This is a joint foundation both by the Jordanian and the German government and is recognized university in Jordan. Funding comes from both the Jordanian government from several organizations related to either German Federal or Federal State government of Sachsen-Anhalt. They claim to have the largest German language Centre worldwide, and they may also teach English (not quite sure).

Currently, they are advertising German language teaching jobs but in their job ads they do not state any salary and when you ask them, they tell you you will be told in the interview. They also claim to pay a “competitive” salary for a 21 hours of classes weekly plus other additional work like faculty meetings. Salary ranges may also depend on qualification and work assignment of the candidate but they refuse to state exactly what this salary range may be. Another point is that in most Arab countries, there is a delay of your first salary payment of about 3 months. That means that in the worst case you may be paid your first salary only after three month from your first day of appointment. When asked, they also refuse to provide exact information. Their partner organization in Germany confirmed this delay to be the case, and when this was posted on an internet board, the employer’s representative simply claimed this information (given by the German partner office of GJU) to be wrong without exact supporting facts when the first salary would actually be paid.

The obvious reason is that they want to get foreign teachers in the door by all means. When checking with the German partner office I was told the basic salary range to be by a total of an approximate equivalent of 1500 Euros, and this is definitely not a “competitive salary” considering the weekly teaching load plus other work and living expenses for a foreigner in Jordan. An unskilled worker in Continental Europe already gets the same amount while having lower qualifications and lower living expenses than a foreign teacher in Jordan.

The German guy who has placed the job ad is a certain Michael de Jong and is the DOS of the Language Centre at that school. He is a real bully and will try to defame you when you insist on precise information regarding salary. Beware of that guy, you will have to deal with him when you go there to work. He will tell you all kinds of things and promise them to you to get you in the door and will let you down after you have come.You can’t trust such people abroad, therefore give this place a big miss and look somewhere else!

I actually was his target of defamation in an internet forum a couple of days ago, when I was trying to inform some unsuspecting newbies about the potential pitfalls. I myself have no personal interest in this position as practical German language teaching is NOT my cup of tea! Again, the best thing is to avoid this guy and his school, you probably won't be happy there because of him!