Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jonkellyca]

Hi,

I have an interview for a public school position at an English center and I was wondering what exactly this is.

Any help anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback.

[PigeonFart]

I had some interviews with those in the past. They were face to face interviews so i got to see what they're like.

They're kind of like hogwons within public schools, but without the drawbacks of a real hogwon. They're run by the public school so you have the public school benefits. English Centers are usually in a different part of the school, but still within the school grounds. They're usually open from 9am to 5pm and tend to have a better curriculum than the national curriculum (the national curriculum tends to be low level). You would have less students than normal public school classes (usually between 10 to 15 students). They tend to have good technology too (digital projectors, flat-screen TVs and computers in the class), and maybe some activity rooms with props where students can do role plays. Most of the students would be from the public school itself, but you may have students from other schools too (for the afternoon classes, or on day trips).

So i see it as being a better option than regular public school.

[sara210]

Sorry posted this is wrong thread before...

Hey, I work in an English Centre at the moment in a public school. Mine (and all the others in the city) are run by the schools prinicipal. Depending on the schools administration they can be a blessing or a curse.


In my situation our English centre never closes, when the kids are on vacation we have to run camps, and then we run a regular program when they are back at school. We teach 20 kids in a class, and i teach around 24 40 minute classes a week.

The only time I get off teaching is when I have my vacation (14 days). Its a bit of a killer to be honest.

On top of that I am totally responsible for the curriculum and ordering books/stationary etc. Some days I think I would prefer a hagwon job where at least I didnt have to worry about that stuff.

If I were you I would get through the interview and then BEFORE you accept the job, make sure you speak to the native teacher. Ask them lots of questions about their responsibilities and the schedule.

For us even though we are part of the school we are totally disregarded, we never get invited to school dinners or events, and the only time the school administration contacts us is to complain about something. It can be quite isolating.

Ours (and all the others I know of in my city) is a really small working environment, its one office with three people and we spend all day everyday together. So I would definitely ask what your co teacher is like, since you will be spending a hell of a lot of time in their company.

But on the plus side, the English centres are generally really well stocked. We have books and games and resources coming out of our ears!! Theres more than I could ever use.

I just don't like teaching for 49 weeks a year with no rest on the schedule, and being responsible for the whole curriculum at the same time, and all the ordering of books/stationary. (with not a word of thanks in a whole year).
Oh we are also subject to surveys going out to the students and parents about the class and how they feel about the english centre. We also had about 6 open classes this week!

Its bearable, and certainly not the worst job you could ever take in Korea...but it is NOT a standard public school job!

But like I say every school is different so just ask lots of questions!

[PigeonFart]

Yes, you're right. Every school is different. I know conditions are different in other English Centers. That's good advice about asking the current or previous teachers.