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diablo3
Joined: 11 Sep 2004
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 Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| they probably think we come here because we have no prospects at our country of origin. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| diablo3 wrote: |
| they probably think we come here because we have no prospects at our country of origin. |
begs the question then why are they so keen to get visas for the west? They must all be losers with no prospects in Korea. |
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Freezer Burn
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Busan
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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Im not sure I agree with the whole loser aspect of ESL teaching here in Korea.
In Australia and New Zealand, teaching ESL is only now starting to become an option, it's nowhere near as well known as it is in say Canada and the States and finding a job is a lot more difficult than it is for North Americans as well.
I think we still find it exotic and exciting to come here for a year or two, it's not a post graduate program promoted to pay off student loans. |
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diablo3
Joined: 11 Sep 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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"begs the question then why are they so keen to get visas for the west? They must all be losers with no prospects in Korea."
Yes, this argument can go either way. They usually exit for various reasons such as learning English, working holiday, etc.
It comes down to Korea being a highly materialistic and competitive society. Speaking English is one of the tools which helps them become more competitive. So, many Koreans need us to learn and practise English. Some students make a priority to study English whilst studying their major, or sometimes other things. So, it makes me wonder why students think we are hopeless. After all, we have a degree and speak English, which is what they want.
It makes me laugh when hagwon owners think we are hopeless because hagwon owners (and other places) usually have no strategy to retain teachers and to help teachers become more helpful in their own institute. I have never seen a hagwon record good tips on teaching to pass on to new teachers to make their hagwons a better place. All that experience is lost when a teacher leaves. |
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Alias
Joined: 24 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| diablo3 wrote: |
| they probably think we come here because we have no prospects at our country of origin. |
Yes, many of them do. And they would be right. |
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haengdangdong
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:13 am Post subject: Irrelevant but funny |
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Last week I went to Beijing for my vacation, and while I was resting my legs in the Forbidden City I heard a white girl turn to a little asian boy who bumped into her and say,
"Say excuse me you little loser!"
A white girl calling a 7 year old Chinese boy a loser, in China. Hillarious.
...
I know this has nothing to do with the post, but the word loser in the title of this thread made me think of it, and I felt like sharing.
Last edited by haengdangdong on Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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haengdangdong
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:20 am Post subject: |
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| diablo3 wrote: |
It makes me laugh when hagwon owners think we are hopeless because hagwon owners (and other places) usually have no strategy to retain teachers and to help teachers become more helpful in their own institute. I have never seen a hagwon record good tips on teaching to pass on to new teachers to make their hagwons a better place. All that experience is lost when a teacher leaves. |
That is so true and I just can't understand the gap in logic. Experience counts for next to nothing at my school. They seem to forget how awful a newcomer can be despite the numerous people they've fired in under six months, and yet they make little effort to keep the teachers they have. They just assume, "Well, we can get a new one out here in a week." |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| haengdangdong wrote: |
| diablo3 wrote: |
It makes me laugh when hagwon owners think we are hopeless because hagwon owners (and other places) usually have no strategy to retain teachers and to help teachers become more helpful in their own institute. I have never seen a hagwon record good tips on teaching to pass on to new teachers to make their hagwons a better place. All that experience is lost when a teacher leaves. |
That is so true and I just can't understand the gap in logic. Experience counts for next to nothing at my school. They seem to forget how awful a newcomer can be despite the numerous people they've fired in under six months, and yet they make little effort to keep the teachers they have. They just assume, "Well, we can get a new one out here in a week." |
Hogwons seem to have a kind of "snatch and grab" raid mentality about business.
I don't think that they have long-term plans at all, which came as a shock to me being that this is Asia. I think hogwons tend to want to get in and get all they can, and then sell their hogwon and move on. The franchises, for all I've seen, which isn't much, honestly, seem to have all of the employee retention of McDonald's.
With this kind of business outlook, you can't expect much more than that.
The bicultural center where I worked in Santiago had semesterly evaluations of teachers, not just from administrators, but from professional EFL consultants they brought in to train the teachers -- I'm talking specifically about PhDs in EFL from Britain and New Zealand. We had paid, monthly teacher training meetings, and the institute sent us to EFL congresses every year if we wanted, where we kept up-to-date on teaching methodologies and emphases. Same thing, sort of, with the high school where I worked -- the training wasn't EFL-specific, but high school, adolescent-specific. Still: an emphasis on professional development and retention.
Very similar situations in Brazil, and the British company I worked for in southern California was simply "shit-hot."
You can imagine the different adjustment stages I went through -- and still go through -- upon coming from those experiences, thinking of myself as an experienced EFL traveler, and running into this corrupt hogwon system... |
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Emu Bitter
Joined: 27 May 2004
Location: Bundang
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:21 am Post subject: |
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Materialism is the thing.
A student asked me about what my dad did for a living. I answered honestly, he was a hospital orderley(now retired) the spoilt brat said, I'm sorry. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:26 pm Post subject: Re: You're ALL a Bunch of LOSERS !!! |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| And the behaviour of most Westerners does NOTHING to dispel this image. Nor is it just Koreans who think this. Watch that SBS program (you know what I am talking about) and you would probably think so too. |
Could you post the link please. Are there English subtitles ??? Either way i'd love to see it as i've heard lots about this purportedly notorious case of purely exploitative "yellow" journalism.
IGTG. |
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