Job Discussion Forums

I'm With Stupid · Joined: 03 Sep 2010 Posts: 236

I still work for ILA. It's pretty much the same as ever. The main difference is that they switched the contracts to a higher hourly rate, removed a lot of the bonuses and then reduced the number of contract hours to 73 for a full time contract. For most of my contract, I've had about 24 hours a week teaching, but sometimes as low as 18. The other big difference is that scale increases are no longer automatic based purely on time spent there, and there are criteria to be met. So for example, I had to be trained up to teach exam classes and do level testing to get my last pay rise.

I quite like it. The lack of consecutive days off is a bit crap. I guess the lack of extra perks and unsociable hours wouldn't suit teachers with families. But you do get a lot of freedom to teach how you want to, contrary to Mark's claim that they want teachers who can follow a process. Oh, and the resources are probably the best I've seen, with the exception of anything IT-related.

And I think ILA still has a pretty good reputation amongst the best-paying schools in town. RMIT and the British Council are full of ex-ILA teachers, so if you're interested in progressing to higher-paid stable jobs with reputable companies, then there are worse places to start.

luked · Joined: 13 Feb 2013 Posts: 2 Location: London

Which ILA school are you at I'm with Stupid?

Tigerstyleone · Joined: 26 Mar 2010 Posts: 86

How much does it cost for a primary student to study English at ILA ?

andy84 · Joined: 29 Mar 2013 Posts: 2

Hi

My girlfriend and I are looking at schools to apply for in Vietnam and we're interested in ILA. Does anyone know if ILA are flexible with their schedules or is it very much a you get what you're given situation? We ideally don't want to have different days off. I'm interested in feedback regarding any of the ILA centres.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Andy

mk87 · Joined: 01 Apr 2013 Posts: 2

Andy, if you interview at ILA and get the job then it's worth mentioning what you want from the off. They will try to do what they can; but from what I understand some of the bigger centres are a bit more difficult to "manipulate" your hours. It's all about being open about what you want.

I've been at ILA for a year and a half and quite a lot of what is in this thread is totally different from my experiences. I dont want to preach, or sound like a company man so I wont. But if anyone has any questions I will try to answer them as best I can.

andy84 · Joined: 29 Mar 2013 Posts: 2

Thanks for the reply and the good advice, it's much appreciated. It's good to hear that ILA will try and accommodate their teachers' requests where possible.

From what I've read they seem like a decent employer. However, the lack of two consecutive days off would it make a little difficult to see other parts of Vietnam.

Like you say, it's best to be open about what I want (if I'm successful with the application).

mk87 · Joined: 01 Apr 2013 Posts: 2

Yeah the lack of a proper "weekend" can be annoying at times, but equally it can work quite well if you are prepare to think ahead about your holiday. If you end up on a tuesday/ thursday schedule (most likley for a new starter) then you only need to book 2 days holiday off and you can get 5 days travel time. I guess like most things it has pro's and con's.

I'm working 7 days a week at the moment, out of choice (I didnt want to give up a class that I have taught for a year and a half) and ILA have been great about letting me choose what times I want to work etc.

I think ILA is a good place to work, maybe slightly less so in one of the huge centres. Lots of the stuff that has been written on here about them is simply false. We have a couple of Viet Kieu's working in our centre, and a few older people, as well as some newly qualified teachers and everywhere in between.

In terms of being told to teach in a "strict rigid way", I've never seen anything like that. My management have been very supportive of me experimenting with my classes etc. Again, it seems to all come back to communication. If you are happy to be honest then you dont seem to run in to much trouble. I'd be interested to hear what the people who suggest ILA only teaches in a certain way are actually talking about. the posts are quite vague.

xees · Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 1

Hey, I just want to say that I'm currently working at ILA and that I'm happy here.

The management in my centre (albeit I work at a smaller centre so I have more contact time with the said academic staff) is good and actually provides me with useful ideas and activities for the classroom.

I'd be happy to answer anyone's questions about ILA Vietnam - but I can only supply my experience rather than giving you a what's what of ILA.

I think the advantage of ILA is: It's good for new teachers. If you're someone more experienced then it might be better to look somewhere else