Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tracye]

Ever since I learned that the requirements for teaching overseas was so low (in many countries, anyway, including Korea), I've been curious as to whether there is some "catch" here. I have a B.A., no teaching experience, and I don't know any Korean yet (though I would try to learn a little before I went to Korea). Though I think I am good enough in dealing with children and helping them study (currently working as a nanny) to do an okay job with the teaching part, I am really surprised that any school would want to hire a teacher who knows very little Korean, or none at all. I took French and Spanish in school, and I can't imagine having had a teacher who did not speak English, at least not until I reached a very high level (which I never quite did, though I approached a decent level in French); how would such a teacher answer beginners' questions? At this point, my thinking is something like, "Well, if the schools are fine with it, so be it," but I can't help wondering how it would work in real life.

What have your experiences been like? Have you found it possible to do a good job teaching Koreans English, while knowing very little Korean, yourself?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

If you like children and want to work in a kindy / elementary hogwan, working as a nanny is probably the best experience you could have.

[ajgeddes]

Don't worry about speaking Korean. They don't want you to know Korean so that way you can't speak it. It is helpful to understand so when some 7 year old walks up to you and says something to you, in the lowest level, you can respond/react, but don't worry. Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry. The kids learn quickly in the lowest levels and you will learn as well. You sound like a great candidate.

[margaret]

I studied Spanish in Spain from a teacher who spoke no English. I think it was better because we were forced to speak Spanish.
Margaret

[denverdeath]

Yeah, you don't need Korean to teach English because you're teaching English, not Korean. I couldn't even read or write Korean my whole first year here, and I got by just fine...I also took a TESOL course prior to leaving Canada, which helped a little. Nowadays, I use a little Korean in the classroom, but try to avoid it as much as possible. Just use your imagination and other teaching aids to get the job done...pics, games, actions, body language, electronic dictionary(only when absolutely necessary, due to time constraints), etc.

All that said, learning/knowing/speaking Korean will help you with your everyday life in the ROK. I relied on my ex-g/f to do everything for me in my first year here, but I now wish that I hadn't. It's really easy to learn how to read and write the alphabet, which is a really good start. I'm much better with the language now; however, I could've been that much better if I had've tried a little harder my first year here.

[aisainmind]

[peppermint]

It depends on the students level. Absolute beginners ( learning the ABCs) are really tough to teach without some Korean, but it's pretty unlikely you'd find yourself in that situation.

In most cases, the students have a Korean teacher who ideally speaks reasonable English, along with the native teacher, either together in the classroom at public schools, or on alternating days at a hagwon.

[some waygug-in]

I disagree. If you work at a hagwan (private language school) you never know what you should expect. You may very well be teaching ABC's to absolute begginners.

A lot of my classes are exactly that.

And I don't use Korean in class, other than a word or two as a joke or an aside thingy.

Pictures.......pictures .......and more pictures

Then... games with pictures....pictures and more pictures.

Once they get a bit higher level, you can use more actual language and less pictures, but it can be tough teaching low levels if you've never done it before.

[Privateer]

It's a fair question. Is the ideal teacher bilingual or not? And even if you're bilingual then how much Korean, if any, should you use in class? I wish I knew the definitive answer but IMHO ideally the teacher should be bilingual but keep Korean use in class to a minimum anyway.

I think it's better that you don't use Korean in class because then students are forced to communicate in English.

However, it's handy to be able to understand some because you can often tell from their whispered comments to each other whether they've got the point or not. The smart ones are great at helping out the teacher by explaining to the not so smart.

Also sometimes understanding Korean helps you understand the reason for a student's difficulties. As often as not, they're just not listening, or being thick - and that's only human. It's when they all go quiet that I start worrying my lesson isn't clear enough.

I came across this description of pidgin English the other day:

[SPINOZA]

[Homer]

aisanmind...

[Qinella]