Korean Job Discussion Forums

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

recently i had a discussion with some coworkers about the status of hagwans in 10, 15, or 20 years. one coworker say that the qualifications of teachers might need to be higher, like perhaps you'll need a years experience to get a decent teaching job.

i dont think thats how it'll happen. most hagwans are really unprofessional especially with educational standards and they make a lot of money for a lot of people. its possible that if they raised the necessary qualifications for their teachers, that would stem the flow of them and they'd have to charge more tuition, pushing hagwans out of the financial range of more koreans. hagwans are english clubs, places where kids can go to play around and maybe learn some english in the process. they're a mark of prestige for the parents who send their kids to them and a cash cow for savvy directors.

thoughts?

peppermint · Last edited by peppermint on Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:36 am; edited 1 time in total

PECisDplace2B · Joined: 19 Aug 2003

I believe Hagwons will be run just like all the other big business. Their will probably be two or maybe three competing Chaebol offering a streamlined product. There is already a lot of multinationals cleaning up in the international english market.
What I've noticed at my Hagwon is that as soon as the students start scoring perfect at their elementary, middle or high school tests the parents move them out and get them to study longer in math or science.

My boss said the 'big money' is to be had in test prep; toeic. I believe for most student's parents the motivation is to do well in the standardized tests. My school puts little emphasis on speaking. Reading, grammar, and listening are strongly encouraged. '
I believe the companies that best prepares students for the mindless tests will be running the Hagwon system, or replace it entirely.

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

Paji eh Wong · Joined: 03 Jun 2003

I've been meeting a tonne of foriegners who are offering their own language/hagwon services. I work at a hagwon owned by an American and his Korean wife. We cleaned up at the Kyeunggido english contest (a little misleading but ...). And we do all right in terms of enrollement. My current kids have some pretty different expectations from the ones I taught at my first hagwon.

There won't be any sort of lasting, positive change in the market until the consumers change their ideas about education. When Korean's understand they can't "rote learn" their way to fluency, all kinds of things will change. I think it'll happen, and foriegner directed education will be on the edge of the change.

PECisDplace2B · Joined: 19 Aug 2003

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

[quote="PECisDplace2B] the parents at my hagwon are often worried about everything except whethor or not their student is learning english. Since the parents have never taken language education themselves I don't think they know what to expect for their children. [/quote]

no that just sounds like more typical korean bollshoite to me. worrying about everything except that which matters.

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Taiwan is more advanced in steamlining haggie services. There's a huge franchise chain called Hess which has an offshoot, bookstores called Hess Book Store. As flash looking as a McDonalds of bookstores. Their curiculum has lessons 'by the book' for every separate class.
I jump out and agree about the rote learning method, and how hagwons won't become more effective/organized rapidly until
-it's accepted that rote learning doesn't work with language learning
-it becomes organized enough that parents know this, will listen
-people treat learning English like studying conversational interplay, just in another language
I heard the Korean English teacher in the next room today, he has seven years experience, and he was doing 'repeat after me'. The kids sounded switched off, but content. It's the way they do things here.
Smile

What about mini-cams and computer time with an English teacher?

PECisDplace2B · Joined: 19 Aug 2003

I'd like to see a Hagwon set up a proper computer assisted language lab. When I was learning French, that was the method that got me the furthest the quickest. I could hear how my voice sounded, against how it was supposed to sound. Also I found it is a great way to practice grammar structure, etc..

Alias · Joined: 24 Jan 2003

There will be less English Hagwons 10-15 years from now. By then most parent will have figured out that they are really a scam.

just because · Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Location: Changwon - 4964

Toby · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Wedded Bliss

English hakwans for children? 20 years from now?

Extinct. English will be taught in schools and they will a) offer mainstream English classes taught by a foreigner and b) will run classes after school, taught by a foreign teacher at extra cost to the student. The teacher is paid for those and the school makes a percentage.

Adult schools will always run.