Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jurassic82]

This may sound like a naive question but I was wondering why schools insist on having Foriegn teachers teach speaking classes contrary to gyopo teachers? At my school I have two teachers that spent the majority of their life in the U.S. Their English is as good if not better than mine but yet they are never scheduled for a speaking class. I'm not complaining as I enjoy the majority of my speaking classes but I was curious why this was so. I am assuming it has to do a lot with the parents want. I was also curious to why gyopo teachers aren't given the same kind of treatment as foriegn teachers. From what I have observed a majority of the gyopo teachers I have met get paid less than foriegn teachers. Anyways I would like to hear others opinions on this because it is something that I am really confused about among many other things in this industry.

[SuperHero]

gyopos are not white and then can't speak English well.

go figure, but that's the way it is in Korea as bass ackwards as it is.

[spliff]

Cause the students want to study w/ a "native speaker" that's why you work there, that's why they advertise your classes..

[ChuckECheese]

That's right!

Students and their parents want us whities to teach them white jiving.

[Captain Corea]

On the flip side of this, I've met a number of "kyopo" who claimed to grow up in the West, but after closer examination they admit to only having lived there for a year or two.

Personally, if they can pass themselves off as it (as in, their English is THAT good) all the power to 'em.

[bellum99]

Many are very terrible at speaking English. They learn a few slang phrases and their basic conversation skills are enough to fool the parent..but they are not good teachers. I have had a lot of trouble fixing Gyopo pronunciation that kids have learned.

Note to Fake Gyopo Teachers:
A summer in Texas does not make you a native speaker. Even a few years does not make you a native speaker. You are missing huge concepts. You do not pronounce things correctly. You should not be teaching English.

[wylies99]

Gyopos can sometimes be friendlier than Korean teachers- so kids like them- but most are lacking in English speaking skills.


In my time in Korea, I've met only three Gyopos who actually had enough English skills to teach basic phonics to kindies and younger elementary students. The rest? Don't ask. If anyone needs examples, I can give plenty of them- some stories are funny, but most are sad.

[Unposter]

I don't know; almost all of the gyopos I've met had excellent English. Maybe it is the people I've met. I'm sure Seoul has a much higher skilled group of Gyopos than other regions of Korea.

But, this is one thing I've noticed: Gyopo teachers play less with their students. They are more concerned about grammar and teaching the big tests like TOEIC and TOEFL and U.S. exams like the SAT and GRE. They do worry less about pronunciation and conversational skills.

I don't make any value judgements about these things. Personally, I believe learning a language is mastering numerous skills and in Korea test taking is a way of life. I also think that educational games and socializing are good ways to motivate students. So, I think there are strong advantages to both approaches and both are necessary.

I think one of the big advantages of Western teachers in Korea is that we transcend social order and have certain freedoms to interact with our students which really helps their linguistic skills and motivates them to speak the language.

I think our sense of freedom and casualness is actually an attraction to many button-down students.

The other advantage of Western teachers in Korea (both Gyopo and not) is the chance for Korean students to learn international culture first hand. This does not mean being overly nationalistic about the place you were born. But, in our classroom behavior and approaches to education, they learn about how people do things differently in different places and that their are other possibilities. They also learn how to interact with people from other cultures.

I have come to believe that one reason why Anglo appearance is prefered is that many parents (mothers?) cannot speak English. How does she know this teacher can provide the goods. How does she know that this Hakwon has not pulled the wool over her eyes and replaced a native speaker with someone from Russia or god knows where? Well, at least if they look the part (the mother may not be able to talk to the teacher but at least they can look you up and down), than maybe they are a teacher.

But, I believe this too is changing. Maybe, in some way, Western teachers have made posititve changes in Korea. As a new generation of Korean parents have taken their place, they speak English better if not fairly well. They are traveling and experiencing the world in a way their parents hadn't. They have encountered the need for foreign language skills in the workplace and they understand its importance. They want good teachers and they have a better idea of how to learn having experienced English education themselves and from the myriad books that are sold today. Qualifications and real skills are much more appreciated. Though, my guess is as you head outside of the main population and education centers this maybe less so. In the sticks, maybe any white face will do but in Seoul it is becoming less and less so.

I think in the future race, nationality and ethnicity will play less and less a role in Korean English education and qualifications and an ability to do the job will play a larger and larger role. I also think that this idea that anyone can plunk cash down for office space and a whitey can open a hakwon will also disapear. It is obvious they are already being pushed out of the market place.

Can you imagine a Korea where jobs are competitively open to all? Well, I can and I can't. It may not happen in my lifetime but I think it will happen. Things are changing here. Maybe not at the pace we want. Things rarely do. But they are changing.

[wylies99]

unposter- I suspect that many parents have been burned by phony Gyopos passing themselves off as competent English teachers.

[ChuckECheese]

[Unposter]

It is probably true that hakwons have passed fake Gyopos to their clients.

Hakwons, especially the mom and pop variety, really do have a bad reputation. And, it is no wonder that working in a hakwon, whether Korean or not, is looked down as an inferior job.

It is not really our fault. The deck is stacked against us. The parents know that most hakwons are shady; they just don't know what else to do or where to go. That is one of the reasons living in the Gangnam area of Seoul is so expensive -- the quality of the hakwon is considered so much better.

[Lizara]

Yeah... my school has me and a gyopo as the "foreign" teachers, and I get to teach all the more advanced classes. Some of our Korean teachers... definitely including wonjangnim and the head teacher... speak better English than our "gyopo", so it kind of makes sense.

[unplugged_boy]

i think you guys need to first define what a "gyopo" is...
is it a korean who has lived overseas since they were little?
is it a korean who has citizenship of another country?
someone with an F4?

i think many of you guys are getting the definations gyopo and 1.5 confused. i am a gyopo, born and raised in canada.. and i do not consider someone who has lived in texas for a summer a gyopo.

[ChuckECheese]

[JeJuJitsu]

Funny, I have yet to meet a gyopo that doesn't absolutely despise Korea.