english as a second language teacher

instructor

speaker

director of student services

proctor

ILAC Education Group

As one example of the poor management in this place, one classroom which had a relatively large enrolment had a burnt-out bulb in its overhead projector so the class was moved to another room, but no one in admin bothered to tell the instructor where the class had been moved--or even that it had been moved. No one had a clue where to get a bulb or even if they had one--and every classroom has the same projector set up.

The new classroom was far too small for the number of enrolled students, and as a result students had to more-or-less sit on top of each other. Not surprisingly, many students stopped attending because the class was over-crowded, hot, and sweaty and they realized things weren't going to change.

6 weeks later and the bulb wasn't replaced (it was "on-order" (they couldn't even manage to swap out a bulb from the smaller classroom and put it in the projector in the larger classroom).  

They run classes on a 9 week calendar: each class meets 2X per week, for nine weeks with18 classes worth of materials to be taught. 

The problem with that is pretty much written into the course outlines and calendars for those 9 weeks:

1 class is for the final exam and marking
1 class is needed for prepping for the final exam
1 class (at least) is required for student presentations
1 class dedicated to a special guest speaker
1 class is dedicated to an FCE English test 
1. class only lasts 40 minutes (out of 4 hours) so they can take their 19 year old foreign-national students to the bar for drinks and some pizza.

So instructors really only have six weeks to teach nine weeks worth of material to ESL students who typically need more time, not less time, to learn.  Meanwhile, every other class is interrupted by an announcement for a ski trip, a pub crawl, a party, or a Cinco de Mayo event, etc. Student learning is not a big priority. 

Administrators know this. They do nothing about it.

They pay instructors for classroom teaching hours (4hr per night), but not for preparation, marking assignments and record keeping or helping students either before or after class.  Instructors have next-to-no interaction with other instructors because they are all there for the same 4 hours, and you won't see the same instructors working there more than two terms in a row unless they're unemployable elsewhere.

They claim to have a (reasonable) policy that students must attend 70% of the classes and get at least 60% on the final exam to get a passing grade, but when that doesn't happen they simply adjust the absences or let students retake the final exam they've failed (for a big fee) and then give them a passing grade. Students are all foreign-nationals and they're allowed to submit Dr's notes from their home country or from walk-in clinics that simply ask for money for a note for absences, so they never actually have to worry about attendance or their final exam.  

As a result, the students have zero respect for the administrators, staff, the instructors, the other students or for the courses they're taking. Students go so far as to complain to the agency in their home country to get the agency to pressure the school administration in order to pressure the instructors to give them better marks. As a result the students' average marks are in the high 80's even though most of the students can't write a complete paragraph in English--the language in which the course are taught. Instructors are not encouraged or rewarded for marking fairly or accurately--there's no benefit if they do, there's only complaining by the students and a complete lack of support by the administration who are solely worried about losing agency support.

Final exams mostly consist of multiple choice questions, fill in the blank questions and short answer questions not because that's an appropriate way to test the students' knowledge of a subject but because that way the instructors can mark them within a two hours after a 90 minute final exam and the college doesn't have to pay them anything beyond that time.

Perhaps worst of all, the college thinks of students as "customers," not as students. They worry the most about the bad students who complain, are regularly absent or who show up hours late to a class rather than those students who actually show up on time, are prepared and actually try to learn.  

If you have no self-respect or ethical concerns you'll do well here.
If you have a shred of either, this might not be your best choice.

The good: The other teachers are super friendly and eager to help you, you’ll find a lot of new resources thanks to them. 
The bad: You only really get this information from them if you’re lucky enough to observe a class, otherwise they’ll throw you into teaching one fast. And there’s not much time between classes for lunch so you can socialize with each other. You need to prepare your next class quickly and classrooms are basically also your lunchroom. 

The good: The students are also very sweet and  friendly, at least in the advanced classes, where it’s clear they put a lot of effort into learning the language. 
The bad: It’s obvious in less advanced classes that teachers were forced to give students a passing grade by administration. Intermediate students should absolutely know how to string together at least one English sentence and a lot of them didn’t. 

The good: Location in the downtown area is amazing and easy to navigate, especially if you know the city.
The bad: You will absolutely be given last-minute notice day of that you’re supplying a class in another building. And of course why would you complain since they’re all near each other. As one would assume, it gives you little time to prepare a lesson for that class. 

The good: The course book has decent material that can tell you what you need to focus on for each class, as well as other material provided by the company AND outside internet sources. 
The bad: It’s British. Why is it so British? And you’re also advised not to stick too closely with it, which is understandable, but can get confusing. 

The good: The casual atmosphere, the way the administration gives new students benefits for each event. 
The bad: These parties and events are not once in awhile to coincide with end-of-year or holiday celebrations. They happen WAY too frequently, some in the middle of the week as well. And most classes are interrupted with announcements about these parties. I should not have an empty classroom on a Thursday because of the 700th boat party that left most students hungover and yet somehow be blamed for not being as open to making that same class interactive. 

The good: Observing how another teacher interacts with a class can be fun. 
The bad: That is your only training. You can observe for a week or go straight into teaching. The job application states you’ll be trained. You will not be trained. 

The good: Helps introduce new teachers to teaching. Decent summer or winter job. 
The bad: That’s it. Do not see it as a permanent position, because you can be fired at the drop of a hat. 

In conclusion, I’m sorry but the cons far outweigh the pros. I also found it extremely insulting that after giving me my own class then firing me days later without giving me a reason, literally less than a week after all of that, they sent me what I assume was an automated email through indeed saying the usual “we’d love to get your application!” email. No I don’t think I’ll be doing that AGAIN thanks. 

Just be careful and keep your options open. 

ILAC is the kind of school that when a bulb in a projector stops working (and you've only got the one projector in your class), they won't bother to replace the bulb for an entire term.  Instead, they'll move your class to another room even if that new room is too small to accommodate the number of students that you have.  After a while students stop showing up in your class for the singular reason that they have no place to sit.

ILAC is the kind of school that a) has an attendance policy for its students--after a certain number of absences students fail the course--but that will change the attendance record that the instructor has logged so that no student fails the course for missing classes--effectively letting instructors know that they time they wasted taking attendance is just that: wasted time.

ILAC is the kind of school that will listen to complaints from the agencies that recruit their students (in other countries) and then tell the instructors that they've received complaints from the agencies about the fact that their tests are too hard--even though the tests are written by ILAC, not the instructors. Moreover, the college won't even ask instructors about the students' failure to attend class and how that failure may contribute to the students doing poorly on an exam or assignment. Instead they'll change the students' marks without telling the teacher.

ILAC is the kind of school that gives the students 12 weeks worth of material to study but burns the first week on an orientation class and a second class that gets cancelled for night out for students at a pub and pizza, burns another 1/2 week on a literacy test, and another couple of classes with the exams themselves and a final 1/2 with a holiday Monday when classes get (reasonably) cancelled--bottom line, you're left with about 7 weeks of classes to teach 12 weeks worth of material.  Management at ILAC knows this discrepancy exists and they pretend like it doesn't exist.  Even worse, they'll interrupt every other class to advertise ski trips, trips to baseball games, etc, that over the span of an entire course burns approximately 2 hours or 1/4 of a week's class time.

ILAC is the kind of school that (when I left during the middle of the term because of its repeated failings to maintain any standards or student requirements) chose to conduct student evaluations based on 5 weeks of classes--akin to asking students to review a movie  after viewing the first 20 minutes, as if this would be a meaningful form of evaluation.  They did this only to claim that the problem was with the instruction, rather than with their failures in recruitment, academic standards, instructional prep time (there is none), student code of conduct (there is none), etc.  


If you find this attractive and you have no interest in the lives or learning of your students then this is the place for you.

ILAC promotes itself as a language school (or the even more glorified term 'academy'), but in reality, they are not remotely interested in any academic matters. Teachers provide customer service.
This is a company where student evaluations are not concerned with academic progress. They are popularity contests that can determine their one-sided judgment on your teaching skills. 
You cannot provide constructive feedback to students because they can (and they often do) take it as personal criticism, which results in student complaints. 
You cannot assess your students fairly because, if passing grades are not awarded to all, your objectivity and teaching abilities are questioned. 
Students are often misplaced yet you are expected to constantly praise their often non-existent efforts, you are expected to pass them with flying colours regardless of their academic merit. It is a conveyor belt of students where at the end they are given a meaningless certificate.
Your hours will never be secure. Every two weeks you can be out of a job. 
There are no benefits unless you are in a management position. They will, however, not tell you this upfront. They will tell you that benefits are available after a probation period. Once that period is over, you will be told that benefits are available only if you work a certain number of hours. If you are lucky to work the required hours, then you will be told that there are no benefits because your schedule (your hours) may change any week.
During the start of the pandemic, many teachers were fired only to be rehired at a much lower pay later on. 

Unlike other sub/supply teaching positions, hours here are guaranteed, which is fantastic.  When not sub-teaching a class, you can do research, develop lesson plans, observe other classes to gain a look at other teachers’ approaches, styles and ideas.  The campuses are large and clean and in very convenient locations downtown. They have a lot of admin support.

HOWEVER: you will receive the absolute worst, lowest pay for ESL teachers in all of Vancouver and will contend with hugely overpopulated classrooms. The maximum number of bodies the fire code will allow are crammed tightly into each tiny claustrophobic classroom to maximize the owners’ profit margin.  There are no dedicated lunchrooms or teachers’ room or resource room ; they all double as classrooms so good luck trying to find a resource book or make a last-minute photocopy before a test – everything is located in working classrooms (see comment about profit margins).  You basically have to eat in your class with your students for the short 30 mins you get for lunch, very little socializing with the other teachers ever takes place.  

You’ll be forced into a group insurance plan, like it or not, whether you already have one or not. They don’t allow videos and online materials to be used in class and you'll be reprimanded if you go that route, regardless how relevant the material may be.  They run the place like an outdated assembly-line business, not a school. The rules and policies book attached to the contract is longer than the one I signed under a Secret Clearance with the military.  (literally) Teachers are expected to “clock in” and start their day through their THUMBPRINT records on an electronic pad – Big Brother is watching you. They have a policy that states if you arrive just one minute late to class, you will be sent home like a naughty child. Management is very keen on controlling the employees and enforcing their overwhelming number of procedures above all else; you will be kept in line and disciplined like a member of a regimented militia.

The pros of working at ILAC are easily represented in the people you interact on the daily with; new students excited to experience the city, ESL Teachers with a passion for teaching, Facilities and their life-saving know-how and the Student Experience/Services Team, most of whom are former ILAC students themselves. Amazing people to work events with and for.
However, ILAC is a private International English School. Before International Student regulations in Canada changed, ILAC had effectively an unlimited budget to address any problem, a real family company that cared about their myriad of Teams. Now, a dark cloud hangs over everybody working, be it due to diminishing budgets company-wide, tacked-on responsibilities beyond the original scope of the assigned job description and the fear of whether or not you'll be gone in the next scheduled wave of mass company firings. Event leaders can expect to work less off-site activities than in 2023 and are expected to spend most of their shifts selling Trips to students. 
My experience lead me to feel isolated, unappreciated, unsupported, in a role where superiors expected the results of two employees from one person without proper coaching or taking time to check in on me as an employee. This is a workspace where you'll get critiqued for not meeting professional expectation, yet feel compelled to turn a blind eye when your superiors aren't at all present in the office, talk for hours to their coworkers, do not offer full support in larger shifts etc. A job where, should you accomplish 90% of your tasks, the only feedback you'll receive is an inquiry as to why you failed at the remaining 10%. A role of expectation, not application of skills through learning and teaching. 
It's unshakeably clear that everybody currently working is clearly overwhelmed, forced to grin & bear it for the sake of their employment. Expect divisions through cultural cliques, rumour-mongering and being taken for granted.

I have worked at this school before and it was not a pleasant experience. They toss you around into whichever classroom they wish, they give you over 20 students in a classroom that suits 15 (I am pretty certain that this is against the fire code in many buildings), and on top of all of this, you are expected to work overtime. I recall that during the summer some teachers were working from 8:30am to 8p.m. and some even longer than that. The management could care less about the staff and their needs. You can tell a lot about a school and how it values its teachers and the fact that this school does not have a staff room for its staff says a lot about how much they appreciate those who work so hard to keep the business going. After all, we are kidding ourselves to assume that this is a legitimate school. It is just another business. Many people lose their jobs here without knowing why and the strange part is that jobs are lost almost immediately after sitting down with management. The management will come to talk to new teachers after their 3 month probationary period ends to discuss how they have been and how they have settled into the environment. Not long after this meeting, teachers vanish without warning. It is beyond scary to sit there and think that you are next. It creates a very negative environment for all. It also does not make any sense whatsoever to let teachers go after telling them that they are doing a great job. The management could care less about this because they are, above all, a factory whereby they train people to become teachers through their TESOL program which they hold on site. All in all, this school is a joke. There are other, much better paying schools, real schools that you can go to, teach and be more successful. I regret working at this place.

I understand they may not have wanted me for the job. However I just wanted to warn others, I went through this involved process of "applying to be invited" to their open house, preparing for it by printing out resumes and practicing answers to possible interview questions, getting down to the school on a rainy night for the open house, paying for parking and transit, etc., sitting there with about 25 other candidates while they did their pitch, filling out a questionnaire related to questions about my teaching philosophy, and then being interviewed. And then? No call back, no thanks but no thanks, even though they assured all of us that they would follow up and let us know. Let us know what? Whether or not they wanted to call us in for yet another interview! Believe it or not. So, yes, I could follow up with them and say, I guess you are not hiring me. And I know you don't always get a follow-up when you apply for a job. But this was more than that. I used up a fair amount of time in the days before the open house getting ready, and then gave up my evening on the day of. Basically arranged my whole week around getting to this thing. Sure, could have been an oversight. But then again, their advertising for teachers resumed within days. Perhaps none of the 25 of us was any good, although others in the room with me where questionnaires were being filled out seemed nice and presentable and had just completed their TESL programs at reputable schools. So you have to wonder. Perhaps we did not have enough experience for their standards. Which, if that was the case, I don't know why we were "invited". Anyway, just a heads-up, getting to the point of just getting a job interview could take a big investment of your time without much return. And when they say they'll "be in touch", they might not.

I was handed a letter of  termination without cause after 8 days. I have a pretty good guess why but I’d rather not go there.  The majority of employees were new so it was a red flag of how easily replaceable everyone is and that employees in this place don’t have longevity.

My supervisor, who is also new and is part of the management team, talked in a bad tone about the only 2 old team members, who have been working there for a year, on my first day on the job and subtly tried to suggest  there were sides to take in the organisation; the “old” and the “new”. I think it was supposed to be subtle but it was not subtle enough. Another red flag.

75% of the tasks on my training schedule were skipped and I had to keep asking for tasks and my training but to no avail. I was left all alone most of the time even after constantly asking to be trained. But it makes sense not to train me if I was going to be terminated eventually. 

It was emphasized that I needed to be flexible with my hours on my first day and that I needed to work extra hours during peak times then, and I quote, “carve those hours back somewhere else but those hours won’t be mapped 1-to-1”. That translates to “you are going to be overworked but not paid for it”.  That’s a major red flag.

The team is amazingly diverse and the individuals seem nice to work with and I think it appears to be an okay culture to start your journey in, if you don’t have much experience in Canada.  I just did not have time to confirm that so take this with a grain of salt.  

Overall, from my personal experience, this organisation is littered with red flags that I would  not recommend it unless you want to gain your first experience in Canada, maybe.

Working at ILAC was both challenging and rewarding. I appreciated the opportunity to assist students and handle various responsibilities, but there were significant issues that made the experience difficult. The salary was not competitive, and many employees were being let go, with those remaining expected to take on additional duties without any increase in pay. The pressure to perform was high, as responsibilities from multiple departments were shifted onto fewer staff members.

In addition, some managers resorted to giving thinly veiled "constructive feedback," which often felt more like covert criticism or personal attacks. This created a toxic work environment, especially since it became clear that genuine support for professional development was lacking.

One manager, in particular, left a lasting negative impression by enforcing unreasonable policies, such as denying breaks for basic needs like using the restroom, while demanding constant availability to answer calls related to ESL inquiries, colleges, and prospective students, alongside other tasks.

The workload was overwhelming, as I had to manage a high volume of daily cases through the ticketing system, handle numerous phone calls, and assist students onsite, all with minimal support. Despite these challenges, I found fulfillment in helping students navigate their educational paths and contributing to the organization's mission.

Ultimately, while ILAC offered valuable learning experiences, the lack of fair compensation, poor management practices, and unrealistic workload expectations significantly diminished employee morale and satisfaction.

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