Is Angelina's ESL Cafe A China Job Scam Recruiter Like China ESL & China-Tesol Or Legit?

Question

I went to a Teach-In-China job fair in Los Angeles two months and made a mistake of leaving a resumes with two people who had a booth that said "Angelina's ESL Cafe" and although they were friendly and very helpful, I was told that I could earn $30,000 a year in China as an ESL teacher even though I my degree is in history and I have never taught anything in my life. They also told me the following which I have recently learned is a) illegal, and b) a lie...

1. I could go to work for them in China with a tourist "L" visa and they would "convert" it to a "Z" work visa after my "90 day probation period". I got a copy of China's Labor & Visa's laws from the China Foreign Teachers Union, and working on an L visa is 100% illegal and if caught, I would be fined and deported with a 3 year reentry ban. Also a 90 day probationary period requires a 3 year contract, not the one year contract they offered me.

2. That during my 90 day probationary period I would work for 50% of a normal salary. I have visited a few ESL & TEFL forums and message boards that say this is a red flag for a scam.

So after I learned the above, I did more research on line and other recruiters like China ESL (owned by a Chinese lady named Rebecca Tang) and China-Tesol (Owned by an Australian guy named Geoff Weymouth) do the same type of L Visa recruiting and offer reduced pay during probationary periods, and are blacklisted as scams. Is Angelina's ESL Cafe also a scam? Can anyone tell me please? Thank you!

Answer 1

Andy L. is wrong. Chinese schools still gain stature with parents by having native speakers teaching English. Unfortunately, that means they hire native speakers with no training or experience. If you really want to teach English, get at least a certificate in TESL/TEFL. That will qualify you for the better jobs.

I would be very skeptical of ANY program that told you you could earn $30,000 a year in China. Wages have gone up there, but not that much.



chinaprogram.org in not a scam.

Answer 2

Thanks for the quick reply Andy. Do you know who owns Angelina's ESL Café since I am curious to know about the owner's nationality and reputation? They call me at least twice a week and email me every day with job offers. Have you seen their web site at www.anesl.com? I saw all the nasty comments at scam.com a few minutes ago, but how can such a big recruiter who has been operating for 10 years not be legitimate. I mean, if they were this bad, wouldn't the government shut them down already?

Answer 3

"The days of foreigners doing English teaching in China without being fluent in Chinese also are basically over."

That is not true. Knowledge of the L1(students' first language) is not required for English teaching jobs in foreign countries.

Answer 4

Daves Esl Cafe

Answer 5

Learn to use Google and you would not have to ask questions like this. Google "Angelina's ESL Cafe Scam" and read the horror stories for yourself Doc.



http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=605415



There's quite a few more but this one should answer your question.

Answer 6

Both Angelina's ESL Cafe and Rebecca Tang's China ESL are well know scam agencies and need to be avoided. Here is why...



http://www.realscam.com/f8/rebeccas-china-esl-scam-continues-new-life-esl-david-valley-3349/



http://eslwatch.info/china-2/scams-or-schemes-in-china/12159-david-valley-perpetuating-china-esl-teacher-recruiting-scam-new-life-esl-also-suspect.html



These two women are proverbial vultures always circling for newbie foreign teachers to use, abuse, and eat for lunch!



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Answer 7

Yes, of course you can, ideal for many places! If you want a different experience away from the big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou etc, like in a small developing city (in a developing state college/university), in a not so wealthy province in the South of China surrounded by many mountains, contact me through here- Yahoo.

Answer 8

$30,000? No. Salaries range on average from 4,000-15,000RMB a month. "Probation" is common in China. Beware. I would find a better job and skip recruiters if you can.



It's also a copy cat name. The original is Dave's ESL Cafe.