Job Discussion Forums

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi FGT

had a look around nothing that relates to the place I'm thinking of ,just wanted some back ground stuff ,like the package if there is one ,holidays ,working hours, perks ,benefits whatever you know the REALLY important stuff . As you have the time served here I thought you had more chance of finding this stuff out . Is it true for example that you have to get your own books ? Thats what I have overheard . Is summer school mandatory without extra pay ,again another rumour I would like confirmed or denied . There are a lot more but that will do for starteres.

[FGT]

Ok, here goes. I work at The English Academy, that's the only place about which I can speak with any authority.

Teachers are paid at an hourly rate for time spent in the classroom only.
The minimum rate in September was 15 mill. per hour.
Two weeks paid holiday per year.
Free accommodation (teachers pay utilities) in shared flats; or teachers live out and are paid a housing allowance (currently 200 mill p.m.)
There is a guaranteed minimum pay per month equivalent to (min) 15 hours teaching a week. (So if your hours are low, you still get x)
I have an expensive lifestyle but can still save about 500 mill. most months.
Two consecutive days off a week, usually Wednesday/Thursday or Saturday/Sunday.
A lot of evening work finishing at 9pm.
Summer school as such doesn't exist, the school functions throughout the year. There is/are summer camp(s) for which teachers are recruited seperately.
We don't have to buy books. The school has an extensive library of course books and other materials. Some of these were becoming dog-eared so now teachers sign for receipt of their own (new) copy and, if, at the end of the year, the copy is lost or damaged, the teacher has to replace it.
This is not a holiday camp. Teachers probably average 25 hours per week.
Standards are high, students regularly (approx 3 monthly) fill out questionnaires relating to the school and the teacher.
Teacher development workshops, observations etc are common.
If you want to work in a professional language school in Izmir there is (currently) no competition.
Most of the teachers have had 5 years or more experience, all are native speakers and qualified. The support is great. Good atmosphere to work in.
Most teachers choose to stay on, some ?permanently. That says a lot.

[Otterman Ollie]

Thanks FGT, at least ı got a response ,the place sounds very business like and from what experience I have had from other similar establishments there is not a lot of competition around . Not sure I like the idea of students reporting on me on a regular basis ,smacks of big brother to me ,how do you deal with that ,imagine after a night out you are not at your best the next day ,not that I'm suggesting you frequent drinking houses during your working week , but is it an issue ? I have heard from students from some of the high schools a while back taking an IELTS exam and were supervised by people from (how can I put this delicately) YOUR place and they could smell alcohol quite strongly from said invigilator . Comments !

[FGT]

It's interesting that you view students' comments as being like "big brother". We are involved in a service industry and need to check that the "customer" is getting what they pay for. I used to work in management and, if I were a school manager, I would welcome this as a tool so that I could improve the service, according to demand. As a teacher, I appreciate this as both a pat on the back and a kick up the arse, as and when the need arises.

Re your comments about IELTS, I'm curious as to when this took place, I can probably identify the culprit. (I won't name names, just personal curiosity).

I've put my school on record, how about some others?

By the way Otterman, were you fishing for info about Academy or another place? Where do you work? How does it compare? Do tell.

[SweetOne]