Job Discussion Forums

[methos]

Does anyone know much about this on in shenzhen

English First Shenzhen
www.ef-shenzhen.com

or a company called appletree
Apple Tree�s network

I have seen many horror stories online about many EF schools. But I cant believe that all EF schools are bad.

Id love to hear some good stories.

[michalski]

Not all EF schools are bad. I had a very supportive end enjoyable experience at EF Suzhou. Mind you, what you put in is what you get out - some of the teachers who were more into travel and partying then teaching did not have such an enjoyable time.

What really helped me in making a decision as to whether I should go or not was the fact that I was given a chance to communicate with some of the teachers that worked there via e-mail. If in doubt then just ask the school if you can email one of the more experienced/senior teachers there, or if they can e-mail you. It's worth a shot and should give you a few good clues.

Hope it helps

[englishgibson]

Situation at EF centers in China may change within a year, month or a day. It often changes from better to worse. Owners are often greedy. Sometimes, they are unable to make that return on their investment as they've been promised by the McEF Head Office and their Marketing Management. So, things often change at individual McEF centers. Center Managers, Directors of Studies, Senior Teachers, Teachers, Sales staff at McEF centers sometimes "COME and GO". Even the McEF Head Office cannot avoid their high turnover. "Turnovers" often result in "changes".
Now, what helped me make a decision to join the McEF was the McEF Menu. What made my life a hell there was the constant requests for "adjusting" that Menu to the "family recipes" and cloning it elsewhere (later in McEF Management position). What made me leave McEF was a dismissal .

[no_exit]

I actually agree with EG in this thread!

Could we have simply been tainted by the overall negative attitude of some other threads? heh.

Anyhow, you really need to get the contact info for someone who works for EF Shenzhen right now. Like EG points out, EF centers are always changing. What was a good center today might not be a good center tomorrow (my former center, EF Kunming, for example, is going through some very significant changes at the moment, whereas last year it was a great place to work). You need to hear from someone with firsthand knowledge of that particular center. I will say I had a positive experience with EF, which means not all EFs are evil, but I don't know what the conditions of that particular EF are.

I'll also back up EG on what he says about EF academics. EF academics aren't really what is so questionable about EF, because most of the centers I've seen tend to be fairly well equipped, with lots of resources for teachers and a pretty solid curriculum that affords a lot of freedom in the classroom for their teachers. It is the way the franchises are run which sets people off. Unlike McD's, which don't really vary much from location to location, EFs are all completely different. Franchises are supposed to be uniform, but EFs aren't.

I will say that your experience there will depend a lot on whether you have a good DOS or not. My DOS was one of the best teachers I've ever worked with; he went to bat for the staff constantly and was responsible for enacting quite a few policies which had a direct benefit on the FTs. You'll have to have a DOS and a center manager who cooperate with each other and can compromise with each other in order to have a happy environment at your EF. If your CM and your DOS don't get along there will be a ton of friction and conflict and it will taint your working environment.

Also be aware that there are some centers out there using the EF name, but that aren't paying their franchise fees and therefor are essentially illegal operations. Check out the EF website and make sure that the EF you're applying is official and legit before you sign anything.

[yesteacher!]

EF in Shenzhen is a mixed bag. You need to find out which EF it is. Currently, there are six EF in Shenzhen. Three are owned by Sophia Gu and those are the ones that you MUST avoid. The women is beyond description. Really. There is no way to exagerate her craziness. The other EFs are good to bad, but the three that Sophia owns are, just...I can't even give you an accurate picture of this 'women'. Just some kind of monster.

Avoid her. At the other EFs the risks are normal. At her's your sanity, health and passport are all in danger.

[vikdk]

[vikdk]

yesteacher - what exactly goes on at these 3 Shenzhen EF's to make them so bad????

[yesteacher!]

Sophia will scream at teachers, threaten revocation of visas, lock you out of your apartment, hire thugs to "teach you a lesson", randomly withhold pay, fire and then try to rehire you and then threaten you if you refuse to go back to work.

These are just the crazy things she does. When you are there for awhile you don't notice the little annoyances like random schedule, or lack of resources or any of the other things we often complain about. Only when you feel that you are in danger does it put those things in proper perspective.

Sophia is nuts. Period.

[vikdk]

THUGS!!!! - FT's have been physically threatened while in EF employment - that's a very serious allegation
Is this heresay evidence or has it happened to you - has EF head office in shanghai been informed - has the PSB been informed - what's being done about this situation

[no_exit]

[no_exit]

[vikdk]

no-exit wrote about EF kunming in this thread -

[no_exit]

Secret society? Oh please. I have several good friends who still work for EF and if I talk details on this thread it would make it very very obvious where I got my info from (remember I don't work for them anymore myself!). If it would make you feel better I'll edit out the word appalling and just leave it at changes, just so you don't have to look at it and feel like I'm taunting you with my *insider knowledge* ( ) but I'm not going to put friends' jobs on the line for the sake of some internet pissing contest.

Anyhow, as far as I know, no one has asked about EF Kunming, they asked about EF Shenzhen. Anyone who might actually be considering working for EF Kunming can PM me directly and I'll be happy to share what I know privately. But I'm not gonna post it on a public board. Get it?

Honest question ... do you really care, or are you just sh*t stirring? Because none of this has anything to do with you, nor will it ever, so why don't you just find a new horse to beat?

[vikdk]

looks like we're not going to get much from no-exit - we can therefore probally conclude that EF Kunming is also a pretty iffy proposition

By the way fighting bad educational standards, whether that's something to do with standards within the classroom or standards of employment, should be something to do with any responsible teacher - or do you disagree no-exit

[Shan-Shan]

I would avoid EF Shenzhen as well. Check out the butchered English they pin underneath the "excellent" foreign teachers' photographs. Quite the embarassment not only to the institute, but to the instructors of English as well.

http://www.ef-shenzhen.com/ef-shenzhen/teacher.htm


EF interview:

A: So why did you come to China

Teacher: I'm happy, beacause I live in China.

A: Good, good. Now, what do you think of China?

Teacher: I like China, it's a beautiful country.

A: I see. What would you say to attract, instruct and retain students?

Teacher: Hmmm...My students learn from me, and me from them?

A: Okay. What else?

Teacher: Ahhhh...Happiness is a personal choice. I like here and my job?

A: We need something more direct towards the students.

Teacher: Brrrrrr.....You will be happy to get aware of knowledge from EF.

A: That's what we like to hear from our teachers! You're hired!

Teacher: Yeah!!