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English Time (ET) Post Only Here
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Mod Team
Mod Team


Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 6613
Location: Need to know basis only.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:10 pm    Post subject: English Time (ET) Post Only Here Reply with quote

Effective immediately, all comments and questions regarding English Time (ET) must be posted only on this unlocked Sticky.

Other postings or threads published subsequent to this notice regarding ET will be locked or deleted. This includes the resurrection of any older threads.


http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=79312
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abdullah



Joined: 28 Jan 2009
Posts: 4
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 5:00 am    Post subject: Theft from teachers Reply with quote

MOD EDIT

Do teachers think it is acceptable for ET to steal salaries from teachers.
When I was at ET there were numerous complaints about shortfalls in salary.

After going three days without food for lack of money I decided to leave ET.
However they refused to pay me the final $6oo they owed me.

Honesty does not appear to be important to this company.

Please reseafch as much as possible before accepting any jobs with English Time
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Robert2



Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Posts: 18
Location: China

PostPosted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:13 pm    Post subject: Don't do it. Reply with quote

I have very simple advice for anyone thinking of working at English Time.
DON'T.
Many other teachers that worked at English Time would give you similar advice.
Please feel free to e-mail me through the private function.
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iskenderteas



Joined: 02 Sep 2010
Posts: 9
Location: Portland, Maine, USA

PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:22 pm    Post subject: ET Reply with quote

Salaamaleikum Abdullah. Could you please tell me more about what happened when you were working for ET? Did they give any reason why they refused to pay you? Or did they simply fail to pay you?
We're just looking for a better understanding of what you went through.
Thank you for your help ahki.
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iskenderteas



Joined: 02 Sep 2010
Posts: 9
Location: Portland, Maine, USA

PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:35 pm    Post subject: Which school? Reply with quote

Abdullah, can you tell us which English Time school you worked for in Turkey?

Jazakulahair
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Urban_Kitten



Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 81

PostPosted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 4:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Which school? Reply with quote

iskenderteas wrote:
Abdullah, can you tell us which English Time school you worked for in Turkey?

Jazakulahair


It's irrelevant which branch it is. As Robert 2 said earlier, just don't work for them. You'll only regret it.
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Kirkpatrick



Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 205
Location: China

PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I lasted a week in Izmit and they let me keep the 200tl they loaned me.. Didn't even teach a class. MOD EDIT the head teacher in İzmit is an idiot..
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Urban_Kitten



Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 81

PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kirkpatrick wrote:
I lasted a week in Izmit and they let me keep the 200tl they loaned me.. Didn't even teach a class. MOD EDIT the head teacher in İzmit is an idiot..


Congratulations for getting out with your sanity in check!

Btw, the head teacher in Izmit has worked for pretty much every school in town. ET is his last port in the storm. Laughing
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dudeteacher



Joined: 27 Feb 2010
Posts: 173

PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Urban_Kitten wrote:
Kirkpatrick wrote:
I lasted a week in Izmit and they let me keep the 200tl they loaned me.. Didn't even teach a class. MOD EDIT the head teacher in İzmit is an idiot..


Congratulations for getting out with your sanity in check!

Btw, the head teacher in Izmit has worked for pretty much every school in town. ET is his last port in the storm. Laughing


Being an HT at ET doesn't really mean much.

They have little input or ability in terms of improving the standard of education and are required just to stay out of the way and don't rock the boat.

One student failed his Grammar Final twice. The school then gave him an "exam" to take home. Guess what, he passed. I mentioned to the HT at the time, how ludicrous this was, apparently she didn't get it. Shocked

If they could deal with problems as enthusiastically as they deal with a beer after class, there might be some actual standards.
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Kirkpatrick



Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 205
Location: China

PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Times must be getting really rough over at ET...They have been advertising for over three weeks that they need teachers.. :?: I guess the words out on them... :twisted: I wonder how much longer they will stay in business :?:
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dudeteacher



Joined: 27 Feb 2010
Posts: 173

PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kirkpatrick wrote:
Times must be getting really rough over at ET...They have been advertising for over three weeks that they need teachers.. Question I guess the words out on them... Twisted Evil I wonder how much longer they will stay in business Question


ET has always found a way to survive. I was convinced that "book" wouldn't last three years. It's now into it's fifth year.

What I underestimated was the lack of ambition on the part of the students. They come, learn very little and just go through the motions. However, they get to chat with a foreigner and are pretty much "guaranteed" a pass.

Despite being a complete joke in the ESL world ET has managed to open branches in England, Toronto and Australia. Additionally I understand they have been looking at SE Asia.

Dude
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bulgogiboy



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Being an HT at ET doesn't really mean much.


True, but they can make a great salary! The HT at my branch had absolutely ZERO qualifications, and I mean ZERO, but regularly took home amounts up to 5000 YTL! I don't think an ESL teacher in Turkey can make a higher salary. Pity it involves working for such a horrible company though!
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dudeteacher



Joined: 27 Feb 2010
Posts: 173

PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bulgogiboy wrote:
Quote:
Being an HT at ET doesn't really mean much.


True, but they can make a great salary! The HT at my branch had absolutely ZERO qualifications, and I mean ZERO, but regularly took home amounts up to 5000 YTL! I don't think an ESL teacher in Turkey can make a higher salary. Pity it involves working for such a horrible company though!


One HT told a friend of mine never to use negative adjectives or verbs at any level. Only use "positive" words. Apparently he used the word kill in an example.
He was chastised for sayig that you could see transexuals on Istiklal Cadessi. Yet, the ET book talks about rapists and Child Molesters.
One or two of them shamelessly tried to protect or deflect for friends who students complained that they couldn't understand them.

The unprofessionalism and incompetence permeates all levels at ET.

Dude
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Mod Team
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Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 6613
Location: Need to know basis only.

PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

An inappropriate posting has been deleted and a member is no longer a member for violating the following that can be found at the top of this forum:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=79312

Members are encouraged to advise the Mod Team by Report Post or PM of any and all inappropriate postings appearing on this or any thread on this board.
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nh0828



Joined: 22 Oct 2010
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know that ET has an exceptionally bad reputation 'round these parts, but I just wanted to submit a few cents.

I just arrived in Istanbul recently, and have been making the rounds of applications to English schools. Given all of the horror stories I'd heard about ET, it was at the bottom of the list, but given that I was already dressed up in business casual and walking around Kadikoy with a stack of resumes, I figured it couldn't hurt to drop one off. I talked to the head teacher there, who was a personable Australian woman, and she set up an interview at the head branch in Esentepe for the following day. I knew I wasn't very interested in working there, but figured it was worth my time as an absolute last resort or if nothing else just to compare salary offers.

The director at the head branch is pretty unprofessional. The interview was awkward, mostly about her, and full of interruptions--her getting up to greet or say goodbye to people, answer her phone and have lengthy conversations, and using the back of my resume as scratch paper to take notes on during her phone calls. I was unimpressed. I said I'd think about it, but was pretty set on never setting foot in an ET location again. As I was leaving, she encouraged me to "research" the school and come back, saying that "there are two sides to every story, and just so you know, I can sleep soundly at night." Yeah, definitely not suspicious at all. I guess she's aware of the reputation.

I crossed ET off the list. Later, I met with the friend of a friend of a friend, who I knew to be teaching English in Istanbul but didn't know where. It turned out that he is a happy employee of none other than English Time.

The guy isn't a plant. He's finishing up a 6 month contract and I can't imagine any reason he would have for lying to me, especially as our meeting wasn't arranged by ET or anything. He said that not only was his residence permit and work visa processed quickly, he is always paid on time (18 TL / hr with a TEFL certificate but no prior experience, plus 300 TL / mo housing allowance), always has two consecutive days off, always has plenty of hours but isn't given an unfair load, and is generally very happy with his experience. He anticipates a contract completion bonus as well as a travel bonus to reimburse him for flying here in the first place (signed the contract while still in his home country). Obviously that's yet to happen, but he was confident and saw no reason it wouldn't. He works in Kadikoy and says that as far as he's aware the two Kadikoy branches are the best in Istanbul--he couldn't vouch for the rest. He said that ET was the only place in Istanbul that he'd worked, but he had friends that had much worse experiences than his own at other places, and he recommended it to anyone.

Now, I know that this position is not a popular one around here. A few things I'd like to say:

--I'm still not sold. I trust this individual, but I don't know for sure that his experience is representative. He may be an exception.
--He stressed that his experience was positive in Kadikoy, but that the other branches may very well have legitimate, serious problems.
--My interview was unprofessional, but conversations with the head teacher in Kadikoy and others were positive. That one individual at the head office may just be crazy.
--He didn't have any personal experience to compare ET to, only the opinions of other people at different schools. It's possible that he just has a thick skin and doesn't mind the work there, but most people would.
--There were a few negative things that he had to say about ET. One was their somewhat draconian policy on sick days, but he thought other schools were probably similar (confirmation, anyone?). Another was that the materials were pretty poor. Other than that, it was all solid.


Anyway, I just thought I'd contribute to the conversation in that way for anyone considering Istanbul schools. A lot of people have had negative experiences with ET, but not everyone. Food for thought.
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