Today I would like to tell you about the last school I worked in. Part I can be found here and Part II here.
In the summer of 2013 I found a job in a small language school whose primary focus was on in-company teaching. My employment there started with a teacher trainer seminar which spanned over four weeks. I was also required to visit 3 lessons of fellow teachers and give a "test" lesson. After that I started working in a company teaching Business English to two Pre-Intermediate groups.
Schedule. I had a morning group and an evening group, each of them had 2 lessons a week. Luckily, the company was not far away from my place, so the schedule was pretty much perfect. However, I understood that teaching morning groups is veeery hard (especially if most of your classes happen in the afternoon and evening), and that was one of the reasons why I left the school after 9 months (it was obligatory to have at least one morning group).
Pay. The rate wasn't particularly high, but it was always prompt. The director of the school made a point of paying teachers on time. Later I learned that she even took the loans from banks for salaries when there was not enough working capital for that. So this and relative "easiness" of the job (not a lot of travel time, one book for both groups of the same level) satisfied me in terms of money.
Possibilities for Professional Development. As I mentioned earlier there were professional seminars when I started working there. They promised to hold them again half a year later, but it didn't happen. However, the school recognised the value of professional development and sent out reminders of various teaching related events happening in the city. At some point, they also organized a speaking club for teachers with a native speaker to maintain teachers' level of English.
Group sizes and Class Equipment were pretty usual for in-company classes. There were 8 people in each group, the level of their English varied but at least there were on good terms with each other :) I already wrote about the situation with equipment in the second part. It was a little bit better here, but some rooms got unbelievably cold in winter and there was nothing we could do about it.
Course Requirements. The course consisted of 120 academic hours, teachers were suggested to cover the book which we did quite easily (for me it means, that this number was well though out). The company and the school required quite a lot of paperwork done every month. It was to be filled out and sent on particular dates. I think now it is pretty standard procedure for this type of classes, but show me a teacher who enjoys filling out excel squares? :)
Employment Status. I was not employed officially. It was an option in case you take more classes on. However, the usual perks (coverage of sick leaves and holidays) were not included.
Atmosphere. The thing I liked the most in this school is director's desire for teachers to be a part of a team. She encouraged us to get to know each other, organised different team-building events and found ways to bring us together at any occasion. The staff, which consisted of 3 people, were always very nice and helpful, I felt I could ask for advice or favour from any of them. For example, if my company didn't have some equipment I didn't have to deal with it myself, I could just tell the manager about this problem and she would contact the company and sort it out. I think, director's personality and attitude to her company (teachers' included) made work there so comfortable and enjoyable for me. I still have the deepest respect for her and her work and if I ever decide to set up my own school I would follow her example in many parts.
The end.
In the summer of 2013 I found a job in a small language school whose primary focus was on in-company teaching. My employment there started with a teacher trainer seminar which spanned over four weeks. I was also required to visit 3 lessons of fellow teachers and give a "test" lesson. After that I started working in a company teaching Business English to two Pre-Intermediate groups.
Schedule. I had a morning group and an evening group, each of them had 2 lessons a week. Luckily, the company was not far away from my place, so the schedule was pretty much perfect. However, I understood that teaching morning groups is veeery hard (especially if most of your classes happen in the afternoon and evening), and that was one of the reasons why I left the school after 9 months (it was obligatory to have at least one morning group).
Pay. The rate wasn't particularly high, but it was always prompt. The director of the school made a point of paying teachers on time. Later I learned that she even took the loans from banks for salaries when there was not enough working capital for that. So this and relative "easiness" of the job (not a lot of travel time, one book for both groups of the same level) satisfied me in terms of money.
Possibilities for Professional Development. As I mentioned earlier there were professional seminars when I started working there. They promised to hold them again half a year later, but it didn't happen. However, the school recognised the value of professional development and sent out reminders of various teaching related events happening in the city. At some point, they also organized a speaking club for teachers with a native speaker to maintain teachers' level of English.
Group sizes and Class Equipment were pretty usual for in-company classes. There were 8 people in each group, the level of their English varied but at least there were on good terms with each other :) I already wrote about the situation with equipment in the second part. It was a little bit better here, but some rooms got unbelievably cold in winter and there was nothing we could do about it.
Course Requirements. The course consisted of 120 academic hours, teachers were suggested to cover the book which we did quite easily (for me it means, that this number was well though out). The company and the school required quite a lot of paperwork done every month. It was to be filled out and sent on particular dates. I think now it is pretty standard procedure for this type of classes, but show me a teacher who enjoys filling out excel squares? :)
Employment Status. I was not employed officially. It was an option in case you take more classes on. However, the usual perks (coverage of sick leaves and holidays) were not included.
Atmosphere. The thing I liked the most in this school is director's desire for teachers to be a part of a team. She encouraged us to get to know each other, organised different team-building events and found ways to bring us together at any occasion. The staff, which consisted of 3 people, were always very nice and helpful, I felt I could ask for advice or favour from any of them. For example, if my company didn't have some equipment I didn't have to deal with it myself, I could just tell the manager about this problem and she would contact the company and sort it out. I think, director's personality and attitude to her company (teachers' included) made work there so comfortable and enjoyable for me. I still have the deepest respect for her and her work and if I ever decide to set up my own school I would follow her example in many parts.
The end.
No comments:
Post a Comment