Pros
- Flexible hours: since the "compensation" is a joke, if the flexible hours and the lack of commute did not exist as a huge draw for the position of an online English instructor, I don't think anyone would sign up to work as one, especially as an independent contractor without any benefit & prob. a rather steep tax rate owed to the IRS due to the 1099 status. - I love helping students (the nice ones who really want to improve their English) gain more confidence when they speak in a foreign language. - My mentor was actually pretty decent. I was able to reach the mentor whenever I had questions during my first stage as a newbie with the company. - Almost no prep required for Group Lessons ( The company provided group lesson materials are okay. They may not be out of the world fabulous, but they are enough to get the job done) - I think the company actually tries to improve its lesson materials and other support materials for the teachers. (Does it work effectively? That is another question. But I think the company tries.)
Cons
- The online forum, AXIS, takes a bit of time to get used to. There are just WAY too many details a newcomer has to memorize in the beginning. Some details are bound to be lost in the shuffle. AXIS recently got a new format. It was confusing at first. I also noticed that some of the functions did not work as well as the old format. With every change, I am sure that there will be some confusion in the beginning. Still annoying though. - The company improved recently in terms of tech support, etc. There were times in the past when it was the company's server issue that kicked the teachers out of the online classrooms during class. This problem led to students in the class being dissatisfied & giving a bunch of low numbers on the ratings for the teachers & the headquarters saying basically "well, oops, sucks for you." Gee. That was nice, especially since it's not the headquarter employees' compensation being dependent on those evaluations. Yes, headquarters, screw you, too. - While group lesson materials are pretty sufficient by themselves, private lessons are another matter. There's a big range of students' capabilities in private lessons. Some students are a lot more demanding. They want a lot more than the company offered materials. If the student is sweet & a repeat student, I would not mind preparing for the lesson as long as it does not take too much of my time. But if it is someone I do not know/ never taught before (hence have no info. on the student's capabilities/ needs, etc.), there's often a misalignment of expectations at some points. It's a good thing that I can quickly find materials & already have lots of materials. This unfortunate scenario can be prevented. But that should not be my job- it should be the support team's to provide the teacher with as much information as possible about the student and his/her expectations. Plus, English Town, you simply don't pay me enough to create and use my own materials. So no, I don't feel like I should be required to do the extra preparation for these students unless I really want to. (to put it simply, "you don't pay me enough for this.") - some of the webinars & mentors are apparently a joke according to other teachers and reviews here. I also felt that way with one person who called him/herself an "expert" on one of the areas of teaching. Little did he/she know that I have a lot more experience in that particular area. It was laughable to read the comments/ feedback from him/her. But I can see how some of these webinars can help those who have 0 background in education or ESL. (then again, should you even dabble in "teaching" with such a lack of connection to this field in the first place?) - The After Class Report(ACR)s are downright annoying. I realize that they are important. And for private lessons, I agree that feedback would help. But to penalize teachers for not submitting them on time in the format the company wants? Puhhleeeze. Again, it's "you don't pay me enough for this." - Students' reactions to your style of teaching vary greatly depending on their background- their level of English, personality, the strength of their Wifi that particular day, their cultural background, etc. Some of the teachers and I noticed that we can say the exact same things for the same level of group lessons. But those lessons can have very different student evaluations. What does that say about student evaluations? NOT objective at all. And some students have unreasonably high expectations from their teachers/ lessons. They really make me say, "Oh sweetie, English Town really does not pay me enough for this." - Did I mention the low salary already?
