Job Discussion Forums

[spicegirl]

Just to clarify one of the points made by Flowergirl - UAEU teachers do not have the TESOL Arabia costs paid by the University. Some teachers who are presenting at the conference do get expenses, but not many .... they have to apply for funding, and there's not much budget in the UAEU coffers for EFL teachers. Most applicants for funding get either nothing, or a very small proportion of their costs.

I believe HCT teachers used to get all expenses reimbursed, but I'm not sure if that's still true.

However, that doesn't make ADU a better place to work .... just that on this particular point their teachers actually are being offered some small financial contribution towards the conference, unlike at UAEU.

The cost of going to TESOL Arabia goes up year by year, the prices of Dubai hotels are spiralling out of control, and there's been no pay rise for 7 years. Yet they say that registration at TESOL Arabia this year is up. Who are these people who can afford it?

[adu.advocate]

Sorry, Flowergirl, you're barking up the wrong tree as far as my identity is concerned. There is a story behind choosing "adu.advocate" as a moniker, but it's not what you probably think and it's not an explanation I want to provide here.

A friend who until recently worked at one of the institutions you mentioned attended a number of TESOL Arabia conferences, even presenting, but never got a dirham back from the institution. That friend had a choice: don't go to TESOL Arabia because the employer isn't paying anything, or fork out and get what benefits one could get from attending the conferences. It's a matter of choice and one's priorities. One chooses what he / she feels is insulting. My friend would have preferred to get some reimbursement for going to / presenting at TESOL Arabia, but still went each year he was at that institution, knowing no money was forthcoming. You felt insulted by being offered only 200 dhs to attend this year's conference. His choice, your choice.

It's unrealistic to expect a young private university to provide the same level of benefits that larger, more established, government supported universities provide. For example, ADU does not currently pay language instructors an education allowance. So, if a language teacher does have school-aged children, he / she has two choices: A) Look for an employer who does pay an education allowance; B) Take the ADU job anyway and complain about it. Every choice has its consequences.

Some of the things you've mentioned about the ADU work environment I've experienced with other employers here. I've been stiffed, backstabbed, gossiped about, at the receiving end of 'a wolf in sheepskin' treatment, in particular. I don't think ADU has a monopoly on less-than-perfect work environments. The question is: what are we ourselves doing to make our work environments more pleasant, given what we have to work with? What can we do to change the negatives into positives? What can we try to change today and what should we try to change later?

A number of issues you've raised do need to be addressed (and some I don't think are accurate), but getting wrapped up in negative frenzies only toxifies the work environment. I've got a job to do and I want to do it as professionally as possible. I do get frustrated, but wouldn't say that I am suffering from unbearable work conditions...I have definitely experienced much worse.

While we're here, we need to make the most of our situation in as positive a manner as possible. We were not forced to work at ADU; we chose to work here, for whatever reason. If someone's not happy at ADU or at any other place of employment, he or she should go elsewhere, even if the move results in temporary financial hardship. That's just common sense that applies everywhere. And if we have difficulty changing jobs because our experience and qualifications aren't up to snuff, then that's something we have to work on, too. We do have choices.

[aka_flowergrl]

Spicegirl,
Thank you for the info, I was miss-informed. The point I was trying to make, is that we as ESL teachers have no professional development fund at ADU, we are expected to work and work, and they take and take and never give back anything. At least at some other institutes, you are given time the opportunity to advance yourselves while we are not. Last year, we got the registration portion paid, and we all planed and shared rooms. IT was good planning by our past acting director, while; now all we do is drive for 2 hrs to something that could have been sent via email. To make matters worse, we have to come up with our own transportation, they could at least give us a bus! I wish ADU all the luck, don't get me wrong, we all have sent emails and made suggestions, but they never listen. We don't want much, just decent working conditions, respect and competitive wages. I am sorry if I gave out the wrong info; sorry to anyone else, please correct me if I am wrong. We are all here to help each other out!

[aka_flowergrl]

Sorry adu.advocate, your name leads to many meanings. I do want better treatment at ADU, stress levels are high, each semester, especially at times like this, some teachers go giving their students their marks, why are these teachers not told off? Un-touchable they are, they are part of the right click! I am not out to bash ADU, but to only inform and help others from making the same mistake many of us have made by joining ADU. Should ADU improve, then good on them, but so far it seems to be getting worse, for all. I am about to finish my 3 year contract, and trust me I am looking, but I do know this, ADU will do everything in their power to make my leaving miserable, not just me, but like all those before me and to come after. The process is so bad, and they are so cheap, they cut you in ways you never knew you could be cut. TESOL Arabia is a place where we should get some assistance, at least pay our registration fees and transportation for crying out loud. You know that last year Dr. D really support us, you were here, so you can't deny that when it came to things like this, she put her foot down, and did it. She found a way. While it seem like our new acting director, is struggling to keep her head above water, she wants to please so badly, but she is pleasing the wrong people. She should stand up for us; I'm still waiting to see what she is going to do about summer pay. And poor ppl in AD, no work till Oct., will they be paid? Sounds fishy to me and allot of ppl. We see her, just like you do, you even work closer to her then us, and we all know, she does not know up from down, we don�t know if we should cry or laugh, it like the blind leading mute/deaf. All she does is talk non-sense; we can�t make a word of what she is saying. She lets those coordinator or head teacher make decisions which are so dumb. None of them have the common sense to say, wait lets think about this for a min, like giving back to back writing exams, or the way the test are given. Dumb, students will catch on and then we are the ones to pay for it, where are they? These so called coordinators, in AD behind closed doors. 5 levels, 3 should be from AA and 2 from AD, as all the coordinators are AD, give AA some chance. Good luck adu.advocate, really, bad choice for a name. By the S, we work together in AA, you write the same way you talk. Plus, I'm not the one who figured it out, it was the others at AA.

[Stephen Jones]

Why can't the people at Al-Ain and Abu Dhabi just drive in to TESOL Arabia in the morning and drive back in the evening. The only expenses would be parking and the attendance fee.

[tefllifer]

Hi
I haven't looked at the board for a while - and this thread on ADU surprised me 'cos I had heard it had got better organised - and I have met some people who work there who seem to be happy and committed to professional development and so on.
The way i read this, flowergirl works there - the other posters don't but are jumping on the bandwagon and dredging up past history. What about others who work there these days? It's easy to find one malcontent in any place. In the past lots of people complained about ADU, but now it's only one - lots of people complained about MLI and lots of what they raised (despite the nasty in-jokes and so on) were valid criticisms. So, are we hearing the voice of one malcontent or is this the general feeling at ADU.
If the deal is so bad - get another job - if you are a good candidate you can do that - or go elsewhere - why accept it? Surely, if things are as bad as described ADU must be at the bottom of people's list, so that means that maybe the poster couldn't find anything elsewhere - so, then we wonder why not...
We all have bad stuff happening at work - but basically most people just get on with the job and deal with the stuff - we might not like it, but we don;t let it get to us - and some things are a one-off like the odd Thursday - or CEPA day, or parents' evening - or obligatory attendance at some social event...
As for the costs of TESOL Arabia - well, i don't think you get expenses by right at UAEU, other places don't pay everything - and, if you really want to go, and really want to change jobs, you make the necessary financial investment - and you don't have to stay overnight - Al Ain is only 1.5 hours away - you register at the cheap rate and commute every day - then the costs really come down.
It sounds like a bad deal all round flowergirl - salary, housing, school fees and all that - so why not change jobs - MLI people complained a lot, but their deal was much better which is why they put up with it in spite of the problems - why don't you job hunt - and why should your company pay for you to go jobhunting anyway... Why did you accept such a bad deal financially - whether you think in DHS, $, sterling or yen - the money sounds bad - why did you take it? Why did you sign the contract? Have you told the management how you feel about things? Can't you complain in writing? In fact, I'm surprised they haven't read the posts and figured out who you are. if they do, it could be the Sharjah saga again - or you could be put out of your misery by them...
From what I hear, the really bad place these days is the other new University in Al Ain...

[spicegirl]

It sounds to me, Flowergirl, as if you have other issues to deal with, including a personal issue with a colleague who you believe to be adu.advocate. Of course, you might be mistaken .....

Where were you working before? It sounds as if this is your first time in the Gulf ... is it? If it's not, then you must have done some research before applying, and must've heard about ADU's reputation. There's plenty of stuff here on Dave's. Most people would acknowledge that ADU is certainly not one of the better places to work, but many parts of your tirades would indicate that you don't realise that everywhere in the UAE there are examples of the kind of treatment you're describing.

Try the HCT or UAEU, and see if you have to work some Thursdays .... you bet they do. You're employed by a private university, and wherever you are in the world, private institutions operate on a for-profit basis.

Your messages indicate that you're desperately unhappy where you're working, and if I were your best friend I'd tell you to get out of there as soon as you can .... go and look for a new job, if you have the qualifications and experience to move to a better place.

Unhappiness breeds bitterness, and that can spread throughout your whole working environment. My guess is that you and other like-minded colleagues spend your non-teaching time moaning and groaning about your situation. I've been there and done it, and it really didn't make me a very nice person to be around at the time. I realised what I was doing, and found other, more positive, colleagues to be with. Try and focus on your students and on your classroom teaching. Whenever I've been in bad teaching situations, it's the students who've got me through the day. Hopefully, your negative feelings towards ADU are not being transmitted to your students, who after all, are paying for their learning experience and deserve teachers who are positive about what they're doing.

As for going to TESOL Arabia to find a new job - you can contact the recruiters by e-mail or phone, and send them your CV - if they're interested, they'll certainly interview you at an alternative venue and time, if you don't want to pay to go to the conference. As tefllifer and Stephen Jones suggest, you can drive up there for the day if you're really desperate to go.

[spot]

Too bad flowergirl / boy doesn't spend more of his / her creative energy in trying to improve the work place rather than delving in half-truths, conspiracies, jealousies and idiosynchracies.

No one here has been hired at the salary flower quoted. As one directly involved in the hiring process, I've probably got more accurate information than flower has.

No bus for Abu Dhabi trips, but drivers get reimbursed 150 dhs per trip. Go cry me a river.

Teachers being forced to take a 5-month unpaid leave? Get real and read your emails from management, flower, before mouthing off on a forum like this.

The director's background you mentioned...if you don't know the facts, don't go around spreading mistruths.

The previous director's input? Don't know, only talked with her briefly during my interview + at her farewell party. She never came to Al Ain. Seemed like a nice lady, though.

Go take your negativity and pot-stirring elsewhere, flower. Let those who want to do their jobs get on with doing that in peace, which isn't very easy with you around.