Korean Job Discussion Forums

Mulkaccino · Joined: 15 May 2007 Location: Under The Pipal Tree

I'm looking for input about a public high school position that has recently been offered to me. Any advice would be appreciated as I am a first time TESL. The school is in a rural area and the English teacher I spoke with was very friendly and overly honest. The director was also an English teacher and loves foreigners. However, I would only have a co-teacher for a few weeks before I'd be set on my own. This seems quite daunting as a first time teacher. Do I have a right to be concerned?

Also, the free housing is actually a house. I'd share it with my interviewee (a male Seoulidite) but the owner is actually the director. Shocked

Seems like it could be trouble...

I am attracted to this position because 2 of the 22 teaching hours are spent teaching students parents and 3 of the 22 teaching hours are spent teaching the teachers. I like working with adults, and would love to have the experience under my belt.

I'm working on getting a reference from a current teacher.

Thanks again for the input. I'm really excited to begin this chapter in my life.

-Mulk

dutchy pink · Joined: 06 Feb 2007 Location: Incheon

Living with your coworkers and especially your boss is a bad idea anywhere in the world. Multiply that by 100 in Korea.

Single room apartments aren't that expensive.

nomad-ish

Norith · Joined: 02 Nov 2007

You have a right to be concerned. I would never live with a Korean English Teacher, just because the relationship between a KET and a school director is VERY different from the relationship between a Foreign English Teacher and a school director. Nothing against Koreans, but they have different ideas about what constitutes privacy, and when to 'just say no' to a boss's request. Living in a place owned by the director is not problematic by itself...most living situations are at the least rented in the director's name.

I've never worked in a PS, so I can't say for sure...but I thought there was a law that said foreigners can't teach kids without having a korean co-teacher present. I may well be wrong on this, but I'd check into it.

cbclark4 · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Location: Masan

The right to be concerned is covered in the 4th ammendment.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

icnelly · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Location: Bucheon

CentralCali · Joined: 17 May 2007

smwood · Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Location: Over Here.

I'm a teacher at a PS in the countryside. Whilst the teaching conditions from your description sounds very positive, I would have to throw my hat in with the others who are leery of the houseshare. It's probably going to be a hot potato that you may come to regret agreeing to in time.

Your principal sounds like a decent enough fellow. Find out if he really is by suggesting you try to find a self-contained apartment yourself. I would suggest you try to do this by offering positive alternatives rather than merely saying 'no;' for example, offering to help look for a place, giving up your time and effort, that sort of thing. Showing a willingness to be accommodating will get you further than just being negative and could start you off on the right foot.

Good luck with it!

~ smw

yeremy · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:47 pm Post subject: The Shared Housing is a Red Flag

Personally, I would pass on the job for a couple of reasons. First, it's good to have a year or two of working in a hagwon before you go to work in a public school. You will find out whether you're cut out for this business or not, and you will learn more about how to teach EFL to Koreans. A hagwon usually offers more support (technological, pedagogical/textbooks/advice) than you would find in a public school, where you are going to be the only foreigner there. I do not think that public schools are the ideal first job for a newcomer.

Second, I do not know of anyone who teaches EFL in Korea and lives in shared housing, especially owned by their boss. I suspect you will not have any privacy from your workplace and you will not be able to get away from things Korean et al, when you want to, if you have a Korean roommate, unless you want that sort of thing. Some hagwons do set their teachers up with living with a Korean family but that is, at best, a mixed blessing, unless it is your own family.

Third, if you teach in a rural area then you will face more of a language barrier than if you are in an urban area, plus the local people are likely to be more conservative. If you love to learn languages then this could be a good idea except for your lack of experience and the share housing. I would like to suggest that you look for a hagwon job in a small town. That will allow you to get out into the countryside yet give you a more structured introduction to teaching EFL in Korea. This is not always an easy job. You don't need anything to make it more challenging for you. If you work in a public school, you will be expected to be an experienced English 'professional' who can solve the English-related projects and problems such as English contest preparation, testing, materials development, correction, writing, researching, participating in televised English programs (your 15 minutes of EFL fame), going to professional workshops, setting up and making textbooks for English camps 365/24/7. If you feel comfortable doing all that, then this may be the job for you.

Fourth, most adult classes are usually found at a hagwon and not at a public school. Teaching adults is different from teaching young learners. You need to keep that in mind while you ponder this offer. Most who teach adults do so at a franchise adult EFL hagwon like a BCM or YBM Sisa. There are hagwons that specialize in teaching young learners, too, a lot of them, in fact. So, it sounds to me like you're confused as to whether you really want to teach kids, who acquire language, or adults who tend to learn a foreign language. There are many pros and cons to both sides of the Korean EFL equation. Good luck.

venus · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Location: Near Seoul

Mulkaccino · Joined: 15 May 2007 Location: Under The Pipal Tree

My thanks to everyone for their input. Weighing in everyones advice over my own personal judgment, I've decided that the pros definitely do not outweigh the cons - given other stipulations of the contract - and have declined the position. Negotiations would have been through the roof to make this position full-proof.

Thanks everybody. You've set me on a better path.

-Mulk

renzobenzo1 · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Location: Suji, Yongin

Good choice.

Plus what's so inviting about teaching parents and teachers....If you have a bad day, they're the last people you will want to spend time with.

nomad-ish · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:34 pm Post subject:

apieross · Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Location: SAUDI ARABIA

Working in a rural area has, in my experience, the following problems:
1. Few people understand English. Experience problems at the post office, the dentist, the doctor, the shops .... EVERYWHERE;
2. If you get a car, and you have to drive to a number of schools, chances are that the fuel would cost more than the allowance - which means that you will be subsidising the multiple school programme;
3. The co-teachers are all friendly in the beginning; few stay that way. If you struggle to get business done, your co-teacher may say and act like it is not his/her problem.
4. There are horrible insects in the trees out in the country side, in summer.
5. The clothing is outdated by thirty years.
6. The toilets are really stinky; you will have to eat at MacDonalds / Pizza Hut to find a clean one. And, most of the time, it is just the hole-in-the-ground thing (although it might be tiled and have running water by now).