Serge
- 2013-07-07
I don't know this "Larry" fella, but I do know somebody who worked at on point in Taizhou Global. That person was now very happy in that school and stayed there more than five years (7 I think, but I'm not sure). I also know that if there was a problem, the boss of the school heeded the arguments of their foreign teachers and tried to accommodate them. Global was certainly better than my school, and even Chinese assistants from my school fled there eventually.
Toto
- 2013-02-17
Warning!
I am also an ESL teacher who used to work in China and had the misfortune to meet the [edited] Larry [edited], the infamous American from Global English.
Larry is an American from Georgia, who has been working as a FT and who IS PAID by different schools to befriend and invite foreign teachers to teach at different schools from this small town in Eastern China. He does not recommend himself as an agent however he acts like one and gets paid for it. He tries to introduce himself as a nice guy, both friendly and family man who enjoys fishing and playing poker. Larry is also [edited].
The truth is that [edited]
He is a manipulative con artist with [edited]. He actually invites you to be a teacher in his small town presenting you a paradise on earth where everyone gets rich and happy.
In reality, Larry [edited]
So if you receive a contract or a phone call from Larry [edited], just refuse it. The guy is full of scam!
Alicante Fidari
- 2012-10-21
Not a newbie worked in China nigh on 7 years, including taizhou for around 2 and a half years, so I know how things operate there thank you very much!
And airfares should be paid first, or at least refunded upon arrival. No more playing of games, end of story!
Dragonized
- 2012-10-20
You're words to the "Larry" fellow will only fall on deaf ears. One more reason to not go to China and go somewhere else. Let the exodus continue!
Larry
- 2012-10-20
Are you a NEWBIE?? Read your contract . At the END of one year employment your are paid the equivelent of a ROUND TRIP FARE. Round trip being your initial fare to the school and your fare home if you decide NOT TO RENEW. If you renew and not leave,then you just gained your FARE THERE BACK and the return fare is kinda like a FREEBIE DUH....WHY IS IT DONE THIS WAY..Because foreigners have a history of sneaking off in the middle of the night for any little thing wrong..SO ITS PAID AT THE END ,not in the begining..10 years ago when I first come here the laws were very lax on us..In the past 10 years they have been abused to the point that china laws have become increasingly more strict. Use to you could simply run down to Hong Kong and change your visa..Now you must go all the way back to your home country to do it..Am I defending the Chinese on this?? NO ..Contracts are designed to protect BOTH parties involved..If you get a bad contract it's because YOU SIGNED IT..YOU must do the research on a school..This forum is designed for us to share our experiences and warn of bad schools and of bad attitude foreigners as well..What many foreigners don't know and don't understand is that the contract you sign is NOT the contract submitted to the government to gain your expats book..The contract for that is a GOVERNMENT ISSUED CONTRACT..People,,wake up and smell the coffee..English in China is a MULTI-BILLION RMB a year BUSINESS..They been doing it a long time and and we are not GODS rolling in here and writing our own tickets..I am 60 years old and have some dissability..Can I find a job in America right now?? NO. But I make a very good living here and very content with my life here..Why do I help other schools find a teacher?? ONE REASON ONLY..In helping them I am maybe finding a good egg in the bunch to kick around with..I love fishing,a good weekend poker game,good conversation,sharing a good homecooked meal..Would I recommend someone a BAD SCHOOL to get this..NOT HARDLY..Global in Taizhou is a good school..They are legal,they have a fair contract,and they do pay well and on time..Sadly the one person that started this was not and is not THAT GOOD PERSON..But I will say again.I learned my lesson in this..YOU CAN'T HELP ANYONE THAT THINKS THEY ARE GOD..I know a lot of foreigners in this country and this is the first time my good name has been drug through the coals..And will be the last for I learned from this..I dissrespect no one and I will not be dissrespected especially by people that read something a nut wrote and and decided to stick their UNKNOWING 2 CENTS IN..What a joke this has become.
Alicante Fidari
- 2012-10-20
NO school pays for your travel to them
You are dead wrong here, and I can't agree with you,in the gulf/hong kong it is standard practice. I suppose you think an FT should put himself out many hundreds of dollars or pounds just to help you get bums on seats?
No, schools in China, SHOULD pay for the FT's flights.
Alicante Fidari
- 2012-10-20
Is this Taizhou, Jiangsu, or Taizhou, Zhejiang you are posting about. If it is the latter, others may beg to differ.....
Larry
- 2012-10-19
As the old saying goes: YOU CAN PLEASE SOME OF THE PEOPLE MOST OF THE TIME,,MOST OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME,,BUT YOU WILL NEVER PLEASE ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME. Dragon,My hopes are that one day you will run across this man and then you will see for yourself . As for Taizhou ,It is a small city ,an industrial city with around 250 plus( maybe more for I am not sure of the exact figure) foreign expats living here. As for the locals they are very friendly and go out of their way in helping a foreigner. It's a very comfortable city to live in . Great resturants and the supermarkets stock a wide variety of western foods just to accommodate the foreigners living here. As for Global, for a private school it is a very nice very clean very modern school with computers in every classroom to aid the teachers in their lessons. The staff of Chinese teachers are some of the friendliest I have ever met. The owners are kind and very trustworthy..In the 4 years I have lived in Taizhou has been the best 4 years of my 10 years living in China. Yes there are some real nightmares with schools and some cities in China but Taizhou is not one of them. I highly recommend this city and it's people to any teacher or expat looking for a comfortable place to settle down. It's a very rich city with lots of opportunitys. Please don't let this one mans sayings allow you to pass by any offers here in Taizhou.. I do thank Gary for one thing,and Dragon..They taught me a lesson to be more carefull in being nice to people. Sometimes it just not work out the way it should. As for ESL Teachers Board,Of all the sights of it's kind I think they are THE BEST .
Larry
- 2012-10-19
Oh, One other thing. For the record there are 2 Taizhou citys. One located about 3 hours north of Shang Hai which is a very small city with a bad rep. Its Taizhou, Jiangsu. I live in Taizhou, Zhejiang which is about 3 hours south of Shang Hai. Look me up if your in the area. I am easy to find,everybody knows me. Would be happy to show you around and take you fishing if you like catching 15 plus kilo Black fish.
Dragonized
- 2012-10-19
Haha nice try "Larry". This is a discussion board, not a joke board. The jokes you have made aren't funny ones, either. You made a teacher's life hell and you're coming on here and repeating the same BS that every employer who has every posted on here has made. The teacher wasn't on time, the teacher never gets paid for flights, yada yada yada. Civil Rights are something that separates places like developed countries from places like china. Now you may not know what I am talking about because it is beyond your grasp of what reality really is, but it does exist and is a fact of life. Go back to doing your monkey business and stop trying to make us laugh. FAIL!
Larry
- 2012-10-19
I am Larry. The Larry that never told this man he would be reimbursed for his travel here. NO school pays for your travel to them. He knows this and anyone working in China knows this. He was offered the standard end of contract round trip airfare that all schools offer. As far as 20,000 rmb goes he fails to mention that his wife came to nor did he mention that instead of booking flight to Shang Hai he booked to Hong Kong,screwed around there a few days, then to Shenzen a few days, then to his wifes hometown for a few days THEN FINALLY SHOWED UP IN TAIZHOU 8 DAYS LATE. Nor did he mention that upon arriving in Hong Kong on the 5th the first thing he did was post a resume here after signing a contract with Global and Global supplying his begging butt the Invitation letter to get a work visa to return to China. Nor has he mentioned that I was nice enough to pick him up at train station in my personal car,nor has he mentioned he had 2 bags shipped to my home that cost ME 60 rmb to have delivered that he never offered to give me back nor has he failed to mention that the reason he's angry is because i did not take him back to train station to leave.SORRY..I had already made plans to go do a little fishing that morning.Take a 45 rmb cab and leave people alone..Also he failed to mention Global offered to redo the contract to suit him if he would give them one little DEMO class to show what he could do..HE RREFUSED..As far as giving him 2,500 for breach of contract..In his dreams..He was given that in hopes he would just go away..As far as having secret videos of me..I HOPE HE HAS..It would just show nobody did a anything but try to help this nut..I don't even work for Global..And I am NOT a recruiter..The owners of Global are friends and my interest was hoping to bring a teacher in the area with simuilar interest and age.NOT MONEY. What a joke it turned out to be.
batata
- 2012-10-17
Don't believe everything you read on these boards....
Dragonized
- 2012-10-16
Taizhou as a city generally speaking has one of the worst reputations in china due to the crappy attitudes of locals towards expats. Complaints about the unfriendliness and lack of hospitality go back as far as 2008 on this board. What a way to "keep a tradition" :(
Warning. Do NOT reply to any job offer from an American named Larry from Taizhou in China. He sent me a job offer from Global English in Taizhou saying the school was great and the pay also. I spent 20.000 yuan to get there from England only to find the job was not as seemed. The school changed the contract and added pay clauses that nobody would agree to. Larry told me the school said they will pay my expenses but upon arrival they refused to pay anything. Larry would then back off and ignore you once he was paid by the school for getting them a teacher. He tells very tall stories that even I found unreal. This was a very expensive trip leaving me stranded in china with my wife and no job.
I should point out that one of the owners of the school called Wendy has a very bad attitude and will take out her personal problems on you.
Remember never trust this guy Larry as he is not an honest man. Anyway needing more info should email me as I took videos of Larry as proof and printed the two contracts.
On a good note, the school paid me 2500 yuan for breach of contract.
P.s Taizhou isn't the greatest place in china so think before you decide.