Job Discussion Forums

[opentin]

Hi there,

I'm considering a job in Ecuador, specifically with the Wall Street Institute in Ambato. Just wondering about the company - anybody worked there? What's it like? Do they have training or is it jump straight in...I am currently finishing a TESOL certificate and the idea of (yet another) month or so unpaid training is...bad.

What about Ambato? Is it a nice place? In the countryside? Is it safe? I cant find much info on the internet past the basic 'click here for Hotels in Ambato!'

The job pays about 600 US dollars a month for a 30 hour week, with nothing else included (I'm spoilt by Asia). Is this reasonable?

Anyways - any help you guys could give me would be much appreciated.

Anthony

[Guy Courchesne]

Can't comment on Ambato, but on Wall St...

They should give you a week's worth of training. Wall St relies on a lot of technical data to asses students, so you'll have to get used to something other than a pencil and an attendance sheet.

They have a system in place that's well researched and effective for teaching, but will rely on you, the teacher, to bring it all together in what they call "encounters" and "complimentary" classes, invloving a lot of free talk time, role play, and communicative activities.

That rate sounds standard for Wall St. check to see if they'll pay extra to send you out to company classes, if such a thing exists in Ambato.

Just met with their Mexico operations director today...funny this comes up.

[Justin Trullinger]

About Wall Street Institute. They were REALLY big in Spain, where I spent some time, and are just catching on here in Ecuador. I can't say I care for them much. They're done on a franchise basis, so while they all use the Wall Street methodology, logos, and publicity.

It's a good business plan, but I don't care too much for it as a teaching structure. In my darker moments, I've thought that education really isn't the goal. But it's a solid business plan, and with the publicity they do, they're doing quite well in Quito.

About Ambato. It's a small town in a pretty area, but not really a pretty town. It has some important history for Ecuador, and is the birthplace of three out of Ecuadors three most famous writers. (Juan Leon Mera, Juan Montalvo, and that other Juan whose name I can never remember.) Pretty places to walk, but not much to do...although it would offer excellent chances for integration, as the foreign community is small, and to practice Spanish, as the English speaking community is practically nil.

It's about 2 to 2 and a half hours from Quito, which is the capital and a reasonably big city with the corresponding attractions, although not really the culture capital of the world. (But I'll buy you a drink if you pop up.) It's also about an hour from Ba�os, which is a cool town, near the jungle, and popular with tourists and expats. Decent nighlife there.

Cost of living in Ambato is low- A lot of teachers live pretty well on six hundred or so a month in Quito. In Ambato, no problem.


About Wall Street in Ambato. I've just spoken to the owner, and he seems like a decent chap, although it is of course hard to know on the phone. They seem to have a hard time recruiting foreign teachers, and seem likely to appreciate them and treat them well in order to keep them.

As I understand it, they're involved in several projects outside of the usual scope of Wall Street, such as putting teachers into local high schools. This sounds like more fun than wall street's computer assisted learning, but would be more work as well. In any case, it would be worth pinning him down on exactly what you will be doing.

So, all in all, I'm not a big fan of Wall Street, but the one in Ambato sounds like a reasonably good gig to me. Living in Ambato wouldn't be for everybody, but could be really special for the right person.

Good luck either way,
Justin

[Guy Courchesne]

Wall St's are going to be somewhat different franchise to franchise, at least in teacher quality. I spent 2 hours getting a tour by a franchise owner yesterday where he took me through the whole system...beaming with pride he was. However, his greatest concern, and the reason I was there, was to talk about teacher in-service training. This franchise, at least, has made it a top priority to get wll trained teachers who can make use of all the assessment data that they have.

They run a formula of 45% A/V lab work (with a lab tutor) and 55% class with the teacher time.

I'll agree though, that on the outside, it looks like a well-oiled business and less like a language school, but they do have the right goals.

[Justin Trullinger]

Business is not what appeals most to me, but there is no reason why a good business can't also be a good language school, or vice versa.

It's true, though, that many businesses that are language schools aren't good language schools. And some good schools aren't good businesses. When you look at one, you really have to evaluate the individual situation. A Wall Street might be one or the other, or both or neither.
Regards,
Justin

[opentin]

Thanks very much for your replies guys...really helpful

[Guy Courchesne]

Anytime. Look up Justin while you're there and buy him a beer for me will ya?

[Justin Trullinger]

Thanks Guy,
I'll be sure to reciprocate when next I'm in Mexico. (Which isn't frequently...) The beer's better there anyway.

Let me know how it goes in your Wall Street investigations, and let me know if there's anything you need from me...

Regards,

Justin