unhappy LD teacher
- 2010-01-13
I too worked at Lingdong Foshan and I must say your review was pretty flattering. I had trouble with my pay, my visa and my apartment
I also was quite upset by the amount of lies they told too. The lack of comunication and management was also frustrating if you had a problem you had to email someone who is not even in the country and wait for a reply, which could take days. Also the my manager had no people skills ,her style of management was if I shout loud I am right. Another thing that got me angry was the fact they wanted to change my contract mid way through it. Also to keep them to their word in the contract was a huge fight things like the apartment and small things too.
The whole experiance left a bitter taste in my mouth. What they advertised was very diffrent to what you get. They don't tell you the first month they will not pay you the full monthly pay they will pay you per hour which is a fraction of what you would normally get paid they will also take a deposit from you which could be anything from 3000-5000rmb over 6 months (which is against the law here) also they will try make you live in the school dorm which is out at the school I worked at which is a room(kitchen livingroom and bedroom) and a WC all in the size of a prison cell. Above the school school next to a highway in the middle on an industrial area with no shops at all. If you want your own apartment you will have to pay for the deposit so you will end up paying money to work for them the first month or staying in a waste land with nothing around.
My advise to anyone who is going to work for this or any school like this is to ask for all thier policies as most of the time they are not in the contract as no-one would say yes to them
Ask about sick leave as this school was only going to give 8hrs a term I heard.
Ask about medical insurance as I heard they didn't have any for the teachers.
Ask about which months are fully paid and which aren't.
Keep your contract close by so if they try to not pay you for something or try to change it you have it.
My boyfriend and I had a horrible time at Lingdong with the management but meet some really nice people who will still keep in contact with.
Just be carefull as these kind of schools will apear nice till you get there and till there is a problem then it all falls apart.
Good luck
Anonymous
- 2009-10-27
I worked at one of the Lingdong School campuses in Foshan China. Sometimes the job was ok, sometimes it was really bad:
The good:
My Visa was processed without problems. However, I do know of Lingdong teachers who have had the opposite experience.
Im always paid on time ALTHOUGH sometimes I do have to fight for some of the hours pay that Ive earned.
Theres free Mandarin Lessons offered
The bad:
Communication: I have countless stories about communication problems at this school. The management (albeit friendly) is beyond unorganized and it affected my schedule and daily work constantly.
Youll constantly be asked to work extra hours doing promotional activities.
If you need a sick day (even if its requested in advance), you have to pay the school 160 rmb per missed hour ($23.00usd).
They tell you that youll have 16-20 class hours per week. You will definitely be working for 25 hours class hours PLUS lesson planning time which youre not paid for.
The schools website says that your apartment is within walking distance of the school. Id estimate that itd take you two hours to walk to the school from the apartment that I had (which was provided by the school)
If an appliance breaks in the schools apartment, you will have to pay for it even if its not your fault
The Lingdong contract states that they provide you with a cell phone and free local calling. They will give you a dirty, used, half-broken cell phone that can only receive calls. If you ask to have your phone fixed, they will tell you that since YOU broke the phone, you have to pay 400 rmb ($57.usd).
One of the schools campuses (Nanhai) is located in an industrial area and there are no restaurants or shopping ANYWHERE. Its impossible to catch a taxi in that area so you have to rely on the buses which only run until 7:30pm in that area. The teachers at that school are absolutely stranded.
Several of the TAs were on power trips and were nearly impossible to work with. Sometimes they were helpful but they were often bossy know-it-alls.
On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays you will probably have to work from 9:00am until 7:30pm (you will get a two-hour lunch break that's unpaid)
Your contract will say that free internet is provided. Not true
Overall, I do not recommend working for Lingdong.