Korean Job Discussion Forums

Papaya_Posse · Joined: 11 Jun 2007

I have worked a variety of short contract jobs in Korea over the past year and now I'm looking for something long term. I have noticed a number of postings for English Villages and I'm not sure what to think of the idea. It seems a bit narrow travel to the other side of the world only to live in a copy of what you left, but if the working conditions are really good I'd be inclined to consider it.

I'm anxious to have a contract that is well balanced for hours, etc. I recently had to leave a contract that involved 7 contact hours to 1 prep hour (which was broken up into 30 + 10 min blips throughout the day). It was impossible to stay on top of things.

Do you or anyone you know work for an English Village? Is it a good idea?

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

There are a lot of English Villages and towns, so it's hard to speak for all of them.

The Paju English Village looks like a complete nightmare. Here are a couple threads about it:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=76873&highlight=Paju

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=77876&highlight=Paju

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=69522&highlight=Paju

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=56593&highlight=Paju

I came close to working for a small English Town in my county last year, but I'm glad I didn't. I prefer the more mainstream route of teaching in a public school. In my case, had I gone to the English Town I would have had to design all the materials and curriculum, and would have been the only foreign teacher. In the Paju camp there are tons of foreigners (not all English-speaking, it seems) but the level of disorganization is the same). I don't think I could be bothered to mess with an EV anymore.

Pak Yu Man · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Location: The Ida galaxy

If you work at a hagwon you're pretty much an animal behind glass. You're put on show for the kids. If you work for an English village...pretty much the same thing. This time you're on show for the public.

If you take the job knowing how much EVs suck, don't complain 3 months down the line.

nomad-ish · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:32 pm Post subject:

ahhh English Village, foreigners in their natural habitats... yeah, u will feel like you're put on display there, but quite frankly, that's at any job here.
on the plus side of things, i've seen a taping of some 'classes'/mock situations at an english village, and it did look fun for the teachers and students alike. but once again, it all depends on which one u go to, i'd suggest interviewing a few of them and comparing contracts first.

Papaya_Posse · Joined: 11 Jun 2007

Thanks for the feedback!

I think I'm gonna leave this one alone. The posts from other teachers are terrilble. They are also consistant and recent enough to take seriously. Besides, the pictures of the grounds of these places make me think of a washed out Disneyland without rides... A good set for a Stephen King novel, but not so much for a new job!

Its so frustrating because I know that these millionaires are trying to break into something new and cutting edge, but they'd be so much more successful if they'd just accept what language learning really is: hard, really f***ing hard. Sure the kids should laugh over jokes during class, but a really effective second language immersion life should have them pulling their hair out of their heads for over 60% of the time.

They have to go through months of having thoughts in their heads that can't get out of their mouths until that bizarre day when things actually click. If they're old enough that click normally comes with a bottle of booze, not a theme park.

...Oh well, I guess the folks out there pay us handsomely enough to let them do things the way they want!

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

My son went to one (not sure which) with his school for a week. It was cheap as, so we sent him along. He had a good time, but man! They gave him an English name...Leslie!! What is that? Ugh...quickly changed that.

Anyways, he said he had a good time and the place was interesting, even over the course of 5 days. Games, games, games...that's about all he remembered. He learned a bit of English, but not enough to think he was "immersed" for 5 days.