English Language Instructor International Company for Education and Advanced Training (ICEAT)

Job posting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia here

The working day and work week is standard. 4 hours of office work is what you are supposed to do. I know a few teachers who worked at this university previously. The bottom line is that you are supposed to be in your office. However, you can do errands, go out for lunch or for a coffee during this time.

Additional cover duty was an issue. The teachers I knew complained about this a lot. Cover duty was on a rotational basis. Since there were 180 teachers on the payroll, teachers were scheduled to work 7:30 am - 5:30 pm about once a month. However, when a teacher did not show up for cover duty, another teacher was called in to cover for the cover teacher! Worse, the teachers that did not show up for cover duty received no warnings, no pay deduction, not even a stern talking to. Just something to keep in mind if you are thinking about joining this 'team.'

A great classroom environment? Could've changed in the last year or two. Teachers complained there were no whiteboards in their room, let alone projectors, or working computers. If the technology was in the classroom, there were technical difficulties or were not functioning altogether.

Cleaning crews rarely cleaned the rooms adequately. Trash being taken out and white boards being cleaned were never done. Rooms were never vacuumed. 

Student Background section is completely misleading.

They are not the best students you would find in Saudi Arabia. The really wealthy and smart kids study abroad. So what you've got are the bottom of the barrel. If these students really worked hard and wanted to make the most of their academic opportunities, they would've studied English more, paid for a tutor and passed the proficiency exam to allow them to study at the real campus of KSU.

These students are not motivated at all. They are not excellent in picking up the language. If they were, they would not be in the PYP.

A summarization of their behavior:

Rampant cheating during exams; talking nonstop in Arabic; lethargic and unmotivated to learn English.

Classroom management is a mountain for teachers to climb there.

 Compensation:

Salary is good to average, but nice to see they provide round trip airfare for you and 3 dependents.

End of service indemnity is pay for completion of the contract. Usually calculated at number of days worked. Somewhat less than  a full month's salary.

30 days paid vacation is nice in addition to the university approved holidays.

Verdict: only for the desperate.

KSU is a place only for the desperate. Ask yourself how badly you need the money. Remember you'll be working in Riyadh, not Jeddah, and not even closer to the Eastern Province where Damam is bearable if you can venture there. Riyadh is a giant dustbowl with not much to do if you aren't Muslim. Walking around the malls and getting drunk on the illegal hooch at the compounds is not very good for your health, physically or mentally. There are desert trips you can sign up for, but of course, it all depends if you like that sort of thing. Embassy parties are once a month, so you can Embassy hop to the different ones to get your drink on. Other than that, there's not much to do. Groundhog Day for 11 months? Can you handle it?  If so, then you will save money, but you have to weigh that against the boredom you'll experience.

This employer took my friends' passports two years ago. Most likely they continue doing that as is the unofficial custom of employers in Saudi. So that means no weekend trips to Bahrain for a booze fest on a whim. You'll have to apply to your employer to access your passport at least a week in advance to get an exit visa. All very much a very big pain.

If you have a Masters in English, Linguistics, Modern Languages or Education, look elsewhere. You can get more money and better benefits in Saudi. Or choose the UAE where it's still boring but they allow accessibility to booze, dancing, looking at hot girls wearing more Western style clothing. With an MA you can work in the universities in the UAE. Some very cush jobs available.

GOLDSTAR TEFL Recruitment/ Wall Street English

Here's a job posting found here

Analysis

Anything over 24 hours for the less experienced teacher is a sure fire route to teacher burnout. You don't want to be overwhelmed, get stressed, and contemplate fleeing the country in the middle of the night. It's a terrible way to begin your career. Even with the lesser number of contact hour option B, it's still going to take a teacher some time to get the gist of the lesson. Although, the posting says all lesson plans are prepared for you, more than 5 hours is necessary for teachers, even experienced ones, to get the flow of the lesson plan, i.e. how to transition from one activity to the next.

Finding a new apartment in 30 days is stressful enough, especially in a new country. One of my past employers provided the first 30 days free stay in a hotel, another 5 days. For both I needed to find an apartment. It was impossible for me to find an apartment in 5 days, extended my stay an extra 25, paid the extra amount out of my own pocket because I didn't want to settle with an apartment. In truth, in that short of time, you will settle for any crummy condition. But forewarned, you'll be spending the duration of the lease in such conditions. Choose wisely!

That's correct! No costs for the recruitment. But what about visa costs? Are flights to China reimbursed? Are flights provided at the end of the contract, or at least the money to buy them?

Posting omits days of working week - you could have one day off, or dare I speculate, work every day as language institutes schedule classes around when students are available. 

Omits if these hours are guaranteed teaching hours - with a small amount of students enrolled for ESL courses, your 30 teaching hours could shorten, and with that, your pay.

Omits duration of the contract - assuming it's a year, but still worth asking about. 

Here's what this person said about this recruiter and company: 

(from:  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2134070) 

Kereru makes a good point about the split shifts. Most language institutes will require teachers to work when the students have free time. This means in the morning and at night. 

The final verdict would render this job suitable for teachers to send his or her resume. The job does require a teacher to have a TEFL certificate, so teachers without any experience yet should not waste his time.
With that in mind, he or she must take adequate stock about what their work and personal expectations/ limitations are. She must answer questions about adjusting to a (possibly) new country and culture, energy level to sustain over 30 contact hours, working months worth of possible split shifts and the limited vacation days. However, the company does allow an incentive bonus for teachers, except how managers determine who gets the bonus can be quite political at times. This posting provides good information that outlines standard working conditions for language institutes in China, with this one seemingly better than average. Submit your resume, and during the interview, make sure you ask pertinent questions. Especially about who foots the visa costs, flights and raise questions about the omissions brought up in the analysis.  

Dave's ESL Cafe

A word of caution to those researching jobs. Using websites like Dave's ESL Café, although do have valid job postings from reputable employers, teachers need to be careful. Mixed in with those valid job postings are disreputable employers and scams.

Why would someone do this? To post a job on his website, you must pay money. Disreputable or reputable, Dave Sperling does not distinguish between the two. Therefore, if teachers are going to apply to jobs posted on his website he or she must do further research about the company, school, or employer.

Here's a nice tidbit I found posted on TEFL Blacklist 

(http://teflblacklist.blogspot.com/2007/01/daves-esl-cafe.html)

And further along in the post…

However, the Wikipedia article has since been deleted.

When searching for a job, always proceed with caution. There are reputable job posting websites, and others not so. I would steer clear of any websites that take dramatic action to suppress any criticism. What are they hiding?