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I've obviously touched a few nerves out there. Instead of dealing with the issues, my email name is now being made fun of. For those of you "English" teachers out there who don't know English, "gimp" means someone who walks with a limp. I do- thus the name. When it is made mention of light-heartedly I don't get too upset- when it is used by ignorant people to insult handicapped people- well , that's what the word "ignorant" means.

Too bad you can't stick to the issues. Once again because you fail to respond to the real overall issue, let me say it again. Interac, Geos, Aeon, Nova- all have hundreds and thousands of teachers-MOST of whom are quite happy working there. In my decade in Japan I've see a lot of mal-contents and mis-fits quickly come and go. Some are lazy, some are incompetent, some can't adapt to the Japanese work environment. Some of them end up blaming their employer for all their grief, rather than looking in the mirror. Some of them carry on vendettas on websites. A few post lies on the Internet. It is just so much easier to blame the company rather than tell Mommy you got fired for being late for the third time this week.

So if you are thinking of coming to Japan, by all means take a job with one of the "big four." Unless you have an intolerable situation- which does happen on the odd occasion but FAR LESS than you would think by reading this website- be responsible and finish out your one year contract before changing jobs. It costs a lot of money to process a work visa and train a teacher. And contracts are supposed to be binding on Both parties, not just the employer.

Enough said- I've got better things to do than try to reach the unreachable.

[Wolf]

It's too bad you want to give up now.

You've finally stated your point and did so very well.

And the points you made in the second paragraph are all good ones. Newbies beware: there is disinformation on the web slanted unfairly in the teacher's favor. I've known people who had teacher positions but never deserved them. There are many managers who have horror stories they can tell.

Work visas cost money, although the "training" you'll get at the big 4 doesn't set them back that much. Some young'uns (like I was when I first started out) fresh out of college do ditch decent jobs for frivolous reasons.

I've stuck to the issues; and I never mentioned your username. Now if you would pay the same courtesy. I'm not wrong either. If you've lived in Japan for a decade while teaching at places like Interac, then you must have met three times as many decent teachers who got s*rewed over than I knew. Wouldn't you agree that company and school managers can be real a**holes, and give their employees a hard time? That they violate the law far more often than their propoganda would have people believe? That NOVA didn't lose those court cases by accident?

One final point. NOVA et al are used to a high turnover rate of their staff, so resigning early from one of them would just be a drop in the bucket. Based upon our employee numbers, NOVA hired more than 2000 new teachers in 10 months back in 1999 - 2000. Dang. They're used to people leaving fast and unexpectedly, and they're set up to deal with it. Don't cry if they force you to quit, or if the 40 teaching hours (not working hours - but inside the class time) per week gets to you. Smaller schools will suffer more from having a teacher leave unexpectedly.

[Gordon]

Gimp, in your 10 years of living in Japan, what have you been doing? I'd like to hear your background as you've been making some pretty sweeping generalizations.

[TokyoLiz]

To be fair, there are incompetent teachers out there. I've met a few.

Through Interac, I met some un-informed people who knew nothing about teaching method, and wanted to tell me what me my shortcomings as a teacher! I won't name names.

Many of you know I've been working in the TEFL/ESL industry for 10 years now, enjoying it and excelling at it. I put in long, hard hours to create successful lessons, no matter the working conditions. I've worked for supportive, professional management in schools that had solid, results-oriented programs, both in Japan and my home country.

I found Interac's working conditions intolerable - the threat of late payment of salary (completely illegal but apparently hard to enforce), the attempted intimidation, the ammendments to contracts which would actually pull my salary down, pulling back the August holiday that had been agreed on in contract negotiation, and refusing to pay me for overtime after making an agreement to do so. On top of that, there was virtually no materials support or curriculum development available through the company. Nor was there any teacher's networking going on. Interac appears to divide and concquer it's employees, keeping them from improving the standard of working conditions or the standard of teaching. The only other teacher who had a teaching position similar to mine lives in Chugoku region, and she was hard to get ahold of.

I didn't break my contract - I gave notice of resignation with ample time - more than the ammount requested by Interac in their contract.

On my first day of work at my new school in Tokyo, September of last year, my cel phone rang constantly. The head teacher and the principal of the my former Interac contracted school was asking me where I was! They called all day, telling me nobody had informed them that I no longer worked for Interac! Remember, Interac demands that we never talk about our contract conditions with the client. I honored this demand by not telling anyone at the school that I had resigned from the company.

I have since learned that, from September 2003 onwards, the school went through 3 different ALTs. I spoke to one of these ALTs myself only 4 weeks ago.

It seems that Interac takes care of neither the employees nor the client schools. The school was left high and dry with no replacement ALT, despite the fact that I'd given more than a month's notice, and, on receiving my successor part way through the term, had had trouble retaining them.

This is my real experience with Interac. Although I was paid on time, I was not paid in full on one of my paychecks. Another ALT in the region, with whom I frequently met for coffee, was not paid on time in the first term that I worked for Interac.

The horror show goes on. I'm sure I've shared this story here before, but I wanted to tell it again to show how badly Interac's management can mess up schools and employees.

[Experienced]

Although Mr. Gimp's comments are appreciated, companies also have to deal with their own reputation. Here are two sites which document some of Interac's history:

http://fierceforward.com/interac/

http://www.letsjapan.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=10


What amazes me is that other companies in the ESL industry in Japan don't even begin to get the harsh criticism that Interac seems to have brought upon itself because of Interac's poor ethical standards. If anyone is thinking of teaching ESL in Japan, remember that there are better alternatives to Interac.

If Mr. Gimp wishes to ignore my posting again, I'll understand.

[Mike L.]

No I am not looking for a job with Interac management. Actually they have a pretty good group there already- that is why they have been around for more than 30 years- that is why dozens of new school boards have hired them to provide ALT's to Japanese schools- because so many directly hired people walk on them, have no ability to do the job or have no understanding of the Japanese workplace..

Last I checked BOE's were hiring Interac over almost anyone else on price alone.

Your comment about dirrect hires is a bit wide of the mark. Most dirrect hires these days beat out dozens of competitors and know what their doing. It's almost as compettive as the hiring in universites. They usually speak japanese and have qualifications.

Interc teachers? How difficult is it to get a job with Interac for 220,000 yen a month?

All of these "esteemed" companies you keep talking about are stepping stones for new people. Nothing wrong with that, but they don't represent quality in ELT.

Few, if any, qualifed and experienced teachers will work for any of them.

Exactly what great qualities do you see in these companies: Interac, Nova, Geos etc?

*********

As to your complaint about people mocking and making fun of you:

with such a provocative 1st post and with a handle like that what were you expecting people to do?

Why bring it up? Are you looking for sympathy?

Ususally in life when you insult people you should expect a response that may be insulting in return.

You seem to be trying to play with people here so why cry wolf when you get flamed a bit?

[TokyoLiz]

Mike L. wrote

[cafebleu]

Some desperately needed advice for the gimp - spare us the crocodile tears about your name being made fun of. In contemporary slang a gimp is somebody who is a lightweight and in some cases a wanker to use my home country`s slang or a jerk to use American slang.

You certainly fit into the lightweight category. You waded into Agentmulder in a bitter, slagging attack and then cried `Foul` to the deserved responses and now are getting self-righteous and politically correct. The bottom line is - you are defending a company that has forfeited any claims to credibility for a long time. You are either an Interac person or an incredibly ignorant one who comes to boards such as this to slag off posters who are speaking honestly about their own experiences.

It is clear to non bitter people who read Agentmulder`s post that he/she is not irresponsible. It is clear to non bitter people from reading the post (and any other post) of Tokyo Liz that she is a woman who has considerable experience of the positive and negative aspects of working in Japan, including of working for companies such as Interac.

Sure companies train their workers but to say that Interac spent so much money and time training their (exploited) workers is an assertion that can be challenged by many ex teachers who had the misfortune to work at Interac. Nova, Geos, Aeon and Berlitz are absolutely professional compared to Interac, and these companies are not noted for their long term view and commitment to providing the kind of environment that rewards dedicated teachers.

Go back to recruiting unsuspecting new teachers for that exploitative school that you probably work for. Most likely Interac.

[klute]

cafebleu

As an addendum to your post, I have pasted the definition of 'gimp' from the UK 'Dictionary Of Slang'

...gimp Noun. 1. A contemptible person, a fool. 2. A sex slave, particularly one dressed in black leather apparel of a sexual nature, or similar style.

No prizes for guessing which one covers our rather shabby Interac protagonist.

[eslteach555]

Let me say upfront that I am a teacher working for Interac. I have worked here for three years and I like my job. I work with 5 other English teachers and they have all worked for Interac for more than two years- and two of them have been with Interac for over 5 years. Our longest serving Interac employee (10 years) moved to Tokyo last month and guess what- he took at job there- with Interac.

I have met dozens of Interac teachers over the past 3 years. Not all of them love the company, but the vast majority are quite happy. Sure lots of them quit and move on, but that happens with every school in Japan. I worked before for a school in Chiba that has a terrific reputation, and they have almost a complete turnover every two years.

Mr. Gimp may be a little out of line, but when his opponents start making fun of his name and bring in silly British slang about sexual orientation, that is pretty sad. He is a lot closer to the truth than his obviously very bitter opponents.

I also know a few Nova teachers who quite like working there. The big companies obviously have some problems from time to time but they are a good way to get a work visa and get into Japan. If the wages are too low for your liking, well move on. No one got rich being a teacher- if money is what you want, you'd better find another occupation.

If you are considering coming to Japan with Interac, you will probably have a good experience. Yes it seems the wages for teachers in Japan are going down but that should be blamed on government policy or competiton- not any one private company.

Gimp is right- it seems only the complainers and people with an axe to grind that write into this forum. It is too bad as it gives a really distorted picture of what it is really like teaching in Japan.

[ChotoHen]

Would it be a good idea to use them for a visa and then venture off to a new company after its processed (if theyre so bad)?

[Experienced]

ChotoHen,
To answer your question...absolutely! As other posters have written, Interac is best when used as a stepping stone to better jobs in Japan.

Here are a few other companies in the ESL industry in Japan worth checking out:

www.phoenixassoc.com
www.jesjapan.com
www.simul.co.jp

Why is it that these alternatives to Interac don't stir up any harsh invective on the internet forums? Could it be that Interac really does have some serious ethical problems? Any potential job seeker should see this thread as a warning.

[ChotoHen]

Experienced,

Thanks for the help, I checked out the links.

However, for the sake of argument, has anyone received their working visa from Interac and then split? Any pitfalls? (Besides that feeling of guilt...) What happened?

[ChotoHen]

I was just curious if it would be worth it.

[[email protected]]

The big companies will sponsor a new teacher and arrange a work visa. This costs them several hundred dollars. Most of them then provide a few days training- once again costing them a few hundred dollars.

The big companies get it all the time on this website for "lying" and "stealing" and "breaking the law." Now we have the same critics advising people to come over here, get the visa and "split."

Lying and stealing, ne?