Job Discussion Forums

[bradwelljackson]

The demand for English teachers in South Korea has been going down. Is this a trend worldwide?

[suphanburi]

No.

In South Korea, in spite of increased competition from western economic refugees the demand is still higher now (20,000 E2s) compared to what it was in 2002 (about 6000 E2s) even though it is down from the peak of 30,000 E2s in 2007/8.

In most of SE Asia the demand for EFL teachers still exceeds the supply of teachers who can actually obtain a proper visas and work legally (there are still a lot of illegal migrants who work in EFL).

China still absorbs more than 50,000 EFL teachers/year with a demand that is high enough that illegal workers (working on "F" or "L" visas instead of "Z" visas) still abound.

Is the demand for teachers dropping = no.
Is the competition for jobs increasing = somewhat, yes.
Are the areas/locations of demand shifting = yes.

.

[bradwelljackson]

Very nice, detailed info. here. Thank you.

[Chinaski]

The demand for teachers in Korea is definitely going down. It started in about 2007/2008.

At one time you could have a full time gig and go mental with privates. Prior to that, if you have a m/w/f 6-8pm private and lost it you could literally replace THAT EXACT SLOT within a week.

You could also find many blocked privates for 35-40k won an hour. It is not as easy now to find blocks, and the pay is often 30k an hour if so...and the hours are fewer.

The demand for full time teachers may look the same, but the demand in general is definitely down.

And globally I would say that there is high demand. Maybe even higher than ever. But of course the demand is shifting.

At one time there was a pretty well work path for "teachers". It was western countries to Southeast Asia, to Korea (or Taiwan), and then onto the Middle East.

When the economy in the west started to go to shit around 2007/2008, there were many certified teachers who moved over to Korea. That made the market even more competitive.

The TEFL world has also professionalized a lot in the past 5 years. Before it was people with unrelated BA's + CELTAs (usually not even CELTA's in Korea), and then up the pecking order it was people with unrelated masters degree, then related masters degrees.

Now we have people in the west who are doing related masters degrees...and heading straight to the Middle East. That never used to happen to the extent it is now.

Now in the ME, the trend is towards BA+CELTA+ 4 years post experience...and often ONLY related masters.

Demand is also steadily ramping up in China.

I would say global demand is up, its shifting, and the competition for the best jobs is also going up.

Just my experiences/ impressions/viewpoint on the topic.

[suphanburi]

I have to agree with a lot of those comments.

Demand is changing. The TEFL industry is professionalizing.

The days of high school grads with a 30-day TEFL certs going forth to fund a global travel adventure by "teaching EFL" are certainly in their twilight.

A first degree or degree +TEFL cert is, for the most part, the entry level standard now.

For the better positions (something above entry level TEFL), real teaching qualifications (B.Ed, PGCE, QTS, MA/M.Ed) are becoming more the norm than the exception.

.

[nomad soul]

A related thread:
"Future of TEFL?" (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=543).

[fat_chris]

Agreed. Even in China, which has gotten the reputation as the Land of Bucking Bronco Cowboys and Unqualified Poseurs who want to play school, this country is starting to tighten its belt and weed out the laymen. Slowly but surely the word on the street here is that those who wish to teach in the Middle Kingdom will need at least a bachelor's degree and two years of teaching experience and be able to meet a minimum age requirement. I personally know two people who didn't met these requirements and were not successful with their teaching job applications here, so it seems that at least some employers are indeed adhering to these stipulations.

This is something new for China and it's a step in the right direction. It's also in line with what has been written above about standards slowly rising and the wide world of TESOL no longer being the abyss of backpackers simply wishing to pad their savings in order to stay out on the open road a little longer.

Warm regards,
fat_chris

[bradwelljackson]

Thank you all for your valuable replies. If we were to get a bit more on the topic of actual demand in the world, could you tell me about other locations - South America, Russia, Africa - is demand in other locations of the world picking up or slowing down?