EF English First Indonesia – Teacher Fact Sheet
Dear English Teaching Professional,
Any superficial research on Indonesia will provide images of spectacular sunsets, exotic faces and the prospect of travel opportunities right out of the pages of National Geographic or a program on the Discovery Channel. They’re all true.
Also true are the equally real frustrations of working in a tropical, developing country where things are not always done the same way or at the same pace as in other places. One’s sense of what is “logical” is occasionally challenged in the extreme.
This information packet seeks to provide a realistic description of work with our organization. However, with 40 independent schools spread across 2000 miles of the Indonesian archipelago it can only describe general conditions.
More detailed inquiries are best directed to the Director of Studies at the school to which your application has been sent. This office, for example, does not have information regarding specific teaching schedules which change with some frequency. As anyone with experience in this field knows, student enrolment demands can change teaching schedules overnight. The job entails a degree of flexibility not required in a 9 to 5 job in your own country.
However, the high degree of teacher satisfaction with our organization and with Indonesia indicates that most people have little difficulty making the adjustments. A good number of teachers who originally planned to “do a year in Indonesia” are still with us after two, three or four years.
If you enjoy being in the classroom and are willing to commit yourself to the responsibilities of a full-time teaching position, we will do everything possible to provide a solid professional experience and a pleasant working environment.
Sincerely,
Craig Stevenson
Academic Operations Manager
EF English First – Indonesia
Section One - General Information
EF English First is part of EF Education; the largest privately owned English language teaching organisation in the world. EF was founded in Sweden in 1965 and originally offered English language courses for young Swedish students to study during the school holidays in England. EF English First was founded in 1993 and is a division of EF Education that provides an English language school system for students who do not have the opportunity to travel to England or America. EF English First, a company with over 100 English language schools around the world, operates a franchise system in the following countries: Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Morocco, Lithuania, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and China. Indonesia is the second largest zone with 40 locations.
The EF English First Indonesia head office is based in Jakarta. It supports the EF English First franchise partner schools and ensures that the highest standards of education and management are maintained. The Academic Operations Manager in the national office communicates with the Director of Studies at each school regarding issues such as texts, testing, teacher development and resource materials. The office also acts as liaison between the schools and our teacher recruitment offices in Boston, Brighton and Sydney.
Each franchise school is owned by an investor who appoints a Centre Manager to manage the sales, marketing and general administration of the school. The Centre Manager works with a Director of Studies who manages the academic side of the operation. As is the case with all EF English First schools, teachers in Indonesia are not employed by EF but by the franchisee.
There are exceptionally good prospects for promotion/transfers to other countries around the world for staff who prove themselves in their posts. The larger schools in particular benefit from the expertise of senior teachers responsible for specialized (children, business, etc.) programs. Almost Directors of Studies in Indonesia began with us as teachers.
1.01 Teacher’s Basic Package:
Contracts for EF English First in Indonesia are not entirely standardized due to local demands, conditions and preferences. However, the following points outline general conditions.
· Flights both to and from country of origin provided by the EF English First school for twelve-month contracts. Reimbursement schedules vary from school to school
· Teachers are entitled to a minimum of 13 working days holiday per twelve-month contract in addition to public holidays and school closings during the annual end of Ramadan and Christmas holidays. These numbers vary from school to school. Interested candidates may verify specific conditions as they are delineated in the contract offered.
· EF English First schools pay for visa and work permits.
· Health insurance is provided. Consult your school’s representatives regarding details.
· Shared accommodation is usually but not always provided by the EF English First school either free or at a monthly deduction from the salary. Please note that this should not be a point of comparison from one school to another without reference to the base salary as well. Should one choose not to use EF housing, most schools offer a housing allowance (or no deduction from the salary, depending on how one wants to look at it). It should be noted that the reason housing is provided by the majority of employers throughout Asia is the general unavailability of single person dwellings as we know them in the West, the custom of paying an entire year’s rent up front and the undesirability of negotiating a contract in another language. On the other hand, rooms with private bath in boarding houses are quite common and reasonably priced.
· Salary is paid in Indonesian Rupiah and is equivalent to approximately US $350 to US $700 net per calendar month. The variation is due to diverging living costs from one city to another. Housing costs typically represent no more than 15% of salary. Salaries permit a comfortable lifestyle and sufficient funds to travel around Indonesia during holidays or at the completion of contract (see price chart at the end of this document). However, the salary is not designed to allow the support of dependents nor the repayment of outstanding debts in one’s home country. Locally produced food is extremely cheap but imported alcoholic beverages and dairy products may be considered “occasionally within the budget but pricey”.
· Contracts are for 12-month periods.
· Contracts are for 40 hours per week with a maximum of 27 real (contact) hours of teaching although the norm in many schools is less. Most classes are taught between 2pm and 9pm Monday through Friday although some schools (reflecting local market demand) require the teaching of Saturday morning classes. The 40 hour week includes class preparation, attendance at workshops and meetings, conducting placement interviews and routine record keeping. In addition to this, teachers are occasionally expected to attend and participate in school sponsored social activities.
· Teachers may be asked to teach any/all levels in our general English program from beginning through advanced and all age groups from six year olds to adults. In addition, they are expected to be available for TOEFL, Business English and Conversation classes as needed. Obviously teachers new to the field are guided in these somewhat specialized areas but expected to accept the challenge. Like any reputable academic institution offering English instruction, English First prides itself on being able to meet the needs of the student whether it is helping an executive prepare a presentation for an international conference or encouraging a shy seven year old to learn the names of colours in English.
1.02 The Students:
As noted above, EF English First schools offer classes to all age groups. They are from the more affluent sector of Indonesian society and typically come to study for a few hours a week after their classes at private elementary and secondary schools. Some schools also have a good number of university students and young professionals. English is part of the curriculum in Indonesian schools so a strong but passive knowledge of grammar is not uncommon. Students like the fact that we offer relatively small classes, which have a strong communicative element and it is practice in speaking and listening that they value most from EF English First classes.
Teachers invariably comment on the pleasure of working with Indonesians who are generally motivated and enthusiastic about their English classes and instructors. They tend to study with their friends and the time at our schools is to a certain extent an extension of their social life. This is encouraged by EF with occasional school activities above and beyond “just English classes”.
1.03 The Teachers:
There are currently over 170 full time foreign teachers working with EF English First in Indonesia. They range in experience from those who have just completed a TEFL/TESOL certificate course to those who have been teaching English as a career for a number of years. There is also a good mix of nationalities; we have teachers from Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K., the only countries from which we are permitted to hire teachers by the Ministry of Labour. The various accents, vocabulary and spelling differences are equally respected and are of benefit to our students who may need to work in one or more of these environments.
EF English First has its own textbook series for general English classes but encourages teachers to make full use of other EFL resource books found in all of our schools in order to make lessons as student centred and proactive as possible. Teachers have full access to a wide range of other support material such as photocopying facilities, multimedia lab with CD ROMS and Computer Aided Language Learning programmes and, to the extent possible given local service providers and telephone lines, internet access for students and staff.
EF English First schools also employ local (Indonesian) English teachers who are responsible for lower levels. They provide useful insight into Indonesian culture and society for foreign teachers and are an integral part of the teaching staff.
EF English First schools have a Director of Studies (DoS) whose experience within the world of EFL and Indonesia are another resource for the new as well as the experienced teacher.
Section Two – Legal and Financial Information
2.01 Visa Information
Depending on the school’s norms and your place of origin and timing, you may enter Indonesia on a tourist visa and within the 60 day validity of that permission, obtain the work visa (the school does all the paper work). It may also be possible to obtain the work visa before entry given enough time and your proximity to an Indonesian consulate within your own country. In any case, you will receive clear instruction from your future employer.
2.02 Bank Accounts, Foreign Currency Conversion and Credit Cards
Most teachers open a bank after arrival. Salaries are deposited in this account, which is accessible from the widespread installation of ATM machines throughout the country. There are no limits on the conversion of Indonesian money into another currency. An idiosyncrasy of Indonesian banks and authorized moneychangers is that they will only accept US dollars which are new and have not been folded. We mention this in case you intend to bring significant amounts of cash in that currency.
Visa and MasterCard credit cards are available from your local bank as well as debit cards for use in local shops or around Indonesia. If you already hold these (credit) cards they are, of course, accepted here as well.
Section Three - Country Information
3.01 Indonesia the Country
Indonesia is a very large country. The distance from west to east is comparable to the distance between California and New York. More than 200 million people live here and although the majority speak Indonesian, there exist more than 350 different languages. There are very distinct cultural regions although this is not apparent until one ventures out of the major cities which can be deceptively “Western” in appearance including elegant shopping malls, cinemas and a good variety of restaurants. Visitors are either disgusted or delighted to find every major fast food chain on the planet.
The majority of the population is Muslim but there are significant minorities of Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. Although extreme elements of Islam do exist, the practice of the religion in Indonesia is one of moderation and is not one which Westerners would describe as fundamentalist.
The climate is tropical with alternating rainy and dry seasons. The very green countryside is dotted with volcanoes both extinct and active. The cultivation of rice, bananas, palms and spices is an important part of the economy as is logging and mineral extraction. Attractions for the international tourist include the island of Bali, the 9th Century temples of Borobudur in central Java, the orangutan preserves and Lake Toba in northern Sumatra and the scenery, opportunities for snorkelling and scuba diving virtually everywhere along the archipelago.
Despite the establishment of democratic institutions after the resignation of President Soeharto in May of 1998, there still exist a good deal of behind the scenes power struggles endemic to the region. These factions and their complex relationships to regional disputes based on historical, religious, economic and ethnic rivalries make for “interesting” times. It is perhaps appropriate to mention that no EF English First schools are located in the relatively isolated areas subject to violence nor is it directed at foreigners. The news story of a street demonstration in Jakarta (the capital) is no more representative of this huge country than the occasional racial or political violence experienced in the West although it must be said that it sometimes results in a few frantic e-mails from home. This is a new democracy and the new found freedom of expression can be noisy and irksome. Most of us just ignore it but if seeing a photograph of a demonstration at your embassy freaks you out, you’d probably better stay at home.