Sources and scope
This page collects workplace experiences, questions and discussions submitted by users. Dates shown are submission dates, not periods of employment. Individual reports do not describe the entire company.
Read the community guidelinesThe schedule is flexible, but because student attendance affects income, you have to sacrifice that freedom. You often sit there doing unpaid work, and the company pays only half wages based on attendance numbers. This is not disclosed during the interview. Students may be difficult with teachers, and may cancel if you do not help them save on handout fees.
Teachers’ benefits and compensation are extremely poor. Students take leave arbitrarily, and if students do not attend, teachers do not receive class pay. When teachers or students raise issues with the company, the company or consultants pretend not to know. Consultants are performance-driven: after collecting money, they generally do not provide much support to students.
The company gives all the good cases to foreign teachers, while local teachers only get what is left over. It seems like there is racial discrimination against English teachers: even those with degrees in language teaching may earn less than foreign teachers with no training. In reality, foreign teachers are not necessarily more professional than local teachers, but the company focuses on educational background. The company does not clearly distinguish between children’s English, adult English, and other foreign-language courses, and consultants randomly assign classes to teachers. As a result, teaching lacks professionalism and quality. When you raise issues with the company, they do not seem willing to listen to or consider your concerns. Consultants usually prioritize their performance targets or students’ administrative issues, because the company’s structure does not give teachers proper respect. Teacher turnover is high because income is insufficient and unstable. Salaries are paid in the third month. You have to verify the amount every month and handle administrative work when students change times. The company is not very willing to offer students discounts or refunds, causing student attendance to be less predictable than expected and making pay fluctuate greatly. When you make suggestions to the company, it does not take them seriously. Would you still want to go?
Punctual working hours; the supervisor usually leaves the office at around 3 or 4 p.m., so it’s fairly flexible.
The company keeps claiming it has no money, even though it made a lot of money from projects—no one knows where it all went… Bonuses are delayed and unpaid; the salary for September 2021 still had not been paid by April 2022.
This applies to both business and administrative staff. Teachers’ salaries are also either delayed or cut: from 600 to 400, and later raised to 500 again because they couldn’t find anyone.
They have money to sell ginseng but no money to pay bonuses.