Korean Job Discussion Forums

[queenbee]

I've just hit 7 months here...it's been a long 7 months. I've been enjoying living in Korea enough, but I've never really liked my job.
It's at a hagwon where I teach 10 different classes, 2 times a week. The previous foreign teacher was one of the 'daily hangman' types - a recent post by Quinella totally felt my pain. About a month ago I started hearing that there'd been complaints about my class being too boring and too difficult. Too difficult, I could understand. The textbook that I was using from the school was way over their heads, I guess I just didn't realise how much until then. But too boring? I guess compared to hangman everyday...but when I came to Korea, I expected to actually teach the kids something, and I find it difficult to just be a lazy as* who can go into a classroom with nothing and slide on by. I'm also not the type that can 'entertain kids' that well...(hence me taking the job when I though I was being hired as a teacher, not a showman).
So now the kids are resigned to thinking that my class is boring and too difficult, kids miss classes a lot and trickle in late if they come. I've been playing fun games and writing my own, easier, worksheets that they can understand. But I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle....my classes have gotten really big and my boss is always on my back about the absent kids....he's tried to get me to implement a 'no-Korean' rule in the classroom but I pretty much have no authority and get no respect from the kids that it's almost impossible to make work. I've gotten to where I'm past the point of caring. I've spent lots of time stressing about it and it gets me really down.
In some ways it seems really stupid to quit at this point in the year...but in other ways I can't imagine facing five whole months more. Does anyone have any advice? Is there anyone who's been in a similar situation? I'd like to think I could stick it out, but I don't feel it's healthy or right to be working somewhere where everyday you feel like you want to quit, and get upset about at night.
Thanks for reading.

[canuck in Ansan]

I was the same (still am, pretty much), in that I've enjoyed Korea *enough*, but never really liked teaching. ESPECIALLY between the 5-7 months. By my own experience, once you get to 8-9 months in, things are looking up, even if you still don't enjoy teaching.

When I first started, I was also doing the hangman thing since they seemed to enjoy it, and I tried to take long sentences straight from their textbooks. I've slowly weaned it out, now I only play it once a week, or even once every 2 weeks (and I try to make it really hard!)
Sometimes instead of going straight into the textbook, or playing games, I just chat with the kids. Ask what they did yesterday, what they're going to eat for dinner...who won the last soccer game (if you already know, play dumb, they'll probably really like talking about it).

As for the "no korean", the only thing that has worked for me was i'd have a little points sheet, and at the start of class, at some point, I'll say "English starting NOW!"...and from then on if anyone speaks korean they get marked down a point. Sometimes just the competition of getting as few points as possible helps, other times I make them write lines ("I will speak English in class") for every point.. hehe...

Anyway, about sticking it out, it depends on how bad it gets for you. As for myself (my job has never been "horrible" though) I'm glad I just stuck with it through my "I hate everything Korean, leave me alone" phase, especially because now that i'm nearing the end its a great feeling.

I hope everything works out!

[Juregen]

Queenbee

You show the skills of a good teacher.

Just hang in there, look for another opportunity for next year, and find people who "want" to learn english.

I never ever want to deal with kids who do not want to learn.

[poet13]

Don't quit. Drink more. Really though, I hit a wall at six months with my classes. It was the heat of summer, and it seemed that every bit of English my kids had ever known had simply been sweated out of their little heads. If you need to, give yourself a break. I dont mean take a holiday. Rather, for a week or so, make a radical program change. Get out of the book. Trick the little darlings with learning games. Fill your classes with laughter for a week. After a week, go back to the original program. Sure, your boss will get in your stuff about it, but hopefully things will be back to normal by the time they catch on. I hope that helps, even a little.

[ilovebdt]

You must be due a holiday soon. Take that and get as far away as possible from your present location. Relax and see how you feel when you come back.

ilovebdt

[Hotpants]

My first year in teaching felt the same. I also considered quitting at the 7 month stage. But, I held on, fathoming that 5 months more was only a relatively short time span, and as a result, I was glad I pulled through it.

If you've only got another 5 months, and your teaching approach hasn't 'worked', why not just see it as a chance to ditch your ideas as a teacher (I think many of us in Korea realise that real 'teaching'doesn't fit here) and just try and experiment with alternative activities - make a video, do some in class cookery, sing some songs, make a presentation competition, try some sporting activities, get the kids to design their own board games. Get some insight about what makes kids tick for future reference.

Just view the whole scenario as one big game and don't take any comments too seriously. It's easier said than done - and admittedly large class sizes are sometimes hard - but stick with it and you won't regret it. Also, think about the extra money you can save with potential flight money and severance. That could give you a nice long vacation after your contract to really get away from it all.

[Grotto]

The 6-7 month wall is fairly common. You're tired.....still looking at about an equal amount of time as you've already put in. The uniqueness of Korea has worn off....what used to be quaint and charming is now boring and stupid. Boss seems to be pushing for more than what you had to do at the start(learn to say no) and you're looking for an out.

Things to do to perk yourself up.

Exercise....get out and do something....go somewhere on your weekends instead of sitting in the bar or in your apartment....go out for dinner with friends....get in touch with someone from Dave's and meet up.

As for the classroom....change things up a bit....I took some 1.5 liter coke bottles and we made some worm farms(you can teach the English associated with the activity).....bottle rockets....I brought in an electric frying pan and taught them how to make pancakes from scratch(the school paid for the ingredients)....charades(great for teaching jobs, verbs, making sentences.....) HAVE SOME FUN IN CLASS

I found that some of my best lessons were where I put the textbook down and did something that taught the lesson but in a hands on way.

Also.....you're more than halfway through, that golden paycheque at the end of the rainbow gets closer every week. 2 mil salary+year end bonus+ airfare home+ pension =7 mil won....give or take

[Homer]

What Grotto said is spot on.

[happygirl]

what everyone is saying is so true. if you just can't think of anything to do do a search for Tomato's posts. talking about great ideas. everyone can use a little "Tomato" in their lives.

[newinseoul]

Very well said Grotto! I can sooo relate to what you are going through having troubles myself at my Hogwan since the beginning. I thought of quitting especially at the six and seventh month. I joined a gym and this made the time go by and was a stress reliever too. I also made some good Korean coworker friends.

Think about the bonus at the end and all the things you can do afterwards. You will have more time to travel and see things if you stay. But, if you have to leave then try and stay in Korea for at least a year to say you've been here a year and gained some overseas/teaching experience. The most important thing is to develop a good relationship with the kids. Put all your effort into doing a good job with your lessons and getting to know the kids. Just my two cents worth. Keeping a positive attitude really helps too! Whatever you do, Good luck!

[seoulsista]

I also feel you on a number of points. I have been told that I am too much of a hard ass and that I need to smile more. To which I responded eat shit, very quietly. That's just their way of saying "Don't cost me money."

However, I do try to play lot's of activities and games with the kids to balance out the other more boring but required stuff. That really does help them feel like they want to be there more. Try out a bunch of different things, be really creative, and then roll with what seems to cause the most buzz. They really feed on competition so anything where there's a winner works great. You can always find lots of really useful games that you can tailor to whatever you are teaching at that time.

There's lots of internet sites and even here on Dave's. If you can't find them pm me.

And please don't get down on yourself. Hagwon owners love to say "some parents said" when it was probably just one really shitty kid that's making excuses. Not to mention it sounds like your cirriculum isn't the best. Just because you can't meet unrealistic expectations doesn't mean that you have failed in some way. If you know you are doing your best then maybe you just haven't found the right way to click with the kids yet.

[ddeubel]

Yes, hang in there.

I second the comments about competition and varying the pace of the lessons....

Also, focus on your teaching, challenge yourself to do something different. Makes a difference if you see yourself also learning. Try new stuff, go right and go left. Sure use the text if the school requires but think of really creative ways to use it. Wacko ways. Pairs, one student book open, other closed. Communication gap. Smart student role players teacher etc........

But challenge yourself. Goodness/happiness is about goal orientation -- get a goal in the class and the horizon will open up.

This year I challenged myself to teach more from left field. Has worked and really a breath of fresh air. I have my class more like a TV show , with mike and interviews and news and singing/karaoke......works. Even when we do the book -- it is a gas. I just say, "now time for a commercial break!".

Good luck.

DD

[Sofa_King]

You've done the hard part already. Now that the weather has changed, you'll be seeing some nice days ahead. I was in your situation last year, ready to quit, but I held on. The last months went by much more faster than the first. It's all down hill from here. Hang on and get that extra months pay.

[Son Deureo!]

Wow, there's a lot of great supportive advice in this thread. I'd like to add just a little more.

I was in a similar situation at around my fifth month in Korea. I remember sitting in a chicken hof with my friend/coworker/roommate who had come to Korea with me and the Canadian girl who lived up the street who had come to Korea at the same time we had discussing our plans for a midnight run.

God knows our boss deserved it. We were working 11 hour days at our kiddie hogwon, our apartment smelled like sewage, our two weeks of vacation time was being doled out one day per month, and the boss had nothing but complaints about what a horrible teacher I was (which seemed odd to me since he wanted me to do so much of it). I had no problems with living in Korea per se, in fact I'd made some great friends, was having fun learning the language, and I was still enjoying sightseeing in Seoul. But the job was burning me out, fast.

Well, a Korean friend of mine who also happened to be a recruiter wasn't ready to lose me so quickly. He went with me and the 2 other foreign teachers to tell the boss that if conditions didn't improve, he was about to lose all three of his foreign teachers at the same time, so let's see what can be done to prevent that. After about a two hour shouting match in Korean between the two of them, we went home, slept on it, and the boss called us into the office to tell us we had a week long vacation coming the next month, we would not be expected to teach in the upcoming intensive, and a new foreign teacher was on the way to alleviate our teaching load.

We stood our ground, and things got better.

So far as the boss telling you what a godawful teacher you are, I have a four step solution that works every single time:

1. Nod

2. Smile

3. Tell the boss, "I'm sorry, I'll try harder."

4. Ignore everything the boss just said and just keep doing the best job you can.

Korean employers really do think that telling you how much you suck is supposed to motivate you to listen to him and be a better teacher. Maybe this works for Koreans, but for most Westerners all it seems to make us want to do is check out the job boards to find better offers, in other countries if necessary.

In the classroom, I have found that it's best to think of yourself as working for the students, not for the boss. That makes it much easier to ignore all of the contradictory and counterproductive criticism that comes from the parents and director.

Outside of the classroom, I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of the advice that's here. Get out more. During the week, find hobbies that keep you engaged and stimulated. If they are Korea-related hobbies, even better. You can take advantage of some of the unique opportunities that being here provides, and it will help to give you more of a sense of purpose for being here. For me, that was studying Korean, but I have been amazed by what friends of mine have accomplished in Korean martial arts and music. One friend of mine has even written manuscripts for two Korea-related novels (now if only he could get them published...).

Don't forget to travel around Korea more. It's summertime, but the Korean tourist season hasn't hit yet. Now is a great time to hit the hiking trails and beaches. Korea is a small country with an excellent transportation system. You can go pretty much anywhere on the weekend except for Chejudo (but a 3-day weekend will do, IMHO) and still spend W100,000 or less for the weekend.

Some suggestions:

1) Deokjeokdo. Beautiful, rustic island with two great beaches one hour by ship from Incheon.

2) Danyang. Lovely resort town in the mountains with a river and eight famous things to see.

3) Woraksan. A mountain with amazing Koryo dynasty Buddhist shrines and temples.

4) Sokcho. Great seaside town with a gorgeous beach and 20 minutes from the amazing Soraksan.

5) Andong. Better if you can see it during the mask festival, but the folk village there is always worthwhile.

Anyways, best of luck to the OP, and hang in there. Don't give up that severance pay and airfare yet and remember, the second year in Korea is always better than the first.

[thegadfly]

There has been some solid advice given in this thread, but another thing to consider is that the whole "teacher/showman" either/or thing is a mistake. Teaching IS a performance -- teachers ARE showmen. I am sure we have all had a professor in college that really knew his or her stuff, but couldn't teach it for beans -- for me it was my organic chemistry teacher. He was a genius, but it didn't help the students.

Be aware of your performance and look for ways to improve that performance -- not just your knowledge, but your delivery. "Boring" can be a valid complaint -- it may NOT be valid, but if you are a serious teacher (and it sounds like you are), look for the true source of the complaint. A teacher needs to be able to read the students and react to the class (as an entity). Do you take the class on tangents when they seem interested, or do you stick to your lesson plan regardless of mood and momentum? Do you allow students to side-track you occasionally, or do you make sure you do "what we're s'posed ta get done?" Do you display your enthusiasm, or do you slog through yet another day?

In my (limited) experience, teachers are called "boring" when they go too slowly, review too much, stick too closely to the lesson plan, or have a personal delivery that is so low-key as to be almost catatonic. I've been in schools where games were the norm, and I did not follow that norm. I got lots of complaints as a result, but the ONLY time I have ever been called "boring" was when I reviewed "too much" (in a class that DEFINTELY needed it). My boss asked me not to review, so I quit doing so, and kept attacking new material until the kids begged me to slow down...no more complaints about being boring....

Just sayin', one should always look to improve oneself....