Job Discussion Forums

OUT_BOUND · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Pasadena, CA.

In contact with Joy English school for a possible position and want to know the track record of this place. Are they reputable? Honest? etc.. Want to make an informed decision on this one.

Cheers

StayingPower · Joined: 18 Aug 2006 Posts: 252

Posting ads all the time on Tealit, heavy schedule, Saturdays work, highly stressful: They seem amiss to me, estranging to a foreign worker.

Just my opinion. I'd had a contact by them, but after reading their ad on Tealit, I said forget it.

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

They are a chain with each branch often independently owned. Overall, they have a pretty decent collection of materials and an easy teaching system. Working conditions are going to vary by location and what you can negotiate.

izzyismydog · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:29 pm Post subject:

I worked for a branch of Joy briefly- I was planning to sign with however I decided I didn't like the fact that there were a lot of unpaid office hours (even though ultimately you need the planning time anyways at any job!).

I liked their books and system and the branch I was at was pretty good (one in Tainan) but the salary after factoring in the unpaid was pretty dismal at about $500 or a bit less per hour. I also felt stressed out teaching such short classes and bouncing around to about 5 or 6 different levels per night.

SanChong · Joined: 22 Nov 2005 Posts: 335

As a few have said: Every Joy branch is different (franchised to different owners), so you need to be careful to be sure you check out the specific branch you are interested in. There are great Joy branches and, well, branches which you wouldn't want to work at!
This advice applies to all schools which franchise.

Izzyismydog: Love your Michener quote! I'm a big fan...
I highly recommend his books. My favorites included The Source, Hawaii, Centennial and Caravans. Let's start a Michener thread....!

Dr_Zoidberg · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:08 am Post subject:

I did a few nights of sub work for a branch in Chia Yi, filling in for a friend who was on vacation, and interviewed at a couple of others.

Both branches were in small, isolated towns; Jushan and Shetou. Nantou and Yunlin counties, respectively. 50 000 NT for 100 teaching hours seems to be standard pay for Joy. However, on top of that they demanded another 50 office hours / month. So the real hourly wage was a mere 333 NT.

I didn't take either job because they simply weren't worth my while. Having said that, for someone FOB who has never taught before, you could do a lot worse. At least Joy has an established curriculum and teachers' manuals, which a new teacher will find helpful.

izzyismydog · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:15 pm Post subject:

I think they offered me $60 or $65000 for 100 teaching and probably another 8 office hours per week. I had 2 years of experience though and did a good demo which is what they based their offer on.

This particular branch seemed reasonable compared to some of the other chains from what I thought and I liked the system (I mostly did games with the young'uns but taught the older ones who were capable of learning from a non CT). I think I also ended up with 2 days off a week (though not Saturday).

SanChong, you know what, I only just clicked in that my quote James Michener is the author. Duh. I know the name but to be honest I have no idea what I have read or if I just have something by him sitting on the shelf...

SanChong · Joined: 22 Nov 2005 Posts: 335