Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mitwyatt]

I just had an interview with a public school in Bucheon, and to sum it all up the interview was sort of awkward, there was a pretty big language barrier. We attempted exchanging e-mails but I don't think any of us got across to each other. Should I expect to be working with english co-teachers who cannot speak english very well? I thought that my co-teacher would be pretty well versed at speaking English. They seemed interested in me being a teacher there though.

Anyway I had some important questions to ask him, but I wasn't able to get through well at all and I don't think we'll be e-mailing each other soon, since I didn't get through the language wall.

I don't want to be mislead about my working conditions since it was hard to understand what my interviewer was saying.

What should I do? Should I look for another school? Or keep pursuing this position?

-m

[tenchu77491]

The truth is you will probably have students with better English than your coworkers. It happens. Or, you may have coworkers with great English. It's really random.

[Big Mac]

Both of my co-teachers are barely functional in English.

There are students who speak English better than they do.

It's a daily struggle to communicate and it means a lot more work for me. Yesterday, they asked me to make detailed lesson plans for the classes they teach on their own (complete with scripts that they can follow and everything) and I told them no way. I don't think I should have to work extra hard to make up for the fact that they can't speak English. That's not my problem.

[Korussian]

Although it's certainly true that you will have students who speak better English than your co-teachers, that does not mean that you should work at a school at which your co-teachers cannot come close to understanding your English.

If they can't communicate with you now, imagine how terrible things will get when you hit one of the several mini-crises that crop up during the year (housing problems, sick days, overtime pay, scheduling issues, family member dies, etc) and they can't understand a word you're saying, and therefore just assume that you're being uncooperative and not a team player.

For now, I would politely thank the school for their time and move on. If they're somewhat desperate or realize that there are communication problems, they may well assign someone else (with better English) to try to talk you into working with them.

[Mitwyatt]

[Mitwyatt]

Update:

I finally did receive an e-mail from my co-teacher, so either I DID get through to him, or he got in touch with my recruiter. Here is a sample of the e-mail as follows:
---------------------------------------------
Thank you for interview with you.



At the first time, I watched your pciture, I thought you like your chidren.



as you know, it is the most important thing to like one's children about teachers.



so, I think you will enjoy your life in or country, teaching and art..



I want you to join us to teach English together sincerely.. ^^



I will send you good news quickly.


---------------------------------------

Is this typical? I replied asking him a barrage of questions about my teaching/living conditions all of which I attempted asking on the phone.

Still no contract from the school yet.

[losing_touch]

Hahahaha ~ Korea Sparkling!

[Mitwyatt]

I feel so vexed, or like there's a thin milky haze over my eyes. I mean there has to be at least someone at this school (I would be working with) that I can converse well with in English, right? I don't want to be thrown into a class of eager students.

[curlygirl]

Oh deary me. That e-mail really says it all. Consider this: the teacher who wrote that e-mail would have spent a very long time trying to write their best Englishee and that was the best they could do. Communication WILL be a huge problem.

It is normal for a school to shove their best Korean Englishee speaker into the liaison role when initiating contact with with a new native speaker, so if this person is the school's best speaker then you will definitely have a hard road ahead. And if you are stuck out in the boondocks you're in for a lonely time as you'll be isolated by the language barrier. My advice: hold out for something better. Take your time, do your research, make sure you feel comfortable - then take a deep breath and accept the contract that you have a good feeling about. Best of luck.

[ED209]

The email not only shows their lack of English but also a lack of concern about your needs as a visiting teacher from another country. You have many questions concerning your situation yet they brush away your concerns with some weird statement about liking children makes you a good teacher.

I'd be tempted to string them along for more weird emails. The right thing to do is move on. There are plenty of schools out there that have experience with foreigners and understand the need to communicate and make that teacher comfortable.

[Mitwyatt]

[lifeinkorea]

Looks like a typical elementary school position. This may sound strange, but if you got a hagwon job and it turned out to be bad, you might be in a better position in Korea to transfer to a public school. That's what I did, and I was able to visit the school in person.

Going the other way may be harder, since public schools tend to do everything by the book. They won't have any reason to let you go until the end if you decide not to renew the contract.

[Mitwyatt]

[John Henry]

Just for some perspective, that mightnot be their best speaker.

When I did elementary, the best speaker was not the K English teacher. Many people want to be homeroom teachers instead of English teachers,regardless of English ability.

They said there are two other native teachers, talk to them both.

[Mitwyatt]