Korean Job Discussion Forums

rojees · Joined: 14 Jan 2007

I cant find DirectEnglish in the searches. The best i can come up is Pagoda.

Does anyone know much about DE and how they work? or people who have worked there? Its run by the same people as Pagoda, but apart from teaching on a 1-1 basis, is there anything else different?

Is there another ranking system?

Col.Brandon · Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Location: Seoul

It's a vile sweatshop. Avoid it like the plague. Seriously.

rojees · Joined: 14 Jan 2007

Col.Brandon · Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Location: Seoul

mynameisd · Joined: 07 Jan 2007

Pagoda direct english is indeed WACK.

I was also there for 6 months.

They pay you for classes taught, so if you don't have classes scheduled, you don't get paid. That's basically your break time.

The thing that REALLY grinded my gears was if a student schedules a class, then cancels on you. You don't get paid, the student loses that lesson, and Pagoda eats the rest of that money.

They are a bunch of crooks.

That and the upper management are a bunch of a**holes

rothkowitz · Joined: 27 Apr 2006

wisernow · Joined: 30 Dec 2006 Location: Korea

Pagoda is very big company and has many divisions. Direct English is their one on one division. Teaching mostly adults. From my experience teaching one on one is more difficult then teaching groups of students kids or adults.

When you teach one on one you have to constantly talk to your student and they will always evaluate you and you have to pay attention to what they want from you. Pagoda will pay you on time but they are notorious for firing teachers who fall below their so called "low performers catagory" for 3 months in a row. I don't kow if this is in all of their contracts so you should look for it or ask.

As with all contracts make sure that you read the contracts carefully to see if they do not have to pay you if your student does not show up as other posters here mention this. Nearly all ESL positions pay your salary even if none of your students show up.

If you don't want to teach kids and this is the only adult job offer then you may have no choice to consider this type of work. English Channel pays more for their 1 on 1 program but they are more demanding than Pagoda. YBM also now has a one on one division but I don't know what kind of contract they offer at YBM's one on one. You may want to compare the 3 dfferent programs if you really want to teach adults. Also consider regular adult teaching gigs if you can get one of those jobs. If you don't mind teaching children you may want to consider a children's academy to gain experience. Having even one year of teaching experience in Korea can open up many doors including university jobs.

FYI, it is easier to get a job at any one on one type of schools than regular adult positions. The turnover rate can be high for this type of positions. The plus side is that you can possibly meet an adult student who you might like and become good friends. Usually students who study one on one would be coming from a higher income bracket or a professional such as a lawyer, doctor, celebrity, etc