Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Swampfox10mm]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/07/117_91688.html

I think this will mean fewer foreign teachers in Korea, but more side work for those here already.

[marsavalanche]

its a good thing this was posted. i was starting to worry about not getting my daily "more weigooks getting cut" fix

[Gorf]

Yeah this might go on for a year or two but then they'll go back to having actual English speakers in the classroom.

[ippy]

My coteacher is in the middle of getting this TEE certificate. This is the same coteacher who wont do a demonstration class without me scripting EVERY SINGLE word she is going to say (and even when i explain that the stuff in square brackets are just general IDEAS for her to draw on, and not actually things she will say, she still reads it off like shes ron burgandy).

As ive said before though, if the objectives arent 'cultural exchange', then its not like we're a big loss. And who on earth are we to tell the korean tax payer how to spend their cash. If they want english speakers who dread using english, no big loss. Since they have almost zero impact in the world of english speaking tourism, theyre probably better off getting their chinese up to scratch anyway. :p

[Kaypea]

[aq8knyus]

I do get the feeling, for PS at least, that English language education will be similar to French language teaching in UK schools. By that I mean someone who has dodgy speaking skills and poor pronunciation trying to teach the language.

Although I did go to a bog standard comp so maybe it was better for others.
Though if native teachers are reduced how will they decide which schools get them? I guess kids in the Korean equivalent of bog standard comps will lose out.

[Julius]

[jinju necklace]

Hiring Korean English conversation teachers is a good idea, but the education board is failing to see what is at the heart of the problem - the curriculum. If they don't make a massive overall on the ridiculous curriculum and textbooks that are currently being used then these kind of changes won't make any impact on the English proficiency level of Korean students.

Dividing students into levels is also a great idea, but it's still problematic when you teach all the levels the same textbook and all levels still have to write the same tests (as some schools are doing now).

None of these small changes will make a difference until the curriculum is drastically changed.

[s10czar]

I've often thought that I should only be teaching about 20% of my current students. The other 80% simply DO NOT understand what I am saying.

Truth be told, most of my students are really being taught English from the other students in class who can actually understand me. That being the case, I say it's an improvement to get a Korean teacher in there -at least the students will be learning from a teacher and not from each other.

Sadly, what I don't see expressed in the article is an understanding that those 20% of kids who can actually understand me really do get a significant benefit from being taught by me -a native speaker.

Seems like the Koreans are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Oh well, it's their country.