Ex Harry's English Teacher
- 2010-05-19
Please DO NOT accept a job working for Harry's English in Nanjing. I worked for them for 2.5 months within a multinational automotive company. I produced 30 hours of excellent materials, engaged the students, arrived early and never complained about the low salary they were offering. After 2.5 months I had to return to England due to a serious heart complaint and Owen refused to pay me for any of the hours I had taught.
In fact, I am out of pocket due to the taxis I had to pay for which Owen is also refusing to pay back.
Owen cannot be trusted to treat his staff with any respect and Kathy has obviously learned a lot from him.
Please do not work for these [edited]; your experience will not be a positive one.
Thank you.
Theo
- 2009-02-21
Hi, Neville! I'm not familiar with World English, but very familiar with almost every English training center in Nanjing. By any chance might you be referring to Global Village English? If so, they are rather disorganized, pay lower wages than competitors, and when I interviewed with them (twice) they seemed to be on the verge of collapse. When I first arrived in Nanjing in 2003, average training center salary for full time foreign instructors (from USA, UK, Canada, Australia) was 8000RMB per month, plus an apartment. Later on, salries went up to 9000RMB per month with no house, but monthly house allowance (usually around 1200RMB per month). By 2007, salaries in most training centers had dropped to 6000-6500RMB per month, but for the same number of teaching hours, or more. There is much to like about Nanjing, but based on my five years' experience there, English teaching work there is not recommended. The ESL industry is very unstable and fraught with deception and exploitation.
Neville Wilson
- 2009-02-19
hi actually i am looking for information about world english school in Nanjing
if you know anyone working there could you forward an email address or do you know of the school thanks in advance
philly freedom
- 2007-07-31
Harry's International English has a HORRIBLE reputation among FTs in Nanjing. Every encounter I've had with Owen has been loaded with deceit. They care nothing about their foreign teachers and view them only as a source of income for the school.
And the previous poster is right: Harry's (like numerous other schools in Nanjing) will use foreign students in Nanjing as teachers because they will often accept lower wages and won't complain about unreasonable / unethical working conditions (because they know they are working illegally). If legit FTs try and warn others about Owen and his terrible methods he will try and destroy their reputation as well.
Thanks for sounding the alarm!
Another USA teacher
- 2007-07-31
In July, 2007, Harry's International English hosted a summer camp in various areas outside Shanghai and Nanjing, including one in Taixing.
The contract stipulated that the camp would last 15 days, and local transportation would be provided. Fifteen days means that teachers work for two full weeks, with a weekend off. At least the contract stated we'd get time off.
After teachers arrived, the local manager, Owen, informed people that all would teach 15 days without a day off. Working for fifteen days means teachers are actually working three full working weeks on my calculator.
More to come: we were then told that everyone would walk to and from school four times a day. The weather exceeded 100 degrees farenheit throughout the duration of the camp, so a ten to fifteen minute walk was hot, to say the least.
On another note, Harry's International mass photocopied all the copyright protected Cutting Edge material, without obtaining permission from Pearson Educational Publishing. I attest that just because other people do it doesn't make it right.
A few of the "teachers" were actually university students here on student visas.
It seems that Harry's International goes for the fast money and skips rope over ethics. I'd advise any and all actual educators to steer clear of this organization.
BEWARE the posting for Harry's International English in Nanjing. It is a New Zealand-based company. They boast they are leaders in corporate English training, but they NEVER supplied me with teaching material. When I was a full-time teacher for them, I developed all my lessons myself. They also offer an apartment to teachers, and I believe this was true for teachers before me, but I was not provided an apartment, and was never offered one. The primary reason for writing this message is to warn other foreign teachers that while the owner in New Zealand is a good guy (although I never met him), the company manager in Nanjing, Nancy Wang, is a nightmare! She can't speak or write English and has NO UNDERSTANDING of English teaching or how to have professional, or ethical relationships with foreigners. When I resigned from Harry's International English, according to the specific terms of my contract, she later refused to pay me for some days on my contract citing (in her words): "Be the manager, I can decide to this." This event occurred after I had continued teaching for them for another month after giving full notice of resignation. The salary was paid only after I informed the company owner in New Zealand. I advise foreign teachers to avoid working for Harry's International English as long as Nancy Wang is the manager. While working for Harry's, I was the only full tyime teacher. It seems they only can keep one teacher (at best) at a time.