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Do you consider English teaching a 'real job'?
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renzobenzo1



Joined: 08 Sep 2007
Location: Suji, Yongin

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:45 am    Post subject: Do you consider English teaching a 'real job'? Reply with quote

Some people describe Korean English teacher's as a warm body in the classroom, others are highly qualified doing their best to ensure progress for the students. Others probably somewhere in between.
When I got my first teaching job my parents bought me 2 of thoise candid ties to wear-1 of American dollar signs the other one of xmas elms. When I am in a Western environment and someone asks me what I do I tell them thus ith a grain of salt as somehow teaching overseas doesn't seem to acquire the same status as being a teacher back home.

So back to the question- how do you view it? Some people might only teach overseas for a year or 2 to save some money and then launch something else but what about those in the game long-term. Is it what you thought you would be doing and aspirig to do when you were young or did it just spring itself on you? Question
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cdninkorea



Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I started I viewed it as a job, not a career; something that gave me the chance to experience a new culture and save a bit of money. I wanted to do a good job, but development and all that wasn't high on my list of priorities.

Since then I've become a lot more professional, and am planning to do an MEd in TESL to turn this into a career. I'd say it can be a real job if you treat it like one.
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bejarano-korea



Joined: 13 Dec 2006

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't care what anyone else thinks about how I earn my corn.

*beep* them! They would love to have my disposable income whilst
living in Asia but they don't have the balls - its that simple!

They would rather rely on 6 balls every saturday night on the
national lottery draw so they can pack their crummy job - ahem
career in.

The popularity of the lottery back home shows you how many people
hate their job - do you do the lottery here? I don't! I would rather rely on myself that 6 random numbers.

I work 22 hours a week and I have every weekend off and never have to work a night shift ever again.

Its not perfect or a long term solution but it is better than grafting for 40 plus hours a week back home in the meantime.
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Katchafire



Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Location: Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've worked with kids since I was 16. A Nanny, Early Childhood, Primary Teacher.
Teaching English here, is my job and it is my career.
When I'm teaching here (and I DO classify what I do here as teaching) I can be one of those 'edu-tainers' as they're sometimes called .. but to be an effective teacher - to motivate the students ... you HAVE to keep it fun. It doesn't have to involve you dancing like a clown .. but it DOES involve you turning a "Whats this? - It's a pencil" lesson .. into something fun. If it wasn't fun, then I'd be bored as hell as a teacher, let alone being a student.
I 'teach' my students. It's more than just saying a sentence, then having them repeat it back ... I 'teach' them by making sure they understand how to pronounce letters and the differences ... how to postion your mouth, tongue. I 'teach' them by making sure they can recognise a sound, with a letter of the alphabet .. and HOW to write that letter correctly.
I 'teach' them about other countries, whether it be the different ways a word might be said and the different words for various objects. I 'teach' them with any opportunity I can .. about the world around them. "Where are you from? I'm from _____" for example. Showing them various flags, the differences between them (eg Australian, NZ flag) ... I supply one or two photos when discussing other countries ... a world map and pointing out where it is.
"Do you like apples? Do you like bananas? Grapes? Peanuts?" .. I show them photos of how they grow.
As an English teacher .. If they learn the basics of English while I teach them .. good .. if they open their eyes to the world around them ... even better.
The list goes on. So yes, I see myself as a 'teacher'. At the same time, I'm saving more money than I would be back home ... I'm travelling .... I'm supplying my family with a place to travel to without having to fork out money on accomodation ..... It's all good!
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zpeanut



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Location: Pohang, Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't plan to stay in Korea long-term. Working in Korea is part of a bigger plan; build up my resume, work with different kinds of people, learn another language.. become a worldier person. This is not to say that I don't take my job seriously.

I'm finishing a Masters in Ed. Teaching is my career and every single job that I take is important and I take it seriously. I can't say I enjoy teaching all the time cos' theres always a horrible bunch of students every now and then, but in general I have a fantastic time teaching and find it very rewarding.

The money you can save from working in Korea is of course, great! $_$ .. esp since tax is also v.v. low. There are plenty of English schools in Australia that pay well but theres no such thing as 5% tax. Also, seeing as I'm young, why shouldn't I take advantage of the oppertunity? I'm not married, no kids.. it's easier to do this kind of thing now.

Who knows.. maybe i will end up staying.
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Wisconsinite



Joined: 05 Jan 2007

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I say it's a real job. You make go to work. earn money, pay bills. Now whether it's a career or not, that is another story.

I think there are lots of valuable experiences to be learned here that will definently be useful when and if someone decides to return home. Experience is what I use to gauge whether a job is "real" or not.
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Stormy



Joined: 10 Jan 2008
Location: Here & there

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep - for the reasons why see BK & Gordana's posts above.
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RJjr



Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: Turning on a Lamp

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's only a real job if you earn money to do it. So, I think it qualifies.
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Cheonmunka



Joined: 04 Jun 2004

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with Gordana and zpeanut. For me its a job which utilizes and is related to my qual. I'm an early childhood edu-tainer in a very true sense, but I use everyday in my job pretty orthodox methodology directly applying a lot of what I had learned in public high school teaching theory practice.
There are many different types of teaching. Teaching one to one, teaching English with the military in war-torn places or with refugees, teaching IELTS unit standards in high school. Teaching ESL in the way many of us do here (with focus on kids getting the basic vocabulary and patterns etc) is just one aspect of it - it is teaching all the same. From beginning teachers up, we can't help but use different forms of methodology in our classes. We may not put a name to the theories we are using, yet we do it all the same. So, it is teaching.
But, it's just a job.
If you feel ashamed somehow of your job, which I guess is the focus of this type of thread question, don't. It's as good a job as any other.
Further, having been in the public school teaching system know that teachers there cannot feel superior merely because of the content and curriculum they use. There's no superiority or seniority simply because their students undergo a different testing system. We do what we do within the system that we are presented with.
I have met some ESLers who appear to use a far greater versatility and dexterity with teaching methodology than the staid way some university professors so often teach. I have met some ESLers here who would knock the socks off their NZ kindergarten teacher counterparts. If you judge the quality of a teacher merely by some perceived higher social status you can be misled.

Go for it guys.


Last edited by Cheonmunka on Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:54 am; edited 3 times in total
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OnTheOtherSide



Joined: 29 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a real job.

This is my 16th job. I've done a LOT of different things. This is definantly more challenging, and requires a lot more skill than a lot of other things i've done. The teaching itself is one thing, but being able to live and work here is a job within a job. Snoop doggy dogg, you needs to get a jobby job!
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Fresh Prince



Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: The glorious nation of Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think most people at home feel that teaching English isn't a real job. Usually, I hear the same arguements repeated over and over. Anyone can do it; there is no specific training needed; most people only do it for a year or two and move on; the only people that do it are people that couldn't get better jobs at home; etc.

The problem with those arguements is that they describe almost every job out there, including most of those back home. With the exception of medical, legal, engineering, and a few other professions, most jobs back home are things that, anyone can do; can be taught on the job without specific training; most people only stay for a year or two and move on; and are filled with people that couldn't get a better job.

Nowdays, it's fairly common for people to change jobs every few years so they can get better positions or make more money. It would be a pretty bad decision to stay at your job if you had no chance of being promoted or getting a big salary raise, when there are other companies that would be glad to hire you for better pay and a higher position. Although I've met a few, most people I've met only took their job because of the pay, are going to school part-time to get a better job, or are always looking for something better to come along.

Whenver I hear the ESL isn't a real job argument, I like to ask that person what they do for a living. If they are honest, many will admit that, it's really not that important of a job, that realistically anyone with a brain could do it, and that they only plan on doing it for another year or two because they want something better.
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bassexpander



Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm taking MA classes online through a state university in the USA. Most students (and professors, mind you) are somewhat envious that I am overseas teaching ESL. In their view, I'm doing what they really wish they could do. To be honest, I was taken aback by their feelings about this.

So yes, I feel I am working a "real" job -- for this and other reasons.
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xingyiman



Joined: 12 Jan 2006

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh please not this stupid question again. If you are making money then YES its a real job. A job that pays you $5.00 an hour is a real job. A job in Bangladesh delivering newpapers ia a REAL JOB. Some pay better than others. I know nobody who's making any more than I am in Korea back home and absolutely no one who's saving anything.
What is this mythical "real job" anyway? From what I read and hear lots of people are losing those "real jobs" as we speak back home. IF you are a systems analyst (if that REAL JOB even exists anymore in our sad economy) and you save 3000 dollars by the end of the year after expenses and I as an ESL teacher save $15,000 then who has the REAL JOB sherlock?
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Gwangjuboy



Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Location: England

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's certainly a real job but in the vast majority of cases opportunities for advancement are extremely limited and wages are stagnant. In the last few years inflation in Korea has risen exponentially faster than salaries in the ESL industry. If you are prepared to do privates under the radar or you are married to a Korean then you can suppliment your normal income and do quite well. If you speak Korean then other avenues might be open to you but again, other visas are more difficult to obtain irrespective of Korean ability, much to my chagrin.
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xingyiman



Joined: 12 Jan 2006

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gwangjuboy wrote:
It's certainly a real job but in the vast majority of cases opportunities for advancement are extremely limited and wages are stagnant..


And you've jst described a whopping majority of jobs in America right now.
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