Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cubanlord]

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/archives/result_contents.asp?id=200606210053&query=foreign

Having recruited and worked with many teachers over the years in different cities of Korea, I have seen a great deal of capable and talented teachers, but also poor quality ones. Despite what one is led to believe, I would say that only 10-15 percent of the foreign teacher community is the real problem. But unfortunately, those bad apples make it more and more difficult for the rest of us to live and work in Korea. As a result, the media and government's overreaction to the problem is creating problems unto itself.
The Korean media plays up foreign teacher indiscretions, but plays down those same indiscretions if the teacher happens to be a kyopo, or a Korean teacher. Things like this do not make foreign teachers feel very welcome in Korea. The Korean government has implemented more even more restrictive hiring processes for foreign teachers, yet has done very little to try to deal with the illegal practices of school owners that are harmful to foreigners. These practices include firing a teacher in the final month of a contract, so the school can avoid paying severance bonus. These things can and do wear a teacher down.

Because Korea is perceived as not being very friendly to foreigners compared to many other countries, this is causing more and more qualified teachers to look elsewhere. There are other ESL markets and if Korea wants to remain competitive in its English education initiatives, it should pay close attention to the actions of its neighbors with thriving ESL industries, notably China and Japan.

Whereas Korea's ESL industry is worth an estimated $3 billion a year, China's English education industry is believed to be worth $60 billion a year, and it's starting to show. Two years ago, foreign teachers in China were getting the same type of benefits as teachers in Korea, but their salaries were still 60-70 percent lower. Now, it's becoming increasingly common to hear of teachers leaving Korea to take jobs in China that have salaries which are 100-150 percent of their former salaries in Korea. Another major draw to China is their relaxed hiring requirements. Many schools, even universities advertise that they are looking for foreign teachers between the ages of 20-60 years old, with or without a university degree. In Korea, not only is the hiring more restrictive, but the preferred hiring standard among most English establishments is females between the ages of 24-30 and everyone must not only have a university degree, but must also go to the inconvenience of providing original degrees plus the original university transcripts that are sealed in an unopened envelope and signed by the university's registrar or someone for the university's office. Many universities don't even permit that. Nevertheless, this is Korea's requirement and is a big reason why there is an increasing teacher attrition moving to China, Japan, and even Vietnam, where teacher compensation is also rapidly increasing.

The problems that need to be addressed are not limited to the teachers. There are a lot of other internal problems within the English education industry here that need to get looked at and overhauled. And by taking a look at what has worked well in other countries, Korea's ESL industry can be easily improved for everyone, by making some simple decisions.

Firstly, stop blind hiring teachers. Korean schools and recruiters hire teachers after a brief long-distance telephone interview and a quick glance at their picture and resume. This, without question, is the biggest reason for poor hiring practices. In Japan, almost all schools require teachers to be in Japan, prior to hiring. Japanese schools are increasingly asking prospective teachers to demonstrate their teaching ability by having them give a sample lesson during the job interview. This helps measure what one can expect from them, when it matters the most.

The Hong Kong ESL market is well-known among teachers for having some of the most qualified and talented English teachers in Asia. Why? Because they require teaching certification from everybody. While they do require everyone to have a degree, they are increasingly requiring teachers to have teaching certifications such as TESOL, CELTA, or PGCE teaching certificates.

The role of recruiters also needs to be expanded. Traditionally, recruiters are paid an upfront fee of $1,000-$2,000 for introducing a teacher and then they are out of the picture. Unfortunately, this does not offer any incentive for recruiters to find a quality teacher. Perhaps a smaller upfront fee and then an additional $100 a month for the rest of the time that the teacher remains employed would encourage recruiters to be more selective.

Taking these steps will also expand the ESL industry and make it a larger fixture in the economy, as it will reduce the need for parents to send their children overseas to receive quality English education.

(www.galbijim.com)


By Craig White

no

2006.06.21

It's about time!!!

[flotsam]

[cubanlord]

hahah...oops. fixed it

[jinju]

Im rooting for the Chinese EFL industrt to grow BIG TIME. if that pulls 70% of the foreigners in Korea to Cjina that will lave a lot of very good jobs for me:)

[Demophobe]

[Junior]

Perhaps when Korea has lost all its teachers, they'll consider printing retractions for all the anti-foreigner stories they made up in the media.

[SPINOZA]

[Milwaukiedave]

[chronicpride]

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Then colour me a ten-percenter. And I ain't goin' nowhere.

[Homer]

[JZer]

[flotsam]

[brento1138]

[JZer]

Not to mention people trying to rip you off all the time in China. Until the average person in China earn similar wages as Koreans, people will trying to make as much as they can off of the preceived rich westerners.