Speaking of Korea

[Elok]

I'm kind of thinking of going there, as an ESL teacher (they'll take anyone with a clean criminal record and a college degree, apparently). My wife is immensely enthusiastic about the idea, even more so than I am. And I'm pretty damned enthusiastic. I've had enough of this ****ing pizza. EPIK (Korea's dedicated government agency for hiring foreigners to teach) begins accepting applications in April, so in the meantime I'll try getting experience as a substitute teacher around here. I could try a Hagwon (private school), but apparently you have to really look into them or you risk being cheated on half the terms of your contract once you get there. The government schools sound much safer.

Any feedback, from Q for example?

[DaShi]

The only reason to go as an ESL teacher is to have sex with young Korean girls. Unless your wife is ok with that, I'd suggest looking for more respectable work.

[Darius871]

Don't you have to at least know some of the students' language though? Or do you just point to pictures and say stuff?

[Kitschum]

I don't think English speaking teachers are used in introductory classes. I think they use them first of all to practice oral skills like conversation.

[Drake Tungsten]

He'll be helping Korean girls practice their oral skills alright...

[Elok]

The point is supposedly TOTAL immersion. I'm told that speaking Korean is actually forbidden in the classroom. EPIK, at least, partners you with a native Korean teacher. I'm waiting to hear more from acquaintances and relations who have actually done it, though.

[Kitschum]

He'll be helping Korean girls practice their oral skills alright...

I tried to deflect it, but you went and done did it anyway.

[Drake Tungsten]

I gotta be me.

[Q Classic]

I'm kind of thinking of going there, as an ESL teacher (they'll take anyone with a clean criminal record and a college degree, apparently). My wife is immensely enthusiastic about the idea, even more so than I am. And I'm pretty damned enthusiastic. I've had enough of this ****ing pizza. EPIK (Korea's dedicated government agency for hiring foreigners to teach) begins accepting applications in April, so in the meantime I'll try getting experience as a substitute teacher around here. I could try a Hagwon (private school), but apparently you have to really look into them or you risk being cheated on half the terms of your contract once you get there. The government schools sound much safer.

Any feedback, from Q for example?

Er, I never taught English in Korea. Largely because, you know. I'm a gyopo, so there's a bias against me.

That said, I really love the country, both living there and visiting. I can put you in touch with a friend who has experience, though?

[Elok]

I'd appreciate it if you did; BTW, what's a "gyopo"?

So as to only have one me thread active at a time, I may as well announce here that as of Monday I will no longer be a pizza drone. Instead, I will be a census-bureau drone for four to eight weeks. Hooray.

[Asher]

The terms dongpo (동포) or gyopo (교포) in Korean refers to people of ethnic Korean ancestry who have lived the majority of their lives outside Korea. ...

[Elok]

Ah. Grazie.

[Asher]

Someday if you're nice to me I'll introduce you to The Google.

[Bosh]

Now this is something I know about

I've been teaching in Korea since August of 2003.

For a newbie in Korea a public school is your best bet, for a lot of the reasons that you say (also more free time generally). There ARE good hagwons but most won't want to hire some random person who's never even been to Korea sight unseen unless you've got some kind of qualifications such as graduating from a school that's high up in some ranking, having an Ed degree (even an English degree helps in some places), teaching experience, etc. etc.

HOWEVER, you can probably do better than EPIK. If you go with EPIK you'll make crap money and you'll have NO idea where you'll end up and you really really don't want to end up in a farming town where the average age is 50.

If you're coming as a couple you'll be more sought after since they can hire the pair of you and save $$$'s on housing, (and married couples are seen as more stable and less likely to do weird **** or randomly leave) so you've got bargaining power that way. Your best bet is probably GEPIK, they pay more and they place you in schools in Gyeonggido (the donut-shaped province surrounding Seoul), or a public or private elementary school hiring independently. Also watch out for after school programs, some of those can be sketchy. If you're not going with one of the big groups, PM me the contract terms to look over.

I've had enough of this ****ing pizza.

You want corn and sweet potato pizza instead then?

Don't you have to at least know some of the students' language though? Or do you just point to pictures and say stuff?

In the public schools you have a co-teacher. In any case if you're teaching a language you really shouldn't be speaking virtually ANY of the student's native language, even if you speak it fluently.

In any cases the class sizes in Korean public schools are much too large to accomplish much real language instruction. Sticking foreigners in them once a week or so (in most of the public schools) is mostly for show.

I don't think English speaking teachers are used in introductory classes. I think they use them first of all to practice oral skills like conversation.

That would make sense. English instruction in Korea seldom makes sense. English teachers are used for all kinds of bizarre things from teaching kids who can barely talk Korean to being townsfolk in bizarre mock "English villages."

Job posting websites to take a look at, you might find something that really catches you eye:
www.worknplay.co.kr (my favorite, usually the more high end jobs)
www.englishspectrum.com (not many jobs, but some fairly decent ones)
www.eslcafe.com (lots and lots of jobs, most of them really crappy ones, there are a decent newbie gigs and some public schools and unis post there)

Er, I never taught English in Korea. Largely because, you know. I'm a gyopo, so there's a bias against me.

This is very very untrue as long as you have an F-4 visa. Ever since they tightened up the E-2 visa restrictions, having an F-series visa has been pure gold. The bulk of the higher paying work (especially corporate classes) are largely staffed by gyopos.

[Elok]

Thanks, Bosh! I already knew about ESLcafe, but the other two are news to me.

Question: are you familiar with a dish made out of unsmoked bacon cooked at the table and wrapped in a lettuce leaf, called something like "Sum Yung Gai"? I know that's not the real name, that's just a dirty joke from Wayne's World, but it sounded a lot like that. My brother said I had to try it if I went over there.