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ETA
Joined: 15 Jun 2010
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 Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject: Any possibilities besides elementary kids? |
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It seems like all of the Korean job offers are for kindergarten to elementary school aged kids. Where are the jobs for middle school to high school aged kids? Or do they not exist. Also in Korea are most of the english jobs teaching assistants or actual teachers? It seems programs like EPIK are for english assistants while the native Korean teachers conduct grammar, etc.
Last edited by ETA on Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:38 pm Post subject: Re: Any possibilities besides elementary kids? |
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| ETA wrote: |
| It seems like all of the Korean job offers are for kindergarten to elementary school aged kids. Where are the jobs for middle school to high school aged kids? Or do they not exist. Also in Korea are most of the english jobs teaching assistants or actual teachers? It seems programs like EPIK are for english assistants while the native Korean teachers conduct grammer, etc. |
Most hakwons tend to focus on the kindy/elementary set. By middle/high school more kids are focused on their public school so there are less of these but they do exist.
If you are in EPIK/GEPIK you are technically an assistant but exactly HOW you assist is open to a wide variety of possibilities.
You can be a glorified tape recorder while the K-teacher leads the class
You can co-teach leading half the class while the K-teacher leads the other
Or you can teach solo while the K-teacher either doesn't show up/naps at the back of the room/comes in late, plays with her cell phone.
Or some other combination.
Generally speaking pretty much all my P.S jobs have been almost all solo...if the K-teacher was there I mostly relied on her for translation of a few difficult concepts and that was that.
Your mileage may vary. |
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ETA
Joined: 15 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject: Re: Any possibilities besides elementary kids? |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| ETA wrote: |
| It seems like all of the Korean job offers are for kindergarten to elementary school aged kids. Where are the jobs for middle school to high school aged kids? Or do they not exist. Also in Korea are most of the english jobs teaching assistants or actual teachers? It seems programs like EPIK are for english assistants while the native Korean teachers conduct grammer, etc. |
Most hakwons tend to focus on the kindy/elementary set. By middle/high school more kids are focused on their public school so there are less of these but they do exist.
If you are in EPIK/GEPIK you are technically an assistant but exactly HOW you assist is open to a wide variety of possibilities.
You can be a glorified tape recorder while the K-teacher leads the class
You can co-teach leading half the class while the K-teacher leads the other
Or you can teach solo while the K-teacher either doesn't show up/naps at the back of the room/comes in late, plays with her cell phone.
Or some other combination.
Generally speaking pretty much all my P.S jobs have been almost all solo...if the K-teacher was there I mostly relied on her for translation of a few difficult concepts and that was that.
Your mileage may vary. |
Thanks for your feedback! Did you teach through EPIK or a private recruiting company? Also I've heard that while jobs may say cities such as Busan for example, the schools are actually out in the boonedocks outside of the city limits. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:12 pm Post subject: Re: Any possibilities besides elementary kids? |
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| ETA wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| ETA wrote: |
| It seems like all of the Korean job offers are for kindergarten to elementary school aged kids. Where are the jobs for middle school to high school aged kids? Or do they not exist. Also in Korea are most of the english jobs teaching assistants or actual teachers? It seems programs like EPIK are for english assistants while the native Korean teachers conduct grammer, etc. |
Most hakwons tend to focus on the kindy/elementary set. By middle/high school more kids are focused on their public school so there are less of these but they do exist.
If you are in EPIK/GEPIK you are technically an assistant but exactly HOW you assist is open to a wide variety of possibilities.
You can be a glorified tape recorder while the K-teacher leads the class
You can co-teach leading half the class while the K-teacher leads the other
Or you can teach solo while the K-teacher either doesn't show up/naps at the back of the room/comes in late, plays with her cell phone.
Or some other combination.
Generally speaking pretty much all my P.S jobs have been almost all solo...if the K-teacher was there I mostly relied on her for translation of a few difficult concepts and that was that.
Your mileage may vary. |
Thanks for your feedback! Did you teach through EPIK or a private recruiting company? Also I've heard that while jobs may say cities such as Busan for example, the schools are actually out in the boonedocks outside of the city limits. |
I've taught both EPIK and GEPIK...For GEPIK and the first EPIK job I was hired through the province and the second EPIK job I was hired by the city.
Yes some schools are. But most schools are with in the cities. Generally speaking if they say close to (city name) you can expect it to be anywhere from 10 minutes to a half hour+ away. |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:53 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Where are the jobs for middle school to high school aged kids? |
There are a LOT more elementary schools in the public system than middle or high schools. Kindergarten and young ES English hagwons are a HUGE business here too. My MS kids do go to hagwons, but most of them go to broad-based ones dealing with several subjects [math, history, etc] not English-specialized ones with FTs. High school kids almost never attend English-only hagwons. The younger students are where the money is.
You really need to do PS if you want older students [although I'd bet that FTs are on the way out at HS level regardless]. I hope you're not interested because you think it's easier to teach them 
Just don't make any assumptions before you get here. I personally was assured repeatedly by various parties that I would ONLY be teaching MS students. Upon arrival, my CTs wasted no time in showing me the ES across town where I would be teaching 1st through 6th graders twice a week. Turns out they are a nice break from each other, actually.
On the assistant thing, it will depend so much on your CT that no predictions can be usefully made. I have one that helps translate, and one who really wants to 'co-teach' the class with me [a seriously mixed blessing]. Last semester I had one who didn't do much of anything. It's a roll of the dice.
On location, just ask them to send you a link on Naver Maps if you want to see where it is. Cities are so sprawling here that 'boondocks' doesn't really mean much. My school is inside 'city' borders by Korean standards, but it's still in the middle of nowhere. The relevant question is how good is the local bus service [mine is excellent, so it doesn't matter so much if the school is actually near the 'city.']. |
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jammo
Joined: 12 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:22 am Post subject: Re: Any possibilities besides elementary kids? |
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| ETA wrote: |
| It seems programs like EPIK are for english assistants while the native Korean teachers conduct grammer, etc. |
Yes, you will be in charge of the spelling  |
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ETA
Joined: 15 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Where are the jobs for middle school to high school aged kids? |
There are a LOT more elementary schools in the public system than middle or high schools. Kindergarten and young ES English hagwons are a HUGE business here too. My MS kids do go to hagwons, but most of them go to broad-based ones dealing with several subjects [math, history, etc] not English-specialized ones with FTs. High school kids almost never attend English-only hagwons. The younger students are where the money is.
You really need to do PS if you want older students [although I'd bet that FTs are on the way out at HS level regardless]. I hope you're not interested because you think it's easier to teach them
Just don't make any assumptions before you get here. I personally was assured repeatedly by various parties that I would ONLY be teaching MS students. Upon arrival, my CTs wasted no time in showing me the ES across town where I would be teaching 1st through 6th graders twice a week. Turns out they are a nice break from each other, actually.
On the assistant thing, it will depend so much on your CT that no predictions can be usefully made. I have one that helps translate, and one who really wants to 'co-teach' the class with me [a seriously mixed blessing]. Last semester I had one who didn't do much of anything. It's a roll of the dice.
On location, just ask them to send you a link on Naver Maps if you want to see where it is. Cities are so sprawling here that 'boondocks' doesn't really mean much. My school is inside 'city' borders by Korean standards, but it's still in the middle of nowhere. The relevant question is how good is the local bus service [mine is excellent, so it doesn't matter so much if the school is actually near the 'city.']. |
It not so much that its easier to teacher older kids. They tend to be a bit more mature, usually they don't have to be talked to like babies, and they are abit more interested and focused from my experiences. The upside of kiddies is there is more stuff for them to learn so its hard to run out of materials to cover.
What are the ups and downs of co-teaching with Korean teachers? |
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ETA
Joined: 15 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:39 pm Post subject: Re: Any possibilities besides elementary kids? |
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| jammo wrote: |
| ETA wrote: |
| It seems programs like EPIK are for english assistants while the native Korean teachers conduct grammar, etc. |
Yes, you will be in charge of the spelling |
By grammar I'm not referring to basic spelling, but rather complex grammar rules which may have to be learned in a CELTA course or covered in a English major degree class which someone with a miscellaneous liberal arts degree may find problematic. |
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