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proverbs
Joined: 28 Apr 2009
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 Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:00 am Post subject: what happened with the EPiK/GEPiK program? what's it mean? |
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so i've heard here and there that EPiK or the government program that hire English teachers, shut down. can anyone explain what this means exactly? and how will it effect us teachers?
any insight would be greatly appreciated  |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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| They are reducing the numbers in Gyeonggi and possibly Seoul soon. If you're area has a bunch of 'progressives' elected then expect drastic cuts places like Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Jeolla provinces. |
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enj0i
Joined: 07 Sep 2011
Location: SXM w/o a passport
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| yay for politics. |
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morningsoju
Joined: 20 Aug 2011
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:28 pm Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| They are reducing the numbers in Gyeonggi and possibly Seoul soon. If you're area has a bunch of 'progressives' elected then expect drastic cuts places like Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Jeolla provinces. |
so the public schools in Gyeonggi and Seoul are no longer hiring English teachers through epik. don't the schools still need English teachers though? or are they just completing cutting out the English programs in the schools? how do they choose the schools that will keep their English program?
it seems like they're backtracking here. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| morningsoju wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| They are reducing the numbers in Gyeonggi and possibly Seoul soon. If you're area has a bunch of 'progressives' elected then expect drastic cuts places like Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Jeolla provinces. |
so the public schools in Gyeonggi and Seoul are no longer hiring English teachers through epik. don't the schools still need English teachers though? or are they just completing cutting out the English programs in the schools? how do they choose the schools that will keep their English program?
it seems like they're backtracking here. |
They don't need NET's, if that's what you mean, but they will always need Korean English teachers. Not sure of the details, but they are cutting back on NET's, so expect to see a lot less NET's. I know when I first worked with EPIK, 7 years ago, I had to go to 2 schools and was only 1 of 2 NET's in a town of 50,000. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Aren't progressives usually pro-education funding? |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| jrwhite82 wrote: |
| Aren't progressives usually pro-education funding? |
Usually, but I'd say in Korea they are more anti-foreigner than what Koreans consider 'conservatives'. Aside from that I'd say the main difference between the two is how they want to deal with NK. |
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whanous
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| They are reducing the numbers in Gyeonggi and possibly Seoul soon. |
Do you have a source for this?
My recruiter said the changes are only affecting GEPIK, and that numbers in Seoul are unlikely to be affected.
Ps. Yes, I am aware that everything recruiters say should be taken with a grain of salt. It's not that I don't trust you. I'd just like to see a source. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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| whanous wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| They are reducing the numbers in Gyeonggi and possibly Seoul soon. |
Do you have a source for this?
My recruiter said the changes are only affecting GEPIK, and that numbers in Seoul are unlikely to be affected.
Ps. Yes, I am aware that everything recruiters say should be taken with a grain of salt. It's not that I don't trust you. I'd just like to see a source. |
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/03/117_82296.html
http://populargusts.blogspot.com/2011/09/budget-cuts-which-hobbled-gepik-part-1.html
http://populargusts.blogspot.com/2011/09/budget-cuts-which-hobbled-gepik-part-2.html
Okay, my Seoul part is very speculative. However, don't count on the large numbers of NET's being maintained into the future. I do see NET's being around for a long time, just not in the same numbers. Also, depending who gets elected in various boards, you can either see an accelerated loss of teachers, or a more controlled one.
People in Seoul and Gyeonggi swing in voting a lot. It's places like Jeolla and Gyeongsang you basically know which party is almost guaranteed to stay in control. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 12:43 am Post subject: |
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Ask the Korean English teachers at your school how many are "TEE" certified (Teaching English using English).
For the past few years, Korean English teachers have been taking courses and getting certified to do what you do. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:38 am Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
Ask the Korean English teachers at your school how many are "TEE" certified (Teaching English using English).
For the past few years, Korean English teachers have been taking courses and getting certified to do what you do. |
Then do a survey of how many TEE certified teachers actually use the methodology they learned.  |
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morningsoju
Joined: 20 Aug 2011
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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what is a NET??
so basically, the government will be cutting some jobs for foreign teachers - and then replacing them with Korean English speaking teachers. so actually, the schools will still have an English program, just not with a foreign teacher.
and so far, it has only been affecting GEPiK? so really, it hasn't been that big of a deal yet i guess. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| morningsoju wrote: |
| what is a NET?? |
NET = Native English Teacher
| morningsoju wrote: |
| so basically, the government will be cutting some jobs for foreign teachers - and then replacing them with Korean English speaking teachers. so actually, the schools will still have an English program, just not with a foreign teacher. |
No, they won't be replacing us with Korean teachers. Korean English teachers are permanent teachers. English is a core subject along with subjects like Math, Science and Korean. NET's are more of a luxury in an attempt to entice parents from spending too much money on English hagwons (hagwons are a private learning centers) by putting NET's in public schools. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| NET's are more of a luxury in an attempt to entice parents from spending too much money on English hagwons |
That doesn't really make much sense. I don't think having NET's hinges on competition with hagwons, but rather funds to afford having them. There is competition between public schools, so I would bet a public school would get more funding if they had more people enrolled. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
| Quote: |
| NET's are more of a luxury in an attempt to entice parents from spending too much money on English hagwons |
That doesn't really make much sense. I don't think having NET's hinges on competition with hagwons, but rather funds to afford having them. There is competition between public schools, so I would bet a public school would get more funding if they had more people enrolled. |
I used a poor choice of words. They are not trying to compete with hagwons, but trying to get parents not to blow there money on hagwons by bringing in NET's into schools. And to give less affluent students exposure to NET's.
The funding is more of a political matter and often schools have little say if they want a NET or not. Public schools are assigned students by the local office of education, so schools are not competing for enrollment. Even though that school down the street is a Catholic school, the students in that school are usually randomly placed there by the local authorities. |
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