Job Discussion Forums

[hagerty]

I am american and am moving to Parma with my american girlfriend who is getting a masters in gastronomy at a university right outside of Parma. She will have a student visa, but i'm guessing i might be best trying to work illegally for the year if I can find a teaching job in Parma.

I know of several schools in Parma, some of which have better reputations that others. From what I've read on the threads it seems that very few people have had good experiences with Inilingua. Some of the other schools are:

Cambridge School of Parma
The Oxford Institute
Sediform
Leitmotiv London School
Inilingua

Now, I do not have a TEFL certificate, but plan to get certified through The International TEFL Corporation in Florence upon arrival. However, I am wondering if any of these schools will consider a non-EUer with a TEFL certificate. Will any of these schools consider a candidate who does not have a CELTA? Does anyone have any experience with any of these schools?

Thanks for your help!!!

[Chitchat]

You will be asked to sign a contract for 34 hours teaching - you may think this is not a realistic situation and sign regardless � you would be wrong!
They also don�t mention the possibility of an 8.00am start, and a 9.30pm finish, in fact at the interview they will stress an early start gets and early finish � wrong!
You will be offered initial accommodation in a village close to Avellino. The accommodation is great (you pay of course), and they tell you the buses are regular � wrong!
Well in fact the buses are supposed to be regular, but unfortunately this is on the worst bus route in Southern Italy � coming direct from Naples - & you never know when a bus will arrive (if at all).
Also they tell you the bus home from town leaves the bus station in Avellino at 9.20pm, so if you run from your lesson which finishes at 9.30 you�ll make it easily � wrong!
It took me a week to discover that the bus officially leaves at 9.20 and you will always miss it! (they are on time going towards Naples),so you then have to wait in the open air until 10.35 for the next one!
So you arrive home at 11 to leave the next morning at 8? Nice.

I was working between 34 & 38 hours a week, but actually spending 60 or 70 hours out of the house every week.

They will show you an apartment or two in the town, but the norm in Italy is to rent without furniture (or even a kitchen) so your choices are severely limited.

You arrive, and your first days� training is to watch the inlingua DVD � and that�s it! Now this is not a normal TEFL method, in fact it�s awful, but you must learn it because next comes your practice lesson teaching the boss. You will say the exact words laid out in the method or you will repeat it again & again until you reach robotic tendencies! When you�re in the classroom you can do what you want, but in the training you will do it the inlingua way!

inlingua is of course a franchise but this school strays so far outside the inlingua way of operating it�s ridiculous- no pay for no-shows, no holiday pay, working hours overload, etc etc.

Not a pleasant experience and one to be avoided