Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lindsay56]

I am just getting started with the process of tefl probably in South Korea. Any suggestions or tips anyone could give me on...

- A good school to get certified with
- Recruitment agencies to go through
- Cities/schools/areas in South Korea to consider and/or stay away from
- How to NOT get scammed
- Really any information at all because it is all overwhelming!!

I have graduated college with a 4-year degree in a field unrelated to teaching. I am considering taking an online course to get familiarized with the material and then possibly taking a 6-week course in Thailand, then heading over to South Korea for work. I would like to do this all in a somewhat cost effective manner!

I have so many questions/uncertainties so any help at all would be great!

[English Matt]

If you are aiming to be cost effective then I wouldn't bother with a certification course - they are not required for the jobs here and much of what you will most likely learn will be difficult to apply in a Korean classroom. If you get a job at a Public School then you can always take an online TEFL (whilst you are working for them) for about $150 which will bump your salary up by 100,000 won a month.

If you are worried about what to do and how to teach, look at a few websites such as,

www.bogglesworld.com

www.eflclassroom.ning.com

www.eslgalaxy.com



A good recruiter that I used is ESL Planet.

http://www.esl-planet.com/

It is owned and run by an Australian guy called Rowan who is very helpful.

Avoid hagwons (private acadamies) if you want to pretty much eliminate the risk of getting screwed over. There are some good hagwons, but with no experience of the market over here and no contacts, you will be playing Russian roulette and could end up in a bad situation.


Personally I would advise you to stay somewhat close to Seoul for your first year, travel a bit once you get here, and if you decide to stay for a second year you will have a better idea as to whether you would enjoy living in a smaller city or town further away from Seoul. SMOE is the public school system in Seoul however you will not know where you will be placed until after you get here and could end up in an area of Seoul that is a long way away from any of the areas you would like to hang out in your free time. I would suggest you to look at GEPIK, which is the program that places Native English Teachers in Gyeonggi-do (the province surrounding Seoul). Somewhere like Bundang or Ilsan, Bucheon, Seongnam, even Suwon are probably the best areas to get placed as they are relatively close to hot spots in Seoul, have good communication links and have more things to offer the expat teacher.

Try to steer clear of rural locations, even if you get offered a higher salary.

[Forever]

This probably should be in the job forum - but anyway -

This is the easiest, cheapest, quickest TEFL / TESOL course -

Its a 100 hour course with one long graded test.

http://www.tesolonline.com/courses/without-tutor.php

Basically there are NO essays, assignments, practicum etc - ONLY one long test.

Pass the test (which takes about 10 hours to complete) and they will send you your choice of a beautiful certificate with either TEFL or TESOL on it.

Korea upholds the certificate as a suitable certificate (if you're looking for a pay-rise).


I can also vouch for ESL Planet - although the guy there who I used was "Andy" They are a very helpful and decent recruitment agency.