Lanie R.

Allan Zhang

51Talk was showing red signs even before I started the training but I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

1. The first training was for 5 hours and this was with no pay.
2. The second training is with pay however, the trainees are required to do various tasks after the training. This tasks are time consuming and with no pay.
3. They penalize teachers for absences of $16 per session regardless of reason; doctor's or hospital's note are not accepted, they will penalize the teacher, period!
4. Poor communication. They will say one thing on an email and another thing on the next email.
5. It is difficult to get a hold of technical support. If a teacher is having an emergency, it is likely that the response time from tech support will take 12-24 hours.
6. Waking up at 3 in the morning to accommodate the time difference.

I work 2 jobs. I work as a teacher and I also work as a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist for foster children. I accepted the job offer from 51 talk as a gig and because I enjoy working with young children.

After the 3rd day of training with 51talk, I received a feedback on one of my tasks from the trainer at 1:00 A.M. PST. I was asked to redo my task and to submit it on the same day before 4PM PST. At 4 PM PST, I also had to attend the 51talk training. I did not have enough window to accommodate everything in such a short period of time so I messaged my trainer, Allan Zhang asking for a one time extension. The trainer, Allan Zhang was very unfriendly and unprofessional with his responses. But again, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and in order to ascertain the gest that I was getting from his messages. I reiterated and reworded my plea multiple times. However, my understanding was correct the first time. His main response was "other teachers were able to do it so, so should you" and "you should have done your task correctly the first time, then you wouldn't have to redo it". Allan Zhang continued by telling me that I had 15 hours to redo my task. I responded by asking him to reconsider just that "one time" and pointed out that the 15 hour he was referring to, includes my bedtime and my time at work. Again, I only asked for a one time consideration but Allan Zhang responded in an unethical and unprofessional manner.

To those who plan to work with 51Talk, think, think, and think again. The only "Pro" I see is that, if teaching is your passion, the job will give you a great sense of fulfillment... working with kids is happiness by itself. As for the rating, I would have given them a "Negative" if it was an option for the review.