Korean Job Discussion Forums

[VorcePA]

All right, I've never been to Korea, but I'm going to school mostly because I want to go over there and teach and dive right in to the culture. In the meantime, until I get my degree, I found an "education center" right here in my hometown of Las Vegas, and they were generous enough to hire me as an EFL teacher. From everything that I've read about hagwons, this sounds like one.

What's the general consensus on hagwons in America?

My boss, while seemingly very intelligent and very fluent in English, was somewhat sketchy on the details. Right now I only seem to know for certain is that I'm going to be teaching EFL. When, how often, with how many students, what level, and what my pay is going to be are all something that I need to iron out. I plan on going in to talk to him on Monday so that he can hopefully answer all these questions that I have for him.

Here's my list:

- What is it that you expect of me? What is your goal/vision?
- Does the school have a curriculum? Books, handouts, slides, homework, etc.
- What materials do I need to cover in the course?
- What kinds of tools are in the classoms? Computer, projector, transparencies, etc.
- What classes will I be teaching?
- What kind of English will I be teaching? Basics (ABCs, pronunciation, reading, etc), Conversational, Formal, Survival, etc.
- What does this position pay?
- Am I expected to provide a syllabus?
- How often will the students meet per week/month?
- How should I dress?

If you have any suggestions on what I should change/merge/omit/add, it would be appreciated.

[lifeinkorea]

At a hagwon in Korea, you are not seen as a Korean national (obviously), so you can be detached rather easily. In the states, I imagine a similar job would be more secure. The nature of the job would be different also in that you are in an English speaking country now, so there are many other things you could do that you couldn't here.

Compare that with Korea, and it all rests on you and what you can do in the classroom. Usually hagwons have their own books and set way to teach. Some also just want to make sure you make the students happy, which in turn will make parents happy and keep them paying. Qualifications are not as big of a concern.

Many of your questions can be answered by simply requesting a contract and see the conditions yourself. After seeing 3 or 4, you will get a general idea.