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Orenburg

 
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sandiegoman



Joined: 03 Nov 2011
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:45 pm    Post subject: Orenburg Reply with quote

Hello everyone

I have been in Orenburg for 8 months and I never saw any topics on Orenburg, so I thought I would start one.

Email me if you have questions about my experiences teaching in Orenburg. I was with a large "McSchool", but now I teach independently and with another smaller school that I prefer much more.

Or just email me if you are planning on travelling to Orenburg.

Best wishes

Greg
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lunes



Joined: 05 Nov 2012
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 6:16 am    Post subject: Language Link Russia Reply with quote

Hi Greg, I have applied for a place with Language Link in Orenburg, although they have asked me if I would consider other areas as well. Do you know anything about them.

Also, what is a 'McSchool' ????
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coledavis



Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838

PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of a chain of schools (e.g. Language Link, International House/BKC, English First). There are lots of threads about these but to summarise:
If you are new to teaching and/or new to Russia, then they are probably of use to you for a year as they will sort out accommodation, should provide some training and assistance. On the other hand, they are generally considered to be poor payers and in some case worse, so you would probably seek another option after your year with them. Check the other threads for more details.
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sandiegoman



Joined: 03 Nov 2011
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Lunes

Cole is right, I learned first hand from the McSchool in Orenburg how they treat employees, but he is also right that it's a way to get your foot in the door.

I am happily working independently in Orenburg now after meeting some wonderful people in Russia who want to learn English.

I may know about smaller schools looking for native speakers. If you're interested, just email me and we can talk.

Greg
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Beatlemania



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

After 12 years of teaching English post CELTA, as a trained IELTS examiner, and certified by the U.S. Dept. of Defense's Defense Language Institute, I can say that the McSchool in Orenburg (there is only one) is the most grossly unprofessional place that I have worked in the ESL universe. My contract was for a monthly salary which was never paid in full. I also worked overtime which was never paid. I never received a professional schedule. I only once taught the same class twice a week. Instead, 30 + hours a week was scheduled with as many different groups, in as many different locations across the city as possible. The management also has no problem scheduling a teacher to work 7.5 hours of classes without a lunch break. Classes are scheduled to instantaneously begin after the last class finishes. Total chaos is the norm.

If that wasn't bad enough, I was never given the books and materials to teach from. Also, no smart boards are in the classrooms either, (just CD players with a USB port). I was expected to get to work two hours early to find the class registers, (which were sometimes wrong), use them to know what pages to print out from the bootleg scans (frequently with the page numbers cut off) on the company computer, (there usually was a long queue), and what audio or video files to copy on a USB drive. The result of all of this is students with a passive knowledge of English in classes with disproportionate usage of Russian. They frequently are not in classes appropriate to their actual level, with little opportunity to adapt materials to the group.

STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS MCSCHOOL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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Beatlemania



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Teachers are required to cover two pages per class. Starting a lesson with a grammar presentation is required, rather than presenting the grammar in context, since your Russian partner will often schedule things this way. Skipping an exercise can get you reported to the witch, err assistant director. (The witch claims to hold some degree in linguistics from a Soviet university which entitles her to proclaim that the dictionaries are all wrong and she is right.) Regardless of the contract, the teacher is also expected to teach math too, i.e., how to factor out exponents to solve word problems in English to low level children. Since the teacher isn't permitted to skip exercises, this is required. So, when the witch wants to avoid paying holiday pay, she pops into class without any notice, causing the children to go mute, to witness this spectacle and blame the teacher for the failure of her program. The required contractual notice will not be given, since the contract is simply a suggestion for the McSchool.

Everything is about putting on a show. To get a teacher to come, the Russian teacher with the best English is used as a shill, but has no administrative role with the school. Emails will be sent with pictures of the director, (who spends her days eating at her husband's restaurant), but she will not be seen at the school. Don't believe the B.S. that she will meet you at the airport when you arrive. The school will also send you "references" of alleged former teachers, but this is dubious since none of the (non-Russian) native speakers there are happy. One reference came from a teacher who resigned in protest shortly after I arrived. Just know that everything is B.S., and the same management runs the McSchool in Kazan.


Last edited by Beatlemania on Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Beatlemania



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you work here, you will be also required to teach the witch's son, Johnny the Terrible, (not his real name). You can't imagine a more arrogant, obnoxious child.

STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS MCSCHOOL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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Spasibo



Joined: 02 Dec 2015
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to Russia!!! what did you expect? Sounds quite typical the treatment you got.
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