Tefl in South Korea

cloneslad

A P wrote: »

Hi. Thanks for all the informative posts on this thread - I've read through about half of it today. What an epic thread! I've a few questions if anyone is free to answer them:

1: Is it easy to get around, communicate, order food etc when you arrive off the plane if you don't know any Korean? Are you advised to learn some basic Korean phrases before you get there?

Yes, it's easy to survive without it. Most subway, signs, towns, buses etc will have the stop names written in English or at least in roman letters for you to understand. Menus have English in the major restaurants and even some smaller ones but most cafes will be written in hangeul only.

I would suggest hangeul as soon as you can but I had friends who lived in korean for over two years and hadn't a clue.

A P wrote: »

2: Are the apartments generally of a decent enough standard? I gather from some posts that they tend to be fairly small studio-type places.

They are generally, from what I've experienced, quite decent. Of course you could have a few absolute dumps, but most Korean apartment buildings don't last more than twenty or thirty years so you should be fine.

Check you tube for Korean apartments and you will see lots of tours around people's places.

A P wrote: »

3: Is facial hair frowned upon over there - would someone with a beard be less likely to get a good job?

Not frowned upon, but possibly less likely than a good looking or even average looking person to get a job, if it was a competition of equal abilities. I wouldn't imagine you would have any problems growing one, should you decide after a month or two to do so. Though each business will have their own rules so you might want to ask first.

Beards, if grown well and not scruffy, should be fine...though only in men, women with beards should never be tolerated.

red_bairn

A P wrote: »

Hi. Thanks for all the informative posts on this thread - I've read through about half of it today. What an epic thread! I've a few questions if anyone is free to answer them:

1: Is it easy to get around, communicate, order food etc when you arrive off the plane if you don't know any Korean? Are you advised to learn some basic Korean phrases before you get there?

2: Are the apartments generally of a decent enough standard? I gather from some posts that they tend to be fairly small studio-type places.

3: Is facial hair frowned upon over there - would someone with a beard be less likely to get a good job?

Thanks!

It is easy enough to do the basic but I recommend getting some lessons over there. Speak to your co-teachers, boss or even other foreign teachers about receiving lessons (whether free or not - Try your best to look for free lessons before paying for any courses) in the area.


My apartment was a small studio apartment and it did the job. A small kitchen (entrance area), utility room, wet room (toilet/walk in shower) and the bedroom/living room (enough room for a double bed if you found one on the street).

It's harder to get a job with facial hair, so what I had to do was shave off my fluff and send a nice smiley photo of myself to the recruiter. I grew a beard during the winter and got a bit fussy with it at times and cleaned up after a few months.

A P

Thanks for that. I think I'll do the CELTA in the new year and take it from there. Sounds like the beard might have to get the chop temporarily - it's a shame cos it was starting to grow on me!

One last question please - I have a science-related Masters - would that be less useful in wage-negotiations than an Arts/Language-related one or does it matter?

red_bairn

A P wrote: »

Thanks for that. I think I'll do the CELTA in the new year and take it from there. Sounds like the beard might have to get the chop temporarily - it's a shame cos it was starting to grow on me!

One last question please - I have a science-related Masters - would that be less useful in wage-negotiations than an Arts/Language-related one or does it matter?

If you have a Masters and feel quite confident in doing so, apply for a lecturer job with any university. Lecturers get highly paid and big holiday breaks (better than most public school Foreign teachers).

Also about the Korean, if you have a good ear and can listen to Korean tapes/cd before leaving, then do so. But the best thing to learn before travelling over would be the basic vocabulary like, 'hello', 'thank you!' (respectful/extremely respectful), etc...as well the alphabet 한굴 (hangul). Learn about the history and how symbols came into being and then begin learning to read the symbols together. So as soon as you arrive, practise reading the signs on every street, the menu in the restaurant, the contract that'll be in Korean (joke ), blah blah., etc. It doesn't matter if you don't understand the words or sentences because you can always ask a co-teacher, foreign teacher (friend - who has learnt some Korean) or search online and you'll be learning words here and there.

I didn't learn to read hangul until the end of my first year (and I kind of regret it). I studied with 3 friends and we were taught by another friend who was an English teacher and native Korean. She helped us in the alphabet, numbers, time, etc until we started creating our own sentences in writing and speaking. We weren't very confident in speaking much outside of class, but we had some moments where the Koreans were like "Omg! This waygookin (foreigner) knows more than the word 'hello' in Korean!!! Give him a beer!"

m83

Hey A P, you should check this site out for getting a grasp on Hangeul:

http://www.memrise.com/course/115/korean-alphabet/

I found it to be a great introduction to the language. I'm heading over to Korea for the first time next week and feel like I have a good handle on things after only a moderate amount of study.

A P

Thanks for that - I've used that site recently for learning German vocabulary and found it pretty good - I didn't realise it did Korean too. The plan to move to South Korea is in its infancy yet but if I decide to go I'll definitely use that site to learn a bit of the lingo first. Cheers

red_bairn

A P wrote: »

Thanks for that - I've used that site recently for learning German vocabulary and found it pretty good - I didn't realise it did Korean too. The plan to move to South Korea is in its infancy yet but if I decide to go I'll definitely use that site to learn a bit of the lingo first. Cheers

Try out: www.talktomeinkorean.com/

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

are there reccomended ages for getting jobs teaching english in korea?
I'll be 31 by the time I have my degree and it'll probably be another half year or more before I could afford venturing over.. would it be worth my while trying?

red_bairn

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

are there reccomended ages for getting jobs teaching english in korea?
I'll be 31 by the time I have my degree and it'll probably be another half year or more before I could afford venturing over.. would it be worth my while trying?

I've known and seen many 40+yr olds teaching or lecturing in institutions or schools. Age isn't a big factor with them...that I know of.

Choccie Lover

A P wrote: »

Hi. Thanks for all the informative posts on this thread - I've read through about half of it today. What an epic thread! I've a few questions if anyone is free to answer them:

1: Is it easy to get around, communicate, order food etc when you arrive off the plane if you don't know any Korean? Are you advised to learn some basic Korean phrases before you get there?

2: Are the apartments generally of a decent enough standard? I gather from some posts that they tend to be fairly small studio-type places.

3: Is facial hair frowned upon over there - would someone with a beard be less likely to get a good job?

Thanks!

1. Like the others, I'd advise learning hangeul. It really is quite easy to get a grasp on this and can really help you out in restaurants, shops etc... Speaking it was the trickier part...for me anyway. When I was there, I went to some free classes at Sookmyung University. Volunteers ran the lessons, so the quality varied depending on who you got on any particular day. Having said that, it was a good place to meet other teachers.

2. Generally, in central Seoul the apartments are small studios, but perfectly functional and snug ...You gotta love the underfloor heating! However, for my first contract, I was in a satellite city of Seoul and the apartment was massive by Korean standards. So it can vary a little depending on location. However, I'd say if you have a look at the Youtube clips recommended by Clones Lad, that'd give you a good idea of what to expect.

3. If I were you, I'd make sure you were cleanly shaven for your picture. No point hindering your chances from the get-go. You can test the water when you get to the school. But, at my place, as soon as my male (Western) colleagues started to grow facial hair, they were promptly told to get rid of it

Choccie Lover

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

are there reccomended ages for getting jobs teaching english in korea?
I'll be 31 by the time I have my degree and it'll probably be another half year or more before I could afford venturing over.. would it be worth my while trying?

While there are some schools that want fresh graduates, there are others that value an older teacher. I was over 30 while there and didn't encounter many problems when applying for jobs. Having said that, I made sure that I looked particularly young in the picture I attached (soft lighting and all)! Wasn't going to take any chances

m83

m83 wrote: »

Hi guys, just to get clarification on the following before I head up to the embassy. I did a 3 year Diploma then 2 more years at a university to get my degree. What should I put on the form below? They only seem to be looking for info from one institute but I don't exactly want it to seem like I've only done two years of college either.

Thanks.

Andy!! wrote: »

So far as I remember I flat out lied or was very vague in this section as Im in the same situation meself. I put the start date of my diploma as start date of the degree.

Got my visa today! Finally! Cheers for the advice Andy, I owe you one!

Andy!!

m83 wrote: »

Got my visa today! Finally! Cheers for the advice Andy, I owe you one!

Congrats, now get your butt on a plane

tashabee

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of my Korea application process, and stumbled across this amazing board - I've read as much as I can, and it's been really helpful! I was wondering if anyone had any advice about the following options I am trying to figure out? I've been applying everywhere and so far the furthest along are:

EPIK Spring 2013 - I passed my Skype interview, but am still waiting for my CBC to arrive, so I won't be able to send the hardcopies of my documents for another few weeks I'm guessing. I'm worried it's too late now to get a good city, and wondering if it's worth spending the £100 or so to send all documents...?

Avalon - I have an interview with them tomorrow, a contact of mine worked for them and had a pretty good experience, but I haven't really heard anyone love working there...

SLP Seoul (Sungbuk) - I have an interview with them tomorrow as well (phew!), and like most things, very mixed reviews online.

So I think the main thing I'd love to hear, is what people think about the whole public vs hagwon debate? The main thing that puts me off public schools is the idea of being the only English teacher there. Has anyone had that, and found that it's fine??

Thanks! tasha x

SpatialPlanning

tashabee wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of my Korea application process, and stumbled across this amazing board - I've read as much as I can, and it's been really helpful! I was wondering if anyone had any advice about the following options I am trying to figure out? I've been applying everywhere and so far the furthest along are:

EPIK Spring 2013 - I passed my Skype interview, but am still waiting for my CBC to arrive, so I won't be able to send the hardcopies of my documents for another few weeks I'm guessing. I'm worried it's too late now to get a good city, and wondering if it's worth spending the £100 or so to send all documents...?

Avalon - I have an interview with them tomorrow, a contact of mine worked for them and had a pretty good experience, but I haven't really heard anyone love working there...

SLP Seoul (Sungbuk) - I have an interview with them tomorrow as well (phew!), and like most things, very mixed reviews online.

So I think the main thing I'd love to hear, is what people think about the whole public vs hagwon debate? The main thing that puts me off public schools is the idea of being the only English teacher there. Has anyone had that, and found that it's fine??

Thanks! tasha x

The Public School vs Private school debate... There is lots of information on this thread already about it. In summary;

Public School;

Better holidays, guaranteed pay

Private School

Smaller class sizes, foreign co-teachers



It really varies from school to school. I'm a public school teacher and have just started my third year as one. I really would recommend it if you have the option. The workload is usually pretty light. You will probably only get a job as an elementary school teacher in public school because high schools are closed to us and middle schools are following suit. You may teach classes of up to 20/25/30 students, so this might be something to take into account if it's not your cup of tea. You get 18+ days in public school for your holidays and 3 extra sick days if you need them. Your pay is guaranteed and will always be on time. You aren't at the mercy of a trigger happy boss. You will teach with a co-teacher - their English ability can be anywhere from excellent to appalling. If you get a good co-teacher who you get along with then it should be great. If you get a bad one then they can make your job more difficult. All in all I am delighted that I'm in a public school. Previously I taught at an elementary school and loved it. I'm in a middle school now and although the classes are bigger, and students less interested, I'm still enjoying it. That being said, my co-teachers are great. It should also be noted that you can't choose your school, location or level with public schools anymore (at least in Busan). The office of education changes the contract every year and are making it more of a crap shoot.

In a hagwon you can be more selective with your job. You have the opportunity to research and find all about your school, the staff, the director, your co-workers, whether pay is on time. Get contact info for people who are working there and have previously worked there. Ask them all about the positives and negatives of the job. That way it's all down to you and getting a good job is completely in your own hands.

Good luck!

roosh

tashabee wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of my Korea application process, and stumbled across this amazing board - I've read as much as I can, and it's been really helpful! I was wondering if anyone had any advice about the following options I am trying to figure out? I've been applying everywhere and so far the furthest along are:

EPIK Spring 2013 - I passed my Skype interview, but am still waiting for my CBC to arrive, so I won't be able to send the hardcopies of my documents for another few weeks I'm guessing. I'm worried it's too late now to get a good city, and wondering if it's worth spending the £100 or so to send all documents...?

Avalon - I have an interview with them tomorrow, a contact of mine worked for them and had a pretty good experience, but I haven't really heard anyone love working there...

SLP Seoul (Sungbuk) - I have an interview with them tomorrow as well (phew!), and like most things, very mixed reviews online.

So I think the main thing I'd love to hear, is what people think about the whole public vs hagwon debate? The main thing that puts me off public schools is the idea of being the only English teacher there. Has anyone had that, and found that it's fine??

Thanks! tasha x

hey tashabee.

I chose public school for the hours and the holidays. I'm the only english teacher in my school and I teach most classes by myself, with no co-teacher and no homeroom teacher. I teach from a textbook so once you get a hang of that it's fine really.

Being the only English teacher is fine. I'm living in a town with about 50k people, and there are about 20 or so other English teachers in the town. The town itself is boring enough, but I head to Seoul every weekend. It's a nice pace of life during the week though.

I've just renewed for a second year in the same town, but I won't renew for a third year here.


I don't really know enough about Hagwons, but the hours that I heard some people work was a big turn off for me; I didn't want to be working split shifts or to be starting in the afternoon and finishing at night. There are Hagown jobs with more "socialble" hours though.

red_bairn

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

The Public School vs Private school debate... There is lots of information on this thread already about it. In summary;

Public School;

Better holidays, guaranteed pay

Private School

Smaller class sizes, foreign co-teachers



It really varies from school to school. I'm a public school teacher and have just started my third year as one. I really would recommend it if you have the option. The workload is usually pretty light. You will probably only get a job as an elementary school teacher in public school because high schools are closed to us and middle schools are following suit. You may teach classes of up to 20/25/30 students, so this might be something to take into account if it's not your cup of tea. You get 18+ days in public school for your holidays and 3 extra sick days if you need them. Your pay is guaranteed and will always be on time. You aren't at the mercy of a trigger happy boss. You will teach with a co-teacher - their English ability can be anywhere from excellent to appalling. If you get a good co-teacher who you get along with then it should be great. If you get a bad one then they can make your job more difficult. All in all I am delighted that I'm in a public school. Previously I taught at an elementary school and loved it. I'm in a middle school now and although the classes are bigger, and students less interested, I'm still enjoying it. That being said, my co-teachers are great. It should also be noted that you can't choose your school, location or level with public schools anymore (at least in Busan). The office of education changes the contract every year and are making it more of a crap shoot.

In a hagwon you can be more selective with your job. You have the opportunity to research and find all about your school, the staff, the director, your co-workers, whether pay is on time. Get contact info for people who are working there and have previously worked there. Ask them all about the positives and negatives of the job. That way it's all down to you and getting a good job is completely in your own hands.

Good luck!

Another item you should note to the anybody interested, is that you start in the afternoon in a hagwon. In my case, I was working from 2:30 - 7pm. I've heard of people working 2-10pm* in Seoul. So it's important to note this and to research each academy to see what kind of hours they have. I wasn't really keen on these hours. If I was to return to Korea, I'd take up a Public school job (and hope for Elementary level):D.


*Or earlier if teaching Kindergarten.

Andy!!

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

The Public School vs Private school debate... There is lots of information on this thread already about it. In summary;

Public School;

Better holidays, guaranteed pay

Private School

Smaller class sizes, foreign co-teachers

Well, I'm in a hagwon, my pay is always guaranteed and on time, I have small and large classes and teach on my own; and I'm the only co-teacher. I work 4-10 Tue and Thurs and 2-9 every other weekday.

Pretty much the only cast-iron guarantee is that public will offer better holidays (half of which you will spend at a camp/sitting at a desk, so not really that much better).

So it's really hard to gauge what is going to be a good job and what is going to be a bad job unfortunately. You can be in a great job for little pay or a job that makes you miserable for a lot of pay. 'It depends' really is the answer in this case.

If you're a girl try and get a kindy gig, far more sociable hours and suren't they just adorable anyways

roosh

Andy!! wrote: »

Pretty much the only cast-iron guarantee is that public will offer better holidays (half of which you will spend at a camp/sitting at a desk, so not really that much better)

Just on the holidays:
I'm not entirely sure what the standard number of holidays is for a hagwon; the impression I was getting is that ten calendar days seems to be the standard*.

In public school you get 10 calendar days in winter and 8 calendar days in summer; but, if you renew you get an additional 7 days to be taken in whichever vacation period is closest to your renewal date.

The kids are off for longer, in both winter and summer; teachers are still required to come to school during that period to "desk warm". The principal may, if he wishes, allow you to stay home from school during that time, but you're supposed to be available to come in.


In the Gangwon-do province they used to offer 21 calendar days holidays in winter and 14 in summer, with an additional 14 days if you renewed. They are changing the contract from the next intake in spring and bringing it in line with the other provinces; so it will be the standard 10 in winter, 8 in summer; with one week for renewal.


Pay
I'm not sure if it is the same with hagwons, but if you renew with a public school you get a 2m won re-signing bonus and you get severance pay at the end of your time in the public school system. It used to be paid at the end of every contract, but now it will be paid in one lump sum at the end of your final contract.


*there are private schools which function as the students main school; as opposed to an academny attended after regular school; some of these schools follow the public school timetable and offer similar holidays to those offered by public schools. It think the same goes for some "after school" programs, but I'm not 100% on that.

Andy!!

Aye thats pretty much what I know except I think the additional holidays if your resign is not everywhere, maybe EPIK does it or maybe it's school by school but I've never heard of it before. Private and after-school programmes also work the public school way yes.

roosh

Andy!! wrote: »

Aye thats pretty much what I know except I think the additional holidays if your resign is not everywhere, maybe EPIK does it or maybe it's school by school but I've never heard of it before. Private and after-school programmes also work the public school way yes.

The additional holidays for re-signing is a public school thing, alright.

tashabee

Andy!! wrote: »

If you're a girl try and get a kindy gig, far more sociable hours and suren't they just adorable anyways

Haha, this is mainly what I'm being offered, but have been a bit scared off kindie by reading lots of posts about them being really tricky to handle! I think they look adorable, but I'm not sure what they'd be like to teach! So many decisions....

Thanks everyone for the info - I am leaning towards GEPIK now, or the smaller hagwon, as I had a truly unpleasant Avalon interview and don't feel happy carrying on my application with them - I was so surprised by the interviewer's attitude! On contrast, the two other interviews were really friendly and amicable, so not bad overall

It also looks like with GEPIK, you know exactly where you'd be located before sending off all your expensive documents, which seems like a lot safer bet than EPIK...

SpatialPlanning

Andy!! wrote: »

Well, I'm in a hagwon, my pay is always guaranteed and on time, I have small and large classes and teach on my own; and I'm the only co-teacher. I work 4-10 Tue and Thurs and 2-9 every other weekday.

Pretty much the only cast-iron guarantee is that public will offer better holidays (half of which you will spend at a camp/sitting at a desk, so not really that much better).

So it's really hard to gauge what is going to be a good job and what is going to be a bad job unfortunately. You can be in a great job for little pay or a job that makes you miserable for a lot of pay. 'It depends' really is the answer in this case.

If you're a girl try and get a kindy gig, far more sociable hours and suren't they just adorable anyways

The public school holidays are longer, desk warming or not. Standard holidays = 18 days. That's almost double the average package on offer in a Hagwon. If you re-sign in a Public School you get a bonus 2 weeks (although I think this is being reduced to 1 week).

But you're right, each school is different and doing your research is the only way of finding out.

squeakyduck

tashabee wrote: »

Haha, this is mainly what I'm being offered, but have been a bit scared off kindie by reading lots of posts about them being really tricky to handle! I think they look adorable, but I'm not sure what they'd be like to teach! So many decisions....

I have a few friends in GEPIK and they have moved from other metropolitan cities to go to Gyeonggi. I lived in Osan, Gyeonggi-do for my first contract and I loved it! I miss it so much!

Watch out for Wonderland and Isponge. I've heard bad things about the former and I've taught camps with the latter in both my schools. Kids are crazy, no disipline and the teachers (that I've come into contact with with) are shiite! :mad:

One of my colleagues had his hand bitten by an Isponge kid and it drew blood. :eek: Little feckers! :mad::(

tashabee

squeakyduck wrote: »

One of my colleagues had his hand bitten by an Isponge kid and it drew blood. :eek: Little feckers! :mad::(

This sounds terrifying! Although I bet a lot of the kids around where I live in london would bite someone given half the chance!

Thanks for all the GEPIK encouragement! I am going to try and make my mind up today on the hagwon vs public school debate! And need to record my intro video for GEPIK as well...

I got my contract through from SLP and am not thrilled with it at the minute to be honest - 80 min classes were mentioned... and everything just seems a bit vague. And it would be teaching kindie..

Does anyone find recruiters a bit of a headache? The guy who got me to SLP offer has been great, but I have a few other recruiters who are being sooooo pushy, hurried and restating my limited option as a newbie - am considering telling quite a few of them that I've found a job already just to get them off my back!

tashabee

Hi all, just got a bit more info about the working hours etc for the SLP job, what do you think?? It seems like quite a lot to me! And 80 min classes seem long, for the kids as well as me!

Monday - Friday 9:30am - 6:30pm including preparation, class teaching, etc. class preparation is not included in 80 minutes teaching.

You will teach:
Weekly: 21 class of 80 minutes session (28.0 hrs teaching/wk)
Daily: 4.2 classes of 80 minutes session (5.6 hours teaching/day)

Really hard to judge these things as a newbie, and on the plus, the director seemed really lovely in the Skype interview, and it's central Seoul. Hmmm.

Any input much appreciated!

Andy!!

Sounds a little long to me but central Seoul would be a great place to be located And yeh recruiters are frequently pushy feckers. Google map your location to make sure you would actually be in central Seoul.

cloneslad

tashabee wrote: »

Monday - Friday 9:30am - 6:30pm

Walk away

ekevosu

cloneslad wrote: »

Walk away

It does seem a bit long. Also kindergarden isn't that easy to teach. It can be fun for a while but head wrecking after that. Teaching the older grades can be more interesting and rewarding.

cloneslad

ekevosu wrote: »

It does seem a bit long. Also kindergarden isn't that easy to teach. It can be fun for a while but head wrecking after that. Teaching the older grades can be more interesting and rewarding.

This is very true. The younger kids are fun, but sometimes you need the older kids for stimulating conversation (even if the older kids are only 11)

Choccie Lover

tashabee wrote: »

Hi all, just got a bit more info about the working hours etc for the SLP job, what do you think?? It seems like quite a lot to me! And 80 min classes seem long, for the kids as well as me!

Monday - Friday 9:30am - 6:30pm including preparation, class teaching, etc. class preparation is not included in 80 minutes teaching.

You will teach:
Weekly: 21 class of 80 minutes session (28.0 hrs teaching/wk)
Daily: 4.2 classes of 80 minutes session (5.6 hours teaching/day)

Really hard to judge these things as a newbie, and on the plus, the director seemed really lovely in the Skype interview, and it's central Seoul. Hmmm.

Any input much appreciated!

Hey Tashabee

I have done two different contracts at kindergartens/ elementary, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

I have also done the whole 80 minute sessions with Kindergarten kiddos for one of my contracts and it is quite challenging.....and is a very long time. A lot of preparation is involved, but at least there was a good curriculum in place where I was(you should ask the current Western teacher/s about this if you are seriously considering it).

Teaching kindergarten can be so much fun (and rewarding too, they are sponges at that age), but it really is a hard slog. The parents pay a lot of money and have a lot of (often wild) expectations. You do get a lot of pressies though .... and field trips.....and theme days... etc

In my opinion, elementary age is the easiest to teach. They aren't as jaded as the middle / high school kids ...... and not as wild as the kindies.

Are you any closer to a decision?

tashabee

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Hey Tashabee

I have done two different contracts at kindergartens/ elementary, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

I have also done the whole 80 minute sessions with Kindergarten kiddos for one of my contracts and it is quite challenging.....and is a very long time. A lot of preparation is involved, but at least there was a good curriculum in place where I was(you should ask the current Western teacher/s about this if you are seriously considering it).

Teaching kindergarten can be so much fun (and rewarding too, they are sponges at that age), but it really is a hard slog. The parents pay a lot of money and have a lot of (often wild) expectations. You do get a lot of pressies though .... and field trips.....and theme days... etc

In my opinion, elementary age is the easiest to teach. They aren't as jaded as the middle / high school kids ...... and not as wild as the kindies.

Are you any closer to a decision?

Thanks for all the input everyone! I think I'm going to turn this job offer down as I'm not sure I have the stamina yet as I haven't taught or worked with kids before. Maybe I'll do kindie some point in the future

I was thinking that perhaps I could tell the hagwon recruiters i'm working with that I won't be looking for jobs until early in the new year... I'm still waiting for my cbc to arrive so I can send my paper application to EPIK, so it's tricky to make the public school vs hagwon decision when I don't know where EPIK are even going to place me...
What would you say is a reasonable time to apply for hagwons if you want a mid-feb fly-out date? At the mo I'd like to wait and see what my EPIK/GEPIK locations will be, and if I don't like them then apply to hagwons.... (not the most economical approach really!) but I'm not sure that's feasible in the time frame though?

Andy!!

I would say for hagwons start looking for month before, but have your ready by this point. Worked for me.

camoramo

Just curious which Avalon you had an interview with and what happened? I work for a franchise and they are fine, I think other teachers just get bored with the curriculum because it's very textbook based and can be repetitive, but I have no problems! But I think you'd be better off waiting for GEPIK so you'd still have your evenings free!

tashabee wrote: »

Haha, this is mainly what I'm being offered, but have been a bit scared off kindie by reading lots of posts about them being really tricky to handle! I think they look adorable, but I'm not sure what they'd be like to teach! So many decisions....

Thanks everyone for the info - I am leaning towards GEPIK now, or the smaller hagwon, as I had a truly unpleasant Avalon interview and don't feel happy carrying on my application with them - I was so surprised by the interviewer's attitude! On contrast, the two other interviews were really friendly and amicable, so not bad overall

It also looks like with GEPIK, you know exactly where you'd be located before sending off all your expensive documents, which seems like a lot safer bet than EPIK...

tashabee

Andy!! wrote: »

I would say for hagwons start looking for month before, but have your ready by this point. Worked for me.

Thanks for the info - that's good news as it does look like I could wait and see what my EPIK / GEPIK outcomes are.

tashabee

camoramo wrote: »

Just curious which Avalon you had an interview with and what happened? I work for a franchise and they are fine, I think other teachers just get bored with the curriculum because it's very textbook based and can be repetitive, but I have no problems! But I think you'd be better off waiting for GEPIK so you'd still have your evenings free!

Hmmmm... well in hindsight this feels like I completely overacted! The lady who interviewed me was at head office I think, and at one point said 'I'm not sure if you even want me to take your application seriously,' when I said the wrong thing for one of the questions. And it completely threw me off and I was pretty upset afterwards - it was a morning where I had three back-to-back interviews and the other two were completely jovial and went really well - so the atmosphere/attitude towards me in the Avalon interview kinda put me off. But wishing now that I hadn't gone and blown my chances with a whole chain of schools where it sounds like a lot of you guys are having a great time - aaaah well, you live and you learn...

Andy!!

tashabee wrote: »

Thanks for the info - that's good news as it does look like I could wait and see what my EPIK / GEPIK outcomes are.

I forgot the word 'documents' there sorry heh.

camoramo

tashabee wrote: »

Hmmmm... well in hindsight this feels like I completely overacted! The lady who interviewed me was at head office I think, and at one point said 'I'm not sure if you even want me to take your application seriously,' when I said the wrong thing for one of the questions. And it completely threw me off and I was pretty upset afterwards - it was a morning where I had three back-to-back interviews and the other two were completely jovial and went really well - so the atmosphere/attitude towards me in the Avalon interview kinda put me off. But wishing now that I hadn't gone and blown my chances with a whole chain of schools where it sounds like a lot of you guys are having a great time - aaaah well, you live and you learn...

Well like I said I work in a franchise so it's not company owned, so you haven't ruled everything out!
The main difference between franchise and company owned schools is that in franchises you generally teach elementary and middle school but in company owned it's one or the other. Also in company owned ones I think all middle school teachers have to take the TOEFL before they teach it,the Korean teachers definitely do anyway! Anyway there are bad points too like phone teaching at the end of the semester, writing short reports online, evaluations etc but it depends on the campus.
Anyway I wouldn't worry about it, main hiring season is coming up in Feb/March anyway.

Andy!!

tashabee wrote: »

Hmmmm... well in hindsight this feels like I completely overacted! The lady who interviewed me was at head office I think, and at one point said 'I'm not sure if you even want me to take your application seriously,' when I said the wrong thing for one of the questions. And it completely threw me off and I was pretty upset afterwards - it was a morning where I had three back-to-back interviews and the other two were completely jovial and went really well - so the atmosphere/attitude towards me in the Avalon interview kinda put me off. But wishing now that I hadn't gone and blown my chances with a whole chain of schools where it sounds like a lot of you guys are having a great time - aaaah well, you live and you learn...

What a bitch! How rude. I would have chewed her out for being that disrespectful. You dodged a bullet, steer clear of that particular branch!

tashabee

Andy!! wrote: »

What a bitch! How rude. I would have chewed her out for being that disrespectful. You dodged a bullet, steer clear of that particular branch!

Haha, yep, I had a split second where I imagined being like, 'Ok, fine, I'm off then' but chickened out and said I was very sorry!

I've actually done a complete u-turn on the job offer I originally posted about, after finding out it's actually kindie in the morning and elementary in the afternoon, plus speaking to two current english teachers there and another past teacher - who, whilst being pretty honest about the scrapes they've gotten into with tackling a bunch of first-year kids who just cry and have no English to tell you what's wrong (heartbreaking!) to how they completely fell in love with the kids and enjoyed the 80 min sessions (yes, really!) as there was enough time to get lots done etc. And that all the teachers (about 15 I think) live in the same apartment block and have a great community, it just seems a bit less daunting than going off to a public school. So think I'll save EPIK for next year

Still haven't signed anything, as there were a few things left out of the contract - like ages I'd be teaching (want to get elementary in there!).

Thanks again for help - it's made my decision much more informed, and I'll only have myself to blame if I'm a gibbering wreck after a year of teaching 80-min kindie classes!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I went to a Notary Public to get my diploma notorised but it costs 50 euro.. Can you get done by a Commissioner of Oaths for cheaper, yes?

cloneslad

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I went to a Notary Public to get my diploma notorised but it costs 50 euro.. Can you get done by a Commissioner of Oaths for cheaper, yes?

Yes, commissioner of oaths is fine. Most will be about €20

R.D. aka MR.D

Hi all!

My Hagwon is having money troubles and they've let me go.

So if anyone has any leads on any good jobs in Seoul, let me know!

I'm doing the usual recruiters/daves etc thing but it's really annoying because i wasn't prepared to be looking so soon. I can start Jan 2nd.

squeakyduck

R.D Add Seoulite on your facebook page. You might be able to see a post there that might get you a job!

R.D. aka MR.D

squeakyduck wrote: »

R.D Add Seoulite on your facebook page. You might be able to see a post there that might get you a job!

i dont have a facebook :-(

cloneslad

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

i dont have a facebook :-(

set one up, even if it's just for a few weeks.

Good luck with the job hunt.

red_bairn

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

Hi all!

My Hagwon is having money troubles and they've let me go.

So if anyone has any leads on any good jobs in Seoul, let me know!

I'm doing the usual recruiters/daves etc thing but it's really annoying because i wasn't prepared to be looking so soon. I can start Jan 2nd.

This story sounds quite familiar. -_-'

Andy!!

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

i dont have a facebook :-(

Word of mouth or daves etc. will do you fine. Daves frequently has asap jobs even.

squeakyduck

If you are looking farther afield even Suwon, Dongtan or Pyeongtaek. (I know it's a little far) I can watch out for you too on FB and send you a PM.

I'm still a member of groups for Osan/Dongtan ESL teachers. I'll keep an eye out for you.

R.D. aka MR.D

squeakyduck wrote: »

If you are looking farther afield even Suwon, Dongtan or Pyeongtaek. (I know it's a little far) I can watch out for you too on FB and send you a PM.

I'm still a member of groups for Osan/Dongtan ESL teachers. I'll keep an eye out for you.

Thank you so much but I really need a position in Seoul because my boyfriend is here.

I really want something in North east seoul (where i am now) or jamsil/gangnam