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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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alonzo9772
Joined: 07 Nov 2016
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 Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 5:14 pm Post subject: Best grade level to teach? |
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I will soon begin my ESL career in January in Korea. Last year, I was an exchange student in Yonsei, so there won't be too many new things for me to experience where I get unique "OMG!" moments.
Anyway, I am now in the process of waiting for my FBI background check and bachelor degree to come back to me with the apostille papers. Following, I can then finally apply to jobs with my recruiter.
I have no teaching experience, so I understand that I more than likely can not get into the big cities. I will have to settle for the smaller cities such as Goyang or Suwon. Also, since I have no letters of references to give, I can not apply to EPIK. I will have to teach in a hagwon.
What grade level is best for a beginner like me to start teaching with? The first thought would be kindergarten children, but isn't that extremely stressful to have to run around and calm children down every five minutes? Who here has experience with being an English teacher for all the age ranges? |
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denverdeath
Joined: 21 May 2005
Location: Boo-sahn
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 9:08 am Post subject: Re: Best grade level to teach? |
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| alonzo9772 wrote: |
I will soon begin my ESL career in January in Korea. Last year, I was an exchange student in Yonsei, so there won't be too many new things for me to experience where I get unique "OMG!" moments.
Anyway, I am now in the process of waiting for my FBI background check and bachelor degree to come back to me with the apostille papers. Following, I can then finally apply to jobs with my recruiter.
I have no teaching experience, so I understand that I more than likely can not get into the big cities. I will have to settle for the smaller cities such as Goyang or Suwon. Also, since I have no letters of references to give, I can not apply to EPIK. I will have to teach in a hagwon.
What grade level is best for a beginner like me to start teaching with? The first thought would be kindergarten children, but isn't that extremely stressful to have to run around and calm children down every five minutes? Who here has experience with being an English teacher for all the age ranges? |
You should know that there are all kinds of reference letters. There are professional, educational, and personal to name a few. Me? I did peer mentoring and volunteer work at my uni=educational. Professional came from my direct supervisor at my job at the provincial welfare office where I worked for a couple of years...I could've easily supported that with great recs from my best job back home, but that was computer related so I thought the humanities ref was better for teaching English. Personal? I came here 1st when I was 27. A best friend wrote me a terrific personal reference. I knew him since we were both only 5 years old. Think of those things before worrying too much. Every bit counts.
I wouldn't recommend teaching kindy unless you think you can handle it. Some truly enjoy it, but I don't. I've been here for nearly 20 years, and still have a bit of trouble teaching those that young. I've taught my own kids of a similar age, but that's a different story.
Last point. If you want a big(ger) city, wait on it. Don't work in a backwater smalltown, unless you really want to or have to. Wait an extra month or two to get that "better" position in Seoul if that's what you want. Jobs aren't THAT scarce yet. And, honestly? The "best" level for you will depend greatly on your background and comfort zone. Me? I started at a chaoticwon...one where everyone was being fired, everyone hated everyone, everyone was being ripped off, and everyone actually liked the students. The students were a mix. Actually an awful mix of adults, elementary, and middle school students. It was, however, a great mix for me to get some excellent experience. |
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pmwhittier
Joined: 03 Nov 2011
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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"Settle for Suwon" Ha ha ha ha ha. I've been in Suwon for 3 years and it's not small. It's 30 minutes to Seoul Station from Suwon Station. It's gotten to the point where Suwon is just part of Seoul. So settling for Suwon is funny to say the least.
You will probably end up working with younger kids. They're the ones that go to Hagwons the most. Yes, you will have to tell 'em to sit down and shut up constantly. Yes, it's exhausting. Yes, it's better than having 30 American kids in a classroom giving you hell because the class sizes in Hagwons tend to be much smaller. And in the off chance you get a public school job, you have a Korean co-teacher in the room to tell the kids to sit down and shut up.
Teach kids. Just do it. It's what we all do our first time around (and some of us end up working with the little kids for years). |
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