Job Discussion Forums

[comet]

Hey everyone,

I am getting a LOT of mixed information about ESL/ EFL schools in Istanbul (which is understandable as most of the replies are based on personal experiences and we are all different).

I would like to hear some POSITIVE feedback about which schools are good and why - and let's try to be as objective as possible.
Which schools help you with the VISA process?
Which schools pay well and on time?
Which schools offer weekends off and NO split shifts?
Keep in mind that I don't have time to wait to get the working VISA in Canada, so will be looking for employment on the tourist VISA alone. I don't know if any of the private schools (ie. Interlang) are any good if they hire you with only a tourist VISA, but I am hoping they are and that I'll find something decent.

If you own or run a school in Turkey, it's not helpful for me to hear from you as you are of course going to speak well of your school. Then again, I have no way of knowing if you own or run a school, but would appreciate hearing from TEACHERS only.

Again, please send me some positive feedback about which schools are decent for ESL/EFL teachers based on the above criteria.[/b]

[Byzantine]

I have absolutely no qualms about recommending International House...ooops, I think the franchise name has changed. It might be English Fast or something now. Regardless, Bora and Zeynep own schools in Suadiye, Etiler, and now I think they've even expanded to Bakirkoy.

I worked in Suadiye, and it was great. Are you going to get rich? Probably not. Will you be paid on time and treated as a valued employee? Yes. I'd offer one caveat - with the expansion, the management team might have been spread out, which could possibly make for some rough spots. But when I worked in Suadiye, I worked with great folks, and I really enjoyed it.

We were paid on time, and we were paid relatively well. Seems like there's quite a lot of competition there these days, so the offer may not be as attractive as it was (I left toward the end of 2002).

If Zeynep, Durdane, and Pelin are still at the Suadiye branch, you could do a lot worse than trying for a job there. Yaramaz, is Benet still the DOS? If not, Deirdre might be around, and she's as cool as they come.

Good luck with your choice. My guess is that there are plenty of good options. Molly seams like a very reasonable boss, and DMB is the resident voice of reason. If I were to head back to Istanbul, I'd see if he needed a teacher.

[comet]

First of all thanks for your positive, objective reply!
I get tired of some of the negative replies I get on this message board!

So International House or English Fast? I will enquire about owners by the names you mentioned. What are Suadiye, Etiler adn Bakirkoy? Are they areas in Istanbul? Are they nice areas and which area would you recommend?

So DMB is the "resident voice of reason"? why is that? He and Molly both own or are the DOS at schools in Istanbul? Molly does sound all right so far - I didn't get a good feeling for Liz at Interlang though (owned by ET), but perhaps because i heard things about the level of her honesty.
Which school does DMB work for?

After reading your email I feel more positive about the potential ESL job situation. Feel free to send any other tips!
comet

you wrote:
"I have absolutely no qualms about recommending International House...ooops, I think the franchise name has changed. It might be English Fast or something now. Regardless, Bora and Zeynep own schools in Suadiye, Etiler, and now I think they've even expanded to Bakirkoy.

I worked in Suadiye, and it was great. Are you going to get rich? Probably not. Will you be paid on time and treated as a valued employee? Yes. I'd offer one caveat - with the expansion, the management team might have been spread out, which could possibly make for some rough spots. But when I worked in Suadiye, I worked with great folks, and I really enjoyed it.

We were paid on time, and we were paid relatively well. Seems like there's quite a lot of competition there these days, so the offer may not be as attractive as it was (I left toward the end of 2002).

If Zeynep, Durdane, and Pelin are still at the Suadiye branch, you could do a lot worse than trying for a job there. Yaramaz, is Benet still the DOS? If not, Deirdre might be around, and she's as cool as they come.

Good luck with your choice. My guess is that there are plenty of good options. Molly seams like a very reasonable boss, and DMB is the resident voice of reason. If I were to head back to Istanbul, I'd see if he needed a teacher."

[dmb]

The voice of reason?
I'll start by saying that I honestly don't know of any school that goes out of its way to rip teachers off.
As I don't work for a language school anymore I can't really say which is good and which is bad. Schools evolve and change over time. English Centre was the best school for teachers but has had a bit of a downturn. Ih(now English First) and Interlang were also very good but the contracts have changed and I don't know the details. Hopefully current teachers will answer.
I have known Liz for years and she looks out for her teachers.
btw I work for a company called Language World. It is more of a recruitment centre than a school. My boss finds rich students and I find the teachers to teach them. I do not offer full time work, only part time hours on an hourly pay. So, no accom. permit, etc. The teachers all have full time jobs elsewhere.

[yaramaz]

I'm not at EF anymore (though, admittedly, I left only a few weeks ago) so I cant comment about the joys of the new contract. A lot of people did renew so it can't be too off putting. I enjoyed my year there and my only complaint was that I had some annoying split shifts and non-consecutive weekends. The students were lovely and the pay was reasonable and on time.

Deirdre is DOS at Suadiye now, and the ever-lovely Pelin is in the new Beyoglu branch (by the Galata Saray Lisesi) and Durdane is still handing out board marker refills and cash advances with a gruff smile in Suadiye. Ben, alas, has migrated to greener pastures at Sabanci. His coffee will be missed.

EF (or whetever they might be called now- I think they are changing names again) does arrange work permits- but for legal and bureaucratic reasons I think it has to be done from home...then you enter Turkey... then you go back to your country to finalise it... then go back to Turkey. It is bafflingly convoluted in a way that the Turkish government specialises in.

[TeachEnglish]

I am familiar with a couple schools. Berlitz, the only things good about Berlitz are the teachers, students, and they pay on time. Wall Street seems to have an easy teaching process and the pay and benefits can be attractive, in reference to other language centers.
As far as work permit, you really should request a residence visa, which is for a year after you finalize it here in Turkey, and you can have it changed into a work/residence permit without going back to your home country. Good luck

[justme]

I think you'll find most language schools have split shifts and no weekends off. That's because their students are mostly working or they're uni/high school students. Weekends are generally the busiest days, where you'll usually do more than half of your week's hours. I used to be happy to get 30 minutes for lunch on a weekend, with 7-10 straight hours. If you're looking for a 9-5 and an easy work permit, you should look into uni prep departments...

Liz (Interlang) can be prickly, but, as DMB says, she definitely looks out for her teachers, and overall, runs things pretty well (but I don't know where she is now, the Kadikoy branch?)...

[dmb]

Last I heard( a couple of months ago) she was still in Bakirkoy.

[justme]

Interesting...

I say interesting because many Bakirkoy teachers are bailing due to Interlang's latest shenanigans, which I've only heard by word of mouth. My mixed feelings aside, Liz's being there makes me think there's another side to the story...

[Frizzie Lizzie]

Liz is in the Taksim branch now which only just opened a few months ago.
She's still very much dedicated to the teachers she recruits, and looks after them (although running between 5 branches is tedious, and she does that a lot these days).
The new Interlang contract has changed in the sense that teachers get an hourly rate according to the band they fall into (experience criteria), plus bonuses (performance and professionalism criteria). And they are amongst the few schools in Istanbul which provide accommodation.

[scb222]

how do people rate istek??? anyone worked at the branch ın gaziomanpasha??