Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jurassic82]

Tell me if this sounds familar. I have been in Korea for three weeks now. When I started I was really excited to be teaching kids. I liked the teacher I spoke to on the phone and the school looked really nice in the picture. I thought I had escaped the horror stories of Hogwan hell in Korea. I was told I would get training and be shown what to do. I get to Korea and meet the Director who is also the owner with her husband. They seemed nice. Next day I was thrown into the classroom with nothing but my books and a tape player. First three days I'm lost butstart getting the hang of it so I think. We have a teachers meeting and then I discover I was doing everything wrong. I also discover that the other foriegn teacher who I really enjoyed hanging out with just got fired. This last week has been a total nightmare because we've had to test the kids. They have only been learning the material for little over two weeks know and we're already giving them exams. Many of the Kids do bad and now I have to lie and give them better grades. I'm starting to see how many hogwans are just a scam. The kids are learning all this material from the book but aren't retaining it but the Director wants us to show results and wants us to cover all this material in sucha quick period of time. While at the same time kids are just learning to pass tests and then losing the information they are learning. It makes no sense to me. Enough with my rant but I justed wanted to ask everyone out there one question. Do you ever finish work and get that feeling your students learned nothing because that is exactley how I've been feeling so far. I really don't care if anybody replies or not but I was just curious.

[chilgok007]

Sounds like an exact carbon-copy of the crap I'm going through. My advice to you is to finish up the month, take your paycheck, buy yourself a ticket home, and consider the remainder a bonus. Or, if you want to continue to remain in Korea, put in your 20-days notice. It sounds like typical posturing by a crappy Hagwon owner, and believe me, it will probably only get worse. These people are never satisfied and you can never do anything right. When something goes wrong, irregardless of whose fault it was, it will always come down on your shoulders. If your serious about teaching, go find a school where your work will be appreciated. Yes, there are plenty of them out there, you just have to ask a ton of questions and do your homework (no pun intended).

As for your question, when it comes to language, kids tend to be passive learners and it will take time to see the results. They are not like adults who are self motivated and interested in learning a language. Kids don't care about English, only Mommy and Daddy do. The trick is to trick them into learning. Theres a ton of good advice throughout this board and on others all over the internet. It never hurts to go out and spend a few hours checking it out.

However, if your boss expects instant results, then she has unrealistic expectations. Some of the kids will definetly pick it up really quick and will be able to recite your daily lessons verbaitim while others will take a while to find their footing, and other still just won't get it all (it's not always the teachers fault, it all depends on the kid. Though, as I said, at some of these scam Hogwans, everything is the evil FT's fault). Let me guess, your boss has no teaching background? At my school, my boss doesn't really care if the kids learn a damned thing, so long as they fill out every page of their activity book. I guess each Hagwon has their own little "niche."

[Son Deureo!]

Your story sounds all too familiar, but you've been there for less than a month, don't throw in the towel yet. It will take you longer than three weeks to see progress, but you will see it.

In the meantime, I suggest you do a few things to help you keep your sanity and get the most out of your time here:

1) Do what you can to improve your teaching on your own. There are great books on the subject, plus a lot of good ideas on this board. Bull sessions with other foreign teachers can also give you good ideas for things that will work in the classroom. Come up with a reward and punishment system that motivates your students. Find educational games your kids and you will enjoy. Teaching, and especially teaching children, can be a wonderful outlet for your creativity.

2) Pay no attention to your boss when he says you suck. Korean bosses will always tell you that you suck, they think that will motivate you to work harder even though it really makes you want to pull a midnight run. Whenever the boss criticizes you, you should do fivethings:

A)Nod
B)Smile
C)Tell him you will try harder
D)Ignore everything he just told you
E)Keep doing the best job you can

I realize this advice can be easier to give than to follow, Korean bosses suck ass, period. Remember this simple mantra that got me through plenty of bad days at the hogwon: A good teacher works for the students, not the director.

3) Enjoy your life in Korea. Your friend got fired? Make more friends, both Korean and foreign. Do a language exchange. Start dating. Walk on the beach. Go swimming in the ocean while it's still warm. Hike the local mountains. Buy a bicycle and explore the area. Try a new restaurant every day. Study Korean and practice on the locals, make yourself your own best student. Go on trips every other weekend, there's a lot to see and do in Korea and it won't cost you very much to do it.

Man does not live by bread alone. No matter where you are, your job will never be the part of your life that gives you the most pleasure. Give yourself something better to think about.

4) Plan your vacation, start to dream. While you're in Korea, you have unique travel opportunities that you might never have again in your lifetime. Plan something fun to do with your next vacation that lasts a week or more. Go to a beach in Thailand or the Philippines. Check out the Great Wall. Take a ferry to Fukuoka.

Plan a trip of a month or longer that you'll take after your contract is up. Backpacking in Asia can cost less than you might think, and you'll have memories that will last a lifetime.


Good luck, and hang in there.

[PortHardy]

I also agree to tough it out for a bit. Directors are usually very strict at first as they want you to do things a certain way. As you get used to things, you will find everything easier and the director will be less involved in your day.

If it doesn't get better then maybe give your notice and get a new job. There are so many different teaching situations in Korea and it is possible for most people to find a good match for them.

I have taught is some schools whereyou just show up and your classes are only 25 or 30 minutes so your classes fly by.

I have also taught at a school where i had kids for 3 straight hours.


The biggest thing is to make sure that kids like you. This can be acomplished by doing a good job teaching, having a good sense of humor and just being kind to the kids. Praise the kids when they do something good.

Then, the kids tell the parents that they like the teacher and the parents tell the director.

[Hotpants]

Son Dureo has great advice. Follow it to the T!!!

I think everyone finds their first few months the hardest (and all the other months too!). You have to adjust to a completely new culture and a whole new way of doing things, not just to a new job. It's often worth sticking it through as it will provide you with good experience for the future. After all, even though it could seem like a living hell now, a year is not forever. See what you can gain from it.

[some waygug-in]

It took me 3 months before I started to feel like I was making progress.

It took me 6 to figure out what to do with some of the tough classes.

By 9 months I thought it was a piece of cake and agreed to stay on for an extra couple of months.


I go through this same cycle with each school, no matter how long I've been in this 'game', it's still starting from square 1 with every new school.
Whatever worked well in the past, may not work with the new boss or kids. (although it does help to have some ideas)

Part of it is just being there long enough, getting used to them and vise versa. The first 6 or 7 months always seem to .....suck.

But towards the end of the contract, it seems to get better. Maybe it's just the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Tell them that if they don't like it they can fire you and once you take this disposition you'll have the upper hand. This might be a great opportunity to see what works and what doesn't when you move to a real job.