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Harrismij
Joined: 05 Sep 2012
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 Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:24 pm Post subject: Seoul axing all native speakers by 2014? |
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I am going to study Hospitality management for my final semester in fall 2013 at Kyung Hee university in Seoul. I was inquiring about doing some teaching on the side to make some money while i was there. Until i read this article that made it pretty clear that the opportunities in Seoul would soon be non existent. My question now, Is it even worth getting Tesol certified if I will be in Seoul? Would i be able to teach in cities surrounding Seoul or is this exodus of native english speakers on a national level?
I was so excited to deal with Korean kids and help introduce them to American culture, but now it seems like that is never going to happen in Seoul!
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2011/12/08/seoul-to-sack-all-native-english-speaking-teachers-by-2014/ |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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| There are lots of places to teach in Seoul that are not in the public school system. |
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Hugo85
Joined: 27 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Less English teachers in Seoul probably means that the same demand for privates is met by fewer people. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Take a wait and see attitude. Will they really be gone by 2014? Let's watch the election outcomes this year and also the economic conditions. |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:41 pm Post subject: Re: Seoul axing all native speakers by 2014? |
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| Harrismij wrote: |
I am going to study Hospitality management for my final semester in fall 2013 at Kyung Hee university in Seoul. I was inquiring about doing some teaching on the side to make some money while i was there. Until i read this article that made it pretty clear that the opportunities in Seoul would soon be non existent. My question now, Is it even worth getting Tesol certified if I will be in Seoul? Would i be able to teach in cities surrounding Seoul or is this exodus of native english speakers on a national level?
I was so excited to deal with Korean kids and help introduce them to American culture, but now it seems like that is never going to happen in Seoul!
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2011/12/08/seoul-to-sack-all-native-english-speaking-teachers-by-2014/ |
1) As a university student you couldn't work at a public school anyways. You couldn't actually work anywhere legally.
2) The TESOL? The only places that would even care you can't work at, because it's illegal to teach on a student visa.
3) Teach Korean kids American culture? That's cute. You'd have about the same amount of luck as going to Alabama and teaching evolution. |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| A native speaker earns on average W42 million a year, and we concluded that they are not effective enough to justify the cost,� a spokesman for the city office of education said. �A survey conducted for us showed that Korean teachers with outstanding English and teaching skills are more effective in the long term. |
Of course they're more effective. They also make the tests that determine the students' level of success. For NETs to be "effective", we'd have to start teaching the same rote memorization garbage the VAST majority of Korean English teachers teach such that their students will be good at multiple-choice-question only English tests.
Over the past few years I've noticed a dramatic increase in the general English fluency and accuracy levels of public school students. We might not be making them better at scoring high on bullshit tests, but we damn well are making them better communicators in English. |
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andrewchon
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Native teachers earn 42 mil won average in public system?  Costs is more likely.  |
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Hugo85
Joined: 27 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:36 pm Post subject: Re: Seoul axing all native speakers by 2014? |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| 1) As a university student you couldn't work at a public school anyways. You couldn't actually work anywhere legally. |
You can work up to 20 hours a week with permission from the department according to visa regulations I believe. |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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| andrewchon wrote: |
| Native teachers earn 42 mil won average in public system? Costs is more likely. |
Korean budgets are regularly inflated so higher-ups can get their skim on. Your school's getting 60 million for English classroom upgrades? You can bet a decent percentage of that makes it no where near the English classroom.
Though with the price of housing in Seoul, I don't really doubt that 42 million number. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: Seoul axing all native speakers by 2014? |
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| Hugo85 wrote: |
| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| 1) As a university student you couldn't work at a public school anyways. You couldn't actually work anywhere legally. |
You can work up to 20 hours a week with permission from the department according to visa regulations I believe. |
I've heard this too.
But who could hire this person? They wouldn't be qualified according to most Ed. offices, right?
That 20 hour thing is so that foreign students can pick up part time jobs while studying. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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^^Yeah, that 42m bit is clearly nonsense. A very, very small number at the top of the payscale may be around that mark. But I doubt even that that's the average cost of a NSET. I'd guess it's not much more than a figure the guy pulled out of his arse.
Anyway, this is very old news. SMOE have got rid of most of their HS and MS native speakers, but the elementary program is still going reasonably strong. And whilst some news reports last December like the one linked in the blog (and it was a blog, not an article) above claimed all Seoul NSETs would be gone by 2014, several people I know working in Seoul elementary schools say they've been asked about renewals and that there is no indication of everything being completely stopped in the foreseeable future.
As someone else mentioned above, wait and see is the best advice. Claims of the end of native speakers in public schools have been going around for pretty much a decade or so now. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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| andrewchon wrote: |
| Native teachers earn 42 mil won average in public system? Costs is more likely. |
Salary + benefits = earn. Just cause it ain't cash in your pocket doesn't mean it is not earned remuneration.
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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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| It's anyone's guess before a Korean Presidential election. We'll know more in a few months. |
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aq8knyus
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Location: London
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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It seems that this process has been building up for some time, though its clear that instead of confessing that they need to cut costs they would rather blame the foreign teachers so-called effectiveness.
One or two lessons a week in a class of 30+ using those painfully slow textbooks is not going achieve much of anything. That is not the teachers fault, learning a foreign language is more difficult than learning math or science if you are not in country.
It could be a good thing though as was mentioned earlier the demand has not changed, if anyhing it has grown. I could definitely see the hagwon market getting a significant boost. |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:59 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| andrewchon wrote: |
| Native teachers earn 42 mil won average in public system? Costs is more likely. |
Salary + benefits = earn. Just cause it ain't cash in your pocket doesn't mean it is not earned remuneration.
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In my last year, that (42mil) is exactly what the MOE paid for employing me on salary and housing alone. As mentioned here above, I don't think it is a complete stretch with all factors taken into consideration. |
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