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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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SteveSteve
Joined: 30 Jul 2010
Location: Republic of Korea
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 Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 9:47 am Post subject: Skype Lessons |
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I was wondering if English Skype lessons are popular in Korea. Do many young learners or adults use Skype for cheaper English lessons or to supplement their existing studies?
I know there are many options for Korean learners (public schools, hagwon, private tutoring, self-study books, etc), but maybe distance learning is appealing to Koreans? No idea!
BTW, I used to teach in Daegu, but I live and work in the US now. I know that private tutoring on an E2 is illegal, so that shouldn't be a problem for me now.
Thanks! |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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| I used to do them before I moved here. I charged $30 an hour, but the students often flaked. If you do it, get paid a month in advance and have a cancellation policy. 24 hours is a bit much for many Koreans, but a 6-hour policy via email (great if you have a smart phone) should suffice. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 6:50 am Post subject: Re: Skype Lessons |
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| SteveSteve wrote: |
I was wondering if English Skype lessons are popular in Korea. Do many young learners or adults use Skype for cheaper English lessons or to supplement their existing studies?
I know there are many options for Korean learners (public schools, hagwon, private tutoring, self-study books, etc), but maybe distance learning is appealing to Koreans? No idea!
BTW, I used to teach in Daegu, but I live and work in the US now. I know that private tutoring on an E2 is illegal, so that shouldn't be a problem for me now.
Thanks! |
Online education is popular in Korea but it is not well organized. Some students do connect with instructors/tutors through online portals where tutors can advertise their services.
Some of these portals manage payment from students and to the teachers but charge a fee for this.
You could advertise on your own but without connections you will be one guppy in an ocean of tutors all offering the same thing.
Simply setting up a skype account and advertising for free will not net you many students and the rate you get will be abysmally low.
Getting reliable income from this requires that you are professional and deliver good content to your students, typically through a reliable portal or site. Then you can get a good reputation and start attracting better students willing to pay more (providing you can deliver more!).
Lots of people throw themselves into skype teaching thinking it is just sitting in front of their computer and talking mic to mic or cam to cam with students. That is a sure fire way to BOMB and end up with no returning students!
Online teaching requires a heck of a lot of preparation and a lesson planning process that differs from in-class teaching. You need to consider your pace (how fast you speak), what media support you will use (ppt slides, podcasts, short videos, flashcards), what material the students use, when you offer the class, for how long...
Pedagogy also changes. You need to provided detailed explanations in writing and script out your lessons.
Will you teach students one on one or in groups? In groups you need to come up with a system that manages questions and how you answer them, otherwise you get chaos on the mic and no one can understand what is going on!
Also consider the time difference. From an East Coast point of view, you will need to offer your students online tutoring at hours that match THEIR free or available time. This would mean evenings in Korea or very early mornings in Korea. As an example, say you wish to reach students between 7pm and 9pm Korea time. For you (east coast US) that means (now) 6-8am. If you can get students to want online lessons in the morning it will mean evening for you but that is much harder as K-students leaver early for school.
As NYC Gal said. you need a set schedule, a set payment policy, including cancellation clauses.
You also need to be reliable and to be there when you say you will be there.
Finally, you need to constantly advertise and look for new students if you wish to get any sort of decent income out of this.
Best of luck. |
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