Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Foreign Teachers Wrongly Portrayed in Korea
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/05/117_44191.html

By Brian Deutsch
Contributing Writer

There are many misconceptions about native speaker English teachers in Korea and profound ignorance about who we are and what we do. This article will look at 10 of the most common misconceptions about us. It's not compiled for the sake of complaining or for being clever but rather to look more closely at 10 misinformed assumptions that are repeated so often that they're practically taken for granted.

(1) We're Unqualified

This is an extremely obnoxious misconception because it can neither be confirmed nor denied. That's because the definition of qualified is constantly changing to suit the needs of the person offending us. Does qualified mean having the proper visa? Does it mean having undergone teacher training? Or does it mean being able to competently speak and teach English in English? It's the Korean government and its citizens who've come to define ``qualified" as merely possessing a bachelor's degree from an English-speaking country, and it's unfair to turn on us because of consumers or a government that demands no more.

(2) We Don't Care About Teaching

Tell that to the teachers who, beyond teaching 20-30 classes a week, spend hours preparing materials, grading papers and putting together lessons that are both entertaining and educational. Tell that to the teachers who stand alone in front of a class of 36 students who neither speak nor understand English, yet who still make it work. Tell that to the teachers who cry when their students graduate and light up when they see them again on the street. On second thought, you'd better not tell those things to those teachers.

(3) We're Sexual Predators

This is unfortunately a common motif in the media, especially as it pertains to foreign men. Television shows will depict ``English teachers" _ usually played by Koreans or Eastern Europeans with noticeably poor English _ harassing, molesting or raping Korean women. Papers and news programs will run sensationalist stories about the debauchery of Hongdae and Itaewon, or that teachers are constantly on the prowl for ``easy Korean women.'' Why are foreigners being held to higher standards than their Korean peers?

(4) We Just Talk in Class

Because we usually teach English conversation classes, there's an assumption that all we do is go to class and talk. We're native speakers, so ``teaching" is pretty easy for us, right? Perhaps the biggest challenge we face is creating a classroom environment that encourages learning in a way that's so contrary to the traditional Korean style. By creating lessons that give students a chance to use the language they've studied for years, we have the difficult task of bucking the system of passive rote learning and obedience. Assuming we just talk or play games is insulting to the hard work we do every day.

(5) We Can't Teach on Our Own

Though we are contractually paired with a Korean co-teacher in public schools, we often do teach on our own when these co-teachers don't show up for class or prove unable or unwilling to participate. Ideally, the two teachers would find a way to compliment each other, but this rarely happens. In fact, sometimes the class is more effective when taught entirely by a native speaker.

(6) We Can't Find Jobs at Home

This stereotype predates the current economic crisis. Besides denigrating the teachers who come here, all of whom are college-educated and have been employed in the past, this misconception is also an insult to the Korean education system because it implies that it can do no better than to hire cast-offs.

(7) We're Uppity.

A prominent scholar in the field of English education here said recently that native speaker teachers ``often cause problems," though he didn't expand on his comments. This is a good catch-all misconception that covers pretty much everything from ``doesn't like the school food" to ``complains when not paid," and is likely code for ``doesn't fit in." It's too easy, and has been far too common, to simply blame the foreign teacher for misunderstandings, miscommunications and failures. It would behoove the schools who hire foreign teachers, and the imported teachers themselves, to be understanding of the communication breakdowns that will invariably occur, and not reduce everything to a cultural problem.

( We're Criminals.

Every year we hear the news that foreign crime is on the rise. The papers usually fail to emphasize that the number of foreigners in Korea is also dramatically increasing. Most of us agree with requiring public school teachers to submit criminal background checks, though the panic is in the wrong direction. The frequent stories about teachers behaving badly are not about foreigners but rather about Korean teachers who beat children, sexually abuse students, take bribes or participate in anti-government rallies. It's unacceptable to generalize about Korean teachers based on a few news stories, and it's even more wrong to generalize about foreign teachers based on none.

(9) We're Here for Money

This misconception is insulting to Koreans as well as to foreigners. This is a country, after all, that spends a lot of time, money and advertising space building its image and trying to entice foreigners to come here. As Korea welcomes more and more foreign teachers and laborers, it will need to get over this one-sided stigma attached to economic migration, especially since historically so many Koreans have left in pursuit of a better life.

(10) We're Unhappy

It's odd that we stand out so much, considering how often Koreans complain about the weather or the food, or how often they take to the streets over something or other. Less anecdotally, Korea has the highest suicide rate of the 30 OECD countries, and suicide is the fourth-leading cause of death here. It is the leading cause of death among males 18 to 35, and the second-leading cause for teenagers. And, according to the ``OECD Factbook 2009," Korea ranked the lowest for life satisfaction.

I won't deny that we are an opinionated bunch. Sometimes too opinionated, and the need by some to pass judgment on every little thing is a phenomenon that deserves fuller treatment.

It certainly deserves more analysis than ``we are unhappy." There are, of course, plenty of reasons why foreign English teachers complain: cheating bosses, indifferent students, uncooperative authorities, and a media that constantly portrays us as sexual predators, drug users, unqualified teachers, or bitter imports. Or maybe it's just a bad day or plain old culture shock.

But we're not unhappy. On the contrary, we're active in our communities and our neighborhoods. We volunteer at orphanages, organize charity events, adopt animals, and participate in clean-up campaigns. Like our Korean neighbors, we relax in `jjimjilbang,' sing in noraebang, go hiking on the weekends and have a beer or two on a Friday night. As information on Korea is becoming more widely available online and in print, we are becoming better teachers, better travelers, and with more frequency, better residents.

Teachers come here and stay here because they want to be here. This is something Korea should be proud of. It shouldn't wave them in with one hand and nudge them out with the other.

The writer can be reached at [email protected]

[wylies99]

Go ahead and flame me for posting this. Everyone knows that foreign teachers have been WRONGLY portrayed in the Korean media and at least SOMEONE who is taken seriously by the Korean media (the many foreign celebrities in Korea, blog meisters who ignore the discrimination against waygooks in Korea, or a certain cowardly Korean food fan) has stuck up for US. Everyone in the ESL industry should thank Brian for doing this- teachers, recruiters, and everyone else that financially benefits from foreign teachers in Korea. At least SOMEONE has the COURAGE to say something on our behalf

[wylies99]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Great, succint article. It could be used to rebute about 99% of the negative comments about English teachers here.

[wylies99]

[sinsanri]

If you all are worried about 1 Korean author who wrote 1 article in a newspaper where approx. 49,990,000 Koreans do not read, then you are way too insecure.

Your job depends upon what your principle or owner and co- teachers think of your work, not the public. The above author over-generalized (a crime he accuses the Korean author of doing) and ignored manyfacts.

He also did not speak to each of the approx. 25,000 NEts in this country which makes his remarks too biased and lacking in credibility. Not that there aren't such teachers, it is just that they are all not the way he describes.

I won't be jumping on the 'thank deutsch' bandwagon as his words do nothing for me or any other NET. Plus his 'target' audience probably doesn't read the Korea Times wasting his words and time.

My school/hagwon knows exactly how I am as a teacher and I sure do not need deutsch saying anything, for NO ONE remembers the good stuff, they only remember the bad and his words will be forgotten when the next drug bust of NETs hits the front page and we all start paying the price for those who are not covered by deutsch's article.

[wylies99]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Kurtz]

Nice little feel good piece for us waegooks, and THANK YOU to Brian, I mean that.

Even though it's a start, how can this be continued? As much as a commend Brian's actions and the newspaper for printing it, I somehow feel everything is not going to be just hunky dory from now on.

People bitch and moan about bad press, yet, we already have a cynical comment, maybe that's Brian's point 7, or maybe 10, I'm not sure.

[marlow]

[John_ESL_White]

Nice article.

But,

1) Not qualified:

I'm not qualified for this job. I'm over qualified, as are a lot of us.

4) Just talk in class:

Talk and write on the board. What else is there? I guess I could dance and sing, but I don't want to.

5) Can't teach alone:

Never had a Korean in the class to help....so what exactly have I been doing?

6) We're uppity:

Some of us are. Most aren't, or stuff would change.

9) Money:

Every place I've ever been has been for the money.

10) Unhappy:

I love it here as much as I love it anywhere. Same place, different faces.

I'm unhappy when I'm cheated. I've been cheated in a lot of countries.

[sinsanri]

[Kwangjuchicken]

[sinsanri]

I know i shouldn't say much but i take offense at such snow jobs and then the accompanying blind rah rah rah that follows.

You (general usage) may have problems with your employers, or with the way Koreans do things but you (general usage) are not the lily white teachers you make yourselves out to be.

I have little sympathy for the NEt as this is not their country, it is not the west and if they cannot adapt to a different culture and different way of doing things then they do not belong here.

Wow some foreign teachers got upset at an opinion piece...whoopppeee! On the grand scope of life, the article means little and the 'rebuttal' means less because the people that employ you already know what you are like and what a person writes in a paper is going to do little to change that opinion.

Grow up and be men (and ladies) for a change and maybe your situations would change for the better. This employment is no different than a western one, employers want their employees to do their jobs. if you can't then finish your contracts and go home.

[Scotticus]