Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marlow]

What score should a Korean English teacher at a public school have? I suppose we could consider anyone teaching English, but the public system is the only place with an extremely-difficult-to-get-through hiring procedure, although obviously it doesn't include English proficiency in any meaningful way. I think the TOEFL iBT is a fair measure.

As to grade levels of the teachers, I'd say it doesn't matter. Any level of student is capable of throwing a curve ball at a teacher, and I think that all teachers need to be equally ready.

[hari seldon]

Here's a handy survey of North American Universities' TOEFL IBT score requirements:
http://latestuniversityranking.blogspot.com/2008/01/toefl-ibt-score-requirements-for.html

[marlow]

[robot]

You must have a very poor understanding of the iBT -- or unusually high expectations for Korean English teachers -- if you are demanding anything close to a perfect score as a requirement.

I'd bet that a whopping percentage of the Dave's population couldn't break 100 points. That's not necessarily a disparagement of posters' intellect -- native speakers who take it often get mediocre marks.

It's an imperfect test, you see, and not really an accurate judge of English skills or else we all would be able to ace it. The TOEFL in many ways is more a test of how well one can brainstorm quickly under pressure, how familiar one is with the very iBT's formulaic structure.

Even assuming that Dave's posters have flawless grammar (which is obviously not the case, as evidenced on a daily basis on these boards), many would stress out and fumble for words when giving a 45-second independent speaking even on a familar topic with only 15 seconds of prep time. Or they would try to write the independent essay with too much of a writer's flourish, and the time limit would kill their efforts. Or they'd fail to take down important details from the listenings that factor into 3 sections, as they haven't been trained how to predict certain question types, and these missed marks would quickly add up.

I do think the TOEFL would be good for English teacher hopefuls, but I'd go for a more modest mark based on the entrance requirements of most universities -- around 80 or so.

[marlow]

[robot]

Hi Marlow.

No, I think the TOEFL would be fine for judging English competence. Much better than a test like SNU's TEPS, anyway. ^^

Infer what you will about Dave's posters, but I'm just saying that most native speakers wouldn't get a perfect score. So whoever voted in the poll that for perfect/near-perfect scores as a requirement for English teaching in Korea might have their expectations too high.

Of the many thousands of students I've taught TOEFL over the last 6 years, I've had quite a few over 115, as well. I wouldn't necessarily prefer them as instructors to any teachers posting on this site. I think it's more fair to say that the iBT is an imperfect test that doesn't truly measure one's ability at English, but that in combination with one's test-taking ability; and more to the point, that a slightly lower score in combination with the standard oral interview and written application might still suffice in judging one's ability to teach the language in Korean public schools.

[marlow]

[Young FRANKenstein]

Why is the iBT test the standard anyway. If we're going to use imperfect tests, why not IELTS?

[juicyhumdinger]

Have you even looked at the Toefl iBT? Obviously not. I'm with the other poster who said most people on this board would score miserably if they went in blind. IMO, anything over 110 is a pretty damn good score.

[marlow]

[hari seldon]

[fustiancorduroy]

For those of you who are saying that a lot of posters on this board would not score that well on the TOEFL, I'll say that the test in large part measures your academic English ability. Based on my experience, I would say that a good number of the foreign teachers here would have a hard time breaking a 100, regardless of whether they knew the test. Being a native English speaker does not necessarily mean being a good listener, critical reader, clear speaker, or succinct writer.

Having said this, any Korean teacher who can break a 100 deserves my plaudits.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[hari seldon]

[marlow]