Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Patrick Murtha]

I'm in my third month working at an adult hagwon in a smaller city. The students are very pleasant, but pleasing them is not always the easiest task. There is such a blend of different needs and agendas in every class. I have (theoretically) three levels of class, from low to high, but the actual skill levels of the students who are assigned to them are not that well differentiated. I teach about 65% adults, 35% university, high school, and middle school students, often all in the same class. Occasionally I luck out and get a slightly more homogeneous group. New students come and old students go not just every month, but every week; some students are in class every day, but many have an erratic attendance pattern. So there is no real continuity, no referring back to a shared past, as there can be in a "regular" classroom; every class hour is an entirely discrete event with little connection to any other class hour.

Some students are vocal about their desires, others less so, and the information of that kind for a given class can be conflicting to say the least: "More handouts! Less handouts! Speak slower! Speak faster! More serious subjects! Less serious subjects!" I exaggerate only slightly; it really can be pretty confusing balancing the differing suggestions. I suppose this is an inevitable consequence of consumer-driven education.

The school administration is not much help. The director is nice, but he is a businessman, of course, not an educator. There is no curriculum director, therefore there is no educational consistency (which I understand to be the norm in hagwons, unfortunately). New teachers get no training and little informal guidance, even. I am an experienced educator, but I have gathered that I am to avoid "teaching" at all costs, which is sometimes a little hard, especially given that I understand English grammar and vocabulary much better than the Korean instructors who teach those subjects at this school. I didn't comprehend very well when I took the job that instruction in those areas completely ceases once the students "graduate" (or place out) of the lower levels taught by the native Korean teachers. I had sort of assumed that exposure to those subjects would continue as a lesser thread in the higher level conversation classes, but I have been forcefully advised that they do not. I am not sure what is true at other schools in that particular respect.

I hope to move to a university setting as a "visiting lecturer" / "guest lecturer" / "visiting professor" (whatever the nomenclature) when my contract at the hagwon is up. But at any university I will likely be assigned some adult conversation classes in the university's language institute, as well as other sorts of courses. Therefore I am interested in strategies for making the best of this sort of class.

[edwardcatflap]

So if you're not allowed to teach them grammar and vocab, what exactly are you supposed to do? I mean just having a conversation is only going to improve their fluency and listening skills. How are they supposed to increase their vocabulary or accuracy. I assume if you can't teach them grammar, you can't correct them. otherwise they might ask you why what they said is wrong and then you would have to tell them you're not allowed to say because your job is not to teach grammar. Strange

[Senior]

I'm sure, as an experienced educator, this situation must be extremely frustrating for you. I just finished an "intensive" conversation class with a group of middle school teachers, and it was a nightmare, basically like starting all over again (I feel like I have some experience at teaching middle school teachers).

Really, you seem to be in a no-win situation. Just keep giving your best, if only for your own sense of integrity at the end of the experience. Try and implement something that you can put in your CV for your dream uni job.

Having said that, no game in unwinnable or completely unsalvageable. Just start ignoring your students and bet everything on what you think will improve their grades. Isn't that the main outcome we should be measuring? Sometimes I wish my job was completely dependent on the grades my students achieved.

[Patrick Murtha]

[Patrick Murtha]

[jsk]

I've been teaching adult conversation for a year and a half and it's still challenging to keep a cohesive atmosphere in the classes. You have to be consistent yet flexible with your lesson plan and methodology. Sometimes I get really good classes of motivated students and sometimes there are those students who either have unrealistic expectations, a lack of commitment, or both.

"Pandering" is one of the necessary evils when teaching at an adult hagwon, I believe. Because it's a private institute, and students are usually there on their own volition without grades or parents keeping them in, they can be quick to drop for various reasons, especially in the middle of Seoul. So if all else falls, lots of "free conversation time" is the safe option.

It sounds like you have it down. Just try to stay positive and don't take the whiners in your classes too seriously.

[Patrick Murtha]

[Patrick Murtha]

Also, I have to wonder about hagwons that spend a good deal of money, including substantial recruiters' fees, to bring native speakers to Korea, and then fail to provide so much as a single day of orientation or training. Is this "sink or swim" strategy really working for them?

[jsk]

The first few months are the most stressful, I'd say, because the management is still generally unconvinced about you. I'm not the most outgoing or gregarious person so I didn't immediately fit the perception of their ideal teacher. However, after a couple terms they get a pretty good idea of the students' perception of you, based on feedback, returning students, dropout rates, etc. In my case I had generally good feedback from the students after a few months and the management didn't question me after that point.

It seems unusual that you weren't provided any training. I received a few days of training, and another large chain hagwon I was offered a job for also had a few days of training. In retrospect the training wasn't that useful to prepare me for teaching but it was still needed IMO.

[djsmnc]

It's a small hagwon looking for money from adults, and you are the cash cow. It won't go beyond this unfortunately, so you just have to make do. Some larger adult institutions have curriculum and such laid out, but this school by your description is just a fly-by-night kind of deal. I would recommend getting a conversation book, particularly one of those current event in Korea deals, and use it to meet the various needs of students by making conversation prompts from it. Be a resource and facilitator, and keep the discussions lighthearted, casual, and interesting. Be open to their quirky attitudes and ideas, and empathize. Then you will have the chance to fill more seats and have a satisfied employer.

[Fat_Elvis]

I feel you pain, I taught at an adult hagwon for two years. We talked about Stealth Grammar at my old school, sneaking in grammar.

[Patrick Murtha]

Thanks to the last several posters for the helpful advice. As they say, "it is what it is." I shall continue to try to do my best to keep my students entertained and engaged. If I can benefit them a little, that is about as much as can be expected given the lack of any clear educational goals.

I will also continue to be nervous about the situation, though, and will start to nose around for other opportunities. As much as I would like to complete the contract year and collect my bonus, I have a hunch I may need to move sooner than that. I have sussed out from the other native speakers that the director is known for firing people at the drop of a hat, for any of a number of reasons (or seemingly for no reason at all). He is a highly nervous guy and a "twitchy" businessman. The thought of living perpetually under the shadow of the axe is not terribly pleasant, but at least now I am forewarned and can have an exit strategy at hand. I do think that I could find an "emergency replacement" hagwon job in this city inside of a week; schools seem to be everywhere. Because I have not been in Korea too long, I might have to do a visa run to Guam, but that is manageable. If I can hang on through the winter, I am also pretty sure I could find a university job with a March start date.

It is all slightly irksome because I came to this job hoping for a little stability for a year. Oh well.