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Q: Has anyone worked for New Oriental English, A&C English, Sesame Street English or Eblocks English ?
I got offered jobs in the above places and am currently trying to decide which one is best in Beijing. I worked for Web English last year and imagine kindergarten the year before. Web was cool to work in but they always have probs with the jing cha and i don't want to end up deported over them being crooks. Do any of the above training centres have cops checking in ? And what is the working atmosphere like there ? Both Web and Imagine were quite relaxed in regards to lesson plans and i always had a lot of free time to do whatever i wanted to. It probably helped that i get along with everybody and i'm always making people laugh and i speak Chinese quite well. I really like Chinese people, I'm from Northern Ireland so i'm no stranger to nasty people. Also, if anybody would like any advice on anything in China, just send me a message. I have been here for over 2 years now and i've worked in many places part-time and travelled a bit so i would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about China. I like China and i'm hoping whichever new job i choose ends up safe and smooth.
8 years 13 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - China
When I was still an IELTS examiner, I applied for a job with XDF (New Oriental). They asked if they could advertise that, and I said no.
They didn't hire me.
Meaning - they have no interest in their students actually learning and doing well in IELTS, only in face gain.
Englteachted:
I'm not a business person but I can see the importance of promoting the experience of your staff. Training schools here in the states do it. I know it personally and can you really blame them for wanting to market effectively? Just because you are being marketed does not mean that's all they care about.
ambivalentmace:
examiners are not supposed to put themselves in a position they may appear detrimental to the british council, so a school could promote a former examiner as a teacher but not a current one, it would jeopardize the examiners position and the examiner has to excuse himself it he happens to get one of his own students for a speaking test.
the training schools know the high standards of the british council, but would love for an examiner to whore himself out and leave him hanging on a rope for the sake of more profits.
examiners basically cant trust training schools not to "out" them for monetary gain even though they would have a better program for the students to pass, by using the examiners knowledge discreetly.
Shining_brow:
I get that side of it.
What I don't get is - having a teacher - the only teacher - on staff who actually knows how and what to teach these kids to pass well gets rejected! It was as simple as "if we can't market it, then we don't want you" - nothing about teaching at all!
if you don't want to end up getting deported, work for the school that offers a 'Z' visa up front without prompting/reminding.
also ask prospective employers detailed questions about pay and conditions.
avoid the BSers
e_mcdonald:
Thanks sorrel.
I've got all that information already, i'm actually interested in hearing more about the work environment at these companies.
sorrel:
i could add that i have met plenty of people from Northern Ireland - i have traveled there often for work, and they are incredibly friendly and hospitable. No BS about them, although some of the accents can be a bit of a challenge.
sorrel:
if you are in contact with any of these companies already, ask for testimonials from past or current FT's.
A reputable company will be happy to supply these
Unfortunately these chain schools tend to depend on the local managers.
some are great and some suck big time.
Hulk:
sorrel is right.
Do yourself a favor and avoid working on the wrong visa. China is in full anti-foreigner mode right now and they're looking for ANY reason to screw you. Do it right, and you'll be fine (relatively speaking).
guys,
i have everything sorted with the work visa, i just want to know about these particular schools.
e_mcdonald:
...because a work visa doesn't guarantee safety, the school needs to be safe too.
I'm guessing Mr Mcdonald has been told a Z visa is all he needs to work and they will convert it to an M or L visa once he is here.
Spring is here.....illegal workers who know no better are ubiquitous. Welcome them .
e_mcdonald:
Sir, If you haven't noticed already, i have been in China for 2 years. I am aware of how things work here. Is it possible for people on this site just to answer my question ? And also, a work visa doesn't guarantee safety, the school has to be safe too, which most aren't.
iWolf:
Mr Mcdonald, what do you mean by safe? If you have a legit wworking type resident permit and are working in the location specified on your FEC, it doesn't get any safer.
ambivalentmace:
all contracts with a school by government order " are responsible for your safety and security", this can cause a lot of problems, well you cant have a female visitors overnight she might cut your throat, never mind your death, but then we cant hire another fool, victim, teacher to replace you and make a lot of money from the white monkey, and we could lose our permit for 2 years to hire a white monkey entertainer.
7 years ago a university here had a pedophile working at the university that played with a couple of 13 year old boys, the boys parents came to town and put the pedophile in the hospital, the school lost their foreign expert permit for not protecting the foreign teacher from violence which might reflect badly on china. the school hired loaned teachers from another university for 3 years because they no longer had a permit. there is a reason why you have to live above the 5th floor in a building, cant live close to a ktv, cant live anywhere without a guard and a gate. its called china losing face but its really about control. your the hamster in the cage behave and dont cause trouble, we will be watching you, the cage is big so most people never notice, before flaming begins, the rules of residence vary by province, so these are the resident permit rules i faced in shandong. the perception of china that we all thought before we got here is not the reality, but having foreigners being a victim would ruin the perception and deception they work so hard to keep in the press.
new oriental is problematic for myself, but might be a good fit for you.
first problem with new oriental is i had a good black american friend who taught nuclear power and physics for shandong university, new oriental in jinan would not hire him for race reasons, customers money, etc. but he worked summer english camps for new oriental in beijing with no problem except extremely late payment, pay was good and not cheated on money just payed 90 days later.
the second friend i had at new oriental told me that foreign teachers get an evaluation from the students that determine whether you are renewed for a contract. so whether you teach them ielts to pass or not is not the point, the point is being a good entertainer for the spoiled rich kids in the class that really dont want to be there anyway. they tell the rich kid he is a 4 score for speaking when he is really a 5 and when he gets a 5, see we helped you alot, pay for another class and we can get a 6, also when my friend tried to teach vocabulary to get 6 scores, they said no, we charge vip class rates for those skills for one on one students. if they get a 6, we cant get anymore money out of them.
e_mcdonald:
Thank you for the reply, you are the first person on this site that has actually been helpful.
Yes, many training centers will turn people down because of their race, it is a harsh truth.
Yes, many training centers will kiss the you-know-what of students to get them to pay more.
If those are the only problems you have heard about new oriental, then that's okay. Similar problems to those pop up everywhere. I remember teaching a girl at web who was clearly 2/3 levels below the rest of the class and she was always shy and never spoke, it was excruciating teaching her and the bosses wouldn't move her down because she thought her English was better than it was.
These type of problems just require us to ignore them because they are out of our control.
But thanks for the info, glad there wasn't worse stories to come from new oriental !
Shining_brow:
When I was still an IELTS examiner, I applied for a job with XDF. They asked if they could advertise that, and I said no.
They didn't hire me.
Meaning - they have no interest in their students actually learning and doing well in IELTS, only in face gain.
I used to work at New Oriental English's headquarters in Beijing. It's definitely one of the best companies in China. Depending on your role I guess, they have many businesses. The working environment is perfect. They have their own stock overseas and financially strong so you don't have to worry if the company goes bankrupted or they don't pay you on time. They also offer all sorts of benefits other than salary.
The rest of the companies...(i have never even heard of them).
Shining_brow:
"If they don't pay you on time"... if the company is that big, then why would there be ANY late payments??? (other than incompetence??)
The ONLY time it's acceptable to be paid late is if there is a public holiday on the day payment is supposed to go through - and they should advise you of this beforehand, and you get that pay the next working day!
Anything else is BS!
I worked at New Oriental as a side job way back when. Not in Beijing. I worked hard but enjoyed it. Never had any problems.
Oh wait, had a problem with some reimbursements once. Problem was fixed 20 minutes after I talked to the boss.
I would gladly work at New Oriental again. Dunno the rest.
Go work for New Oriental. It is a Chinese owned, operated, and managed version of English First. Seems right up your alley.
When I was still an IELTS examiner, I applied for a job with XDF (New Oriental). They asked if they could advertise that, and I said no.
They didn't hire me.
Meaning - they have no interest in their students actually learning and doing well in IELTS, only in face gain.
Englteachted:
I'm not a business person but I can see the importance of promoting the experience of your staff. Training schools here in the states do it. I know it personally and can you really blame them for wanting to market effectively? Just because you are being marketed does not mean that's all they care about.
ambivalentmace:
examiners are not supposed to put themselves in a position they may appear detrimental to the british council, so a school could promote a former examiner as a teacher but not a current one, it would jeopardize the examiners position and the examiner has to excuse himself it he happens to get one of his own students for a speaking test.
the training schools know the high standards of the british council, but would love for an examiner to whore himself out and leave him hanging on a rope for the sake of more profits.
examiners basically cant trust training schools not to "out" them for monetary gain even though they would have a better program for the students to pass, by using the examiners knowledge discreetly.
Shining_brow:
I get that side of it.
What I don't get is - having a teacher - the only teacher - on staff who actually knows how and what to teach these kids to pass well gets rejected! It was as simple as "if we can't market it, then we don't want you" - nothing about teaching at all!
