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[secretagente13]

The Go English Way

In this posting, I will divulge the nitty-gritty truth that is Go English. Read at your own risk.

Many Mexicans are drawn to Go English every month with the promise of learning English from native speakers with true authentic accents. What sets Go English apart is that it promises 100% Maestros Extranjeros (100% of the Teachers are Native Speakers of English.) However, that�s not the case as you will soon find out.

While the overall appearance of the school seems to be run in an orderly fashion and on the up and up, the true reality is quite the contrary. Under the guise of a being a legit Mexican-owned-and-operated business to the ignorant, the school can manipulate those entangled in its web ever so more cleverly. The school is actually a business exploiting the students and teachers by the owners.

The school is operated by three owners. Coby Dixon and Shaun McMurry are the two American owners. There�s also another owner, Hugo Francisco Hernandez Galvan. He�s the Mexican behind it all and has the majority of say in the company, so he claims.

The majority of teachers are from either America or Canada. This is the main incentive for the students. The teachers are usually in their twenties-thirties and are eager to live and work in Mexico. They are so passionate about life in Mexico that certain things are forfeited and/or compromised when signing the contract.

However the one part of the contract everyone examines, in a meticulous fashion, is the pay. Working in Mexico, as an English teacher, will never amount to anything lucrative in terms of financial gain. Regardless, the adventure of living in a foreign country and experiencing different culture seemingly keeps that issue quelled.

The teachers are paid dirt cheap, but housing and stipends for food are provided. In the end it basically even outs, right? Not really. The pay schedule changes all the time. Don�t rely on having money at the designated times. If you have bills to pay, you need to make sure you have enough money in your account at all times, because you never know when you will be compensated. Go English seems to think that as long as they pay you the correct amount twice a month, they can do it whenever it is convenient for them, say for instance, when the exchange rate is in their favor. We are paid in Pesos which is converted into a national currency and then deposited into our native bank accounts.

We teachers are actually volunteers according to our Visas. In Mexico, there exists a law where no more than 10% of the employees can be foreign. Go English found a loop hole to that regulation. If the teachers are paid by the American owners in America and work as volunteers in Mexico, everyone wins.

At first, this seems to be a relatively good thing. Teachers have the security of working with fellow Americans and having their money directly deposited into their bank accounts. Well, that�s in a perfect world.
Apparently, the American company which actually employs the teachers- Educaz, Inc � doesn�t have to play by the rules of American business. You would think that since we are working for Americans based in America they would have to pay minimum wage, no. Somehow that stipulation went by the wayside along with a lot of other standard business practices. For instance, we are made to work more than the standard 40 hours a week and not compensated for it. We are paid roughly $600 American Dollars a month. We are scheduled to work about 40 hours a week. $600 divided by 160hrs= $3.75/hr. Wow!!!

The �Ma�ana� attitude is very apparent with this company. When there are problems, say no water or gas or a sewer rat at one of the houses, nothing is done about it until the pressure starts to boil. In one instance, one of the houses was without gas for days during the winter. It was really cold; we couldn�t take showers or cook.

There are two houses the teachers of Go English share. There�s one house for the men and one for the women. The houses are not permanently designated either. Whenever there�s an influx of one sex over the other, the teachers must switch houses to accommodate the majority. This is a minor problem. The main problems are that the school is responsible for all bills and maintenance associated with each house. The bills are delivered to the houses and the teachers are supposed to bring them to the school for the Director to pay. Well, bills sometimes are brought in and sometimes not. The teachers are very oblivious to the mail, because, as a rule, teachers are not allowed to receive mail at the houses- only at the school. So why then, aren�t the bills mailed directly to the school? The school does a good job paying the bills on time when they receive them, but they don�t always receive them. That�s when the lights or water or gas is turned off at one of the houses and remains off for days at a time.

Go English/Educaz Inc. is notorious for having a high turnover rate of teachers. So far the number of teachers quitting before their contracts have expired is reaching 40. Teachers drop like flies around here. This is because there is no communication or respect from the owners for their employees. Sometimes they come down to visit, but don't even bother to say anything to the teachers.

Issues with Go English/Educaz overall:

1. Classrooms lack desks for the students. They have to take notes in their laps.

2. There is no printer for the teachers. When we need printed materials for our classes, we have to bother the secretary, who is always busy, and it usually takes some time. Sometimes the secretaries are so busy they can�t make our prints. There is a copy store not too far. When we need a lot of prints we are sometimes made to go there. Reimbursement for the prints rarely happens.

3. The high turnover rate of teachers causes the remaining ones to have a heavy schedule. We are only paid for 40 hours a week and promised not to be made to work more than 40 hours a week in the contract. Well, that isn�t the case. We are scheduled up 35-39 hours a week. That�s not including prep time, time for meetings, placement exams, prospective teacher phone calls, and make up classes we sometimes have to give. If you factor in all that, we definitely are made to work more than the maximum amount of hours stipulated in our contracts.

4. The school tries to recruit as many students as possible. It makes sense. More students = More profit. But it definitely puts a strain on the teachers. We are the ones who have to deal with 13-15 students at a time. Not an outrageous number, but when the classrooms are the size of a two person office it can make for a tight squeeze. Try taking notes with your elbows bumping into the people on either side of you.

5. Classes are also a mix of ages which also causes problems. How can you teach a class to kids and adults in the same class? The kids are hyper and don�t want to work. The adults, however, do want to work. Students complain all the time about the class composition, but their complaints, just like the teachers�, go on deaf ears more times than not.

6. Most class levels are divided into lecture days and workbook days. Well, it�s difficult to do work in the workbook when the workbooks haven�t been delivered on time. Sometimes, the workbooks don�t arrive until the second week of the cycle. The students, who have been attending Go English for some time, want their workbooks and complain to the teachers about it. The workbooks are almost always delivered late. The only time they were delivered on time, early in fact, was after a mass complaint issued by the teachers on the students behalf.

7. Problems at the houses are always a last priority for Go English. Doors don�t shut completely, glass doors are broken with glass shards still hanging from the frame, exterminators aren�t called for rats and an old toilet and carpet, which was removed from the house, decorated the front yard of one house, making us look like white trash. Also, a couple of houses don�t have air conditioning. Try sleeping in you a puddle of your own sweat every night and waking up to sweat rashes, it�s super fun! These aren�t recent problems either. These are problems that have existed at the houses for months. Go English is well aware of them.

8. There are constant last-minute changes that are not always communicated to the teachers. These changes cause many problems. Teachers plan for certain classes. Then their schedule changes and they have to teach off the cuff. Also, Saturday classes change all the time. If you think you�re off for the weekend, don�t make concrete plans, because you could find out your working that Saturday as late as the day before.

9. The contract between the company and the teachers is not followed. It is broken and changed without the proper approval first from the teachers. This is the major reason why the turnover rate is so ridiculous.

10. Whenever there are problems, emails are sent to the American
owners; they may or may not reply. If they do reply, it�s a one line response like, �Your concerns have been heard.� That�s all they say. No follow up. Nothing changes.

11. To combat the high turnover rate, the company has now started to employ non-native speakers of English to teach. This is the ultimate fraud and lie! The whole marketing campaign of Go English is that 100% of the teachers are native speakers with a true native accent and with the knowledge of the culture, expressions, and sayings that a non-native wouldn�t know or understand. The Mexican teachers will put up with the corruption of the company more than the North Americans which is why I think they�ve started to hire them.

Now for the positives
1. Mexico is great. The people, the food and culture- everything is amazing. Everyone who comes down here has an amazing time.

2. The students are the best. The students are eager to learn and are really cool. They are super nice too. They buy us gifts for holidays and birthdays.

3. There�s so much to do here and explore. You can have the time of your life.

This is my spiel on Go English. Take everything I say with a grain of salt. Come here and make your own opinion. You can have a great adventure. Just expect the unexpected. Negotiate the best contract you can and make sure you stay on the company�s ass about everything. Don�t let them take advantage of you because they will. Good luck!

[AdrianG4]

Where'd you do it at ? Hermosillo or Monterrey ?

Also, do you have to live in their housing if you have somewhere else to stay ? I have family and friends in Hermsoillo.

[Prof.Gringo]

[Samantha]

Prof Gringo wrote:

[secretagente13]

[secretagente13]

[Prof.Gringo]

[AdrianG4]

All my cousins are going to Unison in Hermosillo, I have many friends to stay with too.

I've always wanted to live there, really. There's also this girl there .. where every time we fiesta together .. I get these feelings .. ahmm, anyway :O

But there aren't many opportunities for teaching English in Herma,
so I figure, at least I can add something else to my resume for a year or so and have a good time with people I actually really know & love.

[secretagente13]

[quote="AdrianG4"]All my cousins are going to Unison in Hermosillo, I have many friends to stay with too.

I've always wanted to live there, really. There's also this girl there .. where every time we fiesta together .. I get these feelings .. ahmm, anyway :O

But there aren't many opportunities for teaching English in Herma,
so I figure, at least I can add something else to my resume for a year or so and have a good time with people I actually really know & love.


Have you thought about doing some private tutoring? Look around for an esay but good curriculum or set of work books and go from there. Offer your services to the many businesses there. The English schools in Hillo (that's Hermosillo for short) are: Go English, Quick Learning, Fast and Easy, Natural Learning, and Harmon Hall- just to name a few. There are also real schools where you could possibly work.

Since you have the advantage of having people to stay with and who know the area, check into all these possibilities first before settling for one. You'll be happier!