Tefl in South Korea

ekevosu

If you are hired by the government then you don't have to leave the country to renew or get a new visa workingpp. Your visa can be done at the immigration office. If you are working for a hagwon then you will have to leave to renew or get a new visa.

cloneslad

ekevosu wrote: »

If you are hired by the government then you don't have to leave the country to renew or get a new visa workingpp. Your visa can be done at the immigration office. If you are working for a hagwon then you will have to leave to renew or get a new visa.

This is true, to a point.

If you extend your contract with the same hagwon then you don't have to do a visa run, you do have to submit all your documents again though. Although they are supposed to be getting rid of the need to submit the police check if you haven't gone back home for longer than 3 months or something like that (not sure if this has come in to force)

If you are changing hagwons, the only way to get around a visa run is to get your previous employer to tranfer your visa over to your new employer. My school did it for a teacher as she fancied a move straight to seoul after her contract was up. Most schools won't oblige you with this though, as they usually can't be bothered with the hassle, or take it as a personal insult that you won't be extending with them.

medici

Hi folks - have a bit of a predicament that I'd greatly welcome any advice on.

Yesterday, I received a contract in the post for a public school position with the start date of November 26th. I've been dealing with Footprints Recruitment in getting this position. Before I heard anything about this particular post though, I applied for a job as a full-time lecturer - without the aid of Footprints.

I'm now being encouraged to sign the contract asap and get my visa (by the Ministry of Education and Footprints) but when I asked the university for some info on my application for the lecturer job, they said it'll take another fortnight before the selection committee makes a decision.

Considering the better pay, holidays, location of the university - should I take the public-school job and have a definite job lined up - or turn it down in the hope the university position might come good?

WHAT should I do!?!

cloneslad

medici wrote: »

Hi folks - have a bit of a predicament that I'd greatly welcome any advice on.

Yesterday, I received a contract in the post for a public school position with the start date of November 26th. I've been dealing with Footprints Recruitment in getting this position. Before I heard anything about this particular post though, I applied for a job as a full-time lecturer - without the aid of Footprints.

I'm now being encouraged to sign the contract asap and get my visa (by the Ministry of Education and Footprints) but when I asked the university for some info on my application for the lecturer job, they said it'll take another fortnight before the selection committee makes a decision.

Considering the better pay, holidays, location of the university - should I take the public-school job and have a definite job lined up - or turn it down in the hope the university position might come good?

WHAT should I do!?!

I think it's a decision only you can make.

weigh up the pros and cons of waiting for the uni or signing with the school.

You could try and hold them off as long as possible, tell them you are waiting on some document or other to be sent to you for the visa process etc...perhaps say that you're waiting on your background check.

R.D. aka MR.D

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking in this thread for 3 months and now i'm finally posting!

Basically I'm hoping to be over there by March. I'm doing a CELTA course from the 16th of January to the 10th of February. I know you don't need it really but I want to have it in case i decide to go elsewhere directly after Korea.

So I was thinking about waiting and contacting recruiters in January or should i start before that? I've decided not to apply for EPIK, i know that is going on now for Feb/Mar starts.

I want to try to get as many documents sorted now as possible. I'm a little bit confused about what i need.

How do I get a copy of my degree? Do I need to get it from college? My mam has my original in a frame and all so I don't want to have to send that. Also how many copies of my transcipts should i get to be on the prepared side! My degree is from Trinity so anyone who has dealt with the rather grumpy Student Records Office who could offer help would be great!

I know these questions have been asked a million and ten times but sometimes it's hard to relate the answers to my situation.

I'll really appreciate any help.

Thanks!!

medici

cloneslad wrote: »

I think it's a decision only you can make.

weigh up the pros and cons of waiting for the uni or signing with the school.

You could try and hold them off as long as possible, tell them you are waiting on some document or other to be sent to you for the visa process etc...perhaps say that you're waiting on your background check.

Heya Cloneslad, yeah trying to weigh things up alright. Like I said - it's easy to go with the public-school because it's a dead cert but the perks (compared to uni) seem a bit spartan. Think I might use a few delaying tactics like that to try and wait for news from the university.

medici

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking in this thread for 3 months and now i'm finally posting!

Basically I'm hoping to be over there by March. I'm doing a CELTA course from the 16th of January to the 10th of February. I know you don't need it really but I want to have it in case i decide to go elsewhere directly after Korea.

So I was thinking about waiting and contacting recruiters in January or should i start before that? I've decided not to apply for EPIK, i know that is going on now for Feb/Mar starts.

I want to try to get as many documents sorted now as possible. I'm a little bit confused about what i need.

How do I get a copy of my degree? Do I need to get it from college? My mam has my original in a frame and all so I don't want to have to send that. Also how many copies of my transcipts should i get to be on the prepared side! My degree is from Trinity so anyone who has dealt with the rather grumpy Student Records Office who could offer help would be great!

I know these questions have been asked a million and ten times but sometimes it's hard to relate the answers to my situation.

I'll really appreciate any help.

Thanks!!

I simply photocopied my degree a few times (it was also in a frame on the wall) and have used these for my application ever since. I've been dealing with Footprints recruiting for the past while and they (initially) needed a digital scan of the original.

However, for my actual application the photocopies did need to be notarised (by a "notary public") and also apostilled (read "stamped") by the Dept of Foreign Affairs.

Other documents I've had to source that you'll probably also need are:

- Garda Criminal Record Check (also notarised and apostilled)
- Copies of college transcripts (mine had to be in sealed envelopes stamped by college)
- 2 reference letters from previous employers/lecturers etc
- Some passport photos
- Copy of CELTA/TEFL Certificate

check out Footprints for reference to these documents.

Hope this helps

king_crisps

Hey all,

Does anyone have any experience of/thoughts about the GnB school near Dongchun St in Incheon? I'm in Ireland and have been offered a job there starting ASAP. Need to make a decision quickly so any advice would be greatly appreciated as I've heard good and bad things about GnB, which I suppose is to be expected of a franchise.

Cheers in advance

cloneslad

king_crisps wrote: »

Hey all,

Does anyone have any experience of/thoughts about the GnB school near Dongchun St in Incheon? I'm in Ireland and have been offered a job there starting ASAP. Need to make a decision quickly so any advice would be greatly appreciated as I've heard good and bad things about GnB, which I suppose is to be expected of a franchise.

Cheers in advance

GnB is a franchise so they are only a name. They are mostly owned and run independently of one another. Some could be crap, some could be great.

Get in touch with the current teacher there and ask them as many questions as you can, to find out everything about the place.

Do that for every school you get offered.

king_crisps

cloneslad wrote: »

GnB is a franchise so they are only a name. They are mostly owned and run independently of one another. Some could be crap, some could be great.

Get in touch with the current teacher there and ask them as many questions as you can, to find out everything about the place.

Do that for every school you get offered.

Thanks for that. Have contacted the agency to try and arrange this for tomorrow so hopefully that'll clarify a few things. Thought I'd seek out some info here too

roosh

How's it going guys; I return to the oracle from the other side!

Just moved into my apartment in Taebaek in Gangwan-do, and it's a bit of a kip. Now, I would gladly stick it out for the year if I thought that it was fairly standard but just a quick google search turned up a youtube video of an apartment tour, of an apartment [in Taebaek] with which I would be more than happy with; so I'm thinking that there are probably better apartments out there.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to go about trying to get a better apartment? My co-teacher (who is also the head teacher) brought me to the apartment and helped me move in. He asked me what I thought and I didn't really feel in a position to turn around and say, sorry but this isn't good enough. Any suggestions on how to deal with it?

roosh

Just on the topic of getting gifts for the principal and co-teacher and stuff: my aunt gave me a bottle of holy water [from Lough Derg] before coming over; I was thinking I could just give it to the principal and say that it is a "blessing for the school" or something to that effect. How would the koreans view something like that does anyone have any idea?

SpatialPlanning

roosh wrote: »

How's it going guys; I return to the oracle from the other side!

Just moved into my apartment in Taebaek in Gangwan-do, and it's a bit of a kip. Now, I would gladly stick it out for the year if I thought that it was fairly standard but just a quick google search turned up a youtube video of an apartment tour, of an apartment [in Taebaek] with which I would be more than happy with; so I'm thinking that there are probably better apartments out there.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to go about trying to get a better apartment? My co-teacher (who is also the head teacher) brought me to the apartment and helped me move in. He asked me what I thought and I didn't really feel in a position to turn around and say, sorry but this isn't good enough. Any suggestions on how to deal with it?

My apartment is the worst I've seen (and I just re-signed for a second year). Not sure if there is anything you can do right away. The school has probably put down key money for the place so you may have to wait until the contract is up.. Not sure on this. Maybe your school will give you the 400k and let you find your own place. I wouldn't say much just yet. Better not to rock the boat too early if you can avoid it...

roosh

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

My apartment is the worst I've seen (and I just re-signed for a second year). Not sure if there is anything you can do right away. The school has probably put down key money for the place so you may have to wait until the contract is up.. Not sure on this. Maybe your school will give you the 400k and let you find your own place. I wouldn't say much just yet. Better not to rock the boat too early if you can avoid it...

That's kind of what I was thinking myself. It's gas though, I went out for a stroll by myself earlier to go get some food and check the place out; just as I was about to start getting disillusioned, I randomly bumped into a couple of other english teachers who were on their way for food themselves, so I tagged along with them; they met up with a couple of more and after hanging out with them for a while I started thinking that the apartment will be grand.

EDIT: I have free internet too [for the time being] on someone else's wi-fi, which is helping.

p.s. sorry to hear about the apartment btw

warofthebutton

hi yall
I've been offered a position in a school in Daejeon, I flicked back through older posts and there doesn't seem to be too much said about the place. I know its a fairly big city and all that but does anyone have any advice about the area?
Also on another note how do the people who work the later hour contracts like the 1 to 9 or 12 to 8 find it? I've worked nights before but this seems a very different working style all together:)
Any advice greatly appreciated

JohnJoe1987

I need to get my degree notarised this week, so does anyone know a cheapish notary public in Dublin to get this done. I have contacted 5 or 6 offices already but they are charging 30 or 40 euro per copy to get notarised. I thought the cost of this might be 15 or 20 euro at the most. Also will one copy be enough to get notarised or how many would you recommend to get done? Cheers

cloneslad

roosh wrote: »

How's it going guys; I return to the oracle from the other side!

Just moved into my apartment in Taebaek in Gangwan-do, and it's a bit of a kip. Now, I would gladly stick it out for the year if I thought that it was fairly standard but just a quick google search turned up a youtube video of an apartment tour, of an apartment [in Taebaek] with which I would be more than happy with; so I'm thinking that there are probably better apartments out there.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to go about trying to get a better apartment? My co-teacher (who is also the head teacher) brought me to the apartment and helped me move in. He asked me what I thought and I didn't really feel in a position to turn around and say, sorry but this isn't good enough. Any suggestions on how to deal with it?

I spent a very wet late night in Taebeak in Sept last year. It was just a passing visit to get some food on the way down towards andong. The group of us ended up eating an abnormal amount of fried chicken in Kyochon. We were all starving after enduring a really long, diverted drive from seoraksan, to the penis park, to the u.s submarine and then over some crazy assed, death mountain (with fog and rain so thick I couldn't see more than 2-3 metres ahead), before finally getting in to Taebek.

Then we followed the sat nav out of the town, only for us to end up down the world's more narrow side street, which got so narrow the car couldn't go any further. We had to try reverse out...How I never scraped the crap out of that car I'll never know.

Let us know what Taekbek is actually like, because it was too wet, cold and late to actually pay much attention to it. It seemed like a very very very small place, in the middle of nowhere.

cloneslad

JohnJoe1987 wrote: »

I need to get my degree notarised this week, so does anyone know a cheapish notary public in Dublin to get this done. I have contacted 5 or 6 offices already but they are charging 30 or 40 euro per copy to get notarised. I thought the cost of this might be 15 or 20 euro at the most. Also will one copy be enough to get notarised or how many would you recommend to get done? Cheers

One should do, just don't send it to anyone without having a contract. Obviously more is better, but just be careful who you send it to and don't just send it to a recruiter on the promise of them finding you a job.

It needs to be a commissioner for oaths from what I remember. I used a soliciter in Dublin (near the four courts) about 5 years ago and he charged €20, then I used a pharmicist in my hometown last year and he only charged me €10. Just shop around.

dapto1

king_crisps wrote: »

Hey all,

Does anyone have any experience of/thoughts about the GnB school near Dongchun St in Incheon? I'm in Ireland and have been offered a job there starting ASAP. Need to make a decision quickly so any advice would be greatly appreciated as I've heard good and bad things about GnB, which I suppose is to be expected of a franchise.

Cheers in advance

There is a FB group for Incheon called "Incheon English Teachers". Ask on there, someone is bound to know.

old hippy

roosh wrote: »

Just on the topic of getting gifts for the principal and co-teacher and stuff: my aunt gave me a bottle of holy water [from Lough Derg] before coming over; I was thinking I could just give it to the principal and say that it is a "blessing for the school" or something to that effect. How would the koreans view something like that does anyone have any idea?

Depends. There's quite a high percentage (for countries in that region) of Christians in SK. Something like 30% iirc. They'd probably understand the gesture. In the same way a teacher in Ireland would graciously receive a Bhuddist or Confucian talisman or memento, I imagine.

king_crisps

dapto1 wrote: »

There is a FB group for Incheon called "Incheon English Teachers". Ask on there, someone is bound to know.

Thanks. Will look them up but I actually decided to take the job today after speaking to one of the foreign teachers working there. He was very positive and encouraging about the school, which put the majority of doubts out of my mind, so I should be there within a matter of weeks.

Cheers

kraggy

JohnJoe1987 wrote: »

I need to get my degree notarised this week, so does anyone know a cheapish notary public in Dublin to get this done. I have contacted 5 or 6 offices already but they are charging 30 or 40 euro per copy to get notarised. I thought the cost of this might be 15 or 20 euro at the most. Also will one copy be enough to get notarised or how many would you recommend to get done? Cheers

YOu don't need a notary public!!!

I thought this as well but I rang the Dept. of Foreign Affairs and they said that a commissioner of oaths was enough. Many solicitors are also commissioners of oaths (though not all). Many more solicitors are commissioners of oaths than are notary publics.

It should cost 10 euro per document if you go to a commissioner of oaths, not a notary public.

Then you have to pay Dept. of Foreign Affairs for the apostille. Think mine was 20 euro per docucment. (Apostille is confirmation from government that the notarisations are legit).

JFitzgerald

roosh wrote: »

How's it going guys; I return to the oracle from the other side!

Just moved into my apartment in Taebaek in Gangwan-do, and it's a bit of a kip. Now, I would gladly stick it out for the year if I thought that it was fairly standard but just a quick google search turned up a youtube video of an apartment tour, of an apartment [in Taebaek] with which I would be more than happy with; so I'm thinking that there are probably better apartments out there.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to go about trying to get a better apartment? My co-teacher (who is also the head teacher) brought me to the apartment and helped me move in. He asked me what I thought and I didn't really feel in a position to turn around and say, sorry but this isn't good enough. Any suggestions on how to deal with it?

well roosh, how are you getting on? sorry to hear the digs aren't great. mine aren't great either tbh. although the area i'm living in can't be beat. if you feel you get on with your co-teacher, you could say it to him/her. especially if there is a specific problem that would make the place unhealthy/unliveable. once you settle in you might feel better about it but if it's a real dive, then i think you are within your rights to complain. especially seeing as other teachers get to live in really nice apartments. this will be your home for a year after all.

roosh

JFitzgerald wrote: »

well roosh, how are you getting on? sorry to hear the digs aren't great. mine aren't great either tbh. although the area i'm living in can't be beat. if you feel you get on with your co-teacher, you could say it to him/her. especially if there is a specific problem that would make the place unhealthy/unliveable. once you settle in you might feel better about it but if it's a real dive, then i think you are within your rights to complain. especially seeing as other teachers get to live in really nice apartments. this will be your home for a year after all.

Likewise, apologies to hear about the accommodation; glad to hear that you're in a nice are - where are you based again?

Haven't developed much of a relationship with the co-teacher yet, but he seems a small bit disinterested, or not bothered might be a better way of putting it. He's told me to talk to the other native teachers if I have any problems; not in the sense that he doesn't want to know, but not overly enthusiastic about helping. I don't blame him or anything, bcos I'd probably be the same in his position. The teacher that I replaced was in the same apartment, but he didn't ask to be moved or anything, but that is bcos he pretty much moved into his girlfriend's place nearby, from what I can gather.

The apartment is fine for now, but I'm not sure what way it will be in the depths of winter, bcos it isn't the warmest at the moment. If it gets too cold, I'll try and say something alright.

JFitzgerald

roosh wrote: »

Likewise, apologies to hear about the accommodation; glad to hear that you're in a nice are - where are you based again?

Haven't developed much of a relationship with the co-teacher yet, but he seems a small bit disinterested, or not bothered might be a better way of putting it. He's told me to talk to the other native teachers if I have any problems; not in the sense that he doesn't want to know, but not overly enthusiastic about helping. I don't blame him or anything, bcos I'd probably be the same in his position. The teacher that I replaced was in the same apartment, but he didn't ask to be moved or anything, but that is bcos he pretty much moved into his girlfriend's place nearby, from what I can gather.

The apartment is fine for now, but I'm not sure what way it will be in the depths of winter, bcos it isn't the warmest at the moment. If it gets too cold, I'll try and say something alright.

i'm right beside Itaewon, Seoul which is the foreigner area. so, no culture shock for me. yeah, i'd say my place will be freezing in winter too. i could see a move on the cards for me, as i heard the last poor teacher had to put up with rampant mould and cockroaches in summertime. my place seems ok right now but that's because its getting cooler. but i won't be putting up with horrors like the above when it gets warm again. i might ask them to move me before the school year starts again in february. yeah, my co-teacher cannae be bothered either but he just lets me get on with it, which is fine by me. another female teacher has been a great help to me with getting sorted so i'm doing ok there.

roosh

JFitzgerald wrote: »

i'm right beside Itaewon, Seoul which is the foreigner area. so, no culture shock for me. yeah, i'd say my place will be freezing in winter too. i could see a move on the cards for me, as i heard the last poor teacher had to put up with rampant mould and cockroaches in summertime. my place seems ok right now but that's because its getting cooler. but i won't be putting up with horrors like the above when it gets warm again. i might ask them to move me before the school year starts again in february. yeah, my co-teacher cannae be bothered either but he just lets me get on with it, which is fine by me. another female teacher has been a great help to me with getting sorted so i'm doing ok there.

fock it, that sounds like a bit of a balls. Are all the apartments in Korea of a pretty poor standard, or is it just some do you know; bcos a lot of the buildings look a bit run-down.

It must be nice to be near Itaewon though, there should be a decent enough social life there. Taebaek doesn't sound like the most "happenin" of places unfortunately. Hopefully when the skiing season starts I can just spend my weekends "on the slopes".

I suppose there are good points and bad to having a disinterested co-teacher. My co-teacher teaches in a different school on Friday's and I have 5 classes to prepare, so I was thrown in at the deep end today. We were gone most of the day yesterday to try and sort the ARC and didn't get back til about 6. I then had to prepare the 5 lessons for today, without any real help from my CT. I would have been fine with even getting an idea of what topics to teach, but he just told me to get something off waygook; which was fine but I'd never used it before, and had no real clue what the students had covered.

I just ended up going into the classes and winging it, introducing myself and trying to get the kids to tell me stuff about themselves. On the upside, it seems that not much is expected of me, but on the other it would have been nice to have some more input, so that I could have given a better lesson.

The teaching side of things doesn't look like it will be much of an issue.

roosh

does anyone know why the guardian website is blocked, and if there is a way around it?

red_bairn

roosh wrote: »

fock it, that sounds like a bit of a balls. Are all the apartments in Korea of a pretty poor standard, or is it just some do you know; bcos a lot of the buildings look a bit run-down.

I'm down in the countryside, here in Nonsan, and I was moved into a brand new studio apartment when I arrived last year in April. It's had a small problem with mould but it's due to leaving your clothing inside the room to get dry during the winter. Ensure you leave a window slightly open. Nonetheless, I've had no other issues with this place and it keeps the heat in during the winter...especially when I have the underfloor heating on and come back from the shops - I just

roosh wrote: »

does anyone know why the guardian website is blocked, and if there is a way around it?

Probably best to just use a proxxy to get on to it.

roosh

red_bairn wrote: »

I'm down in the countryside, here in Nonsan, and I was moved into a brand new studio apartment when I arrived last year in April. It's had a small problem with mould but it's due to leaving your clothing inside the room to get dry during the winter. Ensure you leave a window slightly open. Nonetheless, I've had no other issues with this place and it keeps the heat in during the winter...especially when I have the underfloor heating on and come back from the shops - I just

nice! are you with EPIK?

I've got the underfloor heating, but the place isn't insulated too well. If I though I could get a nicer place close enough to where I am I'd try it, but I don't want to go causing any hassle with the co-teacher if that isn't a possibility. He told me when I arrived that I could have a place right beside the school but I reckon I'd just get into some very bad habits if I took it.

red_bairn wrote: »

Probably best to just use a proxxy to get on to it.

I think someone on my orientation mentioned something about it, and how it worked for certain links, but not for others. Proxy will do the job alright - cheers!

roosh

anyone know any good resources for kindergarten?

JFitzgerald

roosh wrote: »

anyone know any good resources for kindergarten?

you're teaching kindergarten then?

JFitzgerald

red_bairn wrote: »

I'm down in the countryside, here in Nonsan, and I was moved into a brand new studio apartment when I arrived last year in April. It's had a small problem with mould but it's due to leaving your clothing inside the room to get dry during the winter. Ensure you leave a window slightly open. Nonetheless, I've had no other issues with this place and it keeps the heat in during the winter...especially when I have the underfloor heating on and come back from the shops - I just

could you clarify about "leaving clothes inside the room to get dry during winter"? is that what makes clothes mouldy? i can't leave a window open when i'm not there as critters/bugs will scurry in. i'm on the ground floor.

roosh

JFitzgerald wrote: »

you're teaching kindergarten then?

Kindergarten up to 6th grade of elementary school

EDIT: which was down as my third choice

JFitzgerald

roosh wrote: »

fock it, that sounds like a bit of a balls. Are all the apartments in Korea of a pretty poor standard, or is it just some do you know; bcos a lot of the buildings look a bit run-down.

It must be nice to be near Itaewon though, there should be a decent enough social life there. Taebaek doesn't sound like the most "happenin" of places unfortunately. Hopefully when the skiing season starts I can just spend my weekends "on the slopes".

I suppose there are good points and bad to having a disinterested co-teacher. My co-teacher teaches in a different school on Friday's and I have 5 classes to prepare, so I was thrown in at the deep end today. We were gone most of the day yesterday to try and sort the ARC and didn't get back til about 6. I then had to prepare the 5 lessons for today, without any real help from my CT. I would have been fine with even getting an idea of what topics to teach, but he just told me to get something off waygook; which was fine but I'd never used it before, and had no real clue what the students had covered.

I just ended up going into the classes and winging it, introducing myself and trying to get the kids to tell me stuff about themselves. On the upside, it seems that not much is expected of me, but on the other it would have been nice to have some more input, so that I could have given a better lesson.

The teaching side of things doesn't look like it will be much of an issue.

no - we're unlucky. some teachers have really great apartments. i've seen pics. nice and new and modern with great views. i can safely say that i have none of the above. my location is great though. itaewon is pretty good alright. its not the most upmarket place but you can get anything you need there. there's an irish bar (and a numbr of other bars) up the road so i can roll home down the hill after a sesh of a sahurday night. i might as well make the most of it because the problems in my place will surely return in the warm weather. and i will be out of there as soon as they do.

yep - it looks to me like you'll be left to do your own thing re teaching. i think this a good thing. way, way better than being micro-managed by some anal co-teacher. you'll learn a lot more, connect better with the kids and you'll take more away from it all when the year is over.

JFitzgerald

roosh wrote: »

Kindergarten up to 6th grade of elementary school

EDIT: which was down as my third choice

third choice :S
ahh - they must be really small then.....
what grades are you teaching?

roosh

JFitzgerald wrote: »

third choice :S
ahh - they must be really small then.....
what grades are you teaching?

kindergarten to 6th grade and everything in between

their cute out, but I have no idea how to deal with kids that have no clue what I'm saying

ekevosu

I'm teaching kindergarden to 6th grade at two different schools and do all the teaching. I'll try and put some stuff on megaupload or filesonic and people can download it.

For 3rd to 6th you basically teach the book and add your own introduction and game etc. You look at the target language, what its trying to teach and then add what you need to. Good ppt to explain things at the start or an activity they can do to warm up using target language and then a game or activity at the end. If the book isnt good which they usually aren't then you just add your own and try to make it relevant to the lesson. Waygook is a fantastic resource allright, some great ideas there.

For kindergarden to 2nd grade i was told to pick a topic and teach it for 4 lessons, i.e. body parts. Use songs, lots and lots of games, colouring crafts etc.

I have a sample lesson plan template you can use which can help you as well. Anyone that wants send me a pm and I can send you on some lesson plans although I might be a bit behind where you are. The grade 5 and 6 books are the same for all schools but the 3rd and 4th are different for different schools.

red_bairn

roosh wrote: »

nice! are you with EPIK?

I've got the underfloor heating, but the place isn't insulated too well. If I though I could get a nicer place close enough to where I am I'd try it, but I don't want to go causing any hassle with the co-teacher if that isn't a possibility. He told me when I arrived that I could have a place right beside the school but I reckon I'd just get into some very bad habits if I took it.



I think someone on my orientation mentioned something about it, and how it worked for certain links, but not for others. Proxy will do the job alright - cheers!

No problem! Nah, I'm solo in a hagwon. No ties to any organisations. try push for a better place, I've heard of others doing so.

JFitzgerald wrote: »

could you clarify about "leaving clothes inside the room to get dry during winter"? is that what makes clothes mouldy? i can't leave a window open when i'm not there as critters/bugs will scurry in. i'm on the ground floor.

Do it when you are at home. Leave the clothes on a clothes horse in the utility room when at school or out.

I've heard of some people using the ground to dry their clothes out...but I think that's kinda stupid with all the dust, hairs etc that gather on the ground.-Beats the purpose of washing your clothes. :rolleyes:

roosh

red_bairn wrote: »

No problem! Nah, I'm solo in a hagwon. No ties to any organisations. try push for a better place, I've heard of others doing so.

that might partly explain the difference. I wonder would most hagwon teachers be in decent accommodation?

I was pretty sure that when my CT was bringing me to my apartment, he said that I had the choice of the apartment I'm in, or another one beside the school - I thought we actually walked by the apartment.

I thought that I would never get away from the school if I took the one beside it, so I just said I'd go with the other one. I tried mentioning it to him today and he didn't have a bulls notion what I was on about. He told me to ask one of the other english teachers, whom he has no dealings with (whatsoever I think).

I'll have to suss it out again.

red_bairn wrote: »

Do it when you are at home. Leave the clothes on a clothes horse in the utility room when at school or out.

I've heard of some people using the ground to dry their clothes out...but I think that's kinda stupid with all the dust, hairs etc that gather on the ground.-Beats the purpose of washing your clothes. :rolleyes:

it might be an idea to put a sheet down on the ground and let them dry on top of it??

roosh

does anyone have any idea about how to go looking for accommodation in korea?

if it is possible and viable, I'd nearly look for my own accommodation and get the monthl allowance.

red_bairn

roosh wrote: »

that might partly explain the difference. I wonder would most hagwon teachers be in decent accommodation?

it might be an idea to put a sheet down on the ground and let them dry on top of it??

My mate has a nice place with a bedroom separate to his lounge area, whereas I have just a one room space where the kitchen is right when you walk in the through entrance and the toilet/wash room and utility are separate.

I don't know if every hagwon person gets a nice pad, but the both of us are pretty lucky with ours.

roosh wrote: »

does anyone have any idea about how to go looking for accommodation in korea?

if it is possible and viable, I'd nearly look for my own accommodation and get the monthl allowance.

You can. Just go about with an estate agency and maybe your coteach or a Korean friend and find one that you are interested in, but make sure it's near to the range of 300,000W a month. I think that's how much it is for most public schools or hagwons but somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

JFitzgerald

Do it when you are at home. Leave the clothes on a clothes horse in the utility room when at school or out.

I've heard of some people using the ground to dry their clothes out...but I think that's kinda stupid with all the dust, hairs etc that gather on the ground.-Beats the purpose of washing your clothes. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Mother of god - i've heard it all now - drying clothes on the floor. that's really filthy. urgh. yeah, i can only air the place when i'm there because anything can crawl in when i'm not looking and has already.

JFitzgerald

roosh wrote: »

that might partly explain the difference. I wonder would most hagwon teachers be in decent accommodation?

I was pretty sure that when my CT was bringing me to my apartment, he said that I had the choice of the apartment I'm in, or another one beside the school - I thought we actually walked by the apartment.

I thought that I would never get away from the school if I took the one beside it, so I just said I'd go with the other one. I tried mentioning it to him today and he didn't have a bulls notion what I was on about. He told me to ask one of the other english teachers, whom he has no dealings with (whatsoever I think).

I'll have to suss it out again.

yep, i'd go and see that other apartment. besides, if you're really near school then you have less travel time and can have a longer sleep in the morning. i'd get in there quick in case they give it to someone else.

roosh

JFitzgerald wrote: »

roosh wrote: »

that might partly explain the difference. I wonder would most hagwon teachers be in decent accommodation?

I was pretty sure that when my CT was bringing me to my apartment, he said that I had the choice of the apartment I'm in, or another one beside the school - I thought we actually walked by the apartment.

I thought that I would never get away from the school if I took the one beside it, so I just said I'd go with the other one. I tried mentioning it to him today and he didn't have a bulls notion what I was on about. He told me to ask one of the other english teachers, whom he has no dealings with (whatsoever I think).

I'll have to suss it out again.

yep, i'd go and see that other apartment. besides, if you're really near school then you have less travel time and can have a longer sleep in the morning. i'd get in there quick in case they give it to someone else.

I tried saying it to him again the other day, but he didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about.

ekevosu

JFitzgerald wrote: »

Do it when you are at home. Leave the clothes on a clothes horse in the utility room when at school or out.

I've heard of some people using the ground to dry their clothes out...but I think that's kinda stupid with all the dust, hairs etc that gather on the ground.-Beats the purpose of washing your clothes. :rolleyes:

Mother of god - i've heard it all now - drying clothes on the floor. that's really filthy. urgh. yeah, i can only air the place when i'm there because anything can crawl in when i'm not looking and has already.[/QUOTE]

It's fairly common for Korean people to sleep on the floor, hence the no shoes. Floors in Korea would be cleaned daily very very well in most cases so it's not inconceivable to dry clothes on a hot clean floor. My floor on the other hand is a haven for dust and I don't have the time or enthusiasm to clean the floor every single day.

ekevosu

red_bairn wrote: »

You can. Just go about with an estate agency and maybe your coteach or a Korean friend and find one that you are interested in, but make sure it's near to the range of 300,000W a month. I think that's how much it is for most public schools or hagwons but somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

If your outside Seoul the 300 or less is about right. However you'll also have to pay your own key money if you decide to take the 400k a month instead of an apartment. The key money can be about 5,000,000 which you'll get back at the end of your lease.

red_bairn

ekevosu wrote: »

If your outside Seoul the 300 or less is about right. However you'll also have to pay your own key money if you decide to take the 400k a month instead of an apartment. The key money can be about 5,000,000 which you'll get back at the end of your lease.

My friends hagwon boss just paid that

ekevosu

red_bairn wrote: »

My friends hagwon boss just paid that

Yeah but for a epik public school it's different to a hagwon. They give you the choice before you start the contract.

cloneslad

I've seen some really crap apartments, and some pretty nice ones too. My mate had his kitchen on his balcony, which was freezing during winter.

Last time I was in Korea, My apartment was a large 2 bedroom place. The main bedroom was the size of most people's apartment. Then I had a large kitchen and a large living room. Also had 3 balconies, and a bath in the bathroom. The 2nd bedroom was quite small though.

It was only about 2 snow patrol songs distance from school and was 1 minute walk to the centre of town/cinema/bus terminal/gym etc.

It's all a case of luck really. Because when I first went to Korea I was put up in that exact same apartment before moving into a studio apartment and at that time the place was a tip, smelled bad, was laid out terribly, crap heating and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there.

JFitzgerald

I need to get internet for my laptop. I'm lost without it.
does anyone know of any good internet providers here in seoul? what's the story with wireless? is it much dearer? the reception in my place is very, VERY poor so would that be a factor?
also wondering if i can bundle it with cable tv. does cable have many english channels? is it worth getting?
i saw a deal (with sky.com) for 28,000W a month.
would i be locked into a year/two year contract?
so many questions....
any help greatly appreciated.