This is an internet based Aston English School review. Detailed information about Aston English School in China is needed by teachers around the world. Aston English School is a Language Institute in China and it’s in need of ratings. Ratings and comments will help other teachers learn more about Aston English School. If someone was interested in teaching in China, would this school be a good place to start? Is Aston English School a great place to work or is it in need of improvement?
Name of School: Aston English School
| City: | Country: |
| China | |
| Admin Contact: | Admin Contact Email: |
| Type: | Site Admin Notes: |
| Language Institute |
Overall Quick Rating: 
(164 votes, average: 3.98 out of 5)
Loading ...
Ratings are good for teachers who are new to Teaching English as a Foreign Language or teachers who are interested in international travel. Good international teaching jobs can be difficult to find so these school reviews can help you find find success with a great international teaching job that allows you to enjoy international travel to exciting international destinations. TEFL School Reviews should be your first stop after you finish your TEFL certificate course.
Rating a school is simple. You can quickly rate any school overall on a scale of 1 to 5 using our quick rating. If you would like to leave more indepth ratings, then please comment. In your comment, please provide more information about your experiences at Aston English School.
Please rate Aston English School in China on your personal experiences with this Language Institute.
The comments and rating about this Language Institute give you an idea about what others are saying about Aston English School in China. Please rate Aston English School in China only one time, no matter how good or bad they are. If they really are very good or very bad, leave a comment with specifics.
It’s best not to use these ratings and comments as anything but a rough guide. TEFL School Reviews is not responsible for any actions resulting from use or misuse of this information and the ratings and comments may or may not reflect the opinions of TEFL School Reviews.
We all have a brain and we know that we shouldn’t believe or not not believe something just because it’s on the internet. Use a bit of common sense, anyone can make a rating or a comment. For more information, check out the site disclaimer.
Please submit any specific comments you have about Aston English School in China using the form below.
I had a terrible experience with this school. Numerous contract violations including being shanked on the end-of-contract benefits.
A “1″ is too good for these people.
I have been directly working with Aston English School for the past 2 years. During the first two years I lived and worked in Xian Aston English School. Currently I’ve moved on to another city to help establish regional support for the smaller schools that require more centralized support.
The school system as a whole has had problems in the past and are taking great strides to correct these problems. I read lots of comments on websites talking about how the school system is lacking and have yet to actually read any comments that bring up ideas on how to change the school’s policies.
One of the main reasons why most people enjoy working with Aston English School is the freedom you receive personally and professionally. If there is something wrong in the school plan a solution and get it fixed. In the past (more than 2 years ago) the schools did not listen to foreign ideas and solutions but now things are changing. Lots of things have happened to myself in the last 2 years and the school (in Xian) has evolved into a much better environment.
I will admit that when I first arrived in Xian I was not impressed by the school. Since I received sub-par treatment I made sure that other people did not feel the way that I did when arriving in a new and strange place.
When compared to other schools, Aston is working the hardest to make things right for the foreign and Chinese staff members. Please feel free to check out the website and see the changes the school has undergone.
I had a hard time working for this school when I was in China. I would not recommended at all. They can get away with it in China but not back in the States.
I also had a terrible experience with ASTON.
Aston deserves all the terrible reviews it can get. I had so many contract violations and visa troubles throughout my six months there. There’s no one I hate badly enough to recommend working at this school.
Just to give you an idea, the “headmaster” messed up a fellow teacher’s visa, then made him lie to the police and say that he couldn’t sort the visa in time because he broke his leg. He bought some fake medical papers off the black market and made him limp around the police station.
I worked at Aston for 1 1/2 years. While I loved teaching and got along great with my co-workers (other foreign teachers and the Chinese teachers), we also had a lot of trouble with the headmaster of that particular school. We were expected to be “on-call” for promotional events and were asked to not use our vacation time until the end of the term. Also, if the parents wanted the student to be placed in a higher level (even against the teachers’ advisement), a quick call to the headmaster would let the student be placed in which ever level the parents wanted. So you’d have students in a intermediate level who only had beginner skills. Finally, the headmaster and his assistant were very disrespectful to the entire staff (foreigners and Chinese); I myself was degraded and cussed at in Chinese WHILE teaching a class of 10 year-olds and in front of their parents.
IF you do ever find yourself in a situation where you’re being bullied by a school, don’t be afraid to stand up to the school. Contact someone in Aston outside of your school and they’ll try to help your situation (our school had success with this). If that doesn’t work, then just take yourself elsewhere. They need you more than you need them (they don’t own your visa as much as they’d like you to believe) and there are plenty of other schools out there where you can go instead.
Many of my former co-workers transferred to different cities and had a much better experience with that school and headmaster. The experience of teaching is really great; but with Aston, your relationship with the headmaster and your supervisor really varies from school to school.
I had a mixed time with Aston, one of the advantages you get is that your line manager is always a foreigner however this doesnt account for the fact it is a franchise school and poor local management can really mess you up. Theres horror stories with Aston and people who have had amazing times, some of their local managers do not have a clue what theyre doing and some schools are well established and their teachers will swear by them so just research the specific one. Astons central recruitment should put you in touch with the specific school before you go there and the location managers should have no problem giving you contact details for past teachers, if they do you know there is a problem.
Any comments on the school in Da Lian?
Well I’ll be damded,cant anyone say something nice about Aston?I can,but not much,and I would stay well clear of Aston in Lianyungang,its a graveyard for the foriegn teachers,I was there a year,had a wonderful time with everyone except the owner and the family.I thought is it me,but nooooo,everyone i know has had some,not one bad experience there.They end up being trashed by the boss,and I mean really bad things said about you,and you end up blacklisted by the whole company,but hey there are far better contracts out there.Worked in Changchun as well,good experience,but not many permanent teachers were happy there
Hey Andrew! Are you the kiwi fellow I worked with in Lianyungang? Yeah, that place was a nightmare, specifically the owner’s family: specifically Mrs. He, the owner/Chinese manager who was an absolute skinflint, always scheming against her staff (both Chinese and foreign), and generally made my stay there less enjoyable. Example: the teacher’s lounge went without any air-con during some of the hottest months of late spring/summer, but was quickly fixed up before one of Aston’s head honchos came down for an inspection (due to Andrew calling in to let them know things were getting to a breaking point in LYG Aston). I definitely second whoever suggested calling in Aston’s top people if you get in trouble with a troublesome franchisee/owner; I know it saved my bacon.
Later I went on to manage in Chongqing. At Aston they always seem to be hurting for management, so basically if you stay there more than a year and end up in the right spot, you’ll be promoted. But depending on where you are, you’ll probably receive nothing substantive in the way of support or training. If you already know how to manage well and a self-starter, that’s not necessarily a bad thing… but if you are a self-starter, you might also run afoul of a Chinese co-manager who doesn’t want you to be anything but a foreign face to call on for promotional activities. I was put in both positions during that year and a half: first very inexperienced paired with a Chinese co-manager who didn’t want to do anything/be responsible for anything; later having my suggestions hard earned through many trial-and-error mistakes ignored… finally spent the last 6-month term floating along as just another foreign face for promotional activities planned by a succession of short-lived Chinese managers.
The school/city/teacher’s apartments were really nice (especially after LYG), so as others have mentioned, which location/local owner you end up with makes a huge difference when working for this company, as with most in China.
My over-all impression of Aston is that they mean well, but the company has gone through a huge growth spurt, and the organization and professionalism hasn’t really caught up yet–witness the shoddy graphics/design of their teaching materials (one of their adult books had to be republished because some of the material was just copy/pasted from the Microsoft website, apparently). It just makes it impossible to compare the experience to be had between well-developed schools like those in Dalian, Jinan, or Xian, with some of the horrid little franchised schools elsewhere–Lianyungang, Baoji, and Xingping come particularly to mind as places with a lot of teacher complaints due to Chinese managers from hell and extremely boring locations.
So, to finish this long rant/review, Aston isn’t wholly a bad place for newbie teachers to start off their adventure in China. Unlike many Chinese English training schools, at least there *is* a western command structure that is sympathetic to teacher problems due to the local management. If you know exactly what your contract means and don’t hesitate to defend yourself in logical terms based on that contract, calling on Aston HQ (or threatening to do so) if necessary, you can survive even the worst local managers Aston has to offer–but if you’ve been in China for longer than a year, you can do much, much better. Better yet, only agree to a 6-month contract to start off, and try to insist on going to (a)Dalian, (b)Jinan, (c) Xian, (d) Yinchuan, or (e) Chengdu. Those are the schools I’ve actually *gasp* heard good things about, in reasonably interesting cities. I’d say go for Chongqing, but for all that it’s a nice exciting city to live in, I don’t think the school there will last very much longer unless the investors want a permanent sinkhole for their money.
I am currently working for Aston English in Chengdu.ld you like to know about this school and my experience?
I am currently working for Aston English in Chengdu. Would you like to know about this school and my experience in Aston?
some of the Chinese managers can be hard to get along with but in general they treat you fairly well. The bad ones are the franchised schools but the company run ones are good. Most teachers I know who had problems never knew they could complain up the line to headoffice HR. HR are really good, just not enough people go to them. People i know who went to HO did really well out of it. In general as long as you keep in mind you are in a developing country, Aston is a great safe place to work in.
If you go to a corporate school you’ll be just fine. They treat you right and most of the time the school is so well known you dont have to pass out fliers.
The franchised school however, avoid like the plague. They try to treat you like the Chinese staff whenever possible. But if anything does happen, just contact HR through corporate and they will get things done for you. But you will have to contact them at least once a month if not more.
I heard some bad reviews about this school.
I had a terrific time working at my Aston School. I also found that most teachers at my school were very happy with their employment. I do realize not everyone has had a good experience, but I really think that is a minority based on my experience. I would certainly recommend them as a starter school in China.
Could posters in the future please elaborate on WHICH school they worked in? I understand that Aston is a franchise, and that each franchised school differs in degree of awfulness. However, it would be nice to know which locations were decent or nice.
Hey guys , My name is Tommy Young, I think we need to be fair, every company in this world has problems. People give comments on others based on their experience. I feel sorry for those people who had bad experience in Aston. Frankly speaking, Aston is not as bad as what those people described above, right , shit happens, I have been working for this company for quite a while and many people have too.
Those people above when you were writing your comments about Aston, Didn’t you have any good things to talk about? I doubt about it if you didn’t.
Anyway, just take it easy and hope everyone have a good time in Aston and in China.
aston has been great for me. plenty of opportunities to earn more money than the contract too – overtime is paid well.
Well most of these comments are very old so I guess things have gotten better. I worked in a few different Aston schools and had a great time. The training and support was good, the syllabus was relevant and the schools gave me everything I needed to teach.
Of course franchises can be different from place to place but if I had a problem my line manager would always go to bat for me and on one occasion (about an apartment problem) she went to the regional manager and he got it sorted.
Nowhere is perfect, but considering some of the schools I have worked for in Thailand and around China, Aston is definitely one I would recommend. Why? They treat you straight! You will be working with and for westerners who are all in the same boat as you.
That’s my 2 cents
I would not recommend Lianyungang Aston. This school is always on the verge of having its licence revoked because of so many teacher complaints. Aston is a great starter school and a great way to get into China but dont stay there. Just about everyone else out there offers a better contract.
I felt like there we were literary no expectations of me. Which is both good and bad. So long as the school is making money they dont care what you do, of course they also dont care what happens to you.
Be wary of this school and only go there if you know what you are getting into. The boss will totally screw you if she is in the mood to do so, or make you life great if she likes you. Either way, watch out.
Aston’s pay scheme is not acceptable.
Teachers are paid on the 15th of every month at the weekly rate agreed with the teacher (15/20/25 hours). Aston teaching takes place at the weekends (Friday evening/Saturday/Sunday (plus any week days on a 25 hour contract)). However, should five weekends fall within a given month they will not pay you more. (They used to reimburse teachers in the past).
If your base rate of pay for a 20 hour contract is 5000 RMB a month this works out at 62.5 RMB an hour. (4 X 20 = 80. 5000/80=62.5)
If a fifth weekend falls in this period though your pay drops to 50 RMB per hour. (5X20=100. 5000/100=50)
This means that by the end of your contract the company will have taken a substantial amount of money from you. This is not honest;although it is not illegal. It is exploitation and highlights the lack of respect the company shows to foreign teachers (some of whom are experienced and well educated).
I am working at Aston now and I have to say that it is improving, little by little. (I’ve been working for the school for over 2 years).
IMO, the biggest problem it has, at least in my location where the teachers are usually treated pretty well, is the awful teaching materials. I love the lower levels (from C2 through C6) but every level has serious problems!
The current C7-C10 books are a nightmare to teach. It is impossible to cover all the content in two hours a week and even if you could there is far too much for children to absorb in one weeks time. Add to this the numerous errors found throughout all the texts, the bad design, the nutty 150 yuan price tag and the fact that other schools have much better books… The books have been used for years now. They should be updated and corrected. The fact that the head office doesn’t do this shows that education isn’t a priority at Aston. It’s all about making money in the short term.
Don’t get me wrong – Making money is great! However, the school would do far better in the long term if it would spend a little money and resolve these teaching material problems.
Oh, one more thing. American English 个屁! (in other words, we don’t teach it)
I have been a TEFL teacher and trainer for 8 years and I worked for Aston for 3 1/2 years as a teacher, manager, and trainer in Jinan and Dalian. Many of my friends are TEFL teachers and have lived and taught in different countries so we have shared many stories about schools and conditions. First off, no school is perfect. If you are expecting teaching Valhalla then give it up and try something different. Second, the school is in China, with mainly Chinese managers and staff and foreign teachers. The Chinese managers are used to dealing with Chinese workers and their management “style” is very different from Western managers. This is no different if you were to work in Japan, Korea, Thailand, or any other Asian country. Asian management is…..interesting. It takes a lot of getting used to and frequently leads to miscommunications or misunderstandings between management and staff.
Franchisees will run the school as they see fit and will frequently ignore what they are being told by the national Western management. They run it how they think it should be run come hell or high water. They will try different tricks and schemes to maximize their profit, however this isn’t different from any other business. This can lead to some very annoying consequences.
However, Aston is one of the better schools to work for. I was always paid on time, had support when I needed it at school and in the community, was put up in decent places (if you’re expecting a western equivalent apartment, find a job in banking or engineering, not teaching), and worked with great people. Jinan and Dalian were awesome places to live, especially Dalian (summer beer festival!!).
Not everything was perfect, there were some mistakes, and I did get annoyed at times. This is China. It is not for everybody. If you are scared of dirt, pollution, not understanding what is going on and why, ridiculous traffic (sometimes dangerous) and want a lavish lifestyle, then look for something else.
If you are planning on going to China I would recommend Aston (Dalian, Jinan). If you are worried about poor conditions, get the contact numbers for the foreigners in the head office (easy to get) and when things go pear shaped, call them. If you want to teach and take it seriously, you’ll have a great time with Aston. If you want a vacation, are only interested in the travel side of work, don’t want to do the work, then screw off. While you may not care about English teaching, there are a number of professionals that do and they get bad reputations because of you. Our conditions suffer because managers begin to think that all teachers are wastes of space.
I just happen to work at LYG Aston. With Mrs. He as the headmaster.
The place has gotten better, but still needs a little bit more work. The only issue, for me, is that no one really tells people whats going on. Everything else is either fixed or almost fixed.
All class rooms have air con’s now. The teachers have their own “study” room. The only thing lacking are the hearters during the winter, but oh well, it was like being in public schools in America. (I was in a bad public school in America, for whom ever things this is the worst place to work I also enjoy working in China)
Also with Aston you do have the freedom other chinese schools don’t have.
Now for Mrs. He, she’s chilled out a bit. Still likes talking, but I noticed alot of westerners do that same here. Talk about things, the word is gossip. Most of it is bad and about thing people may of done in the past. So what, people are not a computer where they have to be 100% perfect. Also, don’t fall into that group when you do come to an Aston school or any school for that matter. Trust in your own judgement and not the words of some other “bitter” aston teachers.
The kids here are great, the people are great, the teachers aids are great and the headmaster is working to “be” better, just people don’t give her the chance to.
Well I hope that was a nice one….
Dont do it! I was first at Huinan and Im at Hefei now. Dont do it. Huinan, is a illegal operation. We got raided by the police and I was arrested. The other foreign teacher locked him self in a room. Hefei is ok but you have a problem there of management not knowing left from right the manager Miss Daisy, or Miss Management. Runs an English, school and can not speak English. DO NOT TEACH AT ASTON. You can contact me on gorandjukic@yahoo.com They got my paper work wrong, I was sent to Hong Kong, at my own cost. Than sent to Jinan as the Huinan office cannt do the visa, so your actually registered in Jinan, but you live in Hefei, 700km away etc
This isn’t the first time I’m writing yet my other posting have been taken down. Maybe because I name names.
Last night I was fired on the spot, as I had 2 sick days. Miss Daisy, or Miss Management. From Aston Hefei, They kicked me out of the apartment with no pay for the last month nothing.
Don’t came to China, and work for Aston. They will pay you 60rmb/ hour where its very easy to get 150rmb/hour. Come to China, have a look around. You will find a lot better than Aston.
Aston will always be a substandard school; they would not be tolerated in Europe and that is why they have inflicted themselves upon China. It is disgusting, considering the amount of money they take from the Chinese (many of whom are very hard up), that they do not offer a proper education.
All of the above posts focus on the poor experience had by Westerners in China. The Chinese students get a raw deal too because they are paying above the odds for a rubbish education. If you want to be a professional and be treated properly get some training (CELTA, Trinity Certificate) and earn your money. Playing games and repeating choral drills is not education it’s crap!
Teaching can be rewarding if you work for the right company. It should not just be a way to fund your own travelling at the expense of the poor and vulnerable.
Assessment at the school consists of marking an end of semester exam every twelve weeks. This test is made so easy (nearly a whole level lower) that no pupil can fail it. This means the school can put the child into the next level and take money from their parents.
I graded the exam properly and my class were average (not all A*). The Chinese Teacher quickly stole their grade paper and passports and wrote new grades in them which had nothing to do with the exam whatsoever.
The manager justified it by saying that they need to meet an unrealistic target to get their bonus. “It’s not a perfect system but it’s a system” he said. The same sentiment repeated all over this page. Aston managers recite this mantra over and over. The other mantra is “If you don;t like it you shouldn’t have come to China”.
It’s an interesting sentiment considering it has US owners. The guys at the top should invest some of their money into improving and vetting franchises. Stopping blaming the Chinese and get your house in order.
I’m working at Tongchuan Aston right now and I really love the people here. I feel like they do absolutely everything they can to make me feel comfortable and address my needs with teaching questions. The apartment sucks but I just mentioned it to one teacher and the next day the manager came to my house and sked me to make a list of the broken things.
I had a great experience with the trainers at Xi’an and a great experience actually working for Aston. Even though my school is a franchise school. True story. It’s pretty chill. But! They don’t really give you chinese “lessons” they just translate some stuff for you, and there was no chinese dictionary. Get yourself a chinese learning thing you’ll be thankful