Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cognorati]

After the arrest (thank goodness) of the Canadian pedophile, it's become clear that there needs to be some type of reform of the ESL industry in Korea; complaining within the segregated bubble of the foreign community is no good -- concerned Korean citizens, gov't officials, and professional educators need to address this issue.

Here are some things that I've been thinking need to be done to clean up and regulate this industry.

1. Criminal Background Checks
Yes, I'm aware that it's going to be done, but people need to appreciate why this is significant. People who are habitual offenders DO tend to have a criminal record, and background checks would effectively screen for them; moreover, in some states in North America, the background check isn't just from some private company, but a federal agency, like the FBI can be used -- why do you thinking the Canadian pedophile was caught? Someone was looking for him...

2. Reference Checks and Resume Checks
Korean employers need to check references, and there should be some state sanction that requires a documented records check, submitted to a state agency -- there could also be an agency or private companies that will spend the time, at all global hours, to do the footwork. They should then document the results and turn away people who are unstable; the state should also require no undocumented gaps in employment history and home addresses.

3. Letters of Reference and Evaluations
Letters of reference should be required, and followed through with a contact number; the state should also require a formal evaluation, asking the person giving the reference to evaluate the candidate's appropriateness for teaching -- if the candidate doesn't have a work history, previous professors and insternships should be used.

4. Regulations for hogwon curriculi, and gov't registration and endorsement to open a charter school.

Curriculi should be regulated. The gov't should investigate any director that wants to open a school, and have requirements for any hogwon, such as percentage of certified staff, merit of curricula, safety, etc.

5. Offering a state-run scholarship program for native Korean graduates, so that English jobs would not be outsourced.

If you are an ESL instructor who is capitalizing on the industry here, you won't like this suggestion. But the problem is rooted in the fact that jobs have to be recruited overseas, because there isn't a supply of teachers here.

The state should have a special Korean certification program that would train and recruit Korean graduates, giving them a special certification to teach English in Korea. The state should subsidize university programs who implement the curriculi.

They should first have instensive English training that measures FLUENCY, as opposed to reading and writing. They should also be trained in ESL and B of Ed techniques. There should be cultural awareness training: instructors should be taught social norms, mores, taboos, and trends of the English speaking world -- in short, the training should make graduates culturally literate, so that they might pass it on to their students.

The certification should take a year or two of additional schooling, outside of a regular Bachelor curriculum, and outstanding students should receive scholarship. In turn, these teachers should staff public school positions (with a new curriculum), and hokwons.

Korean parents would no longer worry about certification. Cultural outrages would be eliminated. Employers, like it or not, would save labor costs and the disadvantages of turn-over rates.

[renzobenzo1]

Ok so they can do all this to us....

But what do we get in return.....how will Korean directors tidy up their side of the fence?

Or are you assuming foreign teachers get the best deal and we owe more back to the Koreans who gie us these opportunities?

[shaunew]

What the western countries should do is round up all Korean and check there visa's and their education.

First I think there should be a new program that these Koreans have to get certified to run their laundry mats and corner stores and other low level jobs in the west.
They should also have a language program so they can speak English properly when dealing with their customers. This program should also teach how to do their jobs better so we don't have more problems like this

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/us/13pants.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=834a441Q2FvQ5CQ27-vQ5BcgTLccQ5E.v.bbQ7Evb)vfFvVTvfFQ23eQ5DQ5ETZQ7CQ5EY0

This poor hard working America was rob of his pants, by Koreans who should be trained in the laundry mat industry. How many more pants need to be ruined before we do something.

The other problem we have is the illegal Korean in the west, here is the number just in America
http://blog.ohmynews.com/sm830311/120372

Canada
http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/402881910674ebab010674f4dc931503.do.html

Here is the problem we face in North America. The sex trade has set up shop in North America and is ruining out culture. These Koreans come and introduce this disgusting act in our country, not respecting our culture, religion or moral values. What about our children that walk past these message parlours.
http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/402881910674ebab010674f56f1b1bf3.do.html

I think the governments should have a huge crackdown to get this filth from our shores and back to Korea.


disclosure: I know there are a lot of hard working Koreans in North America. These articles just represent a few.

[lastat06513]

ESL, at least at the hakwon level, is not a professional endeavor- it is all about making money.

The younger the teacher is, the more popular the teacher might be with the children.

The person who is more handsome or prettier or who has the most "hollywood" looking appearance might be popular with all the students, no matter if they teach children or adults.

I mean, just look at the adverts for these institutes that are put up around Seoul- do you see many old, professional type with reading glasses and a book in hand? No.

What you see are nice, neatly groomed YOUNG people smiling as if beckoning the potential student to come and register with the school, as if they have a chance of meeting a teacher like the one they saw on the billboard.

Also, ESL at the hogwon and in some cases the university level is a popularity contest in that teachers compete for the most students and the most popular teacher has the most students following them from one month to the next or one semester to the next. I had seen teachers get into arguments and fights over who they have in their classes and how many students they have in their classes.

Not to mention that if a teacher continues to draw less and less students to their classrooms, that teacher can and will be fired- no severance, no return airfare and in many cases no last monthly salary and worst of all, no LOR, which might hurt their chances of finding another job while being in Korea- those are the stories that one might read on the job forum and all of us old-timers have gone through this one time or another during our time in Korea.

If anything else, ESL/EFL in Korea is nothing more than a beauty pageant and a popularity contest that foreigners are thrown into for the sake of the Koreans money-making scheme

[Jizzo T. Clown]

It's curricula. Unless the singular is curriculus.

[pkang0202]

[Julius]

Its a case of blame the foreigners all over again.

If korea had used international norms in their hiring process and employed people on the basis of teaching ability or exp rather than looks or just nationality, then they would not be in this mess.
If they made employment conditions more comfortable for foreigners, then they would be able to attract more people and thus be able to be more selective. People would actually renew and come back here, rather than having the 60% midnight run rate they have now.

But nothing is ever koreas fault of course.

[whatever]

[Wishmaster]

As far as Mexican v. Korean, I would absolutely take a Mexican over a Korean any ol' day. I lived in an area heavily populated by latinos back home and I never had a problem with them. Koreans are just too arrogant and exist within their Korean bubbles. Plus, I never knew any Mexicans/latinos that liked kimchi

[RACETRAITOR]

First of all, I would limit whites to how wide they can make a window.

[mindmetoo]

And when they need their new employee yesterday?

[RACETRAITOR]

Then just hire some weird random n00b who apparently has all the answers.

[PeterDragon]

Cogno--- the first three things you mentioned are already technically in place, at least for the public schools, but they're also very very unenforced. I think the real problem is that people (both applicants and employers) are not taking the true requirements seriously. Also, Hagwons should be held to the same requirements as public schools. In fact, any job in this country that involves working with children should require a background check.

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Cognorati,

Good points.

However, Korea employs instructors who defer to their school system.

1,As far as the recent high-profile case goes,he could have been held up as a poster boy for English Ed. in Korea.

2,Koreans don't want to pay for checking...that's why they're expecting individuals to do it all themselves.

3,Already done,at least I did.However,what if your prof is on sabbatical and/or there is a sizable time difference?

4,Hagwon curricli?Then they wouldn't be hagwons as they're known

5,Public school teachers are sent overseas...to form small clusters of Korean teachers overseas

You make the comment about "capitalising on the industry"

At this point I don't find it worthwhile to take you seriously.If one works,one works.

What is more,you fail to address the fact that Test English is the backbone of Korean English Education.

Cultural awareness lessons???Here???

Coach,take a break.

[xingyiman]