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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Geckoman
Joined: 07 Jun 2007
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Old Gil
Joined: 26 Sep 2009
Location: Got out! olleh!
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 Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:57 am Post subject: |
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| Holy crap 42,000 E-2 visas?! When did that happen? |
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isthisreally
Joined: 01 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:29 am Post subject: |
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| I think they'd be better off providing actual teacher training than teaching me how to pour a drink for my boss. |
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storysinger81
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
Location: Daegu
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:29 am Post subject: |
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| What a misleading title. |
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:00 am Post subject: |
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| I hope to get some sort of reward after taking the courses,'' said Mark Whitty, |
i.e....they trawled hundreds of responses to finally pick the statement that would inflame Koreans sensibilities the most, then presented it as though this was the general opinion of all 40.000 foreign teachers in korea.
I studied Journalism in the UK. Law and an emphasis on professional responsibility vs the dangers of sensationalism...formed a large part of the course.
Obviously they leave that part out in Korea.
Personally I'd be quite happy to get a korean language lesson every week...something similar to what happens in Japan.
The fact that Korean schools do not provide this to their foreign workers indicates to me that they don't actually want foreigners becoming comfortable in this culture. |
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The Gipkik
Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:13 am Post subject: |
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| Korean lessons, yes. Indoctrination, no. |
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thefarns
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:17 am Post subject: |
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| I think that most newbies would volunteer for the courses if they were offered. However, I don't have confidence they would be practical, and it sounds to me like a money grab for somebody. |
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JohnFlory
Joined: 15 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:24 am Post subject: |
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Why did I know, as soon as I looked at the title of the this thread and link to the Korea Times, exactly who this article was written by?
43,000? It almost seems as if he's trying to goad us after our negative reaction to his journalist of the month award. |
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English Matt
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:42 am Post subject: |
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| Old Gil wrote: |
| Holy crap 42,000 E-2 visas?! When did that happen? |
I seem to recall in previous articles such as this that they just looked at the number of visas issued in a 12 month period.....which doesn't account for the fact that there are a large number of people who don't stick it out and get replaced within that 12 month period by a new teacher on a new visa. I would guess this is what he did and then he probably inflated the number by pulling a number out of his butt. |
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JohnFlory
Joined: 15 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:47 am Post subject: |
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| English Matt wrote: |
| Old Gil wrote: |
| Holy crap 42,000 E-2 visas?! When did that happen? |
I seem to recall in previous articles such as this that they just looked at the number of visas issued in a 12 month period.....which doesn't account for the fact that there are a large number of people who don't stick it out and get replaced within that 12 month period by a new teacher on a new visa. I would guess this is what he did and then he probably inflated the number by pulling a number out of his butt. |
No what he is doing is quoting Incheon airport which records the number of E2's entering and leaving the country. What he leaves out this number is grossly inflated by the number that re-enter the country on multiple entry visa's.
He is deliberately using bogus statistics that have already long been discredited after a lawmaker early this fall tried to create a panic by proclaiming that 20,000 E-2 visa holders were unaccounted for. Kang's not stupid and he's trying to stir people up by re-invoking this number.
Last edited by JohnFlory on Thu Nov 26, 2009 5:03 am; edited 3 times in total |
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JohnFlory
Joined: 15 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:53 am Post subject: |
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| double post |
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Smee
Joined: 24 Dec 2004
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:39 am Post subject: |
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I think it makes perfect sense for new foreign teachers to get an orientation to working in Korea. An orientation, not an indoctrination. I'm talking about things about lesson planning, student assessment, the culture of the teachers' office . . . not about Dokdo, samul nori, hanbok (do you know hanbok ? it is kind of traditional Korean clothes), burial mounds, or ddeok.
And, I think teachers should look forward to the opportunity for such lessons. Hell, if there were quality Korean lessons offered, I'd be the first in line.
I say all that, though, with the assumption that these are done well. But the orientations I've been to and heard about have been poor. Droning lectures in bad English about random crap, and not a thing about actual teaching, responsibilities, coteaching, etc. And you know the aversion to planning here, and the general lack of planning when it comes to NSETs.
But, I don't like the assumption that "many" NSETs don't know about Korea. I admit that some people here are clueless, and that others shouldn't be in the classroom. However, if we're talking about lessons for NSETs about teaching and fitting in, it needs to work both ways. The biggest reason, I feel, for so many misunderstandings is because there's no planning in place for NSETs, no support for them, no idea what to do with them, no clear goals, and no way of defining success. Hell, when I asked coteachers what they'd like me to do, some of them just said "give them candy" or "teach them speaking." Sure, advanced teachers training will give guidance, but advanced training doesn't always prepare one for the Korean experience.
More comments and commentary, including the initial KBS story: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/11/forcing-foreign-teachers-to-learn-about.html |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:47 am Post subject: |
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The Korean powers-that-be seem seem to be willing to take any annoying step to up the quality of their foreign teachers, except the only ones that will really work......
......only give visas to certified teachers or those TEFL certified......make the NET's in Korea a professional class.
.......but, of course, that would mean paying us more, doing away with the employer as visa-holder, and giving better incentives. God forbid!! |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:52 am Post subject: |
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| Junior wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I hope to get some sort of reward after taking the courses,'' said Mark Whitty, |
i.e....they trawled hundreds of responses to finally pick the statement that would inflame Koreans sensibilities the most, then presented it as though this was the general opinion of all 40.000 foreign teachers in korea.
I studied Journalism in the UK. Law and an emphasis on professional responsibility vs the dangers of sensationalism...formed a large part of the course.
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Studying journalism does not stop sensationalist journalism. Have you seen the state of the Times and the Telegraph these days. They are getting like the bloody Sun. |
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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: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:56 am Post subject: |
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Most times I speak to my coworkers or korean adult students about some aspect of korean history I learned about in my travels (e.g., the Japanese forts on the east coast, some with stone walls mostly intact going down to the sea) or some place I visited (e.g., Bogildo where a famous artist spent 10 years and wrote poetry on stone or the village near Hadong where the great Korean novel Toji/Land was written and a yearly festival honors) I CONSTANTLY GET BLANK STARES AND COMMENTS LIKE 'I DON'T KNOW'.
I get the impression Koreans don't know their country very well. They know what is on t.v. And they know the mantra of school books which distort history (Ask them where gochu came from) and geography (The shock when they see how small their country is on a world globe) and gawd knows what else.
I suspect, hagwon workers having to go to weekend conferences would generate a lot of chuckles and might be counterproductive.
Last edited by VanIslander on Thu Nov 26, 2009 5:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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