As for teaching there, one should avoid it especially if you are an American. The owner scapegoats foreigners for any and all problems, bad mouths them to the Mexican teachers behind their backs and generally wishes she didn’t have to deal with them but has to because she advertises foreign teachers.

The most unprofessional aspects of this school is overcrowded classrooms the owner’s scolding of teachers in front of students, their parents and other teachers. She has no control over her emotional rages which can last up to 30 or 40 minutes. Students, secretaries and other teachers are ordered to spy on you and you are called before the owner for a tongue lashing for even minor offenses. It’s not a pleasant place at all for foreign teachers to work and I’ve never heard of one renewing their contract or coming to the owners defense.

Hess’s teaching materials are very rigid and don’t allow for any deviation in terms of how you teach, also the materials are uninspired and don’t allow the children to see what they’re learning in a greater context, at the end of the Hess curriculum the children I came across could barely read, write or speak English with any fluency, even after about 8 years of ‘learning’ with Hess, for example I did a telephone test with some students who were at the end of the Hess curriculum and they couldn’t understand even simple questions.

Overall I was not impressed with Hess’s conduct towards me, they provided little support, they were quite critical right from the start, they didn’t provide me with any feedback on my teaching for several months and their training was pathetic, also I felt that their follow up TEFL trainings were less about training us and more about getting feedback on their materials and getting our ideas for games etc so that they could correct them and use our ideas to make their materials better, they didn’t care too much about making us better teachers, also their TEFL isn’t worth anything as it isn’t accredited by anyone, it’s just a ploy to get teachers to sign up with them.

I do have to say that I agree about their clever marketing, most of their videos on the web are very cleverly executed to draw you in and make you think they’re a reputable and trustworthy organization, but lets face it, they blatantly flout the law here, they have an incredibly high turnover rate not only for the native speakers but also for Taiwanese staff members too, overall not a great company.

If you see comments on websites like this one where ’someone’ is bleating on about how good Hess are and how they offer a TEFL, start up loan and about how helpful they are, be aware that they have people whose job it is to write that stuff, you’ll see it on their website and you see it all over the place where their organization is mentioned, it’s to try and keep their image sweet so that they can hire as many teachers as they possibly can because they have such a high turnover, which makes you think that perhaps if they treated their staff better and paid them better then they wouldn’t have such a high turnover.

Also be aware that they’ll expect you to work 40 hours for 20 hours pay and they won’t pay you for national holidays, so be prepared to be very tired and run down and to have very little cash over Chinese New Year, and if you’re sick don’t expect any support, financial or otherwise because they just won’t give a damn.

I would say that if you’re going to come to Taiwan to teach English that Hess might not be the best place to go, I think the best thing to do would be to come over on an extended visa and look for a good job as Hess cannot be trusted, also if you’re not ‘white’ then Hess may not hire you or pass you through their initial training programme, because if they have their teacher quota for that period in time then they’d rather have a ‘white’ face in the classroom and in front of the parents, if you’re from a different ethnic background they’ll most likely wait-list you.

One more point I’d like to make with regards to their initial training, it’s really short and pathetic (you don’t get much useful information) and if you don’t ‘pass’ it then they’ll say tough luck we’re revoking our offer of employment, generally that revocation could be if they don’t like the look of you or for any reason really (and that’s after you’ve paid for your plane ticket).

Do your research and shop around for a job in Taiwan as there are much better prospects than Hess out there.

The contract you sign with them is a worthless, as they will interpret it however they see fit. Danny Kim will not help you at all if you have any trouble with contract interpretations, he only cares about recruiting for the company. While working for YBM ECC, I was put in a deteriorated old bomb shelter for an apartment that I had to share with a roommate. The heat did not work during winter(which was very very cold), so the company gave us 3 heat fans to use. Our electric bill was over $500 for 1 month, which the company wanted us to pay for. We paid that bill and asked to be moved to an apartment with a heater. The company refused and we were forced to either freeze or pay $500/month heating bills.

Another incident- Some kind of construction crew showed up to our apartment on Christmas Eve to dig up the floor and replace the heat pipes. This was done without notice, 3 hours before we had a party planned for Christmas.

Another time the head teacher and director showed up at my apartment after I called in sick to make sure I wasn’t lying. I had just walked out of the shower and they had let themselves in to my apartment.

While not all schools are like the one I mentioned, there is no point taking the risk with YBM. The only reason most people choose them is because of the “reliable” promise, but that is their way of paying less money to teachers. Read others statements if you think I am the only teacher who has had a bad experience working with YBM ECC.

Bottom line, YBM ECC does not respect you as an employee, you are merely a commodity. YBM ECC is a big company, so they have lots of schools and spots to fill. They don’t take the time to screen/inspect schools that have the YBM name. In Korea, teachers are always in demand. Especially now that the won has lost some value. You will have no trouble finding a job that pays better for working less.

If you do decide to work for YBM ECC I strongly advise asking about working hours(including prep hours). I specifically remember Danny Kim promising me a certain amount of hours of work “Oh yes, we pay less, but you will be safe and you work less than other teachers”, which is BS. They tell you classroom hours not the 2 hours prep time they require each day. And please, ask to see a photo of the apartment they provide.

I have taught in bad schools, that paid late or charged extra fees. This is not one of them! There have been times when I was charged for something I did not agree with or was unsure about. These discrepancies were always rectified in a timely matter. As long as you are patient and sane the school is very good about listening to your concerns and fixing any problems you may have.

The teachers are kind, the children are wonderful, the curriculum is great and the school itself is in a good safe location. I really enjoy teaching in the international department and if it were not for the health of my parents and other personal reasons; I would certainly stay another year or two. If I ever come back to China to teach again I would love the opportunity to return to this school. I would be lying if I said that I never had issues at the school but all of the problems that I had were few and far between. Furthermore all were with individuals not with the school itself. One such problem was even with a foreign teacher who thankfully left the school last week.

I would strongly suggest ,to anyone interested in teaching not only at SFLS but at any school in China, that all post be taken with a grain of salt… even this one. I think the best thing to do when looking at a school is to appraise the overall reputation of the institution and ask to speak to a foreign teacher at the school. That is what I did when I was deciding on a school and I feel that by talking to a foreign teacher I got an honest depiction of SFLS.

-Amanda
Suzhou Foreign Language School

This “Marie-Stephanie de la Garde” is actually (I’m 99% certain, who can ever know for sure on the anonymous internet?) a large, late 50s, bald fat man who just left our school when his many, MANY temper tantrums didn’t go his way. The “Stefani” he is trying to pretend to be actually doesn’t have as good mastery of English as this one does (well . . . you know). She’s the one who posted on Dec 1st, 2008. Compare the syntax of both posts and you’ll see what I mean. Personally, I am not anti-female. I have 4 other foreign, female co-teachers in my department that I think are just swell, thanks. Also, many hard-working, kind, and quite patient female Chinese teachers as well who all seemingly get along fine with me and I with them.

Hearing that the remaining five teachers in our department are running away is simply untrue. One has not renewed her contract for her own reasons; the other three (including myself) have already re-signed happily. And, if this “Marie-Stephanie” “heard” that teachers were fleeing the school, how did she hear of this all the way down in Singapore? A conundrum to be sure.

I will repeat myself: Suzhou Foreign Language School is a fine school to work with. They treat their responsible, mature, professional teachers with a great deal of respect and good benefits. They are not a perfect school; show me one that is. But I know they are always trying very hard.

About my pay: I get paid regularly, on-time, every time. I am never shorted or over-taxed or what-not. I renegotiate my contract each year and they are always more than generous. Why? Because I actually WORK for these people. I come in on time every day and don’t treat my superiors and colleagues as if they are ignorant. I give them the respect that they give to me.

Because of “Marie-Stephanie’s” inability to teach his 1st grade charges effectively (and thus quitting 5 weeks before the end of the term in a huff), I and other teachers have taken over his class. These kids are sweet, adorable, funny, and creative. Sadly, due to ineffectual teaching, they are a bit behind on the curve when it comes to academic development. His final proclamation before he left was “All my kids are at a 3rd grade reading level thanks to me and my extra efforts.” He’s a legend in his own mind at least. They are coming along at a somewhat normal 1st grade pace and we’ll get them to some sort of ending by late June, but their 2nd grade teachers will have to overcome some teaching deficiencies at the beginning of next term to bring them up to speed. It’s do-able, just a bit more challenging.

This site seems to have become a dumping ground for any teacher that has come to our school and simply can’t handle the workload. As long as they come to complain dishonestly, I’ll be here to defend my school, myself, and my fellow professionals. Thank you for taking the time to read my rebuttal.

The students are great! The people in Tuxtla are very hospitable, but Canadian Center is a very difficult place to work.

Much of what ‘Aronson’ says is correct. First, the schedule looks similar to this:
7-9 (or) 9-11 am and 2 classes at night: 5-7 and 7-9pm Mon-Fri. (that’s 6 hours 5 days a week = 30 hours), and you will have a class on Sat. from 9-1(4 more hours), which brings that total hours to: 34 hours (Marie isn’t intimate with this schedule as she is not a full time English Teacher). The hours don’t include; time to plan your classes, grade tests, or the time-consuming task of filling out evaluations on all students every two months. You will have very little time to do anything else besides teach.

The director expressed to me that the teachers who are unhappy with not being able to experience and explore because of the demanding schedule and low pay are not dedicated to the job, and are there for the wrong reasons. So, if you are looking for a place to work that affords you personal time to learn the language, experience the culture, and possibly site-see, then Canadian Center would not be an ideal fit for you.

In addition, Canadian Center even has a bad reputation in Tuxtla because of how they treat their instructors. You can expect to be verbally and mentally demeaned for the smallest infraction. And as stated in other reviews, Canadian Center is never in the fault for any challenges that may arise. There is no team at Canadian Center, you’ll be treated as the help, and not as a professional. There is little or no support from the administration. There is a persistent feeling that someone is looking over your shoulder. Much of the staff feels the air of intimidation passed down from the director.

The pay is very low; in fact, you are barely paid enough to get by. Your Visa will only allow you to work at Canadian Center; you cannot take on other jobs to make more money. Not that you would have any time to do that anyway. . .

The apartment that they set you up with is not a requirement, as Marie pointed out. It is more expensive, but it is close to work, safe, and has hot water.

All in all, the students are the sweetest people on the planet. And despite the long hours, and low pay Canadian Center would be a workable place if it weren’t for the harsh treatment that one receives there.