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Apollo Education and Training and English Zone?

 
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chopkins



Joined: 23 Nov 2010
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 12:54 pm    Post subject: Apollo Education and Training and English Zone? Reply with quote
I'm applying to schools in Vietnam for the first time. Does anyone have any insight about Apollo Education and Training or English Zone?

Thanks!
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tefl peasant



Joined: 09 Oct 2010
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I believe English Zone is in HCMC.

Therefore, you're applying in HCMC.

Please let us know which city, before we can comment.

Thanks.
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snollygoster



Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 478
PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 1:04 am    Post subject: Apollo-English Zone Reply with quote
English Zone is part of Hoa Sen University in HCMC.
It sounds imperessive, but friends who have expeience working there say it is extremely frustrating to get any sense out of the staff, and schedules are changed frequently, sometimes resulting in fruitless travel to other locations.
Organization is not their strong point, and their academic excellence is questionable.
Apollo on the other hand in both HCMC and in Hanoi is well run in comparison, has western staff in the key positions and generally, although not the best gig in town, deliver what they say they will. In short they wont give you the run around, they will pay you what they say they will, and when they say they will. Facilities and teacher support are adequate.
I'd lean towards Apollo- They are a safe bet.
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tefl peasant



Joined: 09 Oct 2010
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Apollo-English Zone Reply with quote
snollygoster wrote:
Apollo on the other hand in both HCMC and in Hanoi is well run in comparison, has western staff in the key positions and generally, although not the best gig in town, deliver what they say they will. In short they wont give you the run around, they will pay you what they say they will, and when they say they will. Facilities and teacher support are adequate.

I'd lean towards Apollo- They are a safe bet.


Apollo in Hanoi and HCMC has western DOSes, but many local underlings.

There are often dramas at Apollo.

Beware of managers that hang over your shoulder and create mini-problems for no reason.

One student complains, and it's observation time. Then the manager says, "everything is fine."

"Why was there a problem," I ask.

"Because one student (out of 22 complained).

It's a circus - run by clowns.
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Oh My God



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 273
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:41 am    Post subject: Re: Apollo-English Zone Reply with quote
tefl peasant wrote:
snollygoster wrote:
Apollo on the other hand in both HCMC and in Hanoi is well run in comparison, has western staff in the key positions and generally, although not the best gig in town, deliver what they say they will. In short they wont give you the run around, they will pay you what they say they will, and when they say they will. Facilities and teacher support are adequate.

I'd lean towards Apollo- They are a safe bet.

One student complains, and it's observation time. Then the manager says, "everything is fine."

"Why was there a problem," I ask.

"Because one student (out of 22 complained).

It's a circus - run by clowns.


There are those whom can adapt to there environment quickly and then there are others that complain about the obvious. Students becoming disgruntled are indeed a problem for the creative teacher to adapt but what job is without hurdles to overcome?

This is an all too common complaint from teachers here until they figure out how to fix it.

Welcome to Vietnam!
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tefl peasant



Joined: 09 Oct 2010
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:47 am    Post subject: Re: Apollo-English Zone Reply with quote
Oh My God wrote:
There are those whom can adapt to there environment quickly and then there are others that complain about the obvious. Students becoming disgruntled are indeed a problem for the creative teacher to adapt but what job is without hurdles to overcome?

This is an all too common complaint from teachers here until they figure out how to fix it.

Welcome to Vietnam!


These "hurdles" are created. These "hurdles" are unnecessarry.

I agree, adaptation is key - when you're dealing with a class, or a group within a class - but not one, single, learner, who wants the whole class to change for him/her, even though the rest of the class, does not want the change.

I'm not referring to a class complaint, or a group within a class. Like most teachers with experience I can read what is working & liked, and what is so-so, or not liked. I also encourage feedback during class at times. This way, the students can guide the learning process in how it's done.

Mini-crises by lingering DOSes just complicate things further. Best for the Director, CSO (Customer Service Office) <-- what a joke, to stay out of the picture.
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Oh My God



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 273
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 5:40 am    Post subject: Re: Apollo-English Zone Reply with quote
tefl peasant wrote:
These "hurdles" are created. These "hurdles" are unnecessarry.

I agree, adaptation is key - when you're dealing with a class, or a group within a class - but not one, single, learner, who wants the whole class to change for him/her, even though the rest of the class, does not want the change.

I'm not referring to a class complaint, or a group within a class. Like most teachers with experience I can read what is working & liked, and what is so-so, or not liked. I also encourage feedback during class at times. This way, the students can guide the learning process in how it's done.

Mini-crises by lingering DOSes just complicate things further. Best for the Director, CSO (Customer Service Office) <-- what a joke, to stay out of the picture.


Are you a teacher or an instructor?

Remove the bottle from your lips and try to feast on solid food. You agree that adaption is the key but you seem to inept about the Vietnamese culture in regards to the classroom environment.

I wrote:
Quote:
This is an all too common complaint from teachers here until they figure out how to fix it.


As a Teacher you'll need to adopt the "no student left behind" motto in order to succeed but yet, the ESL Edutainment environment in Vietnam is unavoidable so don't fight it - ADAPT!

Give it a chance, chubby!
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tefl peasant



Joined: 09 Oct 2010
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:42 am    Post subject: Re: Apollo-English Zone Reply with quote
Oh My God wrote:
tefl peasant wrote:
These "hurdles" are created. These "hurdles" are unnecessarry.

I agree, adaptation is key - when you're dealing with a class, or a group within a class - but not one, single, learner, who wants the whole class to change for him/her, even though the rest of the class, does not want the change.

I'm not referring to a class complaint, or a group within a class. Like most teachers with experience I can read what is working & liked, and what is so-so, or not liked. I also encourage feedback during class at times. This way, the students can guide the learning process in how it's done.

Mini-crises by lingering DOSes just complicate things further. Best for the Director, CSO (Customer Service Office) <-- what a joke, to stay out of the picture.


Are you a teacher or an instructor?

Remove the bottle from your lips and try to feast on solid food. You agree that adaption is the key but you seem to inept about the Vietnamese culture in regards to the classroom environment.

I wrote:
Quote:
This is an all too common complaint from teachers here until they figure out how to fix it.


As a Teacher you'll need to adopt the "no student left behind" motto in order to succeed but yet, the ESL Edutainment environment in Vietnam is unavoidable so don't fight it - ADAPT!

Give it a chance, chubby!


I agree, in having to adapt. I do adapt. I have not had a complaint in well over a year.

Please re-read my post.

Also, I am not "chubby," meaning over-weight. I rarely drink, also.

I'm not sure what you're referring to. Perhaps you think you know who I am. I used to work at Apollo 2 years ago, and overall the experience was good. I got an offer that was far better and have been doing that ever since.

Apollo and Language Link should often leave things alone, when it comes to CSO (Customer Service Office).

It's like the movie Office Space.
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snollygoster



Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 478
PostPosted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:10 am    Post subject: imperfect Reply with quote
Its an imperfect world. We can't choose ice-cream when there is only yoghurt on offer.
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