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leebumlik69
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Location: DiRectly above you. Pissing Down
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 Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:36 pm Post subject: The English village experience - an insight.. |
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Full text:
| http://thevillage.blog.com/ wrote: |
The Village
Hello everyone.
I wanted to write a blog about my experiences at Incheon English Village (ICEV) as for me it has been a forgettable hell ride of a rollercoaster in my life. My experiences are mainly negative. Firstly, let me give you give you a prelude:
I have recently been fired from the place though I served more than ten months of my contract there and I have to say, I wish I had quit before then as I had desired.
Secondly, I want to say that I don't blame anyone in particular person for my experience there as in my opinion, it is the competitive Korean demand for high yield labour that was the problem. Afterall, I have been fired and have no credibility!!
When I first entered the village I was upset by some of the instant cliqueiness (more like blatant disrespectfulness)that was ready-made there. There was a feeling that I was in a place where some foreigners were just not acting their age. But not only that - not treating each other properly. Cutting, first-blood comments, that have no place comming from the mouth of a so called professional graduate. Getting the bus (we had to sommute to work on a minimum 30 minute trip per day) was hell so from the beginning I chose to often deliberately miss the bus to feel like I was detached and not part of the early hostility. Of course, many of my coworkers didn't understand that even though I had no obligation to get the bus or even tell them if I wan't. Why should I have to report to people. From the very beginning I was treated as if it was a problem to sometimes choose not to take the schools provided transport. I never ONCE complained if the bus left without me. I NEVER requested that the wait on my behalf. I think I have the right to chose how I get to work. But enough about that.
Because of the lack of credible private backing, the school was also drastically short of the necessary?? supplies. Many of my co-teachers felt that they had to have what other English villages have and that's ok but could the school afford it? It couldn't as far as I could see and as far as I know it is now suffering from huge weekly costs which it alleviates to some extent with the weekend teaching program (both Saturday and Sunday school!) offered there.
Another problem (and this is a HUGE problem IMO) with village life was that the early disrespectfullness shown by certain teachers was never properly dealt with and hasn't been to this day. Allot of the problem was cultural differneces. Nobody told me that the village was to be based on North American culture. I am not North American. Is cutting each other down after teenage years acceptable at a professional level in North America. Was I told I was supposed to know about this information? Was it just that way in our village? Anyway my limited experience in Korea thaught me not to go against the grain of too much of how things were run by the Korean directors and planners etc.. I just tried to get along with it and this made me an isolated target for abuse.
I immediately had a love-hate relationship with the place. I enjoyed working with children in a a fun environment where they really enjoyed the experience and even learned a bit of English. Not only that, I felt that I had successfully managed to engrave the memory on them. I felt that some day when one of these kids went to a real life bank or hotel, they would at leat have happy memories of their first experience of that kind of environment. Some of the classes were hopelessly irrelevant to real life but others were not only relevant but fun!! I think I would have been very happy as a youngster to have visited something similar to an English village when I was young and studying German. I believe that being able to physically touch and experience what you are learning about is of great help especially if you are having fun (..if the school can afford it..). And also, because students spend so much time studying in Korea without fun, it seems especially applicable here.
Here is a quote from the villages site www.icev.go.kr:
"Incheon English Village runs its own differentiated and unique English learning program underlying the concept of 'learning from experience'. In Incheon English Village students from 5th-6th grade in elementary school attend various kinds of classes and experience 32 different situations by using only English. The program of Incheon English Village was developed based on Multi Intelligence Theory, Communicative Language Teaching, Project Focused Classes and Use of Authentic Language.
I believe in the above statement but I don't believe it has been implemented correctly or maintained financially by ICEV.
I will continue by saying that the judgements passed on my philosophy to dealing with life in ICEV, together with the other problems mentioned above made life very stressful for me at the village. Another major problem was my resistance to what I saw as Western people over-imposing their own culture and demands on what is a Korean financed and run school operating in Korea. I may have been wrong to do this but it was just how I saw it. I had already worked in a Korean hagwon and had only just got accustomed to the way things worked in Korea. Suddenly I was in a bizarre North American working culture with a Korean work etiquette thrown in and I had to start again from scratch, except I didn't. I didn't understand the culture I was working in until it was too late. I have to confess that I ultimately had what you might call a mental breakdown in the village that lead to my becomming unprofessional and sloppy and I got fired! It's a very sad reality that I have just about come to terms with and my only solace is that I feel I am not really to blame and neither is anyone else. It's just the way it is!
At the village we have two Canadians working in a mangement capacity. One as a director and one as a headmaster. Orders that came from them seemed to smack of Korean management philosophy at times and North American at other times. Sometimes I couldn't even tell which! All I know is we got double the abuse and half the praise in the end!! It seemed as if both sets of management were trying to out-do each other ("Our way is best") without wondering about the effects it was having on the teachers. But again, I must stress that I can't blame them for that. I can't blame our Canadian director and headmaster for teaming up together to make their jobs meaningful and less token-like, even though I couldn't cope with it.
Currently at the village morale seems low but hopefully it will climb. Most foreign teachers are not re-signing up for a second year and the Korean teachers are only staying as it's the best deal they can get. I am always reminded of the questions I asked a Korean teacher back at the very beginning who had already worked at an English Village: "What was Ansan like? How many foreign teachers stayed around for a second year?.." The response was ominous. But I stayed at ICEV and continued to become more and more detached from the place.
Then there was the groundhog effect. Because the village operates in a cycle of one week, teaching the same material continuously can become very grating on your spirit. At least in a hagwon, the material recycles allot slower. AT ICEV you get different students every week - but the same monotonous routine. This had a psychological effect on me that I seriously underestimated. Also, becasue I am not North American and because I felt I was treated like a second class citizen and I didn't bitch and complain enough, I felt like a victim.
Another problem - No meetings!!!
In a place with as much discontent as I had, I couldn't voice my opinion openly. Even if anyone did listen to how I felt or how I was struggling, I couldn't talk to anyone. I hope I don't sound too weak but that's how I felt. There are 3 primary shifts at ICEV.
8:00-4:00, 10:00-6:00, 1:00-9:00
This provided an overlap of 3 hours for which to have everyone together for meetings. (From 1:00-4:00) Sadly most did not want to sacrifice any extra time towards this and management seemed to resist it. I requested it personally but our Canadian director and headmaster both rejected me. Was it that the Korean management level didn't want it or couldn't afford it or who was responsible..?
Anyway, in a place that big with so many teachers having so many issues with each other and the place, it's unfathomable that there could be no meetings.
With so many issues that I cannot even describe with this English language of ours, I feel I have had a mental breakdown. My health is low at the moment as is my spirit, BUT it is rising rapidly knowing that all ties with the place are almost completely severed. My career record at teaching English in Korea is not very good so far but that's purely from a 'teaching quality' perspective. I am learning. I am not the worlds best teacher but I do try and I am told I have great potential and am improving solidly. In my previous job in Korea I was never late - always early, but sometimes an underprepared teacher (even though I had a two hour preparation schedule per day).
At ICEV, preparation was in many ways irrelevant as the curriculum repeated every week and I started with the finest fanfare - developing materials, trying to spread positivity amongst my coworkers, and trying not to step on Korean culture or confucianism just because I worked in an English village...
I ended up being disheartened and just a bit beaten and hence apathetic at times though still always passionate about making the kids learn some English and have a happy experience as well. I let the place beat me.
As I said in the heading, you cannot understand it unless you are there. It maybe a Wonderland accademy on wheels forged from hell I guess. But maybe it can improve.
I believe the following are useful pointers (which may never be hindered) as to how I would like to change things at the village.
They're called meetings. And though they are often useless, hated things, they are essential at a place like ICEV I think.
A watchdog headteacher that monitors ethics and reports abuse and discrimination between teachers.
A middle management layer can be useful as we had at ICEV (Canadian director and headmaster) but they must be schoooled in Korean working culture and Korean culture in general, and not just dumped into the village because of their X years of teaching experience. X years of experience working in Korea would be more useful in my opinion.
More transparency: This is where Korean management has to change and unfortunately it's why I could never work at the village. I can't ask for what I feel is tantamount to trying to 'change' Korea..but..I have to admit without transparency at a financially unstable ICEV, the middle management layer is kept in the dark. It seemed they were not told when there was a sudden lack of available resources...
Above all: A reliable financial backer. The place seems cash-strapped. Maybe thats where the blame is - Global Edu - the Korean parent company of ICEV and it's director for taking on a possibly unaffordable project.
Now, I want to suggest how to go about providing a fun learning camp experience for kids without the need for a great deal of money. Firstly, no fancy gimmicks, classes etc. As much as the kids enjoy them, they cost money to maintain and kids BREAK THINGS no matter how much you nanny them. The only way in my opinion is to tap that resource we know Korea loves to tap and tune into the Korean tech savy way - computers..a multimedia lab.
No naver.com, nate.com, hangame.net. No minesweeper. Computers specifically tailored for English study in a fun way.
Using Windows XP, or the upcomming Vista might be a problem as games are built into it, but it could still be done. Other operating systems such as Linux, can be configured to have no games and specifically designed for learning English.
Students could go to virtual banks, and immigration offices etc. and speak authentic English into a microphone or even directly to a supervising native speaker. I still believe this would all work better with a confident native speaker at the helm.
The cost would be minimal and it could even be a positive instrument to take kids away from time wasting time with games. You want a prop? The only thing I would waste money on is a small park/playground for the kids to play or stretch their legs and take their eyes off that screen for a while. This tech craze isn't going away and I think it would be better to go with it and make the best use of it for language learning. Also, Korean kids love animation. The whole thing could be made fun and engaging through animation. But then that's my background in computers talking but isn't that the same background Korean kids have? They all (well most of them) grow up with computers and computer classes...
Anyway, the one room in the whole ICEV complex that costs almost nothing to maintain has got all the kids would really need to be in an immersive learning environment. "Ohhh. it's not a real bank.." Do you think banks are going to be the same in ten years when these kids finish university??? We already live so much of our lives online, it seems unavoidable that we will use computers for almost every English speaking experiance anyway. With a computer, you could have a fully realistic ATM machine...a realistic online banking transaction using the internet...
The ICEV bank class goes as far a laminated ATM picture made by a teacher!!! What use is that? All you need are a bunch of computers with the right software and a good teacher.
Anyway my frustrations are almost over. So I won't have to worry about it.
I have no regrets about how I worked at ICEV other than that I din't quit from the beginning, and I allowed my self to be weekened, irresponsible, and depressed to the point where I had to miss an arranged interview for another job without giving notice to the prospecting school or recruiter - something I never did in my life until I got to ICEV and it's not just because I'm getting older! I'm 28 now.
Also, I want to give one piece of advice to anyone who wants to work in a place like ICEV and has adapted or at least tried to adapt to life working for Koreans in a hagwon etc.: You have to forget what you have learned for the moment and start again from scratch. I made this mistake big time. I can't be too hard on myself because I never knew I was making the mistake in the first place...I just want to move on.
I don't consider myself an apologist or a ditcher of teaching in Korea. My problem is only with where I worked and many features of English villages in general.
I hope this post wasn't too boring and I sincerely hope it will be of use to others.
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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After a quick read, it would seem that you have a few areas of difficulty:
1) Adjusting to a mulit, rather than a bi-cultural working environment. From the sounds of it, you adjusted well enough to life at a Hakwon, but had troubles when other cultures were thrown into the mix. This will increasingly be the case, so get used to it.
2) Personal self assertiveness. We are adults. From your post, I take it that most of your objections to behaviour and rebuttals to perceived impositions (e.g. having to take the bus) were not voiced. This could have contributed to your 'breakdown'.
3) Organizing ideas and thoughts clearly. Your post bounces around both of the above topics, but it is all interwoven. Which mangament, which teachers, which facilities, which culture? Kind of all tangled up in there. If you can't do it in writing, odds are you'll have trouble voicing your concerns if given the opportunity.
4) Lack of teaching skills. Get into a program that teaches you how to teach. Learn to prep correctly, to formulate lesson plans, and to run a classroom. Invaluable stuff.
Good luck with whatever you do next. Maybe living overseas and teaching aren't for you. Better to adjust to a new career early on than suffer through. These villages are a poor example of a business model, and poorly managed. They are designed to make money in the initial phases by the management companies that slap them together, and little in the way of facility and staff management, let alone the small things, are considered. Your first mistake was going there in the first place. For any people out there thinking about moving to Korea to work in one of these places, or for people looking to make to move to one from a hakwon...DON'T DO IT! |
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trubadour
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't read all of it either, but just want to say it sounds like a hell hole but those places aren't designed to be good to people who just want to do their job. Repeat: sounds like the place was a nightmare, mate.
On the other hand I sometimes have difficulty asserting myself too, I think many Enlgish people do. It really is often against our nature esp in comparisoon to americans who tend to be a bit quicker to sound off about stuff. Sometimes it works ok, sometimes we really do need to stand up for ourselves. I aggree with PRagic, here, assertiveness will and must come with experience, otherwise you just throw your weight around like an idiot and though you might get listened to at first...[I think you could probably learn from their more bombastic habits actually - remember if you haven't got it - fake it!] At least if you have some experience which yeilds some principles then you'll be a better ex-pat, collegue and teacher for it.
good luck, and don't worry! |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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You have "allot" of odd spelling mistakes in that quote.
Honestly, you seem to have some serious issues that are not directly tied to the place. |
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rawiri
Joined: 01 Jun 2003
Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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| what happened with your "mental breakdown", how did it manifest itself? Sorry to sound crude but just wondering. |
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mateomiguel
Joined: 16 May 2005
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| I want to know what a mental breakdown means in this case. It seems to mean many different things to many different people. I myself don't think I've ever experienced anything that could be called a mental breakdown, unless you call bad short-term memory a mental breakdown. Your brain doesn't work anymore? You can't solve problems? What's up? |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Another reason why I'm so glad I don't work with any other waegooks. |
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dmbfan
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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Good gravy, PRagic........get off your high horse, man! Quite acting like the eslcafe armchair general here.......as one poster stated one day.
To the OP..........I understand. Working with other waygooks can be a pain in the ass, especially when they are in a clique. I don't know why many foreign teachers turn that way, but they do....even where I am at. They are no better than you, so just let it roll of your shoulder. There are other jobs out there, so do not lose heart, and don't put too much stock into what some folks on here say. When you find the right place, you will do well.
Merry Christmas.
dmbfan |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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My bad. I'll just provide a shoulder to cry on in the future; no perspective, and heaven forbid anything negative or that hints at some possible need for accountability. No. what we need here is empathy, pure and simple. We need to be able to complain and lament, to vent and to proseletise without having to explain ourselves. We deserve harmony when it comes to the discussion of our sanctimoneous perceptions of the situations in which we find ourselves unprepared, whether emotionally or mentally.
Whatever. |
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