Job Discussion Forums

[Pyrite]

I've heard IH Brno has been around for a while, but haven't heard much about what people think of them, and would be interesting in hearing a few opinions.

Thoughts on Brno and Czech in general would also be welcome, but I get the feeling from reading these boards that most people seem to love it as long as they don't expect to get rich

[Kootvela]

When I was still working for IH Vilnius, I applied tos everal schools for teacher transfer and IH Brno was one of them. I have been treated very badly by a recruiting officer who showed a great deal of unprofesialism, contacted my employer without my knowledge (you can imagine the fuss this treachery of mine created at work!!!) and in general was very cold and arogant.

My advice: stay away.

[john_n_carolina]

...sounds like an isolated incident??

maybe he was just in a bad mood - i figured he would call the other IH to see for a reference, that's acceptable. but, im not sure you can make an evaluation of the entire school on one incident that happened a long time ago??

[Kootvela]

[john_n_carolina]

....i guess that is a little unprofessional. how many teachers work there in Brno?? % US, Canadian, etc

[Kootvela]

[john_n_carolina]

...wow, i would have never guessed. your English is excellent, you should be in a university here (US) or London or something on a scholarship. are you doing translation there in Lith.?

[Kootvela]

Thank you for the compliment. I know I should be more careful with my grammar or word choice but sometimes emotions take over:-)

I have been teaching English since 2005, and I have B.A. and M.A. in English philology. I have taken part in many teacher development seminars. Also, 95% is learnt by teaching others, that's true!

[Sgt Bilko]

That's just the way it is with IH. They have directors conferences every year so get to meet up and chat. Everyone has a list of all the school's email addresses. It makes it very easy to email casually: 'Oh, by the way, one of your teachers has applied to work for us but hasn't given you as a reference. What's he/she like?'. I would imagine that almost any IH school would have done exactly the same thing.

One thing to consider before joining up with them...(Mind you, it works the other way as well - I mean for positive comments. Oh, yes, give him a job. The students here love him)

[Czecher]

International House has an internal system of transfers throughout the world. This is a great advantage about working for them. However, the transfer happens officially once a year in the spring and is in cooperation with the teacher, key management staff, and IHWO headquarters in London.

Already teaching at an International House school does not automatically qualify you to get the post at your transfer school of choice. Rather, it gives you an edge on the openings for the following academic year prior to them going public, and many schools prefer teachers already familiar with the IH structure. IH definitely is an advantage compared to the other large schools who don't offer such an organised system. While all of the schools are internationally standardised with IHWO regulations and pedagogically integrated to coordinate with CEF student learning levels, each school is independently owned and operated.

Should a current IH teacher decide to apply him/herself to another IH school without going through the official channels, it does not need be considered an official transfer and the school is not obligated to treat it as such. If the person who does the hiring has been with that school for awhile, s/he may also recognize some very important cultural factors and specific needs for that teaching team that wouldn't be reflected by the type of ESL qualification the applicant holds or university degree obtained.

It is just a fact, unfortunate as it may be, that non-natives often in fact face some barriers the native English speakers don't....and sometimes company clients of the school have very specific requirements which need to be met. While it is true that natives from a variety of backgrounds come to teach ESL for a variety of reasons, IH Brno for example hires only Cambridge CELTA/Trinity Tesol teachers dedicated to teaching...and their staff is somewhere around 30-40 teachers. The website is www.ihbrno.cz. See their teacher profiles listed there.

There are over 140 IH schools throughout the world, so undoubtedly there is something for everyone. You can learn more about the International House network and specific schools at www.ihworld.com. Good luck!

[Kootvela]

Then they should say 'native speakers only' in their job search applications. Which they did not.

Your post is very promotion-like. I even think I know who you are.

[biffinbridge]

Never, never, never work for International House anywhere as they ALWAYS pay well below the market rate.

I worked for them in Poland in 96 and I can tell you that the free accommodation sucked, the workshops were hit and miss (developing new teachers is their main selling point right?) and it was a real struggle to live on what they paid. It was only my second overseas posting and obviously, I now know better. 13 years into my EFL journey, I'm well qualified and now never work for the likes of IH, Bell, Callan etc...they are always krap. They are franchises and there's no real quality control. A cheese comes out from London, gets wined and dined for a week and goes back saying that was great.

Since about 2000 I've worked for oil companies on their training programmes. These jobs pay well (start at $45,000) and give you upto half the year off. My current one is about 18 weeks, but I get free accommodation, sat tv, 3 meals a day, 6 return flights, free laundry, free access to several gyms and pools and so on. Wtah's more, I never have to listen to an uphim/herself DOS at IH waxing lyrical about the IH approach to EFL, which in my experience has produced the most inflexible teachers I've ever come across....they drop like flies when they get to the Arab world.

[ecocks]

a blanket assessment from what I have heard. It depends on what the personalities and business attitude of the staff are like at each location. Some apparently have staffers that overcome the lack of centralized control while others figure out how to pitch in and get the job done. It is a problem with all of TEFL, it really lacks a professional demeanor as an industry. Certainly there are individuals who are professional and occasionally I hear about a school operation that seems pretty well-run but, by and large, they seem to be a "back-packers" in their busines operations as well.

[retro_joe]

*bump*

Overall: decent school.

The pay is a bit below market level, but then again, I rarely had to touch official paperwork. The owners of the school are a Czech family and quite ready to chisel you. The academic administration has the subtlety of a bulldozer, both DoSes could use some work on their people skills. Also, it sucks to be an American working for them, unless you plan to be there for the long haul. Stupid weekly staff meetings.

However, I've definitely worked for worse places here in the city. The resources are good and easy to access. Your fellow teachers are pretty awesome people. The students are normally pretty cool. You've got a free hand, they may observe you once or twice per year, and the only time you'll get in trouble is if a student complains about you for some reason.

I might go to another school if I was staying in the city, but if you get an offer from them, it's worth considering.