Job Discussion Forums

[funktime]

Hello,

I have an offer for an interview with WSI Turkey. I did alittle research and found some articles in the TEFL Blacklist from 2008 that list some negative things about the company. Underpayment and issues with immigration. Here's the site:

http://teflblacklist.blogspot.com/2008/09/wall-street-institute-istanbul-turkey.html

I'm just curious if these are legitimate concerns or if things have changed since then. Thanks for your time.

[philotaster]

Hello,

I've been working for WSI Turkey for nearly two years now. My experience working here has been mostly positive.

The payment is neither great nor terrible. It's my understanding that you receive a different amount of housing assistance depending on which city you live in. In a popular city like Istanbul, for example, you won't get any extra money, but they will pay you more to live in Konya or Antep. Any payment problems have, to my knowledge, been promptly fixed after the teacher complained.

There are some issues with immigration. These are partly due to the weird employment laws in Turkey. As far as I know, you cannot get a work permit here without first getting a residence permit. Getting a residence permit can take several months, and getting a work permit can take several months more. WSI will help you get both of these, but the speed and efficiency with which they do it can depend on the branch managers of your school. You may have to goad them a bit to get things done, and you may find yourself working illegally for longer than you'd like. If you're persistent about it, though, things will get done.

Working at WSI is for the most part a plumb job, especially for those new to the esl field. They provide a lot of good lesson plans, generally motivated students, and very little preparing and grading. The biggest downside is that you will become very bored of using the same lessons over and over again. This boredom usually sets in around the 4-6 month period. The other big downside is that there is really little opportunity for professional advancement or any kind of meaningful teacher training at WSI.

I hope that was helpful, I'd be glad to answer any more specific questions.

[Sierra1903]

I interviewed with them today, and the interview went well, so the woman sent me a whole lot more info via e-mail. After reading through it, I'm not keen on the salary, the housing allowance (or lack thereof; as philotaster said, this varies depending on the city), and having to work six days per week. However, air fare is reimbursed after three months, and holiday pay and a completion bonus are paid at the end of a one-year contract.

FUNKTIME: Did you speak with them?

PHILOTASTER: Thanks for the info! Do you have any suggestions regarding their locations? Do you have a 'ticket restaurant card'? I'm wondering what this is.

[philotaster]

In Ankara the housing allowance is 300 TL per month. I've heard (though I can't verify) that the amount is higher than this in Konya and Antep, new branches which are desperate for teachers.

Yes, I have a ticket card which is loaded with a little over 200 TL per month. I'm still not sure why they don't just give this to you in your normal paycheck, I think it must be a way for them to avoid paying some taxes. It's sometimes a bit of a pain finding restaurants willing to accept the card, but I've never had much money left on the card at the end of the month.

I just noticed a typo in my first message: I meant to say it's a "plum" job, there is typically no plumbing involved!

[Sierra1903]

Philotaster: Thanks for the reply and info! They offered me a position, but I turned it down. I'm only interested in being in Istanbul, not elsewhere, and I'm not convinced I'd be able to save a whole lot and be able to travel.

[timmiez]

[philotaster]

The contract specifies that teachers will work 33 hours per week, but typically we would work 30. When I first arrived, teachers worked five 6 hour shifts. These would be either from 2-9 on the weekdays or from 10-5 on the weekends. At some point last year they made 6 day work weeks mandatory, and all kinds of split-shift nonsense started happening.

A lot is going to depend on your boss and on how many teachers are available. If you have a nice boss and a center with a surplus of teaching hours, you'll work fewer than 30 hours a week. The boss still reserves the right to have you in the school for 33 hours a week, though, and if a bunch of teachers have recently left and the center is desperate, they'll probably make you teach those extra three hours.

I know that 30 classes a week sounds pretty crazy, and for the first few weeks it actually is. However, because WSI more or less uses the same 68 lesson plans over and over, you learn them quite quickly and within a few months you won't have to do any prep. for any of the lessons (other than checking up on students' study habits).

[PC Parrot]

[timmiez]

Thanks philotaster for your detailed reply. I was also wondering those 30 hours, do you get paid hourly or is it like a salary system where they still have a right to make you work 33 hours per week without paying you over time.

[philotaster]

[PC Parrot]

30+ classes a week from standardised lesson plans!

What is not crude about that?

And you've put up with it for 2 years.

[philotaster]

Look, I'm trying to give a fair picture of what it's like to work for WSI. I'm not sure what to make of the claim that it is "the McDonald's of English schools." Depending on what exactly that means, it's either unwarranted or could be applied to the majority of private language schools (and perhaps even to most university prep programs here in Turkey).

I'm not trying to say that WSI is a perfect place to work. Like any language school it has its advantages and disadvantages, and I've tried to give an honest portrayal of them here. I'm glad I no longer work there, but I also don't regret having spent two years at the place.

[PC Parrot]

[philotaster]

Dear Parrot,

perhaps you are dyslexic or English is not your native language, so I will try to spell this out more clearly. I don't think anything in my posts indicates that WSI is a place to make a career. It is, however, a good place to get some exposure, see what works and what doesn't in the classroom, and to not be completely and ruthlessly exploited.

True, not everyone is a backpacker. But has it occurred to you that not all non-backpackers are tefl careerists? That perhaps some worthwhile and intelligent people might want to see what this job is like before committing themselves to it for a lifetime, or (heaven forbid) use teaching english as a temporary means to some other end?

You're right, of course, that WSI is a "mickey mouse" operation. In that sense so is Berlitz, the British Council, Just English, the TBA, the TAA, et al. and probably 90& of private Turkish universities at this point. My only claim here is that WSI is among the best of *this type* of place to work (Unis will pay you more, but it's not necessarily worth the tradeoff). Some people are only qualified to work at such places, and I find your disdain for those of us who do rather disgusting and insulting.

In my brief interaction with you here, you've done nothing but mischaracterize my writing with inflammatory and inane posts. If this is how a self-styled "educator" contributes to a forum designed to help people (yes, we goofy little underlings are still people), then I'm not particularly impressed.

[PC Parrot]

Oh dear! What indignation .... after all the petty jibes, on this and other threads, you now decide to take offence and throw a tantrum!

For someone who admits to not knowing much about teaching, you are not averse to making some incredible statements about the general standard of TEFL in Turkey. You confess that WSI is rigidly standardized and has no opportunity for professional development, but then say that this is true of much of the country - which it is not.