[Yubumsuk]

mmm helpful topic

im currently filling out the SMOE app and im thinking which job i should prioritize first...

I heard things about Hagwons but the girl at koreaconnections.net said their hagwons are decent and wont do anything like miss your paycheck etc.

so hagwons have smaller classes and might have other foreigners there less vacation time

public schools have bigger classes u will be the only for foreigner ya vacation time



mmm can anyone sway me one way or the other?

No recruiter can guarantee such things.

A good hagwon can be a much easier introduction to Korea. However, I feel much more like an actual teacher at my public school. I can see, however, why some people would be much more comfortable at a hagwon working with other foreigners. Personally I much prefer working with Koreans, but I can see how not every foreigner or even westernised gyopo would like it.

do they have any English Teaching programs in Korea that are only for summers? I'm not sure yet if I want to take a whole year off before I go to grad school...

Yes, there are heaps of summer 'camps' that last 1-4 weeks. Summer break for school is only 4-5 weeks so it's hardly enough time to make coming here worthwhile, however.

I'm a Linguistics major graduating next year and instead of going right into grad school, I've been seriously thinking about teaching English in another country.

I was wondering how much Korean is required/preferred to teach in Korea. I've been taking Japanese for 3 years now, so that's a definite choice. But over the past 2 years I've found I like Korean culture just as much. Plus it seems cheaper AND I like the food much more.
However, I've only studied Korean by myself so far. And I'm signed up for 101 next semester. If all goes right by the time I graduate I'll have taken only a year of Korean. Is that enough to go and teach there? I should I stick to just applying to Japan?

If you've passed Korean 101 you'll be ahead of most foreign teachers who've been here for a year, though you might find what you've learned a bit impractical. Some jobs actually prohibit foreign teachers from speaking Korean in the classroom, and few encourage it.

[uwmissy]

Those who teach/taught at a PUBLIC school:


Just curious... what are the main topics you teach?

Speaking/pronunciation?
Vocabulary?
Do you teach them differences between noun/verb/adj, etc?


Maybe all of the above? None of the above? Anything else?

let's share. lol

[ginger]

Those who teach/taught at a PUBLIC school:


Just curious... what are the main topics you teach?

Speaking/pronunciation?
Vocabulary?
Do you teach them differences between noun/verb/adj, etc?


Maybe all of the above? None of the above? Anything else?

let's share. lol

You'll just teach "English conversation", which is basically comprised of dialogues that the students have to memorize. They are supposed to be learning nouns/adjectives/verbs/etc in their Korean English classes, but when I mentioned the word "verb" to a class of 3rd years, only a handful actually knew what it was.

Basically...a lot depends on how flexible your co-teachers are. Some co-teachers will want you to stick with the book, others will encourage you to create games/activities that allow the kids to think outside the box. Unfortunately, the majority of co-teachers fall under the former category, since the teachers are worried about how their students will do on their exams.

-ginger

[DCalypso]

I'm a Linguistics major graduating next year and instead of going right into grad school, I've been seriously thinking about teaching English in another country.

I was wondering how much Korean is required/preferred to teach in Korea. I've been taking Japanese for 3 years now, so that's a definite choice. But over the past 2 years I've found I like Korean culture just as much. Plus it seems cheaper AND I like the food much more.
However, I've only studied Korean by myself so far. And I'm signed up for 101 next semester. If all goes right by the time I graduate I'll have taken only a year of Korean. Is that enough to go and teach there? I should I stick to just applying to Japan?

I've been interested in teaching English in Korea too, like you. (but I'm just a soon-to-be sophomore in college hehe)
But the only reason for this interest is living in the Korean culture
My friends, who are Korean natives, say that many English teachers in Korea don't even speak an ounce of Korean. Many students in Korea prefer teachers who speak English and teach in only English.

You'd probably have to research some schools and organizations in Korea if that's what you're into.
Good Luck!

[Yubumsuk]

Those who teach/taught at a PUBLIC school:


Just curious... what are the main topics you teach?

Speaking/pronunciation?
Vocabulary?
Do you teach them differences between noun/verb/adj, etc?


Maybe all of the above? None of the above? Anything else?

let's share. lol

This depends on a lot of factors. The first is what level you're teaching: elementary, middle school, academic high school, or vocational high school (I teach the latter three). The second is what type of class: regularly scheduled lessons, extra lessons (after-school, evening, or Saturday), or winter / summer break lessons. The third is how much autonomy you have and how much the Korean English teachers trust you to handle things.

My general approach is to focus on important areas that the Korean teachers can't or don't do, to the extent that's possible in large classes full of students not used to having English as the language of instruction. Of course I focus on speaking, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. I also sometimes do task-based and content-based learning. This week one of my middle school classes made English menus they could practice ordering from. For one of my high school lessons we learned about what countries use what currencies. I often try to different cultural items and differences as topics for lessons.

I also find that there's quite a big difference between middle and high school re: how closely I feel I should stick to their English textbooks. Our textbook dialogues form part of the basis of their exams for middle school so I'll generally use these a lot more than the dialogues in our high school textbooks. Also, I can give the Korean teachers questions to put on the exam based around what I cover from their textbooks which gets the students taking my lessons more seriously (what second language acquisition theorists call 'instrumental motivation', something that's very important to understand in a Korean context). The same goes for how closely I work with Korean teachers in planning lessons. For middle school I try to coordinate my lessons around what the Korean teachers are teaching, whereas high school my co-workers would rather that I just do all the planning myself. As a general rule you cannot rely on Korean teachers to have any useful advice on what you teach; you'll have to figure out what works best for you and your students. I should also note that there’s a huge difference between elementary and secondary school students in terms of cognitive awareness and ability to learn implicitly, especially in Korea, and an approach that’s effective with one group often won’t be with the other.

[TKY]

What major are you supposed be in and what classes do you need to take in college to teach English in korea?

Hello. I was about to ask the exact same thing was woopeedoo. I'm currently 23 attending a technical school, but now I know its not the path I want to take as a career. What exactly are the requirements to teach in Korea? I have asked my relatives in Korea, and they told me that I would need to get a TESOL? Certificate first. By the way, I don't have any degree whatsoever...just a high school diploma.

Oh yea...my introduction.

Names Tom.
Born in Seoul Korea, came to the states at age six and grew up in So Cal most of my life. LA area mainly.

[diopatra]

im from manila philippines living within the the university belt. i see a lot of foreign students here and the number of korean student are increasing. they say studying in korea is expensive compared here, that's why they come and study here.

i think they learn faster since the only way they can communicate to non korean studentas around them is in english.

[Yubumsuk]

Hello. I was about to ask the exact same thing was woopeedoo. I'm currently 23 attending a technical school, but now I know its not the path I want to take as a career. What exactly are the requirements to teach in Korea? I have asked my relatives in Korea, and they told me that I would need to get a TESOL? Certificate first. By the way, I don't have any degree whatsoever...just a high school diploma.

Oh yea...my introduction.

Names Tom.
Born in Seoul Korea, came to the states at age six and grew up in So Cal most of my life. LA area mainly.

This has been covered in some depth above. You'll need a bachelor's degree to teach legally at an institution or to get a tutor's license to do private tutoring legally. If you want to go the illegal route there are opportunities to do so, but I can't endorse that.

[Yubumsuk]

im from manila philippines living within the the university belt. i see a lot of foreign students here and the number of korean student are increasing. they say studying in korea is expensive compared here, that's why they come and study here.

i think they learn faster since the only way they can communicate to non korean studentas around them is in english.

Considering that many hotel maids in the Philippines have better conversational English than many English teachers in Korea this is hardly surprising. As long as they don't only hang out with other Koreans or get too sucked into the night life (for the guys) it's a far better opportunity at a much lower cost. In Korea there's almost no opportunity for learning English implicitly (i.e. an English environment) and teachers think everything must be taught explicitly, meaning long, counter-productive explanations done only in Korean.

[TKY]

This has been covered in some depth above. You'll need a bachelor's degree to teach legally at an institution or to get a tutor's license to do private tutoring legally. If you want to go the illegal route there are opportunities to do so, but I can't endorse that.

Thank you for the reply. Getting a bachelor won't be an option for me. I guess I'll be stuck in the states...

[Milspex]

Thank you for the reply. Getting a bachelor won't be an option for me. I guess I'll be stuck in the states...

I would say more than 50% of English Teachers in Korea are working illegally

bribes are more important that actual credentials

[Yubumsuk]

I would say more than 50% of English Teachers in Korea are working illegally

bribes are more important that actual credentials

If you include E2 visa holders teaching private lessons on the side and Koreans teaching at places without the proper government certification that may possibly be true. But whom do you mean when you say 'English teachers'? Foreigners? Koreans? Uni students doing private tutoring?

[j00n]

If you include E2 visa holders teaching private lessons on the side and Koreans teaching at places without the proper government certification that may possibly be true. But whom do you mean when you say 'English teachers'? Foreigners? Koreans? Uni students doing private tutoring?

He probably means Americans (or Korean Americans) teaching English in Korea.

[Yubumsuk]

He probably means Americans (or Korean Americans) teaching English in Korea.

Only about 25% of the foreign teaching community in Korea is American. And that's only if you include native speakers, not SE and South Asians who teach on the side of whatever else they do. Most foreigners who engage in illegal teaching do so on the side of other jobs which are usually legal.

It's also a very grey area in terms of illegality. My contract says I can only teach at my school, but I've been asked by the head of English to do illegal part-time tutoring for someone he knew (I turned it down). Now, if I did it at my school, would it be illegal? I am apparently allowed to teach anything so long as it's in or about English at my school. What about if I did it at my home, a teacher's residence my school owns? Does that still count as teaching at my school's campus? What about making some audio-recordings for my friend who owns an English academy? Is that illegal work? Is it illegal if he takes me out to steak dinner or the rooms salon to say thanks?

There are so many obscurities and so much vagueness that it's pretty well impossible to quantify illegal teaching, either by foriegners or Koreans, in any way.

[hanee]

hi!
i didnt know where else to put this...
but is
http://www.tesolonline.com/?gclid=CKvRpbnco5ACFRE2egodeWkyqQ
a legit site?

and if not does anyone know of a legit site?
and if anyone has been through an online tesol course, can you share your experience?

thanks!!!

[Yubumsuk]

hi!
i didnt know where else to put this...
but is
http://www.tesolonline.com/?gclid=CKvRpbnco5ACFRE2egodeWkyqQ
a legit site?

and if not does anyone know of a legit site?
and if anyone has been through an online tesol course, can you share your experience?

thanks!!!

You may wish to check out the 'Teaching English in Korea thread'.

On-line TESOL certificates are not worth a great deal, unless your future employer is familiar with the specific one you did, or is familiar with whoever's signature and stamp is on it, and approves of it. Anyone can print out a TESOL certificate and sell it to anyone. Any website that offers them can disappear; for this reason, if you're going to do one on-line, do it through a web-based institution that's affiliated with an actual physical institution. Also, make sure your certificate will specify that you took a 100+ hour course. If you wish to teach in Korea some employers may give you a slightly higher (i.e. 5-10%) salary if you have one.

The main question is what you want the TESOL for. What are you planning / hoping to do with it?

[hanee]

^ just to teach.
im in china right now..
i have no BA so i work "illegally" right now, but my boss says that she'd pay me more with a tesol certificate, and pay for the course so i was looking into it but didnt know what was legit~

[Milspex]

^ just to teach.
im in china right now..
i have no BA so i work "illegally" right now, but my boss says that she'd pay me more with a tesol certificate, and pay for the course so i was looking into it but didnt know what was legit~

most online Tesol courses dont account for much, since they are online. the in person tesol courses would be better. but a tesol cert doesnt help in Korea. if you have a MA with a tesol cert you can get higher pay in Korea. but why would you get a MA just to teach english ya know!

you should work in Korea, hagwons will hire you whether you have a BA or not and the pay is gonna be more than China.

[hanee]

most online Tesol courses dont account for much, since they are online. the in person tesol courses would be better. but a tesol cert doesnt help in Korea. if you have a MA with a tesol cert you can get higher pay in Korea. but why would you get a MA just to teach english ya know!

you should work in Korea, hagwons will hire you whether you have a BA or not and the pay is gonna be more than China.

i know korea would pay more, but im in school in china, and it helps that im trilingual...the pay in china isnt all that bad though, since im trilingual i get paid around 2000 even without a ba here in china. and i like china alot better than korea... even though im of korean desent. anyways even if tesol online doesnt count for much, my boss wants me to go through the course... so if anyone knows a legit site, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee recommend!!!

[j00n]

Only about 25% of the foreign teaching community in Korea is American. And that's only if you include native speakers, not SE and South Asians who teach on the side of whatever else they do. Most foreigners who engage in illegal teaching do so on the side of other jobs which are usually legal.

It's also a very grey area in terms of illegality. My contract says I can only teach at my school, but I've been asked by the head of English to do illegal part-time tutoring for someone he knew (I turned it down). Now, if I did it at my school, would it be illegal? I am apparently allowed to teach anything so long as it's in or about English at my school. What about if I did it at my home, a teacher's residence my school owns? Does that still count as teaching at my school's campus? What about making some audio-recordings for my friend who owns an English academy? Is that illegal work? Is it illegal if he takes me out to steak dinner or the rooms salon to say thanks?

There are so many obscurities and so much vagueness that it's pretty well impossible to quantify illegal teaching, either by foriegners or Koreans, in any way.

In Korea you have to understand that most rules can be bent, and often times will. A written contract is simply a foundation. Koreans generally do not pore over each word in the contract to understand the legal implications. Technically, if you're on a E2 Visa, sponsored by YOUR school, than YES it IS illegal for you to teach (for monetary payment) outside of the classroom, and outside of the curriculum you have.

I would have done the part-time tutoring if the Head of the school asked me, because he's in the highest position, but no one else. It's all about the networking and connections really. Working in Korea is like working in Hollywood. A lot of deals are done over the clink of soju bottles, and a lot of it is referrals from someone who knows you, etc. It's a very much a "you scratch my back, i scratch yours" kinda deal. In Korea, the "spirit of the law" and "intentions" mean just as much if not more than the actual "letter of the law".

Of course the best situation is to get in on a F4 Visa and you can teach anywhere.