SIASjon
- 2013-02-22
Well, I think the review by “Englishman79” is very opinionated and kinda malicious to an extent.
I have a few friends working there and they do seem to be pretty happy with things. The school does have a pretty good reputation among foreigners in the city, better than most other ones I think. Ok, so why I am not there then? – I have no interest in teaching kids or teenagers! Plus there are way more school holidays to enjoy at public universities!
The fact of the matter is a lot people who post reviews here are those disgruntled former employees - usually those who came to China for “second lives”… I think the story here is rather one-sided, and I did hear about the story of a troublemaker who made quite a scene at the school, even in front of the students, when his contract was not extended in summer 2012 and he had a trouble getting a visa at his new employer who does not have a proper license to hire foreigners…
Rather than believing anyone, I would suggest anyone who just got a job offer from any school to ask to speak to a couple of its current teachers to get a truly balanced view.
San Migs
- 2012-07-24
Zhengzhou is a wonderful city
Are you really sure of that? Because I have heard from others who have taught there, and even other chinese people themselves, that it is not so good a place.
I went to Nanchang to know that I don't like it, don't need to go there or hear more, to make that place worthwhile.
English First Zhengzhou is a terrible place to work. The bosses are the most untrustworthy people I've ever met. If you're considering coming to Zhengzhou to teach at EF, I would highly recommend against it. Zhengzhou is a wonderful city and there are dozens of English Training schools in the city, as a result there are hundreds of experienced ESOL teachers here. However, EF Zhengzhou has to rely on overseas recruiting due to the horrible reputation it has here for abusing and lying to employees.
The Bosses at EFZZ are the reason people from Henan pr. have a reputation as cheats, swindlers and liars throughout the whole of China. They will not think twice about screwing over each other and especially foreigners. They are known to promise you thing, and then fail to deliver. They claim a competitive salary, what they don't tell you is that every other school in the city pays as much, if not more than EFZZ, while having a much lighter workload. They claim to have a competitive bonus system, which translated means that they give extra money each quarter to the teacher they like the most. They are known for violating Chinese labor laws as they see fit, as most foreigners are ignorant of the fact that they're protected by these laws as long as they have a legal visa. They will deduct money from your pay as they see fit, with only the most vague explanations. "Your landlord says you damaged the apartment."
EF is a franchise school, which makes it a business first and foremost. It's main goal is to make money. That means your job is a salesman first and a teacher second. The second you stop making them money, they will toss you aside for the next pretty white face that walks in the door, ignorant of the way things work.