This is an internet based Joy Children’s Language School review. Detailed information about Joy Children’s Language School in China is needed by teachers around the world. Joy Children’s Language School is a Language Institute in China and it’s in need of ratings. Ratings and comments will help other teachers learn more about Joy Children’s Language School. If someone was interested in teaching in China, would this school be a good place to start? Is Joy Children’s Language School a great place to work or is it in need of improvement?
Name of School: Joy Children’s Language School
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Overall Quick Rating: 
(25 votes, average: 2.44 out of 5)
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Does this include their school in Harbin?
http://www.teflwatch.org/forum.....507.0.html
Especially the one in Harbin. AP reported in the Houston Chronicle this:
John Shaff, a graduate from Florida State University, said everything went according to his English-language contract at Joy Language School in the northeastern city of Harbin — until a disagreement over his office hours erupted into a shouting match on the telephone with a school official.
A few hours later, several men led by Joy’s handyman showed up at his school-provided apartment, physically threatening him and cursing him in Chinese, said Shaff, 25. About 10 minutes later, they left, and soon, so did Shaff.
“They were all men who would have been formidable to fight,” Shaff said in a telephone interview from San Francisco, where he now lives. The manager of the Joy chain did not respond to interview requests.
I must say that I also taught in Joy school in Harbin with the Mr. Shaff.The problem with many foreigners who travel to Asia is that they expect a standard contract similar to what they would get at home. What they fail to take into account is that the entire world does not work on the same basis as the USA. Sometimes you just have to suck it up. By no stretch of the imagination were we ill treated or was the contract unfair. As for the office hours argument I would counter that any employer who is willing to pay for you to fly from the USA to China( payment when you complete your contract) deserves to get a competent teacher, those who are not competent are required to come to the school early for extra help. Of course this only works if you are not hostile to the fact that you are not good enough. Trust me when I say I have been in situations in Harbin when I feel utterly embarrassed by the bile and rubbish some foreigners spew, you almost wish the ground would open and swallow them up. DO NOT COME TO CHINA IF YOU WANT TO TRY TO CHANGE IT, MAKE IT WESTERN. Stay at home if you love the west so much, if not, open yourself upto an experience that will not all be roses but you will remember it for the rest of your life, for good or for bad.
Well the point is why the hell did 2 guys show up at his apartment and get violent that is completely unacceptable, working hours are set in the contract so there shouldint be an argument if its not in the contract he doesnt have to do that, if the director is responsible for hiring chinese goons to come and rough up the teacher then he deservesw to be put in jail.
I agree that the director shouldn’t have sent anyone around to his place with the threat of violence. That was completley wrong. However I think any reasonable person would agree that if a teacher is not upto scratch then they need to put in more hours to make sure they are at an acceptable level. The contract is there to protect both sides but when you hire someone over the phone it’s hard to know what you are getting so I have to say I side with the school on this. Anyhow, each to their own I guess.
I’ve been offered a position by this school in Taichung. Has anyone heard anything about that branch?
Hi I will be working for this school in September 2008 and I can’t wait! I have never taught in China so any advice on class size, age group’s, what the school looks for in a teacher, how the curriculum works and anything else that might help me and the children have a good experience is greatly appreciated. In my contract it say’s I may also be teaching adult’s which I have never done before and am quiet nervous about! Did you also teach adults? How difficult is it? What did you teach them? What methods did you use? HELP!!!
If you are asking for advice here, did you even bother reading the other comments? This chain was singled out for its bad treatment of teachers by US newspapers. And you are asking for advice on class size?? I think that will be the least of your worries.
My experience at Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China was about as bad as they can possibly come. I would like to proffer some information which interested parents, students and teachers may find insightful. I have full legal proof of every statement I shall make, and I won’t even go into every single horrible detail, as it would take you forever to read. For privacy purposes, I am not going to mention any names of anyone at Minibees English Training Center.
我在中国广州小蜜蜂英语培训中心的工作经历非常的糟糕。我会提供一些信息给对此感兴趣的家长，学生还有教师。我有合法的证据证明我说的是真的，并且我不会说那些细小可怕的事情。因为隐私，我不会提到小蜜蜂英语培训中心的人名。
a) After signing my real contract, Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China tried to force me to sign a fake contract that they planned to submit to the Chinese Government.在签完我的合同后，小蜜蜂英语培训中心试图让我签一份假合同，他门用来交到中国的政府部门。
b) When I refused to sign the fake contract, one of the owners threatened not to submit my legal documents and paperwork to the Chinese Government. The fake contract lied about almost everything, but Minibees English Training Center’s true aim was to try to make it to where it showed that I only earned only Rmb 4,000 per month. Companies in China who hire and pay workers who earn Rmb 4,000 or less do not have to pay taxes. Neither do the people who employ them.
当我拒绝签这份假合同的时候，其中的一个老板威胁我不会把我的合法文件交到中国的政府部门。假合同上和我的合同完全不一样，但是小蜜蜂英语培训中心试图说我每个月紧收入4000元。中国的学校或公司雇佣外籍人员低于4000就可不用交税了或者少交税了。老板也就不用交税了。
c) Two of the owners of Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China lied to me three times about having processed my paperwork. They later claimed that they did so because they did not want to scare me off, as they had not renewed their license
.小蜜蜂英语培训中心的两个老板已经对我说了三次已经给我办理签证了。但是最后他们说不想让我害怕，因为他们还没有从新办理他们的执照。
d) In violation of Chinese employment law, Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China continued to employ an illegal immigrant. They told the parents that this person was from Hawaii, and this person went to school in China on a student visa while working there illegally.
违反了中国的劳动法，小蜜蜂英语培训中心继续雇佣非法移民。他们告诉家长老师来自夏威夷，但是这个老师是学生签证，非法打工，并且来自菲律宾。
e) Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China submitted a contract I never signed to the Foreign Expert Bureau Office. I never would have signed a contract that was in Chinese. The terms of that contract were different than the one in English that I had originally signed.
小蜜蜂英语培训中心提交了一个我的合同给外国专家局。我从来都不会签一个中文的合同。那个中文合同和我所签的英文和同是完全不同的。
f) Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China illegally claimed they had copyrighted material that they stole from Disney. They put that notice on several of the books they used, too. They never had any such rights to it, but this was once again a sign of their willingness to be dishonest.
小蜜蜂英语培训中心非法宣称他们有迪斯尼的材料的版权。他们也把这个信息放在了他们的几本书上。他们没有这个权利，但是他们在一次的不诚实了。
g) One of the owners of Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China would constantly yell at me if I did not shave. This unprofessional behaviour even happened in front of other staff members. My contract said nothing at all about having to shave.
小蜜蜂英语培训中心的其中一个老板不断的对我大喊如果我没有刮胡子。这种不职业的做法发生在其他员工的面前。我的合同里根本就没有写我必须要刮胡子。
h) Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China failed to deposit my pay into my bank account as my contract stated. Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China also failed to pay me any of my final month’s salary. The American owner, a male in his fourties, laughed as he said, “I hope you stay in China [to collect your pay]! They knew I would be leaving to return to my home country, so they had no qualms with illegally keeping my whole salary.
广州小蜜蜂英语培训中心没有履行像合同所说的要把工资发放到我的银行里。广州小蜜蜂英语培训中心也没有发放我最后一个月的工资。其中的一个老板是美国人并且嘲笑我说我希望能在中国等待拿你的工资。他们知道我很快就回国了，所以他们非法的保留了我一个月的工资。
Unfortunately, this is merely a partial list of horrible things that took place while I worked at Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China. I know that they lost all but one foreign staff member after the fall of 2008. They have had a very long history of losing foreign staff left and right, and most of their Chinese staff members are not there for very long, either. This alone should serve as a dire warning and cause parents and staff alike to seriously reconsider whether to work there or send their kids to Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China.
很不幸这些仅仅是小部分我工作时发生在广州小蜜蜂英语培训中心的事情。我知道在2008年下学期，只有一个老师留下来了，其余都离开了。他们有很长的历史失去他们的老师。中国的老师也不会在那里工作很久。仅这些就可以警告那些家长老师是否想要送孩子到那里学习或到那工作。
Remember that patterns tend to repeat themselves. If this partial list of unscrupulous acts is something you’re okay with in a work environment, then Minibees English Training Center in Guangzhou, China is just the place for you! Hopefully they will change and become better. I truly wish someone had warned me before I ever signed a contract there, but I found out when I was already there. By then it was far too late, and we paid a very heavy price that no one should ever have to suffer.
请记住这些还会从新发生的。如果这些事情对你来说没问题，那么就可以选择小蜜蜂英语培训中心了。希望他们能够改变或变的更好。我真诚的希望在我没有签合同时，有人能给我一些警告。但我发现这些的时候，我已经签了合同。那时已经太晚了。并且我花了高价，是任何人所没有经历的。
I have worked for Joy for 4 years and have just signed for my fifth. I worked in Harbin for 2 and a half years and now work for the same company in Shenyang. The school MAY have had some problems earlier, I am not sure, but since I have worked there, the only people who have had ANY problems are the ones who bring it on themselves. Even in those situations, level headedness and an appreciation that China ISSSS different will ensure that any problems could have been worked out in a adult way.
The company is very professionally run. There is a LOT of support for new teachers both in the teaching area and the living in China area. In Harbin, the company has a foreign teacher who’s job it is to help out in perceived problem areas and a Chinese person who further helps. The Chinese teachers at the school are always more than willing to help the foreign teachers with shopping or whatever they need. The accommodation provided is extremely comfortable. A little small for some people’s taste but the apartments are less than 3 years old and of a very high standard in a very convenient location.
As someone said above. Rememeber that you are in a foreign country and act like an ADULT. Be responsible to your school and yourself and Joy Harbin (and now Shenyang) is a GREAT place to work.. And because of the wonderful support structure, particularly if you are just starting out.
Hi There, I am planning to do my TEFL in Qingdao, China. I was hoping to find a kindergarten job and study at the same time. Is this possible? I need some information on kindergartens in Qingdao that I can contact.
Thank you
I work for this company right now. I regret it. They tried to cheat me out of pay, they tried to fine me for taking a sick day (not in my contract).
The apartment I live in was used by my boss before me. I then was given an eletricity bill for the past 3 months when I had been here for only one. When I moved it there was garbage all over the apartment (beer bottle caps under the sofa, grime built up in the sink) and to top it off there was even a load of shit in the toilet that hadn’t been flushed.
Right now they’re just starting to do the work hour thing and I’ll see how that goes, but I’ve informed them that because of how poorly they have treated me they will not get anything more out of me than what is in the contract.
I should refine what I said. When I said they tried to cheat me out of pay, I mean they tried to say that I really started work on October 11th, when in reality I started on September 24th. It took lots of arguing and involvement of different people to get them to even get them to pay me from September 27th.
I currently Work at the Joy School Branch in Ji Xi ( a small city 6 hours from Harbin) and I might say that the Principal of this school is an angel, as weird as it sound, the chinese teachers in the school are highly incompetent and ignore foreigners completely, most of the teachers of the school can’t speak English but still teaches it. The school system is good, but the biggest flaw of it, is that no classes are assigned directly to you the foreigner, so teaching 20 hours means teaching 20 different groups.
The Joy School system is flawed, if all the chinese teachers would be able to speak proper English no problem, but since they cannot, the foreigner classes are mostly there for breaking the bad habits that their teachers though them and obviously since the Chinese teachers have no interest whatsoever into learning more English or speaking to the foreigners, their English level stays at a horrible state.
On the other hand, the Principal is quite the opposite, I’ve always heard horror stories about bosses in China, But her it’s quite the Opposite, Miss Xue is there for her foreign teacher, and threat them like a precious jewel, always praising us and helping us whenever she needs. Since she is young she is always opened to new ideas to improve her school.
I’m still currently contracted with Joy School in Ji Xi, and even if life is not quite exiting in this small city, the Principal and the easy class plans makes it worth it.
I was just offered a job from them at the school in Harbin City. How is the school now?
I have worked as an English teacher at The 29th Joy English School located at Dong Hu road, Yue Xiu District 29th joy chindren english school. The school is run by sincere and dedicated school administrators. Durimg my period there, I found that it is difficult to run a school and they have done a good job. It is not easy for them to pay a high salary but their sincerity and devotion will impress you.
WOW! Sorry to hear about the problems many of you have experienced. Over the past year I have been at Joy Children’s Language School in Wu Chang (2 hours south of Harbin) and I really like the school. At the school in Wu Chang I think the curriculum is great, the Chinese teachers are wonderful, the majority of the children are respectful and precious and I am, honestly, treated like a celebrity. I would teach in Wu Chang, China for a hundred years before going back to the USA to a room full of spoiled, disrespectful children. I LOVE WU CHANG!
I have taught at two joy schools namely Dazhou and Wuxi. The Chinese bosses treat cheating foreigners as a game and it really is part of their culture that is deeply ingrained. The support was very scarce and they have no empathy whatsoever. Now I have had experience of teaching in China my next job will be better because I will am aware of their child like behavior. The pay thing can be settled by making sure you are paid in cash by the manager, once someone else is involved it lessens that chance of being cheated. Dont buy a new electric bike, mine was nicked in two weeks and I am sure the staff at the school were involved. Even though they are only 200 quid, it is the piss taking that gets to me. But believe me, Thailand schools are a lot worse!!!
DO NOT TEACH IN JOY SCHOOL JI XI, I had a great experience at first, but the end of my contract ended in a nightmare, The principal decided to go on a power trip, lowering my salary on stupid excuses, breaking the contract, adding classes for no apparent reasons,
A new foreigner will come to replace me on a F VISA, so he is in big trouble, they will screw him over, they will be sure I leave before they bring him in, because they don’t want me to tell him to get out.
You will be alone, The school is filled with animosity and people who will think you are a rapist because you are white, Fake smile to hide their disgust, you will have a lot of fun, Talking to Foreigners is forbidden by the principal, but she will deny it. She wants that the foreigners stay weak and isolated so she can ask you to do ridiculus hours, like Friday to Sunday : 20 hours of teaching. That’s too much, so stay away from Joy School, They will dupe you by saying you are their little brother, but they will try to trick you and screw you over as soon as you try to defend your case.
The school goal is to make money not to teach English. You will be their shiny new white monkey to make gullible parents think their kids will actually learn something from this shitty place.
STAY AWAY FROM JOY SCHOOL JI XI.