English Plus--or should it be Minus?

[roverine]

Hi All,

This is a first for me, so I've been interested in reading what everyone has to say. I'm looking for a Japan posting so am looking for schools with a good reputation. Signing a contract with a school that turns out badly, is hell!

Recently I heard that English Plus in Gifu City is not a very good place to work. Has anyone heard anything? Apparently young Japanese staff members without any ESL teaching experience are sent to "spy" on teachers who they they evaluate. They can be very rude--power corrupts? The evaluation criteria are many and ill-thought out and it's easy for a teacher to get a poor rating, which is bad for future references.

I've heard other bad stuff. People can be fired out of hand without reason, for example. They advertise as being reputable, though; has anyone heard anything about this company?

Wondering.

[mycolumbus]

Where have you heard this bad stuff? Can you name your sources? I would be hesitant to start threads like this without supporting evidence. That way, rumours can be easily started. Not that I'm discounting your warning though...

I haven't heard anything bad about English Plus. There are a lot of good schools in Japan, far more than bad.

[roverine]

Hi,

When I posted the "heads up" about English Plus, I got the city wrong; it should be Kofu/Yamanashi.

I can't give you the name of my source because I don't have permission to do so and must respect that, but I can tell you that I have taught ESL in various colleges and schools around town in Canada and have met many people who have taught overseas. This information I picked up was passed on to me from someone who had worked there and would never do so again. They didn't feel they had been treated with respect. This teacher was not a "newbie" and is now teaching in Canada in a demanding program and doing well.

On the other side, I'm sure that schools have some very bad experiences with certain people who work for them and probably develop a jaded view. This is one of the downsides of hiring people sight unseen. Perhaps, though, the management should enlist the help of the teachers themselves when writing criteria for performance and have a solid pedagogical basis for their choices. They might also consider have "watchers" who themselves have proved they are capable teachers, and---have some manners!

I want to work in Japan, but with my post-graduate education and 25 years' experience, I would certainly want to be sure of being treated fairly and with respect, so if anyone can suggest highly reputable schools, I'm open to ideas.

Roverine