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Reviews — 8
Opinion from a FORMER TEACHER (if you think I'm a troll, read the end of my post)
I worked at Amira for several years, and it is by far THE WORST school I have ever worked at. I saw almost all my colleagues leave, before leaving too when, like almost all of my colleagues, the manager tried to cheat me out of my salary. Several times.
QUALITY: very relative
In theory, teachers are well paid. In reality, the school does not know how to manage neither the teachers' shifts. I was asked to block out my schedule weeks in advance in order to give classes, and finally, 3 days before the classes were scheduled to start, I often received an email saying the class was canceled. So, I lost the equivalent in salary of the number of lessons (for example around 30 hours at a 32Eur/h rate = nearly 1000Euros in deadweight loss for me). Also, the boss decided to lower my payments and those of several of my colleagues for obscure reasons never stipulated in the agreements between the school and the teachers.
WELL paid teachers?
Yes, but only when there is actual work, when a planned session actually starts, and if the boss does not try to scam his teachers. If you are thinking of becoming a teacher at Amira, think carefully: there are many other language schools in Brussels. On paper, they may pay less, but in reality, they offer you work regularly and they pay you exactly what they owe you.
STUDENTS: Beware of the typical trap
There are many schools much better organized than Amira. If you still wanna try, there are two scenarios:
- Everything is going well, your course is not canceled, you have a nice and competent teacher and you do not regret your money.
- Or, as it happens regularly, your course is canceled at the last minute (because not enough people registered) and, to avoid having to reimburse you, they will offer you online courses of the same level or on-site lessons in a class of another level (lower or higher). You will accept because you will tell yourself that you want to take lessons quickly, then you will realize that you do not like it and that it is not what you had asked for. You will ask for a refund but it will be too late: you will be told that the school is not obliged to reimburse you because you have already started a session. The more you will insist, the more you will realize the true face of the school's management: your satisfaction always counts less than their desire to make money.
If you find yourself in this situation, REFUSE from the start and do not start a session: you paid for a specific service and you want THIS precise service.
OLD SCHOOL
Everything smells old: the website is old, the logo is old, the management method is old, the course materials are old.
A questionable FOLLOW-UP
Student “monitoring” consists of an attendance sheet and a final evaluation which is not controlled by anyone and carried out according to criteria different from one teacher to another, without any harmonization. There is no feedback between the school and the teachers at the end of a session, apart from very general considerations like: “How was it? Did it go well ? ".
To prove that I'm not a troll, but a real person:
- the photos you see on the website are obsolete, no teacher on these photos still works there. The same goes for the classrooms, the photos are those from a previous address. The current school in Saint-Gilles has 5 classrooms which look more like an apartment than a school.
- when you enter, on the right, there are 3 rooms, one with plants and a sofa (room C), the one next to it, very tiny (you can barely enter with 4 people (room D)), and another room next to it (room E), with toilets attached to it.
- on the left, 2 other classrooms (A and B) and, between the two, a small kitchen which serves as a break room. There is a Nespresso dispenser, a little finicky. Immediately to the left of the entrance, other toilets
- in front of the entrance, the staff's room. The boss is seated in the back left seat, in front of the left window. You will barely understand him no matter what language he uses
I worked at Amira for several years, and it is by far THE WORST school I have ever worked at. I saw almost all my colleagues leave, before leaving too when, like almost all of my colleagues, the manager tried to cheat me out of my salary. Several times.
QUALITY: very relative
In theory, teachers are well paid. In reality, the school does not know how to manage neither the teachers' shifts. I was asked to block out my schedule weeks in advance in order to give classes, and finally, 3 days before the classes were scheduled to start, I often received an email saying the class was canceled. So, I lost the equivalent in salary of the number of lessons (for example around 30 hours at a 32Eur/h rate = nearly 1000Euros in deadweight loss for me). Also, the boss decided to lower my payments and those of several of my colleagues for obscure reasons never stipulated in the agreements between the school and the teachers.
WELL paid teachers?
Yes, but only when there is actual work, when a planned session actually starts, and if the boss does not try to scam his teachers. If you are thinking of becoming a teacher at Amira, think carefully: there are many other language schools in Brussels. On paper, they may pay less, but in reality, they offer you work regularly and they pay you exactly what they owe you.
STUDENTS: Beware of the typical trap
There are many schools much better organized than Amira. If you still wanna try, there are two scenarios:
- Everything is going well, your course is not canceled, you have a nice and competent teacher and you do not regret your money.
- Or, as it happens regularly, your course is canceled at the last minute (because not enough people registered) and, to avoid having to reimburse you, they will offer you online courses of the same level or on-site lessons in a class of another level (lower or higher). You will accept because you will tell yourself that you want to take lessons quickly, then you will realize that you do not like it and that it is not what you had asked for. You will ask for a refund but it will be too late: you will be told that the school is not obliged to reimburse you because you have already started a session. The more you will insist, the more you will realize the true face of the school's management: your satisfaction always counts less than their desire to make money.
If you find yourself in this situation, REFUSE from the start and do not start a session: you paid for a specific service and you want THIS precise service.
OLD SCHOOL
Everything smells old: the website is old, the logo is old, the management method is old, the course materials are old.
A questionable FOLLOW-UP
Student “monitoring” consists of an attendance sheet and a final evaluation which is not controlled by anyone and carried out according to criteria different from one teacher to another, without any harmonization. There is no feedback between the school and the teachers at the end of a session, apart from very general considerations like: “How was it? Did it go well ? ".
To prove that I'm not a troll, but a real person:
- the photos you see on the website are obsolete, no teacher on these photos still works there. The same goes for the classrooms, the photos are those from a previous address. The current school in Saint-Gilles has 5 classrooms which look more like an apartment than a school.
- when you enter, on the right, there are 3 rooms, one with plants and a sofa (room C), the one next to it, very tiny (you can barely enter with 4 people (room D)), and another room next to it (room E), with toilets attached to it.
- on the left, 2 other classrooms (A and B) and, between the two, a small kitchen which serves as a break room. There is a Nespresso dispenser, a little finicky. Immediately to the left of the entrance, other toilets
- in front of the entrance, the staff's room. The boss is seated in the back left seat, in front of the left window. You will barely understand him no matter what language he uses
Unfortunately, I don’t have a good experience here overall. This is a school with some very good teachers but with bad and impulsive managers.
I got my first class which was all fine then for A.1.2 i was put together in the same class where the people were in Brussels for longer and can speak better as their mother tongue. I am Turkish, of-course we have the same alphabet and its my own responsibility to learn but it was so hard with my new classmates. I was happy when they offered me that may I can continue it online.
HOWEVER weeks passed and my classes didnt start. When i mailed i found out because there are not enough people -bizzare for a school claims they only
Have a few Spaces left- they insisted me to restart with the A.1.1, where I started to turn an eye as they were not naming the problem (no one else for the online class) but doing this very old negotiation.
I asked for refund but only 50% of my money is returned. I am so regretful that I paid 2 courses before starting my classes as i thought the places were filling.
No good manager would do such a mistake at negotiations. I dont recommend. Im only giving 2 stars as i was satisfied with my teacher at a.1.1.
I got my first class which was all fine then for A.1.2 i was put together in the same class where the people were in Brussels for longer and can speak better as their mother tongue. I am Turkish, of-course we have the same alphabet and its my own responsibility to learn but it was so hard with my new classmates. I was happy when they offered me that may I can continue it online.
HOWEVER weeks passed and my classes didnt start. When i mailed i found out because there are not enough people -bizzare for a school claims they only
Have a few Spaces left- they insisted me to restart with the A.1.1, where I started to turn an eye as they were not naming the problem (no one else for the online class) but doing this very old negotiation.
I asked for refund but only 50% of my money is returned. I am so regretful that I paid 2 courses before starting my classes as i thought the places were filling.
No good manager would do such a mistake at negotiations. I dont recommend. Im only giving 2 stars as i was satisfied with my teacher at a.1.1.
Its strange that once you left a bad review you are called troll and in the comment this school says i have never been a student. Its not only under my comment but under other bad reviews i see. 1 star for being dishonest. So sad.
Amira is a fantastic language school. I have just finished an intensive French course and I am going to take another one in the new year. The school has different approach than other language schools, it puts a great emphasis on speaking and using the language in everyday life. In addition, there are many games such as Kahoot, translation of the lyrics and other interactive activities that help you learn the language quickly. I also highly recommend Olga, a teacher who primarily teaches people from Ukraine. The atmosphere in her classes is wonderful, besides, she is very professional, she makes sure that everyone repeats new phrases out loud, and besides, she is a wonderful, empathetic person.
À bientôt!
À bientôt!
I had a great experience at Amira Language School. The teaching was very professional and the atmosphere in the place is great. I felt comfortable asking questions and always received an attentive response. At the end of the course I felt that my French had improved and I hope to continue for another course in the near future 🙌 Thanks!
I finished studying French in this school couple of weeks ago. This was my first introduction to French, meaning I had known nothing, apart from several well known phrases, prior to enrolling. At this point in time I am able to engage into any type of conversation as well as read, write and understand most of French. It was a 2 year journey during which I attended 12 evening courses in a row. The groups were small, from 5 to never more than 8 students. Classrooms were big enough and well equipped with interactive screens.
Teachers were knowledgeable, educated and above all motivated to teach students in the right manner. They were addressing every question I had in a timely manner and were available for short consultations even after the official hours. Provided was feedback, online resources for self-study as well as homework after each and every session.
The administration was efficient, English speaking and ready to meet my needs. As far as the price is concerned it was not at all high for this type of courses, and there is a nice discount if several courses are bought in advance.
All in all I would strongly recommend everyone to give this school a try. Chances are you won't be disappointed.
Teachers were knowledgeable, educated and above all motivated to teach students in the right manner. They were addressing every question I had in a timely manner and were available for short consultations even after the official hours. Provided was feedback, online resources for self-study as well as homework after each and every session.
The administration was efficient, English speaking and ready to meet my needs. As far as the price is concerned it was not at all high for this type of courses, and there is a nice discount if several courses are bought in advance.
All in all I would strongly recommend everyone to give this school a try. Chances are you won't be disappointed.
The group course is very good.
But very very careful when you want to take a private course with them. I took a private course in the school. The professor was always late or sick and his method was really messy. I didn't get anything benefit from the course. When I want to end the course, I asked refund, the school didn't want to refund and they made up the conditions of the course. And finally refunded me 50 Euros (supposed to 100 EUR - I paid 500 Euros).
My experience for you is NEVER TAKE A PRIVATE course in this school, there are a lot of place with a good private course and cheaper. In case you want, remember to ask or check all the condition of the course. Although I didn't remember any condition before asked for the private course, many things can show up such as the professor is careless and unprofessional. Ask for probation 1 or 2 classes and how to handle if the probation is not good. Otherwise, you have a lot of choice outside and it is cheaper with the price 35-40 Euros/45 mins.
Besides those, some of best professors of the school quited the school because the politics of the school is really suck. The school is good because of the professors not the administrators overthere.
But very very careful when you want to take a private course with them. I took a private course in the school. The professor was always late or sick and his method was really messy. I didn't get anything benefit from the course. When I want to end the course, I asked refund, the school didn't want to refund and they made up the conditions of the course. And finally refunded me 50 Euros (supposed to 100 EUR - I paid 500 Euros).
My experience for you is NEVER TAKE A PRIVATE course in this school, there are a lot of place with a good private course and cheaper. In case you want, remember to ask or check all the condition of the course. Although I didn't remember any condition before asked for the private course, many things can show up such as the professor is careless and unprofessional. Ask for probation 1 or 2 classes and how to handle if the probation is not good. Otherwise, you have a lot of choice outside and it is cheaper with the price 35-40 Euros/45 mins.
Besides those, some of best professors of the school quited the school because the politics of the school is really suck. The school is good because of the professors not the administrators overthere.