wanted from this course. I told them I wasn't there to teach grammar and my focus wasn't on introducing new things but helping to use their current knowledge more clearly and accurately. The students who were expecting to be spoon fed dialogues to memorise were gone after a month and I was left with a good core of Intermediate students who wanted to talk and who wanted to learn a bit. I did do some dialogues, but only as examples of how to say things in certain situations. Lots of sentence starters-- how to express agreement, disagreement, etc. I did role playing. I did idioms. I did interviews. I did debates. I had envelopes full of questions on different themes. Go to http://iteslj.org as they have a lot of intelligent resources for adults. In a 2 hour evening class I usually opened with a 10 minute free talk on a subject of my choice (ie ramazan, work, books) then some vocabulary or phrases to learn and to use later in the lesson. Then I usually had an activity like interviews or debates etc. Then I finished it off with random questions from my envelope-- a few students pick a question and everyone talks about it. Iteslj.org has lots of questions available.
Also, because my course was so free form, I made sure that they knew they could steer its direction if the need be. They were all business people and used English every day at work, but they never had a chance to practise it conversationally. If they wanted to know business terminology or polite ways to say things to clients, they could ask. They could also talk about their children or holiday or favourite book.
Good luck! |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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Ghost if you don't like Turkey you would hate the Gulf. sure you get the money but you have to put up with no culture, racism( aimed at non muslim westerners), unqualified management who can't speak English, stupid petty admin(because the managers can't do their own job), students who don't want to learn and have no respect, Students who lie to management in order to get teachers fired, intense heat, oh I could go on. Too many stay year after year because of the money. They are usually insane. I need to have a break from here in order to stay sane and get back to reality. Of course Scott is the exception. |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:22 pm Post subject: Reply to DMB |
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Fair enough - money isnt't everything, but why Turkey...surely there are more interesting and stimulating places to teach than here?...Turkey seems to be grossly overrated as a locale. Maybe it's the easy conditions and free accommodation which attract penniless ESL rovers.
Yesterday at this school seven students went to the management and asked for a foreign teacher to be replaced with a Turkish teacher. Some of the students took umbrage because foreign teacher reminded the students that they should endeavour to do the homework and come prepared for class (read and review the new vocab.). The laziness of the students is depressing. And the gall they have in reacting the way they do is all the more depressing.
Another foreign teacher at the same school had several students ask for the same request. One South African teacher had a student storm out of class recently because said teacher asked the student to complete a class related worksheet.
The list goes on. |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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Why Turkey. I don't have enough time to answer that one. For me, many positives. But the free accommodation doesn't really interest me as I plan on buying a place if the price is right. I take it that you think this will be a wise investment my ghostly friend |
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FGT
Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Turkey
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 11:00 pm Post subject: conversation classes |
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Richard- Have the students been level tested? If so what level? How many students in the class? How long are the lessons? You say it's a company class, are they expected to learn/practice business type conversation or general English?
Sorry, lots of questions and no answers (yet) but I think these are relevant.
Activities to generate conversation amongst the students are best. We all know how much Turkish students love to listen to the foreigner or interact on a one to one basis with him/her but that's not viable in a "conversation" class. Give us the gen, suggestions to follow. |
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richard ame
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 319 Location: Republic of Turkey
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 10:59 am Post subject: Conversation classes |
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Hi Yaramaz
Thanks for the tips that web site looks interesting I don't actually start till Monday of next week so I have time to put a few things together ,the insight is much appreciated .
Hi Fgt
The groups have been tested and apparently they're intermediate and upper ,how that translates into actual ability remains to be seen .I have been told that the groups will be about 10-12 in number and two hours are the expected contact hours 3 nights a week . So far as the type of company they workfor is as yet unknown, basically I 'm going in with my eyes closed so it could be interesting to say the least .My first lesson will consist of doing introductions and getting them to attempt to give a bit of background information about themselves and perhaps get some kind of feed back about what they expect from the course . Hopefully it may become a question and answer activity with themasking and answering questions to each other,but I know in my heart of hearts that may be too ambitious and Iwill end up doing most of the talking . |
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daily chai
Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 150 Location: Brussels
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 5:21 am Post subject: city college london-istanbul |
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Getting back to the first post--I just found this resource on the internet. Sinan is the manager of the school in the job advertised. Check out the website and see for yourself. I tend to believe the website. http://www.geocities.com/antikenglish/index.htm |
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