Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

[cubanlord]

[Demophobe]

In defense of the public schools coming in "dead last" with regard to how much the students learn (as equated with 'time spent with them', which also doesn't always dictate a students proficiency, nor how much language they aquire);

I have to say that, yes, the scheduled class time with the students is minimal compared to a hagwon, but that is only telling half the story. Yes, half the story, as the other half is about the time spent with the students outside of class time.

I see my students many, many times through the day. They come into my classroom early, hang out between classes, come in after lunch and again after last class until I go home. My school recently built a new language classroom, and I was the advisor. I asked them to furnish the class with many attractive resources, and they were very obliging. They set up an airport counter, supermarket, restaurant and speaking corner with robots that answer student questions. All complete with loads of realia for each area, books, shelves, toys and language games.

The students who spend this time with me are the same ones who would do well in a hagwon environment. They are eager, highly motivated and generally find English interesting. Hagwon students are far from all good anyways, even after years of classes.

So, these students of mine get a lot more time than just in class with me, and that time is spent speaking English, asking and answering questions, and doing different things using English together. They come away with at least 2 hours per day, 5 days a week of time spent productively with me.

So back to the idea that the public schools come in last, all I can say is that isn't always true.

[some waygug-in]

:Regardless of what anyone writes about the effectiveness/non-effectiveness of having a foreign teacher in Korean public schools, anyone I've ever talked to who has done both ALWAYS says that they would NEVER go back to a hagwan.

Just because a hagwan teacher spends more time with the kids doesn't mean the kids are learning more. It really depends on a whole lot of other factors that the teacher usually has little or no control over.

Things like: - are the books/materials appropriate?
- are the teachers allowed to bring in their own materials?
- are there age/level differences which cause problems?
- is there good or poor communication between the foreign teacher and the Korean staff?

(so much for my formatting)

- is the teacher so over-worked with classes that he/she doesn't have time to prepare properly?

- are there other issues (pay) which are adding to the stress faced by the teacher, thereby impacting on the teacher's performance?

I can't say that every hagwan has all these problems, but I can say that everyone I've worked at does have at least some of them.

I certainly would like to give the 'real school' gig a shot next year. I am completely sick of hagwan B.S.