Working conditions: The classes are large. In some classes there are 36 children. The children are rude and they don't listen or behave in class. I had children spitting at me. As a norm children were standing on chairs and tables when I entered the classroom. They talked amongst each themselves through out my lessons. The school provided no support. If I sent a child out of the classroom to the headmaster he/she would come back a few minutes later smiling. We were not allowed to send children out of the class because this would 'disrupt their education'! With a few exceptions the classroom teachers are as rude as the children. They didn't like us and made that very clear.

Professionalism: The school dealt with five foreign ESL teachers this academic year. One teacher went through the whole 2 month visa process and decided not to come the day before she was meant to have arrived. One teacher left with in the first 2 months. The third teacher left two and a half months before the end of the contract. The teachers who left left due to the untenable circumstances the school created. (I will go into more detail about these circumstances later). One teacher remained until the end of the contract due to personal reasons. If she had had any other option she also would have left.

In amongst all of this the school tried to hire another teacher from England to replace the departed teachers. The teacher they chose had taught at the school 5 years ago and had had a positive experience. She had no reason to doubt the school's honesty or professionalism so she did not secure a written agreement before she came. Unfortunately due to the school 'misunderstanding' what the necessary qualifications are to gain a visa for a foreign teacher their new teacher was denied a visa after waiting for three months without any pay or her flight having been paid. The school had assured her that she had the necessary qualifications and that they would handle the visa process. When the school finally realised their mistake they gave the teacher only two days notice to get out of the accommodation and refused to pay for her flight to Turkey or her return flight.

Staff: the English Department staff were passive towards the Foreign ESL Teachers yet there was an underlying hostility. They like to keep things looking good on the surface but wouldn't lift a finger to help you and would not include you in any aspect of life outside school. The was a general air of hostlity emanating from the other staff members with the exception of a few. Meetings were conducted in Turkish and often nobody would translate the outcome of the meetings. If there were changes in schedual, again, often nobody informed the foreign teachers so this caused disruption and misunderstanding.

The city: The city and culture were not things that caused me many problems. There was nowhere to drink here (apart from the hilton hotel bar). The were no clubs and there were few activities to occupy yourself with other than drinking tea or coffee in the many cafes. However, these things were not high on my priority list as I went there to sample another culture and way of life - I can drink and dance at home! Anyway, there wasn't much to do there but if you don't mind a quiet life then the city wont cause you any problems.

My advice to you is not to take up employment at this school. They have had problems with foreign teachers dating back years. Looking at the precedent that has been set in the previous years things are not going to change here.