Korean Job Discussion Forums

[supernaut]

I'd like to know more about this school. I hear they have a lot of schools around the country. But if anyone knows about the one Anyang, I'd appreciate it.

[wisernow]

Ewha has been around for a while now but always keep in mind that it is not the chain that determines how good your school is but the indivdual school itself. You should try to find out as much as possible about this school in Anyang. Also, find out as much as you can about Anyang. Anyang is not a major city far as I know and not everyone will want to live there. If you are not looking for a large city like Seoul you might like Anyang.

[B-Teacher]

Ewha is a franchise (actually I believe they were sucessfully sued by Ewha Women's University for using their name so are now called W Language School). Basically, the quality of the school depends on the owner and the co-workers. Personally, I've had mostly positive experiences with my school Dogok.

[jajdude]

I'm not sure but I think Ehwa (or W) has a program that perhaps all its schools follow? There are good and bad things about this program.

Here's how it was where I worked, maybe different for other branches.

The have sessions that last 3 months, plus those awful one month intensive sessions where you'll be overworked and underpaid. Don't accept 18,000/hour overtime. That's crappy. It's a class and a half as well, since they will count the 40 minute classes as teaching for 40 minutes, and that's all they will count. If you have a break, you will not be paid during that time but you will still be busy preparing, doing interviews, or the often painful phone teaching to kids who barely speak English and parents who won't understand you when they answer the phone.

They change the books for every session because most students do not "level up". The levels range from real young beginners learning phonics to very advanced students who have lived abroad. Only the few students who get a 90% average in the four areas (two native speakers and two Korean teacher teach 4 subjects areas: writing, speaking/listening, reading and vocabulary/grammar) will "level up.". Some books are good, others are not.

You're expected to give quizzes every second class, little quizzes you give scores for. You're expected to give homework for every class. You need to make some tests which takes time. You may stay after work, work Saturdays sometimes, attend meetings regularly, lots of extra work. Lots of BS too. You will not be paid for this, but are supposed to be grateful if the boss buys some food for eveybody. If you like your co-workers it isn't so bad actually.

Best thing about where I worked was that Wednesdays there were only a few classes, mostly make up classes for students who were absent during the past week.

Well, that was really just my experience. Overall it wasn't so bad except for phone teaching and intensives. At least it was somewhat serious towards teaching and learning English, for a hagwon. Some kids made real improvements.

40-minute classes are good because they go quickly, but if you have 7 or 8 in a day with just 5 minutes between each, you should probably arrive an hour or so before work to get prepared with photocopies or whatever.

I wouldn't want that job again though, even though I liked some things about it. Phone teaching just sucks. I'd stay an extra half hour for that every day, unpaid. The intensives were stressful. The boss/owner makes a pile of cash and everyone else is cheated! I resented that.

[spliff]

^ Still want to work there?

[B-Teacher]