ELS Language Centers Employee Review

I worked at ELS Language Centers part-time for less than a year

Pros – The center management (AD, CD) at ELS Berkeley was pretty great. The students were really fun and definitely more motivated than other private language schools I've worked at (and even some universities and CCs). ELS is the most put together ESL curriculum I've seen, and that comes from their long history in the field. The fact that passing their 112 class can be used as an alternative to TOEFL should tell you how legit they are. The materials provided were good, and teachers are given a lot of freedom to contribute their own lessons and materials. I really like the in-service training they provide--I have my MATESL, but their online modules are good refreshers, and the in-person meetings were very helpful. The compensation was very fair...better than any other private school that I've seen.

The best thing here is the community. The other teachers were very helpful with giving advice about students and lessons. People share materials and ideas in the staff room, and it built a good sense of solidarity.

Cons – Because it's a for-profit company, the copyright restrictions on materials in the classroom can be a bit constraining. Teaching at ELS falls under "commercial use," so you can't use TED talks and podcasts and videos unless they've already been approved.

Also, the 4 week session calendar is pretty rough if you're new there. Depending on enrollment, you may or may not have a job after four weeks. I definitely don't recommend moving to a new location for this job unless you've got another one in your back pocket, because there are no guarantees. You find out the day before classes start if you have a class (or classes), and if so, what those levels are. It would be pretty stressful as a new instructor. But for someone who either has a more constant afternoon/evening job, or for someone who just wants to start in the field, it's a great crash course in teaching.

Advice to Senior Management – Create some sort of test bank for teachers. We're not experienced test developers, so it would be beneficial to have some examples for the quizzes and tests during the session, especially for the Masters Level RW classes.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend