Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hochhasd]

I was just informed by a person who graduated from my college that without a 100 hour TESOL course that I would drown in the classroom. Is this true, no matter if you are working for S.M.O.E., Epik or Gepik? By the way she worked for S.M.O.E. two years ago.
Thanks

[Tobias]

That's one person's opinion. Others have different opinions.

Get a TESOL cert online from eBay and check out a book from the library or purchase one from Amazon. Study the book, complete the exercises, and adopt a 'will do' attitude. Keep that several hundred bones in your wallet where it belongs. You won't even have to board a plane to go to a (questionable) course, the fare of which you'll foot yourself. What is more, going this route means you can learn while working = no opportunity costs.

Don't prove P.T. Barnum right with this TESOL cert racket.

[PRagic]

They're not hiring real teachers, so don't feel obligated to become one.

[Hank the Iconoclast]

I'll do anything I can to make my classes and lessons better. It's just a matter of picking the right program for me and education options.

[BS.Dos.]

I think the difference between FTs without any classroom experience and those with some kind of practical training can be quite significant. I knew an FT who had no classroom experience whatsoever. Not surprisingly, she had a year in hell and really struggled for most of her contract. Having said that, I also know FTs who came here without any teaching experience and who've done really well. Ultimately, a lot depends on the individual and how confident and resourceful they are. If you find that you're filling the lesson with lots of umms and ahhs, which are punctuated with long periods of ackward silence, then I think your students respectometer will drop pretty sharpish. If however you can project yourself with an air of confidence and think on your feet, then you'll probably be okay for the most part.

[PRagic]

Then let the Korean system adjust to hire teachers with experience and qualifications, rather than anyone with a heartbeat and a 4-year degree.

Everyone complains about the pay and the lack of employment stability, but if these programs can consistently keep wages down by hiring untrained teachers on a rotating basis, nothing will happen.

Yes, they 'need' a lot of teachers, more than they are currently able to attract and keep. However, the people coming in didn't create the system. If they are hiring untrained educators, then they should get what they pay for.

Let the newbie beware. No, according to all the hiring criteria, you don't need any experience or even an education or English-related degree. Fine. But also know that they'll pressure the hell out of you to be a 'professional teacher' from the get-go. I say don't play that game. Do your best, but don't invest in your credentials unless you think you'll make this your chosen vocation.

It takes two to tango, and the powers that be here have been leading the dance to their own beat. Shake things up a bit, and see what happens.

[PRagic]

Oh, and then to add insult to injury, now they're hiring people mid-degree, and people with only a 2-year degree.

Many argue that anyone can do the job, and that the degree doesn't matter. Hmmm. Well, if that's the case, why is there always a barage of posts from disparaged new teachers, always those without training or experience, who are having a tough time adjusting to their new responsibilities.

When enough people who can't do the job come over and say, "What do you want me to do?" things may change. "We want you to teach!" "Ah, ok, now how do I do that?" Things might change. But as long as people still keep stressing themselves out to attain unrealistic expectations in low-paying jobs, nothing will change.

[kiwiliz]

If you work for a public school it can increase your pay

[wayfarer]

Excellent points, PRagic, that's pretty much everything I would have liked to say.

I got a legitimate Tesol cert from my uni during senior year because I knew I wanted to do some esl teaching overseas and I mistakenly thought you needed one to do it, even in Korea. If I had planned things out better and realized I didn't need one here, and that I was going to go here, I don't think I would have bothered. Actually the program was alright and gave me some useful ideas about activities to do in the classroom, but I couldn've got as much just by researching online or reading a book.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but some regions actually require a tesol cert to teach esl. Be that as it may, why bother with tesol if you're just going to teach in Korea?

This country, by and large seems to have an assumption that a native speaker can simply pour his or her language fluency into a Korean... why else do they behave as if experience and qualifications don't matter? And then they get angry when many of us flounder in the classroom. It's a bit of a farce, actually.

The native teachers get what they should have known enough to expect (usually). The Koreans get what they pay for.

[BS.Dos.]

^You'd have got the same as your TESOL gave you from a book?

What TESOL certificate have you got?

[TheChickenLover]

The TESOL or TEFL courses are mostly information on how to manage your classes and give you some insight in how you can better control and manage a class.

It also helps you learn how to teach your subjects in a variety of ways while making sure you understand the materials you are teaching.

It is worth it, but not for a 6 month stint. You DO get extra pay for having a 100 hour certificate which in my case took me 3 months to read the entire thing at home (it's a fair amount to absorb and fully understand) to finish and 12.5 hours solid to write the exam.

It CAN benefit finacially and it doesn't hurt to have either.

Chicken

[fromtheuk]

I have recently started the ITTT online 100 hr TEFL course with the support of an online tutor.

It has been a week since they sent me the first unit, of twenty.

I am currently on the final task of unit 4 and I have already passed the first 3 units.

When I complete this course, my pay with GEPIK will increase by 200,000 won each month for the next contract, so for a course which costs only 160 U.K. pounds and with 6 months to complete it, I'd say doing a cheap online TEFL is a good idea if you work at a GEPIK public school in S. Korea.

[wayfarer]

[bassexpander]