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TEFL Watch – Look Out for the Bad Apples

The website slogan says it all…

Truth and Justice in TEFL World

Snarling Doggy

TEFLWatch.org has been providing warnings, advice, and a voice to TEFLers around the world since January 2006. The TEFL world has a lot to be ashamed of, from nasty recruiters, to shoddy schools, to complete shams and fraud. TEFL Watch’s mission statement sums up why such a website is needed:

TEFLWatch is a site for and by teachers. TEFLWatch aims to provide a place on the internet where teachers can freely discuss issues affecting their careers and report on both good and bad schools, agencies and recruiters. TEFLWatch is pro-teacher and will support teachers in all instances where treatment of teachers is unethical, unjust, immoral or illegal. TEFLWatch will always offer all schools and other employers a right of reply, but will routinely report any attempted threats or intimidations to our general readership.

Let’s get an in-depth look at TEFL Watch. I interviewed moderator and co-administrator, “Eugene”, of TEFL Watch.

First, I asked who Eugene is and why the made-up name?

My name is “Eugene.” I am a moderator and co-administrator of the TEFL Watch Dog site, TEFLWatch. Unfortunately, some schools do not appreciate free speech when it does not favor themselves. For this reason, I have to keep my real name a bit quiet.

What is TEFLWatch? What does it do? How long has it been around?

TEFLWatch was started in January 2006. There have been a lot of TEFL blacklists and greylists out there on the net, but what invariably happens is that once the initial enthusiasm to try to right a wrong passes, the site fades into oblivion. None of us involved in the formation of TEFLWatch wanted that and that is why a team of mods were brought in.

TEFLWatch is the now the largest TEFL Watch Dog site on the net. We have more than 350 unique visitors per day to the site and we get more than 1500 page views per day. TEFLWatch encourages teachers to come to our site and either find out the inside scoop of a school or give out the inside scoop to their fellow teachers. We have more than 600 members in our discussion forum. There is a growing ratings list for schools and recruiters throughout the world. TEFLWatch isn’t the be all end all in the TEFL World, but it should be a stop on the TEFL highway.

What are some of the things TEFLers should look out for when venturing abroad?

TEFLers need to watch out for shady course providers, shady recruiters and shady schools. I always advise teachers to ask Mr. Google about any course provider, recruiter or school before they get involved too deeply. It isn’t a guarantee that everything is kosher, but if someone in the past was upset enough to put something on the net about a school, Mr. Google will find it.

What is the best thing about TEFL Watch?

The best thing about TEFLWatch is that TEFL teachers finally have a place to get information that oozes truthiness. Ok, I am realistic enough to know that there are at least 3 sides to every story and some of the stories that teachers post on TEFLWatch are not always 100% accurate, but I also know that the stories schools and recruiters put out there may not always be 100% accurate. Most of us are educated and we can sift through the less than accurate statements and come up with a pretty good view of the truth. TEFLWatch is happy to help provide that.

Where will TEFL Watch be in 2007? What new things are you working on?

In 2007, TEFLWatch will still be providing service to TEFL teachers. Right now, we are working on new grievance forms for teachers. With these forms, teachers can have the choice of filling out these grievance forms for schools and we will make these forms available for download to everyone who wants to take a look at them. As much as possible, we will verify the statements on these grievance forms so that teachers can put even more trust in the information on TEFLWatch. There will be some very important information coming out in February, but your readers will need to check back then to get the scoop.

Thank you for that.

Looking over at TEFL Watch, we find an information-rich website that is constantly in motion. To be honest, I find the site a little overwhelming, with an interface that doesn’t make it easy to see the depth of services available to the teacher, but maybe the administrators over there will read this and take it as constructive criticism. I do see they have a link to my blog, and I’ve provided one for them – such is the value I place in TEFL Watch.

The first we come across at http://www.teflwatch.org/ is, well, everything. Right away, the page presents all its services ranging from a Discussion Forum where administrators and moderators at TEFL Watch handle the minute-by-minute flow of commentary and discussion coming in from an array of quarters – teachers, job seekers, recruiters, school owners, and anyone who has a stake in TEFL. I think the discussion forum is a great idea so as to offer a chance to voice real time concerns and to manage disputes – the forum is open to all so the back-and-forth will often expose quite a bit of information.

Arguing

TEFL Watch Features is both a run-down of all the site’s open discussions and a menu listing in-depth investigations, interviews (one with yours truly currently listed!), and missives from various parts of the world. Some article titles and discussion topics:

  • Can Schools Make Sacrifices?
  • Not Getting Paid
  • John Mark Karr and TEFL Watch
  • Hall of Shame entries
  • Suggest a School or Recruiter for review

The Hall of Shame is where the real action happens. Acting on tips, TEFL Watch will highlight a particular school or recruiter and ‘induct’ them into the Hall. TEFL Watch describes the Hall of Shame as:

The Hall of Shame is reserved for the worst of the worst schools based on feedback in the TEFLWatch Discussion Forum. Hall of Shame schools stay in the Hall of Shame for one year from their induction date. After that, they can be removed to either of two lists. Reformed Schools and Non-reformed Schools.

A yellow list school is a school that has taken an active interest in improving their management quality in order to be a better work environment for teachers.

A grey list school is a school that has not addressed the serious issues that landed them in the Hall of Shame, but there hasn’t been any significant negative issues with teachers in the preceding 6 months.

The Hall of Shame is not a lonely place it seems.

Shame

One of TEFL Watch’s best features, in my opinion, is their Rate This School page. Here is where the slog work of data collection is done. Listings of many schools around the world are given here from tips provided by teachers using the same site’s Suggest a School (for review) feature. There is also a similar feature to Rate Recruiters who are more commonly found in China and Korea than other parts of the world, but no less in need of being under the microscope.

TEFL Watch is not all about shaming and pointing fingers though. A handy TEFL Jobs link from the ESLJobsFeed is featured on the site. As well, a Weekly Newsletter is available for free subscription so you can keep up with the wealth of new information added to the site or an RSS subscription for those on the go.

Something newer, and a little more difficult to find is a TEFL Course Roundup and the TEFL News Network, linked at TEFL Watch.

TEFL Watch deserves support for being a lonely yet loud voice in the sometimes dark and murky world of teaching abroad. They have my support and readership as I look forward to new material and reviews in the new year.

Thumbs Up

(apologies to readers in countries where the Thumbs Up sign is an insult! It’s a sign of approval where I’m from)



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One response to “TEFL Watch – Look Out for the Bad Apples”

  1. […] With these forms, teachers can have the choice of filling out these grievance forms for schools and we will make these forms available for download to everyone who wants to take a look at them. As much as possible, we will verify the …TEFL Watch – Look Out for the Bad Apples […]

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