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yorkshire_boy
Joined: 04 Oct 2009
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:38 am Post subject: Applying for private schools (for British based applicants) |
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I just wondered if there are any British based applicants looking for private school placement at the moment? If so, how are you finding it?
I'm coming across a lot of recruiters and schools who seemingly only want the North American accent, although there are exceptions. I understand the reasons why and the current demand, but i'm just getting slightly frustrated about it and wondered if anyone can point me in the direction of any schools / recruiters that aren't as focussed on accent as priority? I know some do exist, but they seem in the minority and it's just about finding them!
As for my expectations, I'm looking for a position in the Gyeonggi area. I'm quite flexible as to where and not really fussed about being in Seoul. I have recently graduated and also have a TEFL 100hr certificate.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! |
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wjf1
Joined: 14 Apr 2010
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:26 am Post subject: |
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I am from Yorkshire as well and my recruiter hasn't mentioned my accent at all (even when I spoke to them on the phone). Maybe it will be different when I am actually in contact with schools? At the moment I am just arranging my visa documents after joining them last week.
Did you do assessed teaching practice on your TEFL certificate? I think you need at least 6 hours to make it a Trinity/CELTA equivalent.
On the phone they told me with my experience (BA + MA + TEFL & Teaching Practice + Volunteer Work) I should have no problems finding a job in and around Seoul.
If your accent is really stong (e.g. a Barnsley accent) maybe you could try to soften it for your interviews and your teaching? |
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Depths of My Soul
Joined: 04 Apr 2010 Location: In The Sun
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 7:09 am Post subject: |
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Most of the recruiters seem to be based in Canada or the USA.
Are/have any of your recruiters been UK based? If not, it's probably a good idea to try and find one. At a guess i'd say most of their clients would be UK/Ireland based. |
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wjf1
Joined: 14 Apr 2010
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 7:18 am Post subject: |
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I am with Adventure Teaching who are based in Seattle. They are have been very professional and helpful so far.
http://www.adventureteaching.com/ |
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yorkshire_boy
Joined: 04 Oct 2009
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 10:01 am Post subject: |
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wjf1 wrote: |
I am from Yorkshire as well and my recruiter hasn't mentioned my accent at all (even when I spoke to them on the phone). Maybe it will be different when I am actually in contact with schools? At the moment I am just arranging my visa documents after joining them last week.
Did you do assessed teaching practice on your TEFL certificate? I think you need at least 6 hours to make it a Trinity/CELTA equivalent.
On the phone they told me with my experience (BA + MA + TEFL & Teaching Practice + Volunteer Work) I should have no problems finding a job in and around Seoul.
If your accent is really stong (e.g. a Barnsley accent) maybe you could try to soften it for your interviews and your teaching? |
Thank you for the info; i'll have a look into the recruiter you linked!
I have the exact same experience as you aside from the MA unfortunately. My accent isn't very strong and is pretty clear. I can understand why you mentioned the Barnsley accent, as I can't understand it half the time myself!
I'm just being told (from a lot of Korean recruiters especially) that parents want American accents teaching their children, so hagwon directors are biased towards this and therefore they recommend public schools. I guess it's just about finding a school who realise that dialect isn't the most important thing!
Good luck in your job search for Seoul. |
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ttompatz

Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:28 pm Post subject: Re: Applying for private schools (for British based applican |
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yorkshire_boy wrote: |
I just wondered if there are any British based applicants looking for private school placement at the moment? If so, how are you finding it?
[edited for brevity]
As for my expectations, I'm looking for a position in the Gyeonggi area. I'm quite flexible as to where and not really fussed about being in Seoul. I have recently graduated and also have a TEFL 100hr certificate.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! |
Are you looking for a private school (8:30-4:30 / all subjects) or an English academy (hakwon)?
If you are looking for a hakwon, just spam every recruiter out there, weed out the crap (45 classes for 2.0) and find a nice place at 2.2 and 30 classes per week.
There are LOTS of them out there. If a recruiter is telling you that you are hard to place, it means he doesn't have much to offer other than trying to sell your portfolio to the Provincial recruiting office for public schools.
Find 10 (or 20) more recruiters and you should have a decent contract on the table within a month.
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Murakano
Joined: 10 Sep 2009
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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just echoing Ttompatz`s advice to e-mail all the recruiters and then see what comes back....pick and choose from there if you find anything of interest.
If you are interested to know of a UK based recruiter, try.....
http://www.flying-cows.com/ |
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