A few months ago I wrote about a bad teaching experience with a school. The blog post was popular and eventually the owners from the school read it and started to send intimidating and threatening letters forcing me to pull the article (I know, sorry for being weak), It really wasn't worth going to court over such situation, I got burned by a bad language school. Nothing new in TEFL. But here below is an edited version of the post whereby direct links and names have been removed. Hopefully this will keep the dogs at bay... The original post is still out there on the Internet, cached in various places I have no control of, If your interested in reading the original.
UPDATE Aug 2011 - Original can be found here
First up:
LTS– Located in Wrocław, Kowary or possibly Gdansk owned by Hanna Ciesielska and mismanaged by Jakub Multaniak
*** Since I wrote this article I have had three emails from different teachers, all of whom complained about two things, firstly, the incompetance of LTS, JM and HC. Secondly, that the school owed them atleast one months pay. It really saddens me that this company still exists :(
UPDATE Aug 2011 - Original can be found here
BEWARE: Incompetant Fraudster and so called English teacher M is on the prowl!
Source: Do you speak Polish?
As part of my attempt to keep this blog as interesting as possible, I have decided to name and shame language schools who either take advantage of, steal from or commit any other form of work related abuse towards native teachers here in Poland.
First up:
LTS– Located in Wrocław, Kowary or possibly Gdansk owned by Hanna Ciesielska and mismanaged by Jakub Multaniak
Firstly, just look at the website: http://www.lts.net.pl/
It’s a mess, this should be enough warning to anybody looking for work in Poland.
Shit website =shit school.
Unfortunately our ‘Agent’ failed to do adequate research and was scheduled into teaching legal English at 7am in the morning for a mere 40pln. Another warning sign for the ex-teacher here, Legal English that early would normally earn you 70PLN per hour in most Polish cities. The lesson here is
DO YOUR RESEARCH before accepting offers from shady companies and quasi schools.
The last month of our ex-teacher’s work has gone completely unpaid as both JM and HC have disappeared from the face of the earth. Failing to pay the final invoice submitted to them. A typical trick from budget schools, they hope the native speaker will give up without a fight allowing them to pocket the money.
The language school’s methodology is something from the past too and catapulted into the modern age with a terrible ‘e-learning facility’ on the website. The teachers are required to perform extensive grammar and vocabulary drills which effectively comatose the students. The school probably adopts this method as the head honcho M speaks with a crossed Maltese/Scottish accent (no, I’m not making this up) so avoiding all forms of English communication in an LTS classroom probably saves M a lot of embarrassment. The methodology at LTS is like the Grammar translation method, but far more archaic, who'd have thought it possible? M has probably never heard of more modern methodologies or even the greats such as Swan, Krashen and Prabhu.
More horrors about the school? The usual bag of delights disreputable schools have to offer teachers, late cancellations with no payment, lot’s of footwork around the city moving between in company lessons all of which pay considerably lower than the Wrocław native speaker average of 60PLN per hour. And of course the school offers the obligatory, Zero organization and planning skills resulting in more or less every administrative mistake being pinned on the teacher.
Now let’s look what a translation company who co-operated with M have to say:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Do not have any cooperation with the Lord M! -After the first lack loyalty,-after the second lack of professionalism,-the third person as a man lacks any culture personal! Examples below: We gave unto the LORD M, a few orders in the previous year, they were projects oral. Always after each project Customers failed to return to us; and one of the last straight told us has communicated that Mr M ITSELF proposed cooperation on the grounds that the customer will be cheaper without EUROPEUM! -Totalny lack loyalty to payer! Subsequent request written, the project on more than 10,000 zlotys. The draft divided into several translators. Mr M course project adopted and promised to 100% quality translation below example: Minister of Interior (this was the Ministry of Interior) Mr M translated Minister interiors (concerns premises) Ministry National dementia, should be National Defence National Demence Etc, etc., etc. Lack of professionalism! All the time reiterates that is Kaszubem and therefore has the right to awanturować of their! One month ago got into our offices, forced employee EUROPEUM to transfer the request, with private accounts. As it turned out in our company was not an invoice, of which the awanturował. It published in the us on the spot! This unless you it is sufficient to decide whether it is worth work with such a person? Workers EUROPEUM Translation Centre
Difficult to follow because I used an online translator but you can view the original here:
The conclusion from Europeum? LTS and JM are dishonest and incompetent.
*Language Training Studio* ‘Total English’ in Gdansk, what can be expected from a language school that is so unoriginal it takes its name from a TEXTBOOK!
What to do next if your in this situation? Contact me for advice on how to take none payers to court here in Polska :)
*** Since I wrote this article I have had three emails from different teachers, all of whom complained about two things, firstly, the incompetance of LTS, JM and HC. Secondly, that the school owed them atleast one months pay. It really saddens me that this company still exists :(