[Yubumsuk]

So what exactly is the co-teacher's purpose within the classroom? Do they help us teach the lesson in English, or do they sit in the classroom and help with discipline and translation when there's a problem? I don't really see how effective the classes would be if the co-teacher translates everything.

It really, really depends on the school and the co-teachers. Most jobs for foreigners in the public school system involve teaching your regular lessons with 'co-teachers', but how this works out in reality is very hit and miss. At the one extreme you may have CTs who never come to class with you and on the other end you may have ones who plan a lesson and just use you as their puppet / human tape-recorder. More common is a CT that usually comes to class but then stands or sits at the back most of the time leaving the foreign teacher to lead everything.

In my experience all of the CTs I've with whom I've worked prefer me to plan everything and lead the lesson, and if there's anything I want them to explain or translate they much prefer that I give it to them in advance of the lesson. If it's for a lesson where for most of it I don't really need a CT I might cover the part I want to do with the CT near the beginning of the lesson, after which they can go back to the staff room if they have better things to do.

"I don't really see how effective the classes would be if the co-teacher translates everything."

You're bang on.

[JunEunHae<3]

Random: we should have an SMOE-Soompi meet up at some point. There appear to be at least a handful of people from this site that are already in SMOE or that are coming this semester.

-ginger

I'd definitely be up for that ^^ on a sidenote: the SMOE posts on your blog were a huge lifesaver for me when I applied last year and I left a reply to say thanks! Still, thankyou again and its really great to see you being just as helpful to others.. I will also try to from now on..

yes, I am. =) I got in through koreaconnections. Did you as well?
I'm not 100% sure that I'll be teaching elementary school, but during the interview, they did ask what grade level I would prefer and I quickly answered "elementary school"
I have more experience with younger children...and quite frankly, middle-high school students scare me...since they could probably beat me up. with one hand, and with their eyes closed...
When exactly is the beginning of orientation? I'm hearing March 1st and February 28th...?

lol..I was exactly the same.. for some reason Middle school seems even scarier than High School..lol.. Anyway, I got into elementary school and I'm loving it. The kids are amazing and sweet--even the sixth graders are well behaved for the most part!( but I've been told that our school is a special case..lol) I'm actually really sad this week since they graduate on Friday.. they've been some of my favourite classes.

sally.h: Like Yubumsuk says, the co-teaching situation can be varied. In my case, we have a Korean English classroom and teacher...so I just make the rounds of the different classrooms and teach the kids (usually with the homeroom teachers present). But they usually sit back and do their work and only offer translations if I ask them to. I thought it'd be difficult but some of my classes where the homeroom teachers leave are actually work out better^^
The only drawback with this situation is that I have a lot more planning since the Korean English teacher uses the text book. However, I get to decide whatever I want to do every week so it's not too bad.

On the other hand, my friend is also teaching Elementary but she plans lessons with her co-teacher and hardly gets a word in edgewise. Basically the teacher runs the class and she's there for re-inforcement of proper accent apparently. Oh and she teaches only grades 3-6 (meeting 5s and 6s twice a week) while I teach 1-6(all just once a week).

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the different possibilities.

[Bamidele]

For those who went through Korea Connections how long is it before you get an interview with a school? Is it a guarantee that you will get an interview? What is the likelihood of actually getting hired? I know I want to work at a public school is Seoul, but can I only go through SMOE?

I've done all the application stuff, and will do the background check in March, and then transcript stuff in May so I am not sure if I should be doing anything else. I did sign up to take a TEFL course so they will pay me more.

From everyone I have been talking to they all ended of with a job, but I want to know if I should keep looking into other avenues.

Thanks for any help!!

[KYC]

For those who went through Korea Connections how long is it before you get an interview with a school? Is it a guarantee that you will get an interview? What is the likelihood of actually getting hired? I know I want to work at a public school is Seoul, but can I only go through SMOE?

I've done all the application stuff, and will do the background check in March, and then transcript stuff in May so I am not sure if I should be doing anything else. I did sign up to take a TEFL course so they will pay me more.

From everyone I have been talking to they all ended of with a job, but I want to know if I should keep looking into other avenues.

Thanks for any help!!

hm, you must be mistaken. With SMOE, you don't interview with the school. You interview with an SMOE coordinator or supervisor. Yes, for public schools in Seoul you MUST go through SMOE. Most importantly, SMOE only accepts applications through certain recruiters. So, you MUST go through one of their approved recruiters. Korean Connections is one of them and I used them.

If Korean Connections accepts your application, chances are you'll be accepted into SMOE. As Jay Lee told me, more than 95% of their applicants are accepted to SMOE.

[ginger]

hm, you must be mistaken. With SMOE, you don't interview with the school. You interview with an SMOE coordinator or supervisor. Yes, for public schools in Seoul you MUST go through SMOE. Most importantly, SMOE only accepts applications through certain recruiters. So, you MUST go through one of their approved recruiters. Korean Connections is one of them and I used them.

If Korean Connections accepts your application, chances are you'll be accepted into SMOE. As Jay Lee told me, more than 95% of their applicants are accepted to SMOE.

Well, you *can* get a public school job in Seoul without SMOE, but it is very, very difficult. For example, Gangnam does not hire with SMOE--the schools do it individually. Thus, you pretty much have to know someone to be guaranteed an interview, and you'd have to interview in person. I don't know anyone working at a Gangnam public school, actually.

-ginger

[Yubumsuk]

hm, you must be mistaken. With SMOE, you don't interview with the school. You interview with an SMOE coordinator or supervisor. Yes, for public schools in Seoul you MUST go through SMOE.

There are some private, international, and foreign language schools that hire independently.

[ginger]

On a random note...

my 3rd years graduate this morning! It's 7:40 AM...just waiting for it to be 8:10 so I can walk to school. Man, I'm *reallllly* going to miss my 3rd years. When I first came to my school, it was right at the start of the second semester (the slacker semester), and I never really bonded with that set of 3rd years. Some classes, I only say maybe 6 or 7 times before they graduated.

But I've been with these 3rd years right from the start, and I'm going to miss them a lot. Bringing my camera and taking tons of pictures. I guess I'm really dreading it, too, because the rising 3rd years...I had them as 1st years and this set of kids is NOTORIOUS for acting up. Sure, there are some real gems, but overall, these kids have a pretty bad reputation at the school. Really not looking forward to it.

-ginger

[Yubumsuk]

On a random note...

my 3rd years graduate this morning! It's 7:40 AM...just waiting for it to be 8:10 so I can walk to school. Man, I'm *reallllly* going to miss my 3rd years. When I first came to my school, it was right at the start of the second semester (the slacker semester), and I never really bonded with that set of 3rd years. Some classes, I only say maybe 6 or 7 times before they graduated.

But I've been with these 3rd years right from the start, and I'm going to miss them a lot. Bringing my camera and taking tons of pictures. I guess I'm really dreading it, too, because the rising 3rd years...I had them as 1st years and this set of kids is NOTORIOUS for acting up. Sure, there are some real gems, but overall, these kids have a pretty bad reputation at the school. Really not looking forward to it.

-ginger

Our grad ceremony was yesterday, for both our middle and high school. I've been teaching both for all three years of school so I know what you mean. I can't believe all those 15-year-olds I started teaching over three years ago are now adults.

[ginger]

Our grad ceremony was yesterday, for both our middle and high school. I've been teaching both for all three years of school so I know what you mean. I can't believe all those 15-year-olds I started teaching over three years ago are now adults.

Wow, 3 years--that would be pretty freaky.

Gonna take 'em out to Hongdae for some drinks tonight?

-ginger

[Yubumsuk]

Wow, 3 years--that would be pretty freaky.

Gonna take 'em out to Hongdae for some drinks tonight?

-ginger

LOL, last night I went out for a drink with my English friend, who teaches at the other academic high school here in Hicksville, which also had their grad ceremony yesterday. We were just waiting for a group of our newly graduated students to waltz openly into the pub but never saw any in the area (we were sitting by a window across from two of the other largest pubs in town). We figured that they must have made plans for a big grad party somewhere outside town.

Not a single one of my students got into a university in Seoul this year.

[ginger]

LOL, last night I went out for a drink with my English friend, who teaches at the other academic high school here in Hicksville, which also had their grad ceremony yesterday. We were just waiting for a group of our newly graduated students to waltz openly into the pub but never saw any in the area (we were sitting by a window across from two of the other largest pubs in town). We figured that they must have made plans for a big grad party somewhere outside town.

Not a single one of my students got into a university in Seoul this year.

I bought drinks for this girl in Hongdae last week. It was her birthday, I'd met her once before just randomly (she's Korean with ok English), and she was with a big group of friends. I sent a round of tequila shots over to their table and later went up to wish her a happy birthday. She was turning 18! It was so weird to think that she as 17 yesterday...and I'd just bought drinks for her. Oh, well.

Wow, none?? I've heard my co-teachers say that *all* Seoul schools are really hard to get into nowadays, not just the KEYS schools. Eeesh.

-ginger

[Yubumsuk]

I bought drinks for this girl in Hongdae last week. It was her birthday, I'd met her once before just randomly (she's Korean with ok English), and she was with a big group of friends. I sent a round of tequila shots over to their table and later went up to wish her a happy birthday. She was turning 18! It was so weird to think that she as 17 yesterday...and I'd just bought drinks for her. Oh, well.

Wow, none?? I've heard my co-teachers say that *all* Seoul schools are really hard to get into nowadays, not just the KEYS schools. Eeesh.

-ginger

18 in Korean years? If so that would make them second-year high school students. If she's turning 18 in western years in 2009 she's probably actually going into grade 3 of high school this year, though she could be going into university.

I've kicked my high school students out of the bar a few times. The other week I was in the same pub as last night when three of my third-year students came in. The barmaid looked over at me for my verdict and I told her 'daum chu, choleobsik (next week, graduation) - it's OK'. I figured that after all the crap they've had to put up with over the past three years I'd credit them a week. When you become the de facto ID-checker at your local you know you've been teaching high school in a small town too long.

Last year the week after graduation I walked into the pub to find two of my recently graduated students casually puffing away on cigarettes. I was absolutely shocked because they had been two of my nicest, best behaved students for the previous two years. It made me wonder how long they had been doing that secret previous to that.

[ginger]

18 in Korean years? If so that would make them second-year high school students. If she's turning 18 in western years in 2009 she's probably actually going into grade 3 of high school this year, though she could be going into university.

I've kicked my high school students out of the bar a few times. The other week I was in the same pub as last night when three of my third-year students came in. The barmaid looked over at me for my verdict and I told her 'daum chu, choleobsik (next week, graduation) - it's OK'. I figured that after all the crap they've had to put up with over the past three years I'd credit them a week. When you become the de facto ID-checker at your local you know you've been teaching high school in a small town too long.

Last year the week after graduation I walked into the pub to find two of my recently graduated students casually puffing away on cigarettes. I was absolutely shocked because they had been two of my nicest, best behaved students for the previous two years. It made me wonder how long they had been doing that secret previous to that.

No, 18 in Western age! I asked what year she was born in--always safer than asking for the age and getting confused.

ID-checker? That's awesome. Uh...I still get carded in lots of places when people who are younger than me don't. You are quite lucky. One of my 3rd year middle school girls politely informed me that she'd been in Hongdae over the weekend. I raised an eyebrow, since this girl is the opposite of a "Hongdae" teen--she's respectful, studious, conservative, etc. So I asked her where, and she said "Club Spot"! Apparently, she went with her friend and her friend's high school boyfriend, and no one carded them. *I've* gotten carded there and I'm 8 years older than her. Annoying.

Yeah, the smoking...my school's bathrooms reek of it and I can smell it on so many students. It's like they don't even try to hide it. I guess it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for...

Oh, graduation was weird. We don't have an auditorium, so the parents just stand in the hallway and the students graduate in their classes. I ended up taking pictures with a bunch of students whose names I don't remember, and didn't find any of the students I *did* want to talk with!

-ginger

[Yubumsuk]

No, 18 in Western age! I asked what year she was born in--always safer than asking for the age and getting confused.

ID-checker? That's awesome. Uh...I still get carded in lots of places when people who are younger than me don't. You are quite lucky. One of my 3rd year middle school girls politely informed me that she'd been in Hongdae over the weekend. I raised an eyebrow, since this girl is the opposite of a "Hongdae" teen--she's respectful, studious, conservative, etc. So I asked her where, and she said "Club Spot"! Apparently, she went with her friend and her friend's high school boyfriend, and no one carded them. *I've* gotten carded there and I'm 8 years older than her. Annoying.

Yeah, the smoking...my school's bathrooms reek of it and I can smell it on so many students. It's like they don't even try to hide it. I guess it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for...

Oh, graduation was weird. We don't have an auditorium, so the parents just stand in the hallway and the students graduate in their classes. I ended up taking pictures with a bunch of students whose names I don't remember, and didn't find any of the students I *did* want to talk with!

-ginger

Yikes - a third year middle schooler getting into clubs? I've got quite good at guessing Koreans' ages but I guess you have to be careful, as there are a few who look older than they are and can act the part since a lot of adult Korean women tend to act like middle school girls when they're drinking. I find that if you're flirting with girls (maybe it works for guys, too) at a bar and you're at all suspect about their ages it's fun to show them old photos of you on old ID cards, and then ask to see theirs. Then you can scan right to the birth date and find out exactly how old they are. From time to time I see my students in Daegu on weekends all dressed and dolled up like little agashis, barely able to walk in high heels and looking like they just broke into their mothers' make-up kits for the first time and went wild. I doubt many of them would get into many clubs.

Smoking's still a pretty big no-no at my school. The last two students I caught smoking by the school were almost in tears begging me not to take them to the staff room.

As for graduation, since our school got a proper gym last year it's been a much more pleasant and less cold and windy experience.

[B0hemian_Sprite]

For those with SMOE, how's housing? Are you guys in apartments or studio/one-rooms? How "well" is the place furnished? Do they all have bathrooms and kitchens?

and where in Seoul are you located in?

and for Korean-americans, did you have to get Alien registration cards?

[ginger]

For those with SMOE, how's housing? Are you guys in apartments or studio/one-rooms? How "well" is the place furnished? Do they all have bathrooms and kitchens?

and where in Seoul are you located in?

and for Korean-americans, did you have to get Alien registration cards?

The housing varies from person to person with SMOE, since SMOE doesn't get the apts themselves--the schools do it. You will definitely have a bed, tv, sink, bathroom, hot plate, shower, and desk. Anything else is up to the school and whether they have the money to buy you extra. My school took me shopping and bought me a hair dryer, rice cooker, some silverware and plates, etc. This year, I share a large apartment with my boyfriend (who is also with SMOE), but last year, I had a standard one room.

I'm in the Nambu district, so SW part of Seoul.

And yes, you'll have to get an Alien registration card. After all, you may be of Korean descent, but you're still a foreigner like the rest. The difference? Yours goes by a slightly different name, you can renew it every 2 years from within the country, and it's a pink card rather than a blue one.

Yubumsuk:

I am really crap at guessing the ages of Asian people. Honestly, I have no idea. Uh, one of my best students told me that her new, young, male hagwon teacher asked how old she was and she told him to guess. Well, he guessed 23...and she is 14. *HE* is 23! I wonder if he was hoping to score a date at the end of the deal. Either way, she said he was really shocked and disbelieving. She's probably around 5'8", dresses maturely, and is very smart/polite, so I suppose she could pass for 23. And yeah, I loathe seeing my students dressed up as little prostitots on their way downtown on the weekends. Three inch heels, booty shorts, tons of makeup, big handbags, long nails...blah.

I would kill to have an auditorium at my school. Right now, we just borrow the auditorium of a nearby high school when we do special activities, but we couldn't use it for graduation.

-ginger

[B0hemian_Sprite]

The housing varies from person to person with SMOE, since SMOE doesn't get the apts themselves--the schools do it. You will definitely have a bed, tv, sink, bathroom, hot plate, shower, and desk. Anything else is up to the school and whether they have the money to buy you extra. My school took me shopping and bought me a hair dryer, rice cooker, some silverware and plates, etc. This year, I share a large apartment with my boyfriend (who is also with SMOE), but last year, I had a standard one room.

I'm in the Nambu district, so SW part of Seoul.

And yes, you'll have to get an Alien registration card. After all, you may be of Korean descent, but you're still a foreigner like the rest. The difference? Yours goes by a slightly different name, you can renew it every 2 years from within the country, and it's a pink card rather than a blue one.

-ginger

Did you get the ARC after orientation? It looks like there's a lot of paperwork...and because I have an F4 visa, there seems to be extra paperwork involved.
They asked for a medical background check in order to apply for the registration card, and Jamie told me that the medical check up is during orientation.
So did you wait after orientation to apply for the card?

[choson]

After surfing dramabean's blog, I took a couple of links and eventually ended up upon a network of foreign bloggers teaching English in Korea. It was definitely interesting and humorous to read about the daily "adventures" and rants of some of these people but a few were really ignorant. The two guys I am about to mention were voted into the Angriest Korea Blogger 2008 category by their peers.

Lets take moron #1 he has been teaching English in Korea for 3 years and hails from PA. His ignorant posts caught the eye of a few angry netizens which got him into some trouble which he feels is a victim of click smiley--> If you do not want to read the long post, just read the following links from his friend and you will get an idea of what 95% of his posts are like. Moron #2 is a English Lit grad from the UK, on why Koreans hate Japanese here , his love for kimchi here, and why he believes Korea is being internationally humiliated again here.

Everyone has the right to their own opinions and I respect that but to think these losers are in a position of authority and happened to be around children all day makes me sick.

[B0hemian_Sprite]

You know, the second guy's posts don't bother me much. They're all full of garbage and ridiculous stories, but his title heading: "A chronicle of life as a foreigner in China's dirtiest, nastiest little peninsular province, Korea." really offends me for some reason. Why stay in a country you hate so much...? Very interesting...

[Yubumsuk]

After surfing dramabean's blog, I took a couple of links and eventually ended up upon a network of foreign bloggers teaching English in Korea. It was definitely interesting and humorous to read about the daily "adventures" and rants of some of these people but a few were really ignorant. The two guys I am about to mention were voted into the Angriest Korea Blogger 2008 category by their peers.

Lets take moron #1 he has been teaching English in Korea for 3 years and hails from PA. His ignorant posts caught the eye of a few angry netizens which got him into some trouble which he feels is a victim of click smiley--> If you do not want to read the long post, just read the following links from his friend and you will get an idea of what 95% of his posts are like. Moron #2 is a English Lit grad from the UK, on why Koreans hate Japanese here , his love for kimchi here, and why he believes Korea is being internationally humiliated again here.

Everyone has the right to their own opinions and I respect that but to think these losers are in a position of authority and happened to be around children all day makes me sick.

The kimchi rant was kind of funny - kind of what I've always thought but couldn't be bothered to write an essay about. What I think a lot of people forget is kimchi's high salt factor. Korean's don't normally use table salt at meals and so kimchi fills the need to bring out salty flavour in the same way Americans use a salt shaker to do. He also forgot to mention that some homemade kimchi tastes way different (i.e. like something more foreingers wouldn't mind eating) from the Chinese crap served at school cafeterias.

BTW, not everyone on galbijim is an English teacher - believe it or not, a few foreigners in Korea have found something better to do.

I might also note that there's a big difference between some people's Internet personae and how they are in the classroom. One of my friends who's a constant Korea-basher on Dave's was actually a great camp teacher when he had my students. Similarly some of the 'wow-isn't-this-amazing' Korea expat teachers are some of the last people who should have any responsibility over children.

Yubumsuk:

I am really crap at guessing the ages of Asian people. Honestly, I have no idea. Uh, one of my best students told me that her new, young, male hagwon teacher asked how old she was and she told him to guess. Well, he guessed 23...and she is 14. *HE* is 23! I wonder if he was hoping to score a date at the end of the deal. Either way, she said he was really shocked and disbelieving. She's probably around 5'8", dresses maturely, and is very smart/polite, so I suppose she could pass for 23. And yeah, I loathe seeing my students dressed up as little prostitots on their way downtown on the weekends. Three inch heels, booty shorts, tons of makeup, big handbags, long nails...blah.

I would kill to have an auditorium at my school. Right now, we just borrow the auditorium of a nearby high school when we do special activities, but we couldn't use it for graduation.

-ginger

I'm usually pretty good at guessing Korean girls' ages but with some of the guys I'm way off, usually in a downwards direction.