Korean Job Discussion Forums

[TCK]

I'm a new teach here. What is the future of this business anyway? Is it good or bad?

I spent a yearr in Japan and the business looked stagnant as the economy. They had some good points about advancement and more management positions, however, with some recruiting positions too. In Korea I noticed everyone is pretty much in the same boaat.

But my real quesiton is whether or not you think English is going to be the business it always has been and job security the same, or some new technology take over? WIll the teacher survivve into the 21st century? Or do you think English teachers like us are no longer necessary?

[Anda]

I'd say that within a year that Englih will rank with German and french. Chinese will be what replaces English and Japanese.

[Corporal]

This is a question best answered by people who know what they're talking about...or do you figure that the general riff-raff that inhabits these boards fits that category?

(Bring it on Bobster...or do you deny the presence of general riff-raff?)

[paulzerzan]

Read the book "The Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson. Other books on the history of the English language are good too but I can't think of the titles.
The gist of it is: "English Rocks!" and no other language is apt to replace it as the international language and the language of the future. Mastering English opens more doors than mastering any other language. Job security for ESL teachers exists, its only the pay thing that is insecure.
(I take offense at the "riff-raff" label unless it was meant as a joke. ESL teachers are colorful people. They represent the best and the worst but more often they represent the best.)

[Tiger Beer]

My guess is that teaching English will remain in demand for a long time.. BUT.. I see things are going to get very specialized..

For example.. this won't happen for a LONG TIME though.. but.. I think you will have to SOMEDAY have to have studied TESOL as your major..

Then maybe next is combine your TESOL with a minor in CHinese Studies or Korean Studies or wherever..

Also, another thing I see as a growing trend.. moreso in Japan.. and a tiny little bit in Korea (for the better jobs).. they want to interview you in the country.. and request that you are in the country already as well.. sometimes I also see Japan jobs where they request the potential teacher has a basic understanding of Japanese..

I'm going to guess that as more and more people make their life in the country with the demand for English teachers.. you will see the supply of teachers will need to meet more basic prequisites.. however.. we still have a long ways to go before that happens as well..

But.. thats a long ways away.. right now.. there seems to be no end of demand in sight.. tons of jobs.. and pretty much anyone willing to try it out is more than welcome..

[Anda]

If Western economies collapse then there will be little need for English. If the rail link goes through from Japan to Europe then a new type of trading block will come about. Tell me what Asia and Europe need need to buy from Canada, United States and Australia. Yeah, food and that's about it. As countries move their money out of the U.S. the economy will go into a free fall. The West has fallen into a trap by letting everthing get produced in China. So China can undersell the West on most things. The IT industry is a thing of the past so what's going to happen now that the share market is collaping what remains of industry in the West. Wait another twelve months and see if Asian goverment and Asian big bussiness stay behind the current educational push on English.
Let's see who is uneducated and who isn't. Oh, and Bush is creating war debt for the States like there is no tomorrow. Let's see the States pay war debts and at the same time maintain their current level of imports. You can probally add to this large scale terrorist attacks and the damage to the economy soon if the US goverment is correct in expecting them to start happening.

http://www.international-relations.com/wbeurasia/wblec1.htm

http://www.hankooki.com/kt_special/200209/t2002092319413749110.htm

[Ya-ta Boy]

Given that Latin survived the fall of Rome by 1,000 years and French was the language of diplomacy for a century after France lost leadership to the British, I would have to say that English will remain the language of trade and especially science for a very long time. Cultures change slowly, even rapidly changing cultures. Think of Russia. It was Communist for 70 years and officially athiest, but the Russian Orthodox Church survived and is strong again.

As Korea's trade grows with China, the popularity of Chinese will increase somewhat. But I just don't see Chinese taking over as the international language very soon. The advantage of Chinese is that people who speak different languages can communicate in writing. An ideograph expresses the same idea in all languages. But people will still have to talk to each other.

Don't forget that there are many countries that use English as either the first or second language. All educated Indians speak English.

Even if Anda's predictions about an economic disaster in the West come true, so what? Depressions come and go. They are certainly uncomfortable and tend to breed extremist political movements, but there is no reason to lose all hope.

[gang ah jee]

[Anda]

The English are not breeding quick enough.

http://olimu.com/Journalism/Texts/Commentary/English.htm

[gang ah jee]

[weatherman]

In terms of English I think it will be good for a long long time on a global perspective. What the Korean markets holds is up to a lot of things. If the Korean economy keeps moving ahead, and Koreans keep making money, there will be jobs there. China right now is pretty English crazy itself, and yeah, Chinese will take of cut of the language market here, it will not be the big glup that one might think. My feeling and thinking is that Chinese still another 10 years from gettting foot hold here, and then it will be slow and steady in growth, but will not eliminate English. Why? all the major publications that are a must read or of any significance in all areas science and letters are published in English. Sure the French and Germans and have their traditions, but in terms of percentages English is the academic language now and will continue to be.

[Arthur Fonzerelli]

[Tiger Beer]

Even if the USA economically declined today.. then there would still be ALOT of Koreans who have spent alot of hogwan hours studying.. they'd still want to use what they learned I'm sure..

Plus who knows how many immigrants from all over the world will continue to pour into english-speaking nations.. that has already established communions of cultures and languages..

Plus not only USA, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zeland speak English.. but also about 1/3 of the continent of Africa.. plus a significant number in India and the Philippines. Plus the Scandinavian cultures speak nearly as if they were natives already.

SO... thats ALOT of different nations!!

Lets say CHINA became the economically international power. While its nice to think maybe they would impose their language on everyone else.. BUT.. its not going to happen.. why? because if they want to keep their economic and political power.. they will unfortuntely have to communicate with the rest of the world which already is fluent in English - including the educated people currently running the world (for the most part).

In addition.. American culture, American technology, American academia will continue to be extremely influential in the world.. the textbooks of the world will probably still predominately be in English for an international exposure to the rest of the world.. even if China for example became the next big economic power.

[Anda]

I am expecting a depression worse than the 1930 or what ever you want to call it depression. This will close the hogwan style English business for all of Asia except for a few. Quiet a number of universities would also close. Tourism English would be a no go as well. Our crowd would compete so much that pay would be like it is now in South America for English teaching. Airfares would be at our cost.
What happens to the US will happen to all of us. The US will be so indebted soon that nothing will be able to pull it out for a very long time. It will also be a lot more unsafe to travel once this war starts as well, as everone will be blaming the Americans or anyone that looks Western for their troubles. Oil will soon go through the roof in cost and will cause big trouble.
So I don't call this much of a future. If you think I am wrong then watch Saddan touch his oil wells this week along with other stuff.

[The Bobster]

gang ah, your new avatar rocks! Just rented that movie night before last. "Once Were Warriors," right? Killer.

I agree with the guy who said we have job security here for as long as we want it, but the salaries might not always be what we are hoping for. I'm seeing indications in a lot of places also that the spiraling rise in the growth and formation of new hagwons is starting to glut itself out - in my community, there are just too many and some of them need to fold up to give the market room.

I'm not worried about China displacing the west in Korea - I've talked to a few Korean business types, and they are almost as suspicious of China in terms of economy as they are of Japan. Oh, not the war-bred unthinking hate as in the case of rising sun folks - rather they are worried that even a strong unified Korea could be easily overwhelmed both economically and culturally, by China ... there are days when I think the whole world could stand to be nervous about that. The place used to be called "the sleeping giant," and it just might turn out one day that we could all wish it had gone on sleeping - think the world's going bad with the US at the top of the heap? (Think : Tiennemen Square.)

(Read an interesting sci-fi novel on this theme a few years back. China Mountain Zhang, by Maureen McHugh. Check it out. http://www.strangewords.com/archive/china.html )

Tiger, a lot of what you say is true. English in Asia has a bit of inertia behind it, and it's not all American influence, in fact not even half of it is, except maybe here in Korea and also in Japan - the predominant influence of English in Asia comes from the British colonial times, I reckon, not just China but um, India is also part of Asia, right?

paulzerzan, don't let corporal bother you - I certainly don't. I slapped her hand pretty hard last weekend over some bad behavior she pulled on another thread of the board, and she's still smarting over it, probably will be for a while. (sigh) I love ya, babe - don't ever change.