Job Discussion Forums

sharpe88 · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226

Just to save you people time - unless you are otherwise totally unemployable - avoid Hampson English.

- Their business model seems to be to lowball teachers (100rmb/hour). Their rationale is that they give you lots of hours. You can get the same hours elsewhere.
- Complicated contracts with plenty of clauses for "fines".
- Like feeling like a piece of meat? Potential students get to meet two teachers at a time and choose the one they "like".

Shan-Shan · Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 1074 Location: electric pastures

alter ego · Joined: 24 Mar 2009 Posts: 209

I recently wrote a long post to this topic on another thread.

Schools like Hampson (and Beijing Line -- does anyone know if BL was sold recently or renamed Hampson or if the two schools are operated by the same owners?) are in the business of making a profit by offering 1-on-1, tutoring-style lessons with foreigners (native speakers) for cheaper rates than other big-chain language schools.

Like it or not, these schools are here to stay. For some foreigners, (including older EFL expats like me and younger backpackers and university students) teaching at places like Hampson and Beijing Line is the best they can do. These schools might be sweatshops and hire from the bottom of the barrel, but some folks still do okay there.

Just because it's not for us doesn't make it a bad place to work for everyone. The current exchange rate, for example, puts 100 CNY at $14.65 USD. That's a decent hourly wage for sitting in a room talking with Chinese students. People back in my home country are making around $10 an hour to deliver pizzas, (tips included), take care of old people, work as substitute teachers, etc. The point is, earning nearly $15 USD an hour to teach English in China is nothing to scoff at.

We can spread the word here, warn teachers, and give them a heads up when it comes to finding good or better jobs. But to call a successful school -- or any English language school or center -- that provides Chinese people with an affordable place to practice and improve their English skills with foreigners a WHOREHOUSE is a bit like biting off the hand that feeds you. Wink

evaforsure · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1217

the action of letting a client pick (a teacher)is similar to a whorehouse and the way a john picks their host.....in this case, it is not so much of an insult as a method of administration..

Shan-Shan · Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 1074 Location: electric pastures

evaforsure · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1217

Shan-Shan · Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 1074 Location: electric pastures

Sonnibarger · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 320 Location: Wuhan

which city is this? 2nd n 3rd tier cities 100rmb per hour is the norm... 100rmb in Wuhan is same as 200 in SH .. better is some cases.. taxi is what 11rmb in SH? its 3 in wuhan.. a small apt in shanghai is around 3000.. wuhan its 1000...

alter ego · Joined: 24 Mar 2009 Posts: 209

Nothing wrong with 100RMB per class hour for EFL teachers who have little or no experience, don't have college degrees or TEFL certificates, etc.

I don't agree with the Hampson system, but I won't condemn it either.

Sure, I get the humor here. It's funny stuff. I see it all the time, funny posters putting down others to make their points.

From the jocular gibes of our forum comedians here's what I've learned from this post so far:

An English training school called Hampson is like a whorehouse, got it.

Hampson clients who pick teachers they like are like Johns who pick prostitutes they like, roger that.

Teachers at Hampson have brains with gaps in them that normally contain self-respect and self-worth, check.

Some teachers at Hampson are empty-headed bundles of white meat, tick again.

An hourly wage of nearly $15 USD is garbage, A-OK.

100 RMB per hour is fine if a teacher is hopelessly incompetent, affirmative.

Thanks so much for setting the record straight! Rolling Eyes

jm21 · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 406

sharpe88 · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226

They also make teachers leave a "deposit" - an amount from your salary you won't see until your contract is over.

Also, their tutition fees for students are not that inexpensive.

Totemic · Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 118 Location: Nanjing

jm21 · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 406

sharpe88 · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226

This particular language mill is operating in big cities like Shenzhen and Beijing. No accomodations or benefits. If they could guarantee your hours at that rate, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but they don't do that.

(oh and these days, you usually can't "eat out" for 20-30 kuai in a big city unless it's a hole in the wall, and then just barely).

edit: 40 teaching hours a week is very tiring, especially if you are actually teaching

thefuzz · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 271

Went for an interview in Shanghai (Pudong office) purely for shits and giggles (plus I really wanted to confront them about he 20,000 RMB monthly salary they keep writing about in their job ads). Arrived, didn't even look like a proper school. Told them who I was and why I was there, was asked to wait in one of the classrooms (dirty floor and walls, stains everywhere) and forced to fill out two sheets of paper where I had to answer a bunch of questions (education, work experience, etc.). Finally some lady arrived and started the "interview" where basically I asked questions and she gave me simple one or two sentence answers. It was clear she never did an interview before, wasn't in HR and didn't even know the basics of the school and its "system" of 1-to-1 VIP teaching. A joke. Anyway, finally she asked if I am willing to accept the offer and was surprised when I said I didn't feel like working for a Mickey Mouse outfit (plus I tried to ask about the 20,000 RMB monthly salary, but she seemed not to understand my question).

And to top it all off, throughout my interview, there was this foreign teacher who kept walking outside the room where I was sitting. He was dressed in a yellow (guess it used to be white at some point) T-Shirt and stained track pants. When I go for interviews (and later at work) I dress professionally and seeing that guy doing the rounds up and down the hallway looking like a bum (no disrespect to bums, some dress better) really made me angry (and sad too, a little, cause that school is reject row).

Finally the cherry on top of this nasty cake was the ever present stench of shit and piss coming from one of the toilets (no other way of putting it, sorry, had to swear).

So, yeah, if you're a guy with no degree, no teaching experience and with a closet full of track pants, give Hampson English a go. If you're looking for something better, keep walking.