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wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/03/117_21557.html

03-28-2008 17:11

Gyeeonggi Schools to Hire English-Speaking Workers

By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

The Gyeeonggi Provincial Office of Education said it will encourage schools to hire English-speaking Indians and Filipinos for jobs at cafeterias or stores within schools to give students more chances to speak English.

``We will encourage schools to hire Indians and Filipinos for English zones and school stores to give students opportunities to use English during lunch and break times,�� it said in a statement. It expects schools to hire them at relatively lower costs than native English speakers. About 50 schools in the province will initially test run the scheme.

However, the statement of the education agency has invited criticism from embassies and civic organizations as well as other education offices.

``Cheap doesn�t mean low quality. We have many high-quality English teachers in the Philippines,�� said Jed Dayang, spokesman of the Philippine Embassy to Seoul.

A source from Indian embassy also said that Indians will not come to Korea to work at stores at schools, mentioning that there are many high-quality English teachers working in the U.S., Japan and China.

A supervisor from Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education also pointed out it is discriminative. ``So Americans are not allowed to work at English zones and stores?�� she said.

Regarding this, Hwang Ik-joong, senior supervisor of the Gyeonggi Education Office told The Korea Times, ``We meant to use foreigners who can speak English well but cannot teach English in Korea due to immigration regulations that only allow foreign teachers by nationality.��

Additionally, the education office plans to increase the number of native English-speaking teachers from 1,272 to 1,952 by 2010 so that all schools will have at least one native English teacher, at a cost of 24 billion won ($24 million).

The education authorities will also strengthen training programs for foreign teachers. Under the plan, supervisors from the education office will monitor and assist foreign English teachers during the classes to help improve their teaching skills.

Meanwhile, the education office plans to increase the number of Korean English teachers who can conduct classes only in English from current 56 percent to 70 percent through traininig programs by the end of the year. It will ultimately make all English teachers teach only in Enlgish by 2011.

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wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

maingman · Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Location: left Korea

wylies99
I read most of the post, do you work in a school
Public or otherwise. EPIK. SMOE?

thanks a lot

TheChickenLover · Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Location: The Chicken Coop

Well, that is the 'official' statement. I'm sure some schools will put them in classrooms when noone is looking. It's just a smokescreen.

To be honest, I hope they put them on cleaning duty as well. Phillipino women make great toilet scrubbers. From the smell of the student toilets, we really do need some toilet cleaners here on a full time basis. I can see it now.

student : Hi!
PT : Can I help you?
student : You have dark skin like monkey!
PT : That's not a nice thing to say
student : You DDD worker! Hahahaha!

I imagine the parents who CAN pull their kids into different schools will not accept their kids being taught by 3rd world teachers. It's not as much as ability as social class on the world stage. Western teachers are considered 1st class, Koreans 2nd class & the 'cheaper' teachers 3rd class.

This will pass very quickly.

Chicken

yeremy · Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:21 am Post subject: Hot Air

At the school where I worked for three years, we didn't have a cafeteria. Lunches were loaded into metal carts and taken up to the various floors by a large dumbwaiter. Any Indians or Filipinas hired at my former school likely won't see many students, if any at all, while they are working in the kitchen.

In regards to the hype about NET teacher training, I didn't see a single official from either the local POE or the GPOE office at any of the open classes I went or taught last year, and I didn't see anyone of them the previous year, either. In the three years I worked in a GPOE public school, I only saw the local POE like when we were pulled out of our schools for the infamous Everland event in 2007. I wasn't that impressed with the Everland workshop for foreign teachers, but that has already been parsed to death already.

If you want to improve your teaching skills, you will likely have to take the iniative and do it on your own, or with the help of a cohort like a MA TESOL program. But that's my opinion.

In general, the education supervisors, or visitors to NET events in the city where I worked at a ps for three years, ended to come early for the ceremonies, but left as soon as they could, which was usually after the first event or two in a program. Sad but true.

Atavistic · Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:46 am Post subject: Re: Hot Air

cruisemonkey · Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:11 am Post subject:

This is the dumbest thing I ever heard of... the cafeteria ajumas at my school have not taught me any Korean! Wink

Beej · Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Location: Eungam Loop

They are going to train foreign English teachers? How? They cant even train the Korean English teachers properly.

crusher_of_heads · Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:23 am Post subject:

mnhnhyouh · Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Location: The Middle Kingdom

I work in GEPIK now and my principal is very keen on the English teachers only teaching in English by 2010. From what I have seen of the teachers in my school, many of them will be able to do so and some already do.

I have two classes a week for the English teachers and two more for non-English teachers.

I think it is a good move, that will probably come in slower than 2010, but it seems like a reasonable target to set, at least to start with. It certainly has the teachers talking, and wanting to improve their skills.

h

CentralCali · Joined: 17 May 2007

Just for sheer entertainment value, let's say that this plan actually does get off the ground and someone actually does apply for the positions. How long do you think it will be before the unions representing the current (Korean) workers freak out and call for nationwide strikes until the plan is jettisoned?

And what do you think the unions will do to enlist the support of the public? That's right, the unions will cater to xenophobic fears: "Your children will be eating unsafe food! The new cafeteria worker can't do the job because she can't read Korean!"

SHANE02 · Joined: 04 Jun 2003

TheChickenLover · Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Location: The Chicken Coop

I taught in uni English dept's for 5 years. I'm currently at a high school. Believe me, with the constant stench of the bathrooms with no trap plumbing, this place could really use a few Fillipino toilet scrubbers.

I don't see why you're so upset, they are hired the world over for housework.

Chicken

CentralCali · Joined: 17 May 2007

Maybe so, but what about the Filipinos and Filipinas?

KYC · Joined: 11 May 2006

I work in Gyeonggi-do..in a very rural area. Some of my students are mixed and have filipino moms yet they barely know any English. The Korean teachers and I are very surprised that they don't teach their kids ANY english. The kids can't even answer simple questions such as "how are you" and "what's your name."

I highly doubt that by exposing Korean children to English speaking people will get them to speak English more often. Mere exposure isn't enough...it has to be taught in a classroom setting.