Sarah
- 2013-06-27
The staff at English First (not like most schools here in Moscow) are all very experienced teachers. I was overjoyed when all teachers responded positively to the workshop I conducted two weeks ago. Workshops are provided on weekly basis at the corporate office and all native and non native teachers meet almost every other weekend and we share ideas on classroom management and communicate language teaching. I just wanted to point that out as this is not found in many schools around here. Sarah.
Crap School Spotter
- 2011-06-07
EF is bad everywhere. As for working in the Russian Federation, I have done that. Its a great ride with the right business. Otherwise it is very expensive for one thing, and there is a lot of corruption among police on the streets, etc. Housing is not so great unless your company provides it and it is of western standards or similar to a diplomatic housing situation or an ex-pat MNC housing assignment. The Russian Federation is a great experience, but you don't go there to work for EF. That wold be like sending someone into the USA to do a home stay in a crack house in Detroit in the middle of the winter.
mona rodrigues
- 2011-06-04
Hello,
My son, who is teaching in Romania, has just been offered a position in Moscow at English First. I have read the blog post Can you give me more information about your experiences at EF in Moscow. Particularly, do you have any contacts I could correspond with who would provide more information? I really appreciate any help you can give me. We are advising our son long distance. He is doing his own research in Romania, we are researching here. Russia is such an unknown entity. I understand that the EF schools are franchises. Is your experience that there are good and bad sites? Do you know anyone who had a good experience? Any additional information is appreciated.
Thank you,
Mona Rodrigues
Ritch Duncan
- 2011-04-15
I know Ivor G[edited], aka "grovelling weasel". He has climbed the corporate ladder very quickly in the 4 years he has been with the company now for 4 years. The package you will be "offered" will be nothing like that of reality, and nor will you receive any reimbursement of fees which they promise to pay. They in fact "docked" the fees that they were responsible for from off the salary of a teacher. Its a very heavy atmosphere in the office which is created by the younger and less able who are not even qualified.
This is a rogue school. These facts are not made up, and there have been numerous complaints regarding this school and how it is run. There are people there who say they are managers, yet all day, to justify their existence, they come in and play computer games on their consoles from the time they come in until the time they leave. If I was a boss of this company, this is where I would be beginning to look when deciding to make cuts and get rid of dead wood.
Because bribery is rife, there are many that work there, but not for the company, but for themselves and what ever front they are using in the laundering of the money of others.
This is a dangerous place, its not a pleasant environment, and it has just got bad in the past 4 years, and the turn over is very high, the people that are coming are just not up to it, or they cant hack the shit the company deals out.
Ivor G[edited] has robbed folk and stuck what he robbed from them in his own pocket. This is the face that EF just doesn't want the public to see, as it is a business that has the interests of no one at heart but the company itself. This is typical, not only of EF, but that of Russian business. But, G[edited] still has the authorities in Europe to negotiate, and they wont be paid off like they are in Russia.
I have to go and give my jeans the once yearly wash now, as they havent seen the inside of a washing machine since the day they left the factory, but Ivor says he doesnt mind, just so long as we turn up and are ready to make money for the compnay, quality doesnt count anymore in EF.