Job Discussion Forums

[eclectic]

Got a phone interview coming up and wondered if these guys and/or gals would be a notch above some of the more-lambasted schools recently-mentioned on this forum.

[lexharvey]

i've not been able to find any info on this school on forums etc.. has anyone taught there or teaches there now who can give any info on what they are like to work for?

Thanks

[Spionen]

I know someone who used to work there (Just English in Kadık�y, İstanbul) until a few months ago. He's not here for me to ask him questions right now, but from what I recall he said it was pretty decent. They paid on time and typically offered slightly higher pay than competing language schools. Conditions were nothing to write home about in either a positive or negative sense- just pretty typical for the breed. Based on what he told me I would certainly consider working for them if I ever quit/got fired from my current job at a different language school.

I can't offer much in the way of specifics beyond that. For what it's worth, he's a Turk who majored in ESL education, not a native speaker. Not sure how familiar you are with Turkish language schools (ie are you in Turkey or out of the country?) and I don't have any experience getting hired by a Turkish company from out of the country, which I gather generally results in a slightly different arrangement than if you're already living here.

[Standarde]

I taught at Just English in Bursa for a year long contract. That branch was somewhat disorganized, didn't have the best administration (i.e., the only people who cared about students learning anything were the teachers) but besides that I had a great year. Pay was nice, they took care of my apartment which was a 5 min walk from the course. Taking the good with the bad, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I'd suggest it if you can handle being thrown into new situations and can be flexible and patient (like being thrown into 4 hour long class sessions at a moment's notice, didn't happen much, but there were times) give it a shot. Have a good attitude and it'll get you through it. I was totally unprepared for most of what they had me do in the beginning, but I adapted quickly and the job ended up being really fantastic and enjoyable, coworkers and all.

Not sure about the Izmir or Istanbul branches though.

[Qigong]

I would suggest networking with the other Bursa schools also. Get some exchange going with them and you may even find other more reputable schools. EFINST used to have a bad reputation there but they are now under new management and perhaps you can take a closer look at them. I used to work in Bursa and I know Wall Street teachers used to try and come to our school to work. Good luck!