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kangasuz
Joined: 11 Nov 2009
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 Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:28 pm Post subject: Have MA TESOL -mistake working for hagwon?? |
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Is it ridiculous to teach at a hagwon when I have a master's degree in TESOL? I'm in the States right now and have submitted my application to a recruiter (therefore, hagwons). Will also apply to a few universities, but it doesn't seem like they prefer to hire from abroad (instead, looking for candidates already inside Korea).
What's your experience? Any thoughts/ advice? Looking to start a position by March 1...
Thanks. |
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Steve Schertzer
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Location: Pusan
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:55 pm Post subject: Re: Have MA TESOL -mistake working for hagwon?? |
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| kangasuz wrote: |
| Is it ridiculous to teach at a hagwon when I have a master's degree in TESOL? |
It is ridiculous to teach anywhere in Korea with a Master's degree in TESOL. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Is it ridiculous to teach at a hagwon when I have a master's degree in TESOL? |
to Koreans, yes.
to most of the ESL World, no.
British Council, International House and other major ESL employers from Europe to South America to Asia all respect those who have worked in institutes. A couple of years at an academy in Korea in conjunction with a MATESOL (and/or CELTA) sets oneself up quite well for the best ESL jobs in Rome, Madrid, Krakow, Odessa, Moscow, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Buenos Aires.
In Hong Kong, however, public school ESL teaching is where the best jobs are, and in both Japan and the Middle East, universities is the best way to go.
All that said, a MATESOL and hagwon experience can land you some sweet gigs in Seoul after you've been here a year or two and get in with the higher paying hagwons, the ones seeking Ivy league undergrad degrees, advanced degrees, experience teaching and familiarity with Korea.
But if you want to move to a university or public school after a year or two in a hagwon then don't expect Koreans to be very impressed. Appearances matter here as does hierarchy and hagwons are seen as lowly sites of learning no matter what the particulars of your given experience. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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| British Council doesn't take people with just an MATESOL, you'd need the CELTA too |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| British Council doesn't take people with just an MATESOL, you'd need the CELTA too |
International House and Bell, however, want either CELTA or MATESOL and of course they prefer both.
If someone has gone through the time and effort to get a MATESOL and wants to teach ESL in much of the world then taking a month - at some point in time - to get the CELTA is advisable, and no, it is not at all a step backwards from a grad degree, it's a practical-oriented, skills-based boot camp that involves intensively monitored teaching sessions with feedback from several professionals and fellow CELTA learners. I did my CELTA after two years of teaching in Korea and it has been a real boost to my teaching in the classroom even if Koreans don't even know what it is and think it equivalent to some cheap online certificate where one just reads a book or two and answers some questions.
Anyways, good luck whatever. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| British Council doesn't take people with just an MATESOL, you'd need the CELTA too |
Of course! Why? It's what they sell!
They only want their own inbreds. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I think you should get your facts right about this. Some British Council offices have become training centres in partnership with Cambridge which runs the CELTA but they are different organisations. Cambridge obviously needs to run courses in teaching centres where the trainees can practise on real students. British Council also accepts the Trinity TEFL or for that matter any other recognised qualification which includes teaching practice and observation. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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I stand by what I said.
Can you name others accepted besides the Trinity?
Next question: Which of these two certificates will certify you to teach in a public school in the country from which they came? |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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Come on, we've been through this before. The CELTA, Trinity (and others, mostly run by UK universities) are designed for teaching adults English as a foreign language. If you want to teach kids in the UK state school system you do a PGCE. Nobody has ever claimed otherwise.
If you are standing by your comment about the British Council only employing 'inbreds' you are just plain wrong in several ways and should have the grace to admit it |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
| ...Which of these two certificates will certify you to teach in a public school in the country from which they came? |
red herring bassexpander, you should know better: public school certification is an entirely different process that all but the most ignorant or purposely dense would know
this thread is about the wisdom of teaching in an academy / institute / "hagwon" for a grad degree holder - and to that effect the CELTA is advisable in addition to the MATESOL, but not in Korea except at one of seoul's superhagwons where more creds the better |
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rt
Joined: 27 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| WTF is a British council? Is that what Tommy Blair was on?? |
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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If you just want experience, I suppose a hagwan is one way to go....but I wouldn't say it's the best way to go.
Of course, you might luck out and score the most fantastic haggie in Korea, who knows?
If you're looking to eventually move to university teaching, why not try a unigwan? The university will get to try you out and perhaps you can move to a better position in the following year. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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| British Council is The UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations, registered in England as a charity. Partly funded by the foreign office |
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jpotter78
Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Is it ridiculous to teach at a hagwon when I have a master's degree in TESOL? |
to Koreans, yes.
to most of the ESL World, no.
British Council, International House and other major ESL employers from Europe to South America to Asia all respect those who have worked in institutes. A couple of years at an academy in Korea in conjunction with a MATESOL (and/or CELTA) sets oneself up quite well for the best ESL jobs in Rome, Madrid, Krakow, Odessa, Moscow, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Buenos Aires.
In Hong Kong, however, public school ESL teaching is where the best jobs are, and in both Japan and the Middle East, universities is the best way to go.
All that said, a MATESOL and hagwon experience can land you some sweet gigs in Seoul after you've been here a year or two and get in with the higher paying hagwons, the ones seeking Ivy league undergrad degrees, advanced degrees, experience teaching and familiarity with Korea.
But if you want to move to a university or public school after a year or two in a hagwon then don't expect Koreans to be very impressed. Appearances matter here as does hierarchy and hagwons are seen as lowly sites of learning no matter what the particulars of your given experience. |
+1
I have a MA TESOL. |
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