Job Discussion Forums

[john_n_carolina]

you started it zeke, the dam's open

[newsygirl]

Thank you ZEKE and Johninmaine for your advice.
Sorry for leading the discussion off topic. I guess to get back on topic, have any of you been to Slovakia? I've read that the capital of Slovakia is nice, but once you leave the capital, the pace of life is pretty slow and people still do their laundry in rivers and streams.
I don't know what to believe about to Slovakia, because I don't know anyone who is familiar with the country (let alone even heard of Slovakia).

[scot47]

Not sure how you got from Kosice to the Middle East. The remarks by zeke about the Middle East are way off course. There are no churches in Saudi Arabia. All other countries in the Middle East tolerate churches.

Kuwait,Bahrain,Qatar, UAE and Oman all have small but thriving Christian communities of different denominations. Even in Saudi Arabia it is possible for Christians to meet together in compounds and diplomatic missions.

[lall]

Check out the "General Middle East Forum", for information on churches in the ME.

[randomhobo]

I applied at NTE Language school a few weeks ago. The man I was in contact with didn't seem to take some of my questions seriously, and wanted to hurry the process along and offered me a job without speaking to me on the phone. I persisted for more answers, and also asked several times if I could get in touch with any former or current teachers, and he refused. He said he would call me on the weekend so I gave him a big window on the weekend but never heard a thing.

While I can't say whether it's a good or bad school, the entire application process seemed a bit 'off' and they seemed to be in a hurry to grab up any available teacher.

[newsygirl]

Hi randomhobo,

You know what, I've noticed that there are a lot of schools world-wide that seem to have no problem hiring English speakers without an interview. All you need to have is a good CV and Resume and perhaps a nice photo of yourself, and your hired.
Many language schools are trying to hire teachers for the start of the new year to replace the teachers who are not coming back after Christmas.
As for NTE, I'm with you. I don't know if it is a good school. The owner emailed me again a few weeks ago and when I replied to his email with a few questions, he didn't respond back.
I find it rude when I don't get a response or at least an email stating "I read your email and I'll get back to your question as soon as I have an answer", or something to that effect. If the company is not courteous enough to respond to your email, than they'll probably be rude to you in person. Remember, you will be a foreigner in their country, and foreign workers are usually treated poorly. NTE is giving you a taste on how they treat their foreign workers.
You're wise to ask NTE to speak with past and current employers. Did the owner give you a reason on why you could not speak to them?

HEY NTE!!!! I HOPE YOU ARE READING THIS!!!!

[randomhobo]

Hi newsygirl, sorry for the uber-late reply, I forgot about the forums for awhile.

I totally agree with you on that one; if the person hiring you can't or won't answer your questions, doesn't acknowlege them, or doesn't take them seriously, how is anyone supposed to judge them as anything but 'shady'? When I spoke to the guy (over email) he didn't even ask to speak on the phone before offering me a job. It all just felt a bit 'off', if you know what I mean, so I went with my gut. I thought maybe him brushing off questions was a cultural thing, but his name was far from Slovakian so I assumed he was from an English speaking country.

To answer your question, I did ask to speak with a current or former teacher, and his response was, and I quote, "Due to a despicable act by one of our competitors last year, I am unable to release any information about current teachers." Now, if that doesn't raise some alarms, what will? This could mean a multitude of things. I mean, I don't know where to begin with that.

So in summary, yes, NTE could be a reputable school, but based on my communcations with them and the quote above, I'd wager that they are not terribly trustworthy.

[newsygirl]

I guess it has been a long time since I've posted a reply to
If you are still looking for work in Slovakia, I suggest that you avoid working for Valens at all cost. They are very unprofessional and take advantage. They promise you a bunch of stuff like internet, health insurance, covering the cost of visa and some other B.S., but in the end all you get is bunch of broken promises and have to pay an expensive plane ticket back home. Unless you enjoy being taken advantage of, this is a Slovak company you should avoid.

[randomhobo]

Hi newsygirl, thanks for the heads up. I'm considering Slovakia/Czech Republuc in the fall so I'll avoid Valens like a hobo avoids a bath. Kinda like me, heh.

Did you actually experience Valens in Slovakia firsthand or was it someone you know?

[newsygirl]

Yes. Silly me. I was desprate for adventure, so inspite of listening to my guts, which were telling me that Valens was a shady company, I decided to work for them. What a horrible mistake that was!!!!!!
I guess everyone should be glad that I was their only victim. No one else decided to work Valens yet. I was their first TESOL instructor. Because of my misfortune, I can now warn others not to work for Valens.
They are a new company and need to learn to take better care of their employees, by paying them and sticking to what was agreeed in the contract, but you would think that most employers (both old and new) would know to do that anyway.
Because I was the only TESOL instructor, when I raised a complaint the 3 owners of the company would try to back me into a corner.

[randomhobo]

Ouch, that stinks. I got the same gut feeling from NTE so thank God I didn't go through with it, otherwise I'd be in the same boat. You'd think that if you were the only TESL instructor you'd be treated better or have a bit of decision-making power.

Sounds pretty terrible though...what kind of stuff did they weasle out of in their contract?

[newsygirl]

Yes. You were smart not to work with NTE. These two companies seem almost simular. Both companies are vague and give you the run around when you enquire about working for them.
I left Valens back in May. I'm not so bitter about Valens, because I've moved on. However I would be more than glad to prevent anyone from making the same mistake that I have made in choosing to work for them.
A few days before I left for Slovakia, they told me that I would be living with all females and have tv and other stuff. Valens did eventually find a flat for me to stay in, but it wasn't what I had in mind. They placed me in flat owned by a guy living with his girlfriend and the girlfriends 10 year-old daughter. The flat looked like something out of a porno. Leopard print fabric everywhere (even on the toliet seat) and pictures of bare-chested women. Sure the male owner of the flate was polite. But it was obvious that respect for women was lacking, and I felt uncomfortable.
Let me see what else about Valens...in the contract they told me that they would provide me with health insurance, but they never did. By law I was entitled to lunch vouchers/provided meals, but I never recieved these items.
One day, Valen gave me less than 10 hours notice that I would be working at a university. This left me no time prepare a lesson. I was not prepared, which makes Valens and myself look bad.
They promise internet access. The day before I was due to fly out to Slovakia they asked me to bring a laptop. I've never owned a laptop, and why did they wait to tell me at the last moment? It wouldn't have mattered if I did or didn't bring a laptop with me, because the Valens Bratislava location didn't have access to the internet anyway, so I didn't have the access to the internet like they promised.
Before I left Valens they asked for my American bank account number so they could wire me my final pay. I didn't know my bank account number, and even if I did I wouldn't have given it to them anyway. They told me that they woud wire me my final pay. So I gave them the information on where to wire the money too, but they never did send me my final months salary.
They didn't compensate for my first 3 weeks of attending meetings and classroom and lesson prep. So in all Valens denied me 2 months of pay.
For some creepy reaon they are holding onto my college and high school diplomas, and other documents. However I am not too concerned about these documents because they could all be replaced. I did however sign up for fraud protection incase Valens tries something stupid.
Like I said earlier. I've moved on, so I can't recall all the schemes that Valens played. I'm sure there were others, but I am happy to warn others to be careful.

[john_n_carolina]

...good update newsygirl - tough luck on the failed wire transfer. too bad zeke0606 isn't still around to assess / appraise your current situation, and what to do next.

maybe he's too busy selling moose antlers to Boston tourists

[kostachucks]

So I know this topic was created over a year ago, but I am in need of some more recent info on this school. They've offered a job and I'm wondering if anyone has any direct knowledge of the school. Info on Kosice and the possibility of private lessons would also be welcome. Thanks y'all.

[newsygirl]

Yeah. I know these are old posts. I don't have any new information on NTE.
You've heard the horror stories about working for bad language schools. Maybe NTE is a good school. Maybe NTE is a bad school. All I can do is offer you advice. If you take this job with NTE (or any language school for the matter), you will be leaving your homeland, secure employment in your homeland (if you are currently working), you will be a foriegner and have no one to look out for your best interest...except for a reliable language school. If something dosn't seem right with the language school (use your gut instinct) then don't take the job.
If you do decide to take the job, make sure you get a visa to stay in the country legally [u]before[/u] you go. That way the language school won't take advantage of you and you qualify for legal/proper help from the authorities, just in case the language school decides to mistreat you.
Best wishes. TESL is good way to work, meet people, and see the world, but it just takes one employer to turn your TESL experience into a nightmare.