Job Discussion Forums

[Clark Montange]

English Unlimited - San Luis Potosi (SLP), Mexico

I am in frequent touch with a friend who teaches for ENGLISH UNLIMITED in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He is currently on medical leave, and I have visited him in S.L.P. He has expressed grave concerns about working for English Unlimited. I have seen some of this first hand, by visiting the school on numerous occasions - - having considered being a teacher there myself. I was also interviewed there.

Nothing is as promised when negotiating the job!

They were mislead about the overall cost of living in SLP, and assured that the English Unlimited teaching wages (around $4.50 USD per hour AFTER taxes) are more than adequate to live on, plus be able to travel, see Mexico, do the disco scene, and be very comfortable. They were mislead about housing arrangements, and about the WORK VISA process, and ended up spending two times than what was indicated during the job negotiation process, and the list goes on.

This school has had many teachers working WITHOUT their correct Mexican government work permit papers in hand. Be very careful about this! Please!!

This school has almost 95% Potosian teachers - - from S.L.P. or nearby Mexican cities, despite what they claim and post on the Internet and in their advertisements.

Teachers are expected to purchase ALL of their own supplies: Paper, pencils, poster board, note pads, pens, Post It Notes, paper clips, markers, etc. They must agree to not work elsewhere as well. This is never mentioned during the interview process.

The cost of living in S.L.P. is almost the same as any city in the United States. It is NOT any cheaper for the basics like food, clothing, shoes, medications, etc. It may be a little less than the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, however, but one does not live here - - one scrapes by, barely surviving.

Native-speaker teachers come and go like a revolving door (Canada, U.S., U.K., Africa, etc.), most staying only a couple of months, due to these and other broken promises. The current Academic Coordinator has no professional background in the field of education administration (I interviewed with them, and was not impressed at all), and they are one of the poorest supervisors anyone could possibly have - - saying one thing, doing another. Their background is the MORTGAGE BANKING industry.

Overall, ethics is severely lacking at English Unlimited, and my friend has shared horror stories that would make your hair stand on end. Anyone hoping to truly make any kind of a decent living at this school, and survive, let alone travel, should think twice . . . maybe three times before even considering working for English Unlimited in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

My friend is unsure of what he will do after his medical leave. He invested so much to come here from overseas, get set up in his apartment, etc., that he may be forced to continue here for a while, but beware - - nothing is what it seems at the onset at English Unlimited.

There is not even any standardized scoring system for exams and other tests! Teachers are free to do what they like when it comes to grading student work. This is a travesty of teaching, and cheating the students to be sure. There are many more credible operations like the Berlitz or Interlingua chain, if one plans to come to S.L.P.

Do not get yourself into the same mess as my friend did. He is in hospital or would write this himself, and wanted all to be forewarned. He is seriously ill. All of this posted is accurate, and none exaggerated.

Clark

[Enchilada Potosina]

Sorry to hear about your friend. Was what happened to him caused by working at EU? It's not clear in your post, though it seems you're kind of implying it.

I worked there some years ago. Yes, it's well-known that EU is the gateway to SLP as almost everyone gets hired, gets a visa and somewhere to live. It's a stepping stone to better things. It can't be taken seriously as a school but mind you the rest aren't much better.

Berlitz and Interlingua are not that much better. Berlitz have a notorious repututation here and Interlingua have just removed all the benefits from teachers' pay packets, including seniority. They forced teachers to sign away their seniority (some with more than 10 years) so they wouldn't have to pay out their contracts. This group of teachers is currently suing Interlingua.

[la verdad]

I've been a Dave's ESL Cafe supporter for some time now. I enjoy reading these posts because there are so many things that one can learn from. I've been a silent member until I read this post by 'Clark Montange' - and I'd like to set the record straight about English Unlimited, where I presently teach.

[Samantha]

Clark Montage wrote:

[la verdad]

I stand corrected, I did sign in as a member yesterday. Instead of considering myself a 'silent member', I should have written 'silent follower'.

It's easy to prove that Clark's 'friend' doesn't exist, never did - just a figment of someone's imagination. In fact, while we're at it, let's have Clark prove that this so called friend is hospitalized somewhere - now THIS should be interesting!

If Clark has issues with English Unlimited, by all means take it up on this forum and not through a 'make-believe friend who's ill and hospitalized'. Give me a break. After all, that's what this forum is all about. No one wants to be fed with lies and credibility is important in joining these forums. There are people who believe what they read here.

[the peanut gallery]

This message has been brought to you by the M.T. PR firm. Funny how whenever something negative gets posted about EU a "teacher" comes to the defense. Said teacher signed up to Dave's yesterday but has been a supporter for a long time?

We are English teachers, not muppets like T.M believes.

PS, how is "The Governness" these days?????

[Enchilada Potosina]

Threads about English Unlimited are fairly routine here on Dave's. I've worked there, it's not the horror school some ex-teachers make it out to be but yes it is run, in a completely cynical fashion, as a business to make money - no different from any other school in SLP - and I've worked for a lot of them. I mean, Interlingua, Berlitz, Kwik Learning et al are the same thing, "en bonito".

With English Unlimited what you see is what you get. Yes, the pay is awful but you're told what the pay is before you sign up. Yes, the administration is bad but it's not that much better in general in Mexico. You get your visa, somewhere cheap to live while you look for a better place, teaching supplies etc. Unlimited copies - no where else I've worked at has this.

As the first port of call for foreign teachers who are new to Mexico and new to teaching, adaptation can be a shock to the system and I think this is what most teachers find difficult. I worked there for a year and a half and I saw plenty of teachers come and go but plenty of teachers stayed and routinely come back to work there.

If you're going to work in a language school in SLP, the only difference between them is the hourly rate.