The shortcomings of Gray Lists

While Gray Lists are one way to look a school's reputation, there are some things to keep in mind when considering the information they contain.
Schools can be included on some Gray Lists after even one complaint. The school may have had hundreds or even thousands of former teachers that were completely satisfied with their experience but a well placed single complaint from a disgruntled former employee can land a school on a Gray List.
Every company usually has at least one current or former employee that is/was unhappy with their employer. Perhaps they have a personal conflict with the owner/administrator or are not getting the salary they feel they deserve or any of the other countless reasons an employee/employer relationship doesn't work. There are certainly cases (and a lot of them) in which the employer is in the wrong. But there are also cases where the employee is in the wrong. Through Gray Lists an employee can take out their displeasure at a school by lodging a complaint. With most Gray Lists, no one investigates the complaint - it is simply filed under the schools name and that school is then included on a Gray List.
The faceless, anonymous nature of the internet makes Gray Lists possible. Just remember there is no "Gray List" for Gray Lists. Take what they have to offer as one piece of information but don't let it be the only information you use to determine a school's credibility.

One thing i dont like is being Faceless, maybe not out right but the effort of trying to cover up doesn't work.

What is Greylisting?

Greylisting is a method of letting others know about different schools or companies who are not keeping up their end of the contracts.
Greylisting is the ultimate sanction available to new teachers entering the teaching field as per new job.
and is only ever used where a university or college refuses to engage in meaningful job relationships with it's teachers,
And have the schools or companies engage in meaningful negotiations, also to remove the threat of pay deductions
provide clean and liveable apartments with all or most of the daily or life's needs of a foreign teacher.
What is the growing awareness amongst some internat- ional educators there are many different dimensions, academically, physically, spiritually and socially. new teachers want to know what they are letting themselves in for when they are accepting a contract from some school or company, One of the great advantages of this approach to education is that, in the very fabric of everyday school life, Teachers are naturally exposed to many different cultures, promoting a broad-minded spirit of multicultural interest and acceptance. I encourages new or other teachers to reflect on the divisions which characterise so many of the unversities and schools with problems to find values which see a common humanity behind the diversity. One of the great advantages of an international education is that you can create an environment in which young people from different cultures, nationalities and languages are brought together in one place. Students can learn a range of languages and become truly multilingual, but the English teachers need certain schools and companies to keep up their end.

That is the purpose of a Blacklist it helps people new to the field of teaching in that they can check out theses companies or school, also new teachers can check out the whitelist thats the option , and i am sorry if anyone as an objection to that (Ross)

One of the big shortcomings with greylists/blacklists is that they only seem to go in one direction. That is against schools.

There should also be graylists or blacklists against teachers as well. There are a lot of teachers out there sticking it to reputable schools, not just schools to teachers.

I've seen teachers come in totally drunk to teach classes, I've seen them not show up at all to teach, I've seen teachers conduct poorly improvised classes rather than prepare properly and those things are just the tip of the iceberg.

There are a lot of people who come into the ESL teaching world and think it will be one big holiday, full of laughs and great times and memories for them, but can't see far enough past the tips of their own noses to realise that they are working for real schools with real students who have real expectations. The money that students pay to the schools is very real, the money that the schools pay to the teachers is very real. I've met a lot of teachers who, once they realise its not a walk in the park and that there are some expectations of them, start getting really snotty and childish and can drag the name of a reputable school through the mud to "get even".

There are a lot of bad schools out there that don't deserve to stay in business, I've worked for a couple. On the other hand, there are a lot of incompetent and irresponsible teachers out there who don't deserve the opportunities that the decent schools can provide.

Its a two edged sword.

Just remember, the ESL teaching business is still largely unregulated. As such, anyone can get into it fairly easily and that's not always for the best. there are a lot of people out there who make a joke out of what we do because of the incompetence that some teachers operate with.

Wherever you teach, operate responsibly, you have an industry to think about. If you feel you're getting a raw deal from your school, think about these things before you get on the war path:

1: Were you working legally? If you weren't working legally in the first place, don't complain about the school being on the corrupt side.

2: How well versed are you in the labour code of the country you are in? Make sure you have a leg to stand on before you complain. Remember its your rights under the labour code of the country you are in that matter, the labour code of the country you come from is irrelevant.

3: Are you sure YOU truly weren't the problem? Take some time to be reflective before you point your finger. Did you truly fulfil your contractual obligations? Did you plan all your lessons carefully, logically and conduct your classes based on them competently? Did you master your subject matter before you tried to teach it? Did the school tell you if students were complaining about you? If so, did you do anything to try to remedy the problems?

Basically, do you REALLY have a valid complaint or do you just have sour grapes?

Complain if its valid. If its just sour grapes, take your lumps and find another line of work.

I'm sorry if that comes off harsh, its a hard pill to swallow but I've met more teachers than I care to recall who really need to be given that pill.

Eurolingua in Brno, Czech Republic is best to avoid.
The woman who runs the place has very little in people skills or social graces and said to my face that she refuses to hire people legally, won't help employees with taxes. Basically, she said she gives you the money and the rest is your problem and don't ask her for help.
The bureaucracy in the Czech Republic for foreigners is quite daunting, so you certainly don't need an employer like this
While I have not worked there personally, I have a colleague and a former student who both have done teaching work there (they are both Czech) and neither had much good to say about the owner of the school or her people skills, they also went on to say that many students were not happy at the owner's business practices on one level or another."
Not too sure whether this schools deserves a mention here. Any comments either way (nothing nasty please) would be of help.
In any case a degree of caution never does any harm.
To all that answers this form please dont even try to insult me, if you do then that shows ur wisdom. the purpose of theses note are for new teachers entering the teaching field, They can search out such schools and see for themselves what they will be encountering in such countries. I encourage all persons not to take my word but to search out different job sites and when a job is found contact that school or company for info on their contract and provisions, if you then are not sure you can contact TESOL in edmonton they will give you such info to help you in ur field of teaching or anything else you would want to know.

The TEFL Blacklist anyone can use this site to find out more about Czech replubic in which their site was updated on

Monday, February 04, 2008

And i closing there here is another blacklist from china update.

This list of awful schools in China is far to long to list.

Aojing International Ltd, China
Beijing Language and Culture University, China
San Jie Foreign Language School, China
XiSanQi Advanced Language School, FuLaiDe Advanced Language School, AoJing, FanZhiDu, China
Yakup International, China
Yanjing Overseas Chinese University, Oxbridge University Business School, China
Davis Language Training Company, China
Tianjin University of Commerce, China
Tianjin university of Finance and Commerce, China
Tianjin University of Science and Technology, China
E & A College, China
English First Hefei (EF Hefei), China
Hebei New Times International, China
Hengshui High School, China
Jingbei Foreign Language College, China
EF English First Taiyaun, China
John Gao's school, Number 2 foreign language school (AKA number 18 middle/high school), Modern English, People's Number Two Hospital, Shanxi university, China
Luliang Teachers College, China
O'Smart, China
Taiyuan Mercan School, China
Taiyuan Modern English School, China
Taiyuan Teachers' College, China
Tongliao Huanyu Private Exit and Entry Company Limited, aka Tongliao Huanyu Independent Consulting Services Ltd, China
Yingcai School, China
Yingcai School, China
Affiliated High School of Peking University, China
Aojing International Ltd, China
Beijing Language and Culture University, TMC China
XiSanQi Advanced Language School, FuLaiDe Advanced Language School, AoJing, FanZhiDu, China
Yakup International, China
Yanjing Overseas Chinese University, China
Yanjing Overseas Chinese University, Oxbridge University Business School, China
Columbia College, Columbia Kindergarten, China
English First Changchun (EF Changchun), China
Excel-World English Kindergarten, China
Jilin Province Star Education Consulting Co Ltd, China
Tianshuo, Tianyuan, Baidawei, Simon's language school, China
youngji middli school, China
Auqi Private English School, China
Columbia English College, China
Golden Bridge Language school, China
Harbin Joy Children's Language School, China
Harbin Normal University, China
Harbin Star Foreign Language College, China
Hengfeng Foreign Languages School, China
Highbird Internation School, China
Roy English Language Training Center, China
Boston Training Technologies, China
CHEERY ENGLISH, China
English First Shanghai (EF Shanghai), China
Enlighten / Enlightenment Consultants , China
Gold Apple Bilingual School, China
Kongjiang High School, China
Raffles Lasalle Shanghai, China
Shanghai Normal University, English First Shanghai (EF Shanghai), China
TEFL Jobs Consulting Ltd Company (TEFL.CC), China
Tonghu Consulting, Yuzhen Group Shanghai , China
Xuehui Science Kindergarten, China
Yucai Senior High School, China
English First Suzhou (EF Suzhou), China
Huai Yin Teacher College, China
ICON Language Center, China
Jiangsu Huaian Modern English, China
Nanjing Talent Academy,Talent Inc, China
Rayhua Bilingual School, China
Sino-Canada High School, China


Now if some people think this list is a list of doubt, go see this list (check it out) a note explaining where the original was posted. The TEFL Blacklist