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D.F. A little more advice please before I take the plunge!
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MotherF

Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:43 pm Post subject:

Germanicus wrote:

thelmadatter: The whole point of going the chain school route is so that I DO get proper qualification.

Uh-uh. You will get trained, in the chain school method and only in the chain school method. There's tons more to the teaching of foriegn languages than that. Most of us who are "in it for the long haul" have nice jobs at universities or private colegios. A few to all private tutoring or work in some sort of TEFL related business. The chain school training might help you with those last two, but it will not get you a job in the first two-universities or private high school. For those you will need more credentials. An MA in TESOL or K-12 Certification. Years of experience can not subsitute for the paper in most places.

But if you are just looking two years into the future-your plan sounds fine.

amaranto

Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 133
Location: M�xico, D.F.

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 3:59 pm Post subject:

"48 an hr 52 an hr on Saturdays" I'm curious. For those of you that work/have worked at language schools, what is the maximum load you can handle per week? I worked at a language school for about 6 months when I arrived to Mexico, and I would think that 20 hours a week would be a heavy schedule, considering you have to travel to classes, prepare lesson plans, etc. Giving the OP an idea of the load might help him/her calculate if working at a place with wages like this is worth it.

TeresaLopez

Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:11 pm Post subject:

amaranto wrote:

"
I'm curious. For those of you that work/have worked at language schools, what is the maximum load you can handle per week? I worked at a language school for about 6 months when I arrived to Mexico, and I would think that 20 hours a week would be a heavy schedule, considering you have to travel to classes, prepare lesson plans, etc.

I worked for Interlingua many years ago when the pay was quite good. I worked a lot of hours though, usually in excess of 50 per week. I worked for them a second time (briefly) a few years ago, and worked around 30 hours a week, but at a set location, I didn�t give company classes, which at the time paid more. Also, at Interlingua there is no prep time, you are given everything, even lesson plans, which you basically just read off. So you can basically teach a class in your sleep. Based on what was posted, pay is actually going down and not up, which is kind of scary. But I don�t think that is just in the teaching field, I know of several other people, both in government jobs, and in the private sectore who haven�t had raises in 10+ years.

PlayadelSoul

Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 346
Location: Playa del Carmen

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:16 pm Post subject:

MotherF wrote:

Germanicus wrote:

thelmadatter: The whole point of going the chain school route is so that I DO get proper qualification.

It all depends on which "chain school" one trains with. Painting all of them with the same brush would be akin to saying that teaching at a university or colegio is better than teaching at one of these schools. Oh wait, you did that too.

An MA, while impressive, does very little to guarantee someone is going to be a good teacher. In fact, I have seen more than a few who have been absolute disasters. Lots of paper - no personality. Lots of ego - no empathy.

Personally, I would only work in a university or colegio if it were the only job I could get. Overcrowded classrooms, uninterested administrators, and spoiled students are not my cup of tea. Of course, there are exceptions to the rules. I wouldn't want to generalize, too much. LOL

Professor

Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:29 pm Post subject:

amaranto wrote:

I'm curious. For those of you that work/have worked at language schools, what is the maximum load you can handle per week?

With Harmon Hall I believe half time was around 28 hrs a week. 7 to 11:30am Monday thru Friday and 7am to 12 pm on Saturdays. Saturday is mandatory for all teachers.
The part time schedule will keep you very busy because you have to prepare lesson plans outside of the classroom and grade some of their work. I believe there was a test after each chapter or every three chapters and the grades would have to be entered into the system on your own time.
Then there was the oral and written tests that was given so often. Again, you had to enter those grades on your own time as well. I was working fulll time and didn't have the time to do everything.
So I recommend part time work if you go to Harmon Hall.

Professor

Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:35 pm Post subject:

TeresaLopez wrote:

Also, at Interlingua there is no prep time, you are given everything, even lesson plans, which you basically just read off. So you can basically teach a class in your sleep.

That approach doesn't sound to creative but it sure does beat the HH approach. Interlingua sounds less stressful in terms of class preparation. I'm curious Teresa, did you get more money after working for them for a year?
I'm asking because they told us last week in the recruiting session that we would for sure make more money in the future. 48 isn't going to cut it which is why I'm still debating if I should do it.
How was it working for them?

Professor

Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:38 pm Post subject:

TeresaLopez wrote:

I worked for Interlingua many years ago when the pay was quite good. I didn�t give company classes, which at the time paid more.

How much was the hourly pay Teresa? They told us last week that the company classes paid 120 an hr if I remember correctly.

Samantha

Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:25 pm Post subject:

Playadelsoul wrote:

Quote:

Painting all of them with the same brush would be akin to saying that teaching at a university or colegio is better than teaching at one of these schools.

I have taught in wonderful little language schools, where the pay was always on time, and the students eager to learn. That's my favorite setting. I have also taught in local Universities and Colegios. I agree with Playadelsoul, based on my personal experience, that these Uni jobs are not always as good as, much less better than, language schools. Some of the latter, are complete horror shows, so it really depends on the individual situation.

You need to do your homework when researching schools. The internet is helpful, but often doesn't paint an accurate picture, so when it comes right down to it, a school that someone else loved (or hated) may or may not work for you.

TeresaLopez

Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:37 am Post subject:

Professor wrote:

[
That approach doesn't sound to creative but it sure does beat the HH approach. Interlingua sounds less stressful in terms of class preparation. I'm curious Teresa, did you get more money after working for them for a year?
I'm asking because they told us last week in the recruiting session that we would for sure make more money in the future. 48 isn't going to cut it which is why I'm still debating if I should do it.
How was it working for them?

I got two raises in the first 9 months, one after 3 months (that seems to be about the point at which people decide if they can deal with the program, and lots of people can�t, for a variety of reasons), and the second one after completely some additional training, which qualified me to teach a couple more levels than the original training. The pay starts low because there is a lot of turnover. There are lots of people who take the job with no intention of working more than a few months, so once you are past that, you will see a decent raise if you are a decent teacher. Not only that, there are other opportunities, they promote entirely from within. Crappy pay aside, the work environment was great, very supportive, open door policy at least at the branch I worked at, and I am sure that varies from branch to branch, and I also think the company owned branches are better to work for than the franchises, though the franchises often pay a little more - something they don�t tell you at the interview, but do in the training. I agree that the approach isn�t very creative, however, I think it is pretty effective at the lower levels of learning, lots of repetition tends to lay a decent groundwork, but it�s easy to do, if boringl. I am shocked to hear that the pay has actually gone down so much, I�m glad it was mentioned, I was giving out old, and apparently incorrect, pay information. It never occurred to me they would be paying LESS. During their real hayday (20 years ago) they paid extremely attractive wages, but those days are gone. I agree with Guy that the real money is to be made, as a teacher, in private and business classes.

TeresaLopez

Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:41 am Post subject:

Professor wrote:

TeresaLopez wrote:

I worked for Interlingua many years ago when the pay was quite good. I didn�t give company classes, which at the time paid more.

How much was the hourly pay Teresa? They told us last week that the company classes paid 120 an hr if I remember correctly.

The first time I worked for them was over 20 years ago, and I made the equivilent of $1000 USD, which was, at the time, a huge wage, I travelled all over the place, took taxis everywhere, ate out all the time.

The second time I worked for them, the pay was about $8 USD an hour, plus benefits, which a lot of people tend to discount. It was worth it to me to be in a set place and not travel all over to do company classes, but the $120 an hour sounds right.

Prof.Gringo

Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:33 pm Post subject:

amaranto wrote:

"48 an hr
52 an hr on Saturdays"

Shocked

I'm curious. For those of you that work/have worked at language schools, what is the maximum load you can handle per week? I worked at a language school for about 6 months when I arrived to Mexico, and I would think that 20 hours a week would be a heavy schedule, considering you have to travel to classes, prepare lesson plans, etc.

Giving the OP an idea of the load might help him/her calculate if working at a place with wages like this is worth it.

I worked 50 hours a week for six months when I first started out in Mexico.

Prof.Gringo

Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:38 pm Post subject:

PlayadelSoul wrote:

MotherF wrote:

Germanicus wrote:

thelmadatter: The whole point of going the chain school route is so that I DO get proper qualification.

You don't even need a BA to teach in a colegio. Been there, done that. And the pay was very good. High stress, but also allowed one to react to many different situations. The hours were decent, 7:30-3:30 or so, some days even less. Lot's prep time outside the class room, but long vacations and paid at that! Shocked

Germanicus

Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 19
Location: Ireland

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:33 pm Post subject: Certification

Thanks for all the advice.I'll have to digest it all.Would it be advantageous to do a weekend TEFL course before I go over just to have the cert? What about an online course?

Germanicus

Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 19
Location: Ireland

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:39 pm Post subject: Harmon Hall?

Sorry, another question. I'd rather be working for HH at 85 an hour.Do they recruit regularly?

PlayadelSoul

Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 346
Location: Playa del Carmen

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:17 pm Post subject: Re: Harmon Hall?

Germanicus wrote:

Sorry, another question. I'd rather be working for HH at 85 an hour.Do they recruit regularly?

Yep. All over the country.

Hourly pay depends on the school and its budget. For example, we pay our teachers 90 - 100 an hour. 120-130 for classes at hotels or businesses. Some of my teachers work 8 hours a day. Some work 3. Mostly, that is what they choose to work.

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