Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Skarp]

Don't so it....

2 million won is too little anyway. You should be getting paid more and a reprint rate.

And anyway - you will write a lousy course - I have seen some in-house produced stuff in Korea and it is a crime against trees - Treebeard will come a calling soon....

You could maybe write an OK course but it would take you a year or more - research -1st draft - testing - redraft - final testing and proofing - final draft. All photos and texts used need to be cleared for re-use - even in education. That will take months too.

It takes about a year to write a good coursebook - even if you are experienced - I have friends who've done it.

Obfuscate, prevaricate, evacuate....

Skarp

[[email protected]]

I did that once...Then I my friend knew a friend who knew a friend...I was given 10 million Won for an advance to write another book...Now I don't teach anymore...

[Zed]

While it would take a good and lengthy time to come up with an effective book, it certainly wouldn't be too difficult to top some of the crap that I've seen as course books.

[some waygug-in]

So that's the plan for the next millenium then. We all quit teaching and start designing new textbooks.

I'm not saying that I couldn't write a textbook, given sufficient time and enough money to make it worthwhile. But to try to do it while holding down a full time job, for free (no less) is just plain stupid.

If I ever decide to write my own textbook, it sure won't be so that I can hand it over to some hagwan director for free, and then watch him sell it for profit.


Cheers

[Zed]

[yodanole]

What he wants?....It is much more profitable to print books and sell them than to BUY books and sell them. My most recent institute did a rip-off of the Let's Go series that is now all their own. Presumably, it also adds to the prestiege of the school.

[matthews_world]

In my opinion, if a school wants to publish a textbook, then they should advertise for someone who already has written one but hasn't published. This would be a good foot in the door for the author and cuts down on the leg work.

[some waygug-in]

I understand the director's desire to have his own school's textbook. It means a greater profit potential in the short-term as he can sell this book to students, and a larger profit potential if the book is good enough to sell outside the school.

But if that's what he wants to do, he should be willing to pay for the development and writing of a new text. He should not be under the false assumption that he can just force some foreign teacher to write him a textbook for free.

I suppose if he wants another bad copy of Let's Go, that may well be what he will end up with, but I doubt very much that it will ever be a good seller outside his hagwan, and it probably will be a poor cousin to using the real Let's Go series in the classroom. In both cases, it's a loser and his students will be losing out if they have to use it.

So for these reasons I am opposed to even trying this. I will make excuses, obfuscate, put off for another day etc.

[kangnamdragon]

But the students won't stay in the long-run if the textbooks aren't good.

[Wishmaster]

Tell them to piss off. Again, they are exploiting you so that they can make even more money for themselves. I'm sure that your hard work will be appreciated when they are vacationing in the South Pacific with the money that they have made off of you.

[Zed]

[simulated stereo]

Just photocopy a textbook and put your name on the cover. Your director probably won't notice that it isn't original.

[kangnamdragon]

[Zed]

And plenty of them stay in bad hagwons for years.

In my experience here in Korea I have rarely seen students who are in their programs because of the quality English education that they are ACTUALLY receiving.

[some waygug-in]