Job Discussion Forums

[carolync]

Has anyone heard anything about the Culturalingua schools in Michoacan? I got a few job offers from them. Thanks!

[jillford64]

They are in La Piedad or Zamora, right?

[carolync]

They are in La Piedad and also Uruapan, Los Reyes, Sahuayo and Leon. Heard anything?

[Samantha]

I am not sure what information you are looking for when you say "heard anything". This is not really anything of importance except to be aware that there are different owners using the same original name. I met someone working here who used to teach for them a couple of years back and we had a chat about small town Mexico vs the beach area. He said the ownership situation there is confusing to the job hunter as one location may not have the same contract as another. He was okay with the job and housing he had but then he was good with Mexico in general and not one to complain about small town conditions as some have done here.

This is what he told me if I recall correctly. There are about 3 different (maybe 4) separate ownerships using the same name, Culturlingua. Zamora owners sold everything but one about 5 years ago keeping just Zamora location. The new ownership then apparently sold some of their locations to others and closed some down and opened others. They sold La Piedad and this forum has speculated lately on who owns that. Leon was opened, didn't make it and was closed and so was Guadalajara which has since been resurrected with an American or Canadian owner or promoter. Sahuayo, Los Reyes, Uruapan, and Periban are under the same umbrella, according to him. He was also telling us gossip about the school manager and one Canadian teacher who pilfered the school records and opened their own school in Sahuayo, where this guy was teaching. He said the whole thing was a bit of a mess at first with students not knowing which way to turn, but messes and problems, which always seem to sort themselves out, can be fairly typical of many small language schools in Mexico from what I've seen and read about.

[MamaOaxaca]

From what I've seen and heard here on this board over the years is that it is a fine job for new teachers, but with a little training and experience you can get better pay/hours else where.
If you are looking for a taste of Mexico, you can have a great experience with them. If you are a career TEFLer you will probably be frustrated.

[carolync]

Thanks!

[jillford64]

They seem to always be looking for people, which leads me to conclude they have a hard time keeping people either because they aren't good to work for or they aren't in very desireable places to live.

[carolync]

Can you recommend any good schools in Mexico?

[MamaOaxaca]

What's your background?
Do you have a BA? MA? CELTA or other TEFL?
Experience?
Do you speak any Spanish?
Are you a TOEFL expert?

I know some excellent schools that are hiring right now...

[Samantha]

[gregd75]

I just wanted to take an opportunity to explain a little about Culturlingua, its history, principles, strengths and weaknesss.

As somone previously mentioned, Cultulingua Tlaquepaue was bought- by me, a British guy two years ago, from the owner of Culturlingua, so I figure I can help clarify the situation...

Culturlingua started about 20 years ago in the small town of Zamora, Michoacan. Two parents wanted their sons to learn English, but they couldn't find anywhere in the town to send them- so they decided to set up private classes for their boys. Word got around that these two boys were having English classes, and the two parents found themselves being approached by other parents, wishing for their children to learn English too. They decided to open an English school, and they named it Culturlingua.

About 5 years ago, the two parents had a disagrement (I don't know what it was about) and at this point, they had grown, having schools in Zamora, Sahayo, Uruapan, La Piedad and Leon. They agreed that one would take Zamora- by far the biggest and most successful school- and the other would take the other schools, and go their seperate ways.

The thing I LOVE about Culturlingua, is that, yes - it is a business, but the owners had remained focussed on their originl intention, which was to provide GOOD QUALITY English classes, in nice small schools, with international teachers and charge a reasonable price to the students. I believe that Culturlingua is a little demanding on techers- for example, turning up late isn't tolerated, lesson planning is mandatory, and being profesional is a must. But this is in line with their original principles of providing a good service.

How did I get involved with Culturlingua? Well, I was hired by the company to teach in Tlaquepaque, a suburb of Guadalajara. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and believed that the school does a very good job for it students. Unfortunately, there weren't too many students, so it wasn't making a profit, and the owner decided to close it. I approached her and negotiated to buy the school, as a franchise. I have contractually promised to uphold the Culturlingua good name, and operate the school in keeping with the original principles.

So, yes, there are three different operators using the Cultulingua name. But, for teachers, I sincerely doubt that there should be any differences in the practices between the schools. I am very proud to be a member of the Culturlingua family, and hope that I will have the opportunity to keep providing the good service that my students have come to expect from the school.

In terms of teachers and salary, I admit that you can find jobs better paid, but please do take into consideration that you will be provided with accomodation, facilities, teaching materials and copies e.t.c, so the salary is purley for you to use to live on, and, having been a teacher living on such money, I know that it is enough to have a great experience here in Mexico! There ae many, many schools always looking or teachers and its important to look at the salary, teaching requirements, the history of the institution and make an educated decision as to whether the job is for you. All I can say is that I think you could do a lot worse than to accept a position with any of the Culturlingua schools! Good Luck!

[MELEE]

Greg
Thanks for the thoughtful post. I hope you will continue to be a member of the board. In the past, school owners have come on only to post to defend their schools, which is a shame, because I think they (school owners) can make a very value contribution to the board if they tried.

[Samantha]

I agree with Melee. That was an excellent post.

[carolync]

Thanks again, Greg!

[Wouter]

One of the things that I would find importened being a teacher would be if they offer a working Visa (FM3) and health insurance. This is not offered in many schools but for people that want to stay longer defenitly a must as you dont want to leave every 6 months just to renew your tourist visa.

Does Culturlingua offer this??

We have a school as well in Tlaquepaque and I know Greg personally. My personal experience with Greg is not very great as he studied Spanish at our school and decided to take Spanish classes with one of our teacher directly without paying the school. Also they started a website for Spanish for foreigners and one of the titles of their website had the name of our school on it. This of course doesnt say anything about him being a good employer.

I must say his post was a good post. We had some teachers at our school that came from a Culturlingua school and their main complain was that the mandotory lessons plans that you have to give before the beginning of the week for whole the week. This was a lot of work and took a whole day in the weekend to make these. I dont know if this is still the case.

I know that one of the Culturlingua schools is in very small villages. Make sure where you want to live. One of our teachers came to our school because there was really nothing to do where she was teaching. If I remember ok it was in a place cold Petiban or something.

I dont think you can say in general if the Culturlingua schools are good or bad. Most of it is personal and has a lot to do with the owner and the place where it is located.

Wouter