Korean Job Discussion Forums

[beckett]

I am considering doing an MA Tesol but am not sure whether to do it while working in Korea or go to a University in Ireland or the UK. Obviously you can apply what you learn in real class situations if you are working while studying. But I don't know if I could face two years of working and studying. Part of me would like to get over and done with in a year. However:
-If you do it in a year how do you apply what you learn if you have no students?
-I also have heard you will have to do some kind of case studies? How is this possible if you have no students? -
-Do the universites supply some studnets for you to teach (like a CELTA)?
-Does the course work generally favour someone who is already working ?

Anyway would love to hear some thoughts from people who completed a masters part time / full time and what they thought the benefits were.

[magnolialove]

I did a graduate certificate in TESOL (270 hours) the same time I was pursuing my M.A., through the same institution. It worked out best for me to go to school full time because my university only grants funding (both GA positions and loan possibility) to full-time graduate students.

We had to do a teaching practicum project of our choosing as part of it, and we had to teach some formal lessons at the university's intensive English program for international students and spouses of internationals. So that's how we found some students to work with. Some of my classmates who were interested in K-12 education got permission to work with ESL students in the local public school system instead of university students. It really varied and the professors were really cool about helping you find students to work with for your class projects. I took some SLA theory classes as part of it as well, but the theory in practice course was optional for the program because it is difficult to find experimental groups.

I think all of my classmates in the program were full-time students, probably because of funding like me. A handful had had previous teaching experience, but it wasn't required as a pre-requisite. We were also allowed to substitute teach at the intensive English program whenever it was needed, which was also neat.

I think it varies a lot from program to program. I'm glad I went full-time because it gave me a chance to really implement theory when working with groups and it just felt more streamlined that way. I also felt more a part of the grad student community since a lot of us were doing the certificate and a linguistics M.A.

[naturegirl321]

I did mine PT, honestly, I think studying full time would be easier. It's hard to get motivated.

[whiteshoes]

I'm doing my MATESOL right now, at a Korean Uni but it is a two year programs.

Most of my classmates are teachers so they can use their students in their research. However, by no means must you be a teacher to complete your research. One of my "seniors" finished a thesis without having taught. You can be creative.

Also, if you do a practicum, the university will give you students to work with.

Frankly speaking, doing both my MA and teaching full time keeps me really busy. But it's not so much work that I can't do it.

[louiloui]

Taking a full time MA while working full time is exhausting. My advice would be to find a job with less teaching hours, like a cushy public school job or an after school program. That way you can get a lot of reading and work done in your down time or extra free time.

My MA also required me to do research projects where I had to do some classroom observations. I did some of these in the US and some here in Korea. Being a teacher in Korea made doing that much easier, because in the US I had to submit a criminal background check and wait for the local school board to approve my project before I set foot in a school for classroom observations. In Korea I just observed a co-worker's classes.

One more important thing to consider. The money you earn while working in Korea helps out a lot. I'm not sure about the cost of an MA in Ireland or UK, but that was one of the big deciding factors for weighing my options in the US.