Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gideon]

I enjoyed this article from the Korean Times Wed Jan 3/07

I thought the writer had some good points..

EFL sector needs reform and regulation; not blame


Contributing Writer
As a native speaker English teacher in Korea since 2002, I have noticed a real hardening of the Korean public and government's attitude towards our profession and its place in this society.

And rightfully so many would say. After all, it seems like hardly a week goes by without some fresh scandal embroiling the foreign EFL community. Drugs, alcohol, sex, forged degrees, visa violations, unlawful public performances, internet stalking/addiction, an assortment of workplace problems, the occasional assault, and a general inability to learn Korean thrown in for good measure all contributing enormously to making teachers an easy target for ridicule and scorn.

As all too convenient whipping boys, native English teachers have long been unfairly saddled with ownership of nearly everything that is wrong in our profession. But is this accurate or just buying into the psychology of blame which surrounds a highly profitable and important segment of Korea's education market?

While it is true there are some foreigners working as native speaker English teachers in Korea who should not be here due to their lack of qualifications and unsuitability for the job, I am firmly of the opinion that our scandal-plagued industry is a product of the government's failure to bite the bullet and introduce regulation.

Once considered a highly desirable international EFL destination, the government's lack of regulation has allowed the position of native speaker English teacher in Korea to become increasingly marginalized. Our rights and working conditions have been eroded to the point where no qualified, competent and halfway respectable foreigner in their right mind would give up life back home to ply their trade in this country.

How long will it be until English teaching is added to the list of undesirable positions which make up the so called 3D (dirty, dangerous and difficult) job list filled by immigrant workers from the poorer regions of Asia?

According to Ahn Min-seok - a Congressman on the national assembly's education committee - this may already be the case, when in a recent address to foreign English teachers in the Seoul area he said that if native speakers do not embrace their roles as "private diplomats" in Korea's education system, they are no better than 3D workers residing here only for the purpose of making money.

In many ways, Ahn's comment makes a lot of sense but is undermined by his eagerness to lay the blame for Korea's ailing EFL sector at the feet of foreign instructors.

Ahn went on to reveal in his address that there are some native speakers of English finding "escape-natured employment" in Korea who have caused problems in their own countries and are taking advantage of the fact that Korea does not have a system which fully screens the qualifications of instructors.

The Congressman cited the case of John Mark Karr, who was cleared last August of murdering six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, hiding his child pornography conviction to land an English teaching job in Korea. Other problems such as "drug and sex violence committed by native instructors and forgeries of academic degrees and diplomas" were also mentioned.

On top of that, Ahn explained that if a certain problem caused by native speaker English teachers is disclosed to authorities, they simply leave Korea and hide before entering the country again and getting a new job at another language institute or school. He admitted that Korea does not have a proper system to prevent these people from reentering the country and as a result, damaging "those teaching in a sincere and faithful manner intentionally or otherwise."

Instead of blaming native speaker English teachers working in this country for an employment visa system with more holes in it than even the thinnest slice of Swiss cheese, why doesn't the government clean up its own backyard by introducing a set of guidelines which are administered consistently and evenly across the nation? Following this, they could put a leash on recruiters and language institutes by implementing reform and regulation which would see the end of jobs where some teachers complain of suffering abuse and harassment akin to the horror stories experienced by 3D workers in the manufacturing sector.

The reform and regulation of Korea's EFL industry would raise the bar for all parties involved and result in better jobs and working conditions for native English speaker teachers. This would attract higher caliber applicants with language teaching-specific tertiary qualifications who are currently choosing far more lucrative destinations in terms of money, working conditions and quality of life abroad.

As with anything in life, you reap what you sow and Korea's EFL sector is no different. If the government demonstrates political will and suffers the initial pain of reform, they will have an industry which appeals to professionals and helps increase the country's low English proficiency skills to internationally competitive levels. Choose to maintain the status quo, and they will attract more of the wrong type of people with the day not too far away when native English speakers will no longer be willing to teach on the peninsula.

([email protected])



Matt Kieltyka is a language institute English teacher in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province - Ed.


By Matt Kieltyka




2007.01.03

[Unposter]

I must admit that despite the title he still paints the picture a little too bleek. I am of the opinion that there are a lot of good teachers here and that Western teachers have made positive impacts here.

But, the total lack of regulation that does seem to go on in the EFL industry in Korea should be squarely blamed on the Korean government. There does seem to be a total disregard for law here, especially by every small business I've worked at or have had experience with. And, the government just doesn't seem to care.

In general, both by Koreans and Westerners, there is far too much victimization and far too little let's do something about this attitude.

[Gamecock]

[freethought]

There's a similar discussion going on over a letter the US ambassador.

Two very simple solutions can be achieved: 1. the government actually does something and regulates, and enforces said regulations. 2. the teachers organize a union of some sorts.

Number two means teachers have the power, number 1 means you leave youur fate in the hands of others.... somehow I think most people will choose number one.

All that said, things are improving, it's still a sweet gig both money and actual 'work' wise, and things aren't nearly as dire as people seem to think. Even simple regulation would help things enormously, and I'm sure the cost could be off-set by a 0.00000043% drop in the subsidy the government gives to anyone of the following companies: LG, Samsung, Hyundia, or KIA.

One final thing, if they don't want 'undesirables' all it takes is a quick intervention and it can be accomplished. The failure to do that can only be blamed on one side, and it's not the teachers.

[wylies99]

The article posted by the OP is one person's opinion. If you disagree, then that's your right.

But the author of the article DOES present both a problem AND a possible solution. That's good writing, and we don't often see that in the Korean newspapers.

Oh, and the hogwan industry is a mess and only SERIOUS government regulation will clean it up. If a couple of you have found better employment while in Korea; well, that's great, but there still are MANY problems with the hogwan industry.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[dmbfan]

Two very simple solutions can be achieved: 1. the government actually does something and regulates, and enforces said regulations. 2. the teachers organize a union of some sorts


Organzie, organize..............and by all means..........organize.


cheers.

dmbfan

[ddeubel]

[wylies99]

A few of you have found good jobs with reliable employers. Good for you.

The hogwan industry is a mess and only the government can clean it up.

[Kimchieluver]

The author didn't place enough emphasis on corrupt hogwans and their role in the system. I could almost wager that half these hogwans barely look at the degree when selecting candidates. I would go on further to say that most in fact might know if a degree is forged, but they just don't care.

[Rteacher]

Where are these "far more lucrative" EFL jobs in other countries? I know that the United Arab Emirates pay more, but their degree requirements are higher, and there are far fewer positions... There are also far fewer EFL positions in Japan, and the cost of living there is higher.

[khyber]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[ddeubel]

[PRagic]

1) Concerning the quality of personnel, the responsibility lies not with the government. Sufficient rules are in place. Any seeking employment teaching in Korea must have a Bachelor's degree. The problem is found in the private sector. Institutes take little responsibility for whom they hire, and this problem is complicated by recruiters latching on to any warm body with a degree to fill vacancies. Many institutes do not have the ability, whether communicative or in respect to human resources, to scan potential employees, and few are motivated to do so given their primary goal of generating income quickly in an overly competitive, demand driven market.

Any further policing on the part of the government should be geared toward the actual institutes. Some problems have been aided by the increasing use of the labour board to rectify shady institutional actions. Hakwons, perhaps, should be able to domonstrate their ability and resources to maintain a staff.

We should also consider the fact that the ESL market here is quite mature. There is no reason to grant sole providence of visa provisions to the issuing institute. Much like in Japan, the Korean government need only to make the E-2 visa a permit to teach in Korea, and not only at one place. This would empower ESL professionals here vis-a-vis their initial places of employment, open up the private teaching sector to market forces, and alleviate the gross amount of inconvenience and personnel costs related to visa issuance.

2) Concerning the public system, it could be argued that the government has not gone far enough in establishing base credentials for ESL teachers. Take the Hong Kong NET program. To teach there, one must have a B.Ed. (and the M.Ed., if American), certification in one's home county, and, as most successul applicants have told me, experience teaching at the primary or seconday level.

Can't do this? Not enough teachers? Then don't implement the program. Rather, concentrate on what you can do. What can Korea do? They can draw upon the professional ESL teaching community and recruit qualified trainers to teach their teachers. It's a start, and it circumvents the current problem of cheapening the overall program by hiring anyone, even the inexperienced, to work with Korean kids in an officially sponsored capacity.

Just a start.