Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bosintang]

I've taught in Korea and Japan for 3 years in total now, and I can't help but feel pessimistic about my role in a bigger scheme of things.

Looking back at my first few months of teaching, I was probably an awful teacher. Of course I was. Although I had a quasi-teaching background, I had no special training in teaching EFL and relied on a sense of intuition and good people skills to get by. The problem with relying on intuition is that often what seems like the right way of doing something is not. I could still be that same teacher today, three years later, and I would still get paid the same and everyone would be just as happy. I've only been driven to improve by experience, a sense of curiousity, and individual job satisfaction. This is not to say that I'm a great teacher. I'm saying that I'm much more effective now than I was when I first started, and this would be true of anyone.

Getting to my point, this industry has been going for awhile now but the vast majority of teachers have been here for less than a few months. Some of those teachers, the ones who care, will improve. And then when they reach a point where they're worth their paycheque, they will probably leave, to be replaced by a new crop of fresh unexperienced teachers. Others will just create problems and resentment, and leech of their status as a native English speaker always in demand.

I often see public school teachers on here slagging their Korean co-teachers for their teaching skills. You, as a native speaker, were hired because you speak English and come from an English-speaking country. The Korean teacher, on the other hand, had to spend years slagging away learning the ins and outs of the English language, had to go to University for four years to get an education degree, and had to pass a grueling test to get a teaching license. If they are younger, they mostly likely also completed a modern teaching certification like CELTA. They have total knowledge of Korean and the unique challenges that brings with it in learning English. For the Korean teacher, this job means lifelong total dedication. For the Korean student learning English, the Korean teacher has reached the stage they aspire to.

On the other hand, for the native speaker the job is just a pitstop in their life, a means to an end. The vast majority of teachers come here with zero industry commitment and zero attachment to the community as a whole. Of course, one might argue that if industry commitment and qualifications were rewarded more, then Korea would get them. However, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't happened in Japan -- if anything,the opposite trend is true -- it's fair to say it's never going to happen. Korea is never going to get an influx of proplery-trained teachers, and Koreans are never going to make serious commitment towards professional development of foreign teachers.

Hiring a native speaker to teach a language is like hiring race-car drivers to make cars. Race-car drivers are awesome drivers and probably have great intuition about how cars work, but that doesn't make them good engineers. I justify myself and my current job, in that as an individual in the system, I'm good at what I do and enjoy doing it. However, the real reason I'm doing this job is because at this point in my life I need it more than it needs me. Ultimately, Koreans and their English program would just be better off if they dropped the native speaker paradigm and concentrated the money they spend on that in upgrading their own teachers skills and lowering class sizes.

[wylies99]

Native speakers are needed because the English language is filled with idioms and slang that only native speakers understand.

Other than that- bravo for being interested in wanting to see improvements in this industry.

[bosintang]

[jmbran11]

What many Korean teachers lack is the ability to comfortably converse in English. Despite the years of training and "dedication", I've met many whose lack or ability or anxiety prevent any meaning conversation in a social setting. That's why actual native speakers are needed.

Unfortunately, though many native speakers are imported, the system still provides for only limited actual conversation. The one possible benefit is that many of today's children have had some experience with native teachers, so their level of anxiety is less and the fear of foreigners who speak English is decreased.

Finally, I'd like to make a point that is often ignored on this board. There are some exceptional, professional, experienced teachers here in Korea. I don't work at a school, so I realize my observation is not the norm, but there are some teachers at my company who have excellent training, continue to educate themselves regularly, publish articles, and truly care whether they are effective in the classroom. They are good people, and they inspire me. Of course, they aren't representative of the industry here, but I wanted to give them credit.

[Ya-ta Boy]

I agree with boshintang.

Korea's English education system will improve only when the universities begin teaching innovative ways to teach and the schools, universities and companies re-think their standards for admission and promotion.

Korean public schools teach to the university entrance exam because that is the standard that is used to evaluate the high schools. Students are not expected to speak English at the exam, so Korean teachers don't try to teach them to speak. Why would they?

As I see it, the Korean public school system of English conversation class shoots itself in the foot by bringing over thousands of native speakers and then undermines them by setting up a system that doesn't let them do the best job they could. Classes are just masses of people grouped together without regard for their English ability, motivation or real need for the language. The students are rarely held accountable for what is taught. Numbers of students are so large that no real conversation can happen. The majority of people hired are untrained and unable to communicate with the students.

Talk about a massive waste of money.

(I don't think it is 100% wasted. I do feel we do some good here, but not for the amount of money being spent.)

[Aussiekimchi]

OP good post.
In my humble opinion, I think we will always have a small percentage of great teachers in Korea who are dedicated to the cause and see Korea not as a pitstop on the way to something else. They will be forever on a self improvement mission and genuinely care for their students, their school and the community at large.
But their will also remain the majority whom have no idea how to teach ESL/EFL. Some will try to be good classroom managers and be somewhat effective, others will simply hold out their hand at the end of the month for their salary and disrespect the community surrounding them. This situation is due to a number of factors discussed at length here previously.
I think the Korean ESL industry can only improve when steps are taken to make it more difficult for Koreans to open and operate an ESL school, learn modern and correct techniques in language acquisition and treat their staff more humanely ..... for us, getting an ESL teaching job and keeping it should be more difficult than sending a photo and smiling when the boss walks past for 12 months, but also once we have a job, there should be some better protection against the bosses who think they own us and have the right to do whatever they want.
But in reality, because this is Korea and it has not changed in attitude too much over the past 2000 years, positive changes will not happen here in a hurry and the situation will not improve. Unfortunately, if you are a serious teacher in the ESL industry with serious quals and a serious desire to go further in this industry, the right opportunities for you in Korea could become like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

[Smee]

Very good post, OP.

There's a lot to say about the issue. I don't believe all of us are wastes of money. I'm more inclined to see English education---the way its carried out----and the huge disconnect between how it's "learned" and how it's applied in the real world, as the waste of money.

I'm not willing to grant all K-teachers slack. Just like many of us came here for economic reasons, many Korean teachers entered the profession for the same reason. True, they went through training courses and teachers' colleges, so they're qualified on paper. But many of us spent 4+ years in uni. And, there's no reason at all to cut hagwon teachers slack. They're in the same boat as us, largely.

[Real Reality]

School English Classes: Quality of Teaching Appears to Be Diminishing
English teaching at primary and secondary schools here appears to be diminishing. According to a recent survey, a growing number of Korean teachers of English conduct their classes in Korean only, contrary to efforts in creating an environment in which students can be better immersed in English. The number of teachers presenting English-only classes in elementary, middle and high schools for an hour each week has declined, according to a Chonbuk National University research survey.

Education authorities have emphasized the importance of teaching practical English that is useful in daily conversation and aimed to enhance students' interest in English. However, their efforts seem to have brought no tangible results.... Our miserable teaching environments are causing people to send their children to study overseas. Some 188,000 Korean students went to study abroad in 2004 alone, spending about 23 billion won.
Korea Times (June 7, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200606/kt2006060717004354050.htm

Lawmaker Urges Stricter English Teacher Evaluation Program
by Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times (August 28, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200608/kt2006082817051811990.htm

What do the annual contract system and renewal limits really mean for foreign English teachers and professors?
From a recent university ad:
Period of Contract: One (1) year, with the possibility of renewal(s) three times at the end of the contract.
Your coming here will only enable the universities to substitute a fired long-termer with a neophyte, and thus perpetuate the cycle. Your arrival, I'm sorry to say, will in fact weaken the bargaining position of those already here.

[Paji eh Wong]

Some thoughts:

1) Koreans are lousy at English for a lot of reasons and most of them have to do with Korean culture. Ethnocentrism, the belief that Koreans are different and special, is a huge problem when dealing with other people. I believe that, when dealing with foriegners, most Koreans are trained to see an "Other" first and a human being second. Until they spend some time around a foriegner, they are tentative and lack confidence in a social setting.

2) I think a lot of Koreans are humiliated by us. Koreans spend so much time, money, and energy on education, and then have a bunch of lazy, shiftless foreigners stroll into relatively decent jobs. They feel bad that they need to take whatever trash comes off of the boat, while having no chance to reciprocate.

3) Just because Korean teachers spend a lot of time and energy on becoming a proffesional teacher doesn't mean they are good at it. Koreans spend huge amounts of time and energy on English and they're terrible at it. Admittidly, we have some bad ideas about education, but Koreans are even worse. They look up to us.

4) In market terms, Korea gets the foriegners it deserves. No one student deserves a bad foriegn teacher, just like no one foriegn teacher deserves to get screwed, but as a population, we both get what we put in to it. Why would talented, motivated teachers come to Korea for long periods of time? You get very little job satisfaction and have to put up with Korean business ethics and Korean managers.

5) The supply and demand of English language education completely outstrips the actual need. Very few of the Korean students we train will need English in their immediate or near future. It's another hoop that employers like to make their employees jump through.

My point, and I do have one, is that Koreans are desperately trying to change how they do things. Hence us. They won't lower class sizes or concentrate on improving their own teachers because traditionally they don't see them as problems. That's where we come in. We come from a different paradigm. One Koreans want. Koreans can access that paradigm by talking to us, or even better, going overseas and living amongst us. That's why they need us. We are different.

[Real Reality]

a growing number of Korean teachers of English conduct their classes in Korean only .... an increasing number of high school teachers are unwilling to take part in training programs,...
Korea Times (June 7, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200606/kt2006060717004354050.htm

The aforementioned Korean teachers teaching English in Korean only have tenure. How many foreign English teachers teaching English in English only have tenure? The Korean high school teachers declining to take part in English education programs have tenure. Again, how many foreign English teachers have tenure?

Teachers in Korea have guaranteed tenure until they reach the mandatory retirement age.*
What is tenure? Tenure: The status of holding one's position on a permanent basis without periodic contract renewals: a teacher granted tenure on a faculty.
Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tenure
* Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers: Country Note: Korea by John Coolahan, Paulo Santiago, Rowena Phair and Akira Ninomiya. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
Directorate for Education, Education and Training Policy Division
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/49/31690991.pdf

Teaching Practical English
By Zena Putnam, The Korea Times: Opinion Section (June 15, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200606/kt2006061519291754070.htm

What do the annual contract system and renewal limits really mean for foreign English teachers and professors?
From a recent university ad:
Period of Contract: One (1) year, with the possibility of renewal(s) three times at the end of the contract.
Your coming to Korea will only enable Korean universities to substitute an experienced teacher with a newbie, and thus continuing the abusive hiring-firing cycle. Do you want to continue the cycle and keep the standards and conditions low?

University 3 year rule
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=55461

The worst of the worst university jobs!
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=57601

[babtangee]

I think the OP's a silly bowl of dog soup if he thinks it would be better and cheaper for Korea to properly train its own teachers. Partly because it would cost less money to train the foreign teachers to teach English effectively, but most importantly because the Korean Teachers will never let it happen.

If the government bothered to regulated the English instruction industry it could be improved immeasurably. All they'd have to do is hire an outfit like http://www.teachinternational.com and force every employer to send their unqualified, untrained teachers there for teacher training. The training of good, foreign English instructors for Korea's needs really doesn't take much.

Now, teaching their Korean English teachers to actually use English properly. That's a whole different ball game... one that would require a complete restructuring of their Edumacation industry. And guess what, people: there's no freaking way the teachers are gonna let you change their status quo. If it were ever to happen, which it won't, it would mean strikes, suicides, parliamentary punch ons, and millions of dollars to retrain/replace/reorganize the teachers' universities and their courses.

But this isn't a "let's get to the root of the problem," kind of nation. Bandaid solutions are much preferred because they are cheaper and cause less fuss. Problem is, the only bandaid the government is offering at the moment is, "blame the foreigners!" Well, if they paid to have the foreigners trained in contemporary language teaching techniques there would be less blame to throw around and more Koreans speaking English in the future.

[Hans Blix]

[Hotpants]

[bosintang]

Addressing some comments here:

First off, my comments are mostly directed at the public school system, not the hagwon system. As far as hagwons are concerned, they are customer-driven, and customers will get what they pay for. If the public schools did their jobs properly, the demand for hagwon lessons would not be so high.

[jajdude]