Tefl in South Korea

slowly horse

Thanks for the advice. Got a job with pension etc. Leaving next week

just wondering what type of questions they ask at the interview with the embassy, anyone have any experience?

brianw1

They didn't ask me anything. Went in filled out some forms and that was it.

teddyboy

Any experience with the PAGODA ACADEMY ?

red_bairn

slowly horse wrote:

just wondering what type of questions they ask at the interview with the embassy, anyone have any experience?

They just asked about why I wanted to go to Korea and a few other questions. can't remember them since it was very quick and 4 years ago.

aqn29swlgbmiu4

Hey everyone,

I've been following this thread for a good while now. I got accepted to EPIK starting Feb 2015.
I'm two years out of my Psych degree & desperately want to leave the country. Both my bro & sister TEFL'd in Saudi & Japan & had a great time.
I'm nearly finished my online TEFL course and to be honest, it really hasn't given me much confidence at all.
Its a 100 hour course + 20hour classroom exp. I've nearly finished the 100 hours but it has taken me around 20hours to do so.

I haven't really got a better grasp on the whole TEFL gig & I'm worried I'm just going to crash & burn. I have no experience with teaching or kids at all & the reality of what I've got myself into is really starting to kick in.
I have travelled extensively and have lived abroad so its not the culture shock which scares me.

I have read loads of blogs online & they seem to have all been written by really outgoing extroverts while I'm not like that
Can anyone offer any advice?

Choccie Lover

Peter Vast Concrete wrote: »

Hey everyone,

I've been following this thread for a good while now. I got accepted to EPIK starting Feb 2015.
I'm two years out of my Psych degree & desperately want to leave the country. Both my bro & sister TEFL'd in Saudi & Japan & had a great time.
I'm nearly finished my online TEFL course and to be honest, it really hasn't given me much confidence at all.
Its a 100 hour course + 20hour classroom exp. I've nearly finished the 100 hours but it has taken me around 20hours to do so.

I haven't really got a better grasp on the whole TEFL gig & I'm worried I'm just going to crash & burn. I have no experience with teaching or kids at all & the reality of what I've got myself into is really starting to kick in.
I have travelled extensively and have lived abroad so its not the culture shock which scares me.

I have read loads of blogs online & they seem to have all been written by really outgoing extroverts while I'm not like that
Can anyone offer any advice?

Hiya,

I have worked in Korea in the past.......and I wouldn't say that I'd be the outgoing, extrovert type.....and I did just fine, so don't worry..... :-)

With EPIK, you should get a week or so training beforehand which should settle your nerves. A lot of people who go over there are first time teachers, so don't freak out... You'll be fine! :-)

kaji

When should I apply for Epik 2015 for positions starting in September?

aqn29swlgbmiu4

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Hiya,

I have worked in Korea in the past.......and I wouldn't say that I'd be the outgoing, extrovert type.....and I did just fine, so don't worry..... :-)

With EPIK, you should get a week or so training beforehand which should settle your nerves. A lot of people who go over there are first time teachers, so don't freak out... You'll be fine! :-)

Is there a curriculum to follow? Like is there any structure or guidance for whats expected for the English programme for the year?
Thats what worries me the most, having no direction

Choccie Lover

Hiya,

Actually, I didn't work with EPIK. I worked in a private school(hagwon), so my experience would have been somewhat different.

Perhaps someone else can chime in here with their experience of EPIK. I would imagine you would have a curriculum and a fair amount of support. As far as I am aware you will be paired up with a Korean teacher and he/she will be your 'go to' person for matters of planning, etc. From what I have read, experiences can vary from school to school. For example, your co-teacher may be a very prominent presence, giving you lots of guidance and perhaps you will be working side by side in class a lot. Or it may be a case that he/she will leave you to your own devices more.

Either way, there is a wealth of resources online you should be able to use to supplement your curriculum. http://www.waygook.org/ is one that is specifically aimed at teaching in Korea where a lot of teachers working with EPIK seem to upload tried and tested lesson plans and ideas.

Hope that helps!

RingTheAlarm!

Hi all,
I'm after getting a job offer and there is a private pension. I was just wondering if you could tell me if I can claim this back? I read that pensions can't be claimed would that just be state ones though?!
RingTheAlarm!

teddyboy

RingTheAlarm! wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm after getting a job offer and there is a private pension. I was just wondering if you could tell me if I can claim this back? I read that pensions can't be claimed would that just be state ones though?!
RingTheAlarm!

where you going?

Morshemallow

Peter Vast Concrete wrote: »

Is there a curriculum to follow? Like is there any structure or guidance for whats expected for the English programme for the year?
Thats what worries me the most, having no direction

Yes there is a curriculum and you are given textbooks with teachers guides. So each lesson teaches a different grammatical point usually through a particular theme. The book tells you what to do but you can supplement it with your own material too. (You will probably do this a lot as the book are a little.... well you'll see.)

Don't worry you will be fine. EPIK is great because it is secure and there will always be someone to ask if you have a problem. I just came back from a year and I love it.
Best of luck with it

An Cuinneach

Hi there,

So after reading a lot of this I'm more enthusiastic than ever to teach English in Korea.

I've two questions though:

Does it really matter what 120+ hours online TEFL course I complete? There's one on Grabone at the moment for only $100.

And secondly, I'm in New Zealand at the moment on a 12 month visa. Can I do the whole process from over here? Or do I physically need to walk into the embassy back in Ballsbridge?

Thanks for any help

Brian-

kaji

Hi! Anyone else like me wanna go teaching English in September 2015? Would love to chat with people in a similar situation as myself. Drop me a line...

An Cuinneach

kaji wrote: »

Hi! Anyone else like me wanna go teaching English in September 2015? Would love to chat with people in a similar situation as myself. Drop me a line...

That's when I was thinking f going as well Kaji!

PS To anyone interested, I emailed the Korean embassy back home about applying for the E2 visa abroad and they said the following:

'Yes you can apply for E-2 visa at Korean Embassy in New Zealand, along with the visa issuance number obtained by your employer.'

brónaim cád??

Any advice on where to look for TELF jobs for the summer? I'd love to get out of here from June - August but a lot of the things I am finiding I need to fund myself. USIT have number of interesting things but they are very expensive and only for a short period of time.

R.D. aka MR.D

brónaim cád?? wrote: »

Any advice on where to look for TELF jobs for the summer? I'd love to get out of here from June - August but a lot of the things I am finiding I need to fund myself. USIT have number of interesting things but they are very expensive and only for a short period of time.

Well you definitely can't do that in Korea.

Maybe you can fins a summer camp in England or elsewhere. Try tefl.com, sometimes they have jobs.

You don't have to fund yourself for those but you might need some qualifications.

They make you fund yourself on these 'placements' you see because most real jobs require a years commitment.

kaji

So if I want to get a job for September 2015, when do I start preparing? I looked at a few websites and it seems like a lot of documents are needed. Even stuff like a sealed envelope with college transcripts- do Irish colleges even do this?

brianw1

Yeah they do it, call them up. They are not important for private school jobs. If you want to start in September, then start getting everything together in May or June.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Does anyone know about the difficulties of getting the necessary documents together when you're abroad? I'm in Colombia at the moment and I've been considering teaching in Korea again in the future. Preferably I'd move stright from here back to Korea but applying for the visa may be a problem.

red_bairn

brianw1 wrote:

Yeah they do it, call them up. They are not important for private school jobs. If you want to start in September, then start getting everything together in May or June.

I needed them for my hagwon.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote:

Does anyone know about the difficulties of getting the necessary documents together when you're abroad? I'm in Colombia at the moment and I've been considering teaching in Korea again in the future. Preferably I'd move stright from here back to Korea but applying for the visa may be a problem.

You need to get your visa at the Korean Embassy in Dublin. In some cases, for me especially, you can be interviewed briefly about your application for Korea. I can't remember about the other documents but the Visa is the most important thing and needs to be sorted in Dublin.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

red_bairn wrote: »

You need to get your visa at the Korean Embassy in Dublin. In some cases, for me especially, you can be interviewed briefly about your application for Korea. I can't remember about the other documents but the Visa is the most important thing and needs to be sorted in Dublin.

There's a Korean embassy down the road in Bogota. I'm not sure if they would be able to do it or not.

R.D. aka MR.D

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

There's a Korean embassy down the road in Bogota. I'm not sure if they would be able to do it or not.

You're best bet is to ask them. Either ring the embassy in Bogota or Dublin and see of you can get an answer. You could also try emailing.

From my experience, some countries allow you to process a visa anywhere and others don't. I just processed my work visa for Japan. They wouldn't let me do it in Hong Kong but it was absolutely no problem in Bangkok so just ask around.

I mean people do 'visa runs' to process their E2 (well they did when i was there) so technically it should be possible.

Football Friend

Hey guys. This has probably been asked a million times before but I scrolled back a few pages and didn't see it.

Just getting my documents together now. I have my police clearance and copies of my degree. Is it the original copy of the police clearance and 2 copies of the degree what I need to get notarised and apostilled?

I have a valid passport too so is that everything then or am I missing something? I'm trying to find a job in a Hagwon so don't think I need transcripts however I do have 1 sealed copy of those. Do I need to get those notarised or apostilled?

Also how long did it take people to get everything sorted? I'm hoping to be out there in the next few weeks but I'm not having too much luck on the job front yet. I'm sending emails to lots of people on waygook and daves esl but the only person to contact me back so far is 1 recruiter.

Thanks.

brianw1

The degree copy has to be notarized and apostilled, I think the original police cert just has to be apostilled but double check that. No need to do anything with your transcripts, leave them in the envelope, my school never asked for them by I brought them anyway.

It took me just over 2 months to get everything together and get over here.

Football Friend

brianw1 wrote: »

The degree copy has to be notarized and apostilled, I think the original police cert just has to be apostilled but double check that. No need to do anything with your transcripts, leave them in the envelope, my school never asked for them by I brought them anyway.

It took me just over 2 months to get everything together and get over here.

Thanks Brian, I'll double check it anyway. I'm in contact with a recruiter at the minute so hopefully something comes up soon. Just want to have a date now and get going.
How did you find the teaching in general or had you experience teaching before you went out?

TeacherforHire

How do you get your degree and Guardai cert 'appostilled' ? How much does it cost and how long does it take?

I've heard that it costs forty euro :O

brianw1

The department of foreign affairs do it, they are in Dublin and Cork. You can go in person or it takes 2-3 weeks by post. It costs 40eur per document, so 80 in total.

https://www.dfa.ie/travel/our-services/authenticating-documents/

I came to Busan last June straight out of uni and no experience. The teaching in general is really good. I know all of my students well and class doesn't really feel like class, just good banter. What I'd say is to try multiple recruiters and don't take a lowball job offer. My job is for 7 hours a day afternoon shift at 2.1mil, but there so many jobs on dave's/facebook that are 9-10 hours a day for the same money. Wait until you get a good offer and don't rush it. Try OK Recruiting, they are good ^^

Football Friend

brianw1 wrote: »

The department of foreign affairs do it, they are in Dublin and Cork. You can go in person or it takes 2-3 weeks by post. It costs 40eur per document, so 80 in total.

https://www.dfa.ie/travel/our-services/authenticating-documents/

I came to Busan last June straight out of uni and no experience. The teaching in general is really good. I know all of my students well and class doesn't really feel like class, just good banter. What I'd say is to try multiple recruiters and don't take a lowball job offer. My job is for 7 hours a day afternoon shift at 2.1mil, but there so many jobs on dave's/facebook that are 9-10 hours a day for the same money. Wait until you get a good offer and don't rush it. Try OK Recruiting, they are good ^^

Hey Brian. I'm actually talking to ok recrutment at the minute as I saw a lot of good reviews for them online. Was talking to Bonnie the other day on Skype so hopefully be sorted in the next week or so.

With the apostille did you have to make an appointment to get it done or do you just turn up and queue. Also you only got 2 documents done. I thought I needed 3? Two copies of the degree and the garda clearance cert?

kaji

Should I apply for a public school job or just go for a hagwon? I really want/need Seoul as I know 2 people living there.