Hi

My name is Sarah and originally from by Manchester I now live in Turkey and work for Oxford as Academy. My boss (Armagan) was telling me about some of the negative reviews he has received on sites such as these and I couldn't help but have a nosy. I can't speak about the individual cases and why people have obviously been put out enough to copy and paste the same review on multiple sites so I thought I would just give a review about my time here...

I am not going to say that everything is perfect because life never really is but its pretty good here. My first year I worked in a really small area called Sakarya and I was so lucky to make the most wonderful friends there and really got to learn about Turkish culture. Now I am in Izmir which is a lot livelier and a lot more European and fun! The schools that we work at are pretty conservative top private schools, and with that comes a lot of support from the other teachers and a lot of invitations for dinner with the parents! When I first came here I really struggled with behaviour management (one class in particular) but its not that the children are naughty per se more enthusiastic and energetic. This has been so good for my own professional development as I really have learnt how to keep them engaged. Yet its a normal teaching job and no matter how much I adore them now sometimes they will still drive me crazy.

Turkey itself is an amazing country and there is nowhere quite like it in the world. Its like east meets west and there is this huge amalgamation of culture that is different in every single city. If you have never been here I truly recommend taking a trip to Istanbul its amazing. Where I live now is fairly close to the beach however I am not as lucky as some of my friends here who live more or less on the beach but I get Izmir city life so I am not complaining too much. If anyone has any doubts check this out http://www.buzzfeed.com/meghank212/23-reasons-to-drop-everything-and-explore-turkey-1fj6x#.lfw617o8Q

Turkish people... I dont know where to begin! They are so hospitable and will do anything for you. The culture here is so different to the UK with my neighbours last year bringing me tea and soup for a week because they had heard me coughing in the night. At the same time some things that are normal here still drive me crazy! Number one is timekeeping, if someone says meet you at 3 they probably mean 5 maybe 6. I know that this is something i just have to get used to but uggh.

Finally, and most importantly, is my company. Recently Oxford has had some bad reviews and i just want to cover some of the mains points that were raised. With regard to the visa, the schools will not employ you if you dont have your correct working visa. The rules changed this year and I dont know a lot about the new process but I do know how strict the schools are about this so i fail to believe that someone was working without one. Also salary is a huge deal for me, I admit I am rubbish with money!! I can honestly tell you if I was ever paid late or not at all I would be out of here. No question! On the occasion where I have spent up (damn my social life!) I have been able to contact Armagan and arrange to be paid earlier and he understands. If you compare the salary to your home country it is not very good at all but here its more than enough to break even. The actual cost of living here is very cheap, especially food, and most normal people would not have an issue with living on the amount that is paid. I will admit that sometimes there are issues, mine have usually been related to accommodation, but they have all been dealt with immediately.

Oxford is hiring for next year, and I implore you to fully research and read the reviews that have been given. I think although some of these are negative it will help you to gain an objective view and then if you have any further inquiries and are interested in a position please email me on sewilkinson@outlook.com. If not then I hope that you find the job you are looking for and all is well