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As the title indicates, I will be attempting to teach English in South Korea! Cool fun huh.
I knew about teaching abroad, but never seriously considered it. Originally, it was for Japan. I suppose I read that you had to have a bachelor's degree, and since that was 'so far off' to a 15 year old, I put it on the back burner as a 'what if'. Well, I had sort of forgotten about it, or just never took it seriously, until maybe a week ago. My friend tweeted at me with a link to a program and well, instead of just say 'haha', I...went and did research.
Basically, I'm kind of in a perfect opportunity to do this. I graduated in September (any bachelor's degree will do, even a BFA), and have spent my time freelancing. Obviously, you all know me from my work with Rifkin on Basetrade TV. I'll talk about how this will effect that later in the blog. Anyway, I have a lot of time, have some resources, but mostly I have a huge interest in doing this. I really like to travel. I really like south Korea's culture, mostly thanks to Starcraft 2. I love Korean food, Korean music, have been studying Korean here and there, and well, of course, I really like e-sports. And whether I knew it all along or what, it turns out I really like teaching. One could argue I 'teach' every time I cast, but that is what I like about it. Talking, learning, teaching about things I'm passionate about.
Da fuk is this teaching abroad? HOW DO?
How do is right! I've been doing a lot of research and will continue to do a lot of research. It seems that my chances to even do this are fairly high, although it mostly depends on how picky I want to be. You can choose to go to a private or public school, and there are pretty big differences between the two:
Private School - Good wages, guaranteed offers. Hires year-round with more choices in time spent in Korea. Terrible record, horror stories. Schools shut down, owners try and twist your contract, have the option to just kick you for no reason, working conditions can be terrible (way overworked, etc).
Public school - Decent wages, much harder to get an offer. Good record, few-to-none horror stories. Not much choice in wages/grade of students/where you live. Basically, they've been cracking down recently, and are really looking for qualified teachers, not just kids who can go away for a year. A full year is the standard requirement.
So, obviously, first choice is public school. I don't want to be kicked out or feel like I did a bad job when it was just because the principle hates foreigner women or something dumb. It sounds like you AT LEAST need an in-class TEFL/TESOL/etc program, 100+ hours. Online certificates no longer cuts it. They definitely prefer a CELTA certificate.
+ Show Spoiler +
Online TEFL - ~$200, 100+ hours
Classroom TEFL/TESOL/etc (names for pretty much the same thing)- ~$1000, 100+ hours
Classroom CELTA - ~$2000, 100+ hours, super-official-British-serious-training
Obviously, a degree in education/English is better, as well as whatever work you can do with kids/teaching ESL. But, if I can't get in, I might just try and go with a private school and just do a lot of research and get contacts of teachers working in whatever school offers me a job.
Schedule
I'm applying for the February take of new teachers for public schools. If I can't get any offers by December, I'll look at either saving up and getting a CELTA cert, ooooor just going through a private school, which hires year-round.
June - Apply for my criminal background check. Yay! I'm not a criminal!
July - Complete my in-class TEFL on weekends. Get all my documents that I can together. Recommendation letters - which, by the way, as a freelancer, I don't have many! Does Rifkin count as a boss? Diploma, etc.
August - Receive my background check because Y'KNOW, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT takes a while. APPLY TO RECRUITERS! HIRE ME OKAY.
September - Start my Korean classes at my nearby community college. I want to learn key things such as 'where is proleague studio' and 'where is Boxer's house'.
January - Job offers. Send official documents, go down to D.C to get my visa.
February/March - GET ON THE AIRPLANE SEE YA LOSERS
Omg what about Starcraft 2?
An interesting question! And one I can't really answer until I get an offer/choose an offer and get the gritty details. Where I work, when I work. If I can do any casting, I will, and I THINK European events line up with my schedule well. If I am busy, and there are no events, and things are sad, well...I'm going to proleague (god bless if it's still going next year). I'm going to GSL when possible. I'll take so many videos and I'll still stream.
Am I going to Korea to try and catch one of dem der casting jobs? Lol, no, those don't exist. If it happens, IF a caster is fired, has to leave, idk, a new studio pops up, they want me as eye candy hostess (lol), hell yeah I'll take that job. But I'm not going over there to panhandle and hope someone hires me.
Aren't you terrified?!
Well, my mom definitely is. I'll be TAKEN, obviously. But, uh, not really. I expect one or two weeks of severe homesickness, just like what happened when I went to college (mostly I miss cats ;o;). But I'm pretty chill, idk. The kids could hate me. I could hate teaching. Hell, I COULD hate Korea. I could be a big baby and just wanna go home and never leave again. But I'm more excited than nervous. I have a friend in Korea, I could probably reach out to a couple of Korean progamers/English casters, I don't think I'll be totally alone...I dunno.
So are we supposed to help?? How does this affect us?
No, I just think this is something worth blogging about. It will be a pretty big deal if it does happen. I am going to have to reduce time casting soon. I'm looking for volunteer work, either in teaching ESL or just working with kids. I am going to attempt to get more commission work with my art. I am going to get a seasonal job. I am going to stream more with a dedicated schedule in an attempt to get partnered on Twitch. And I am also going to open up coaching again. I took it down because I figured you could get better coaching from better players, but a few people have e-mailed me saying they want to support me and get a little bit of coaching in return. In that light, it sounds okay.
So this is basically what I'm doing for the next two years. Preparing to teach and then well, actually teaching. I will be involved in Starcraft 2/e-sports but maybe not the same way. If any of you have questions OR personal experience in teaching abroad, I would love to hear about it! I'll blog about this again in the future when some things actually start to happen, but now I'm just waiting and researching!
 
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
Living alone abroad is an awesome experience, I'd recommend it to anyone
Goodluck and I hope you don't get homesick too quickly.
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TLADT24920 Posts
Sounds like it'll be a good experience. Being homesick is rough but it'll pass and you'll learn a lot from both the culture and your experiences. I would make sure to do a lot of research about Korean culture so that you don't do anything you shouldn't lol otherwise have fun and don't forget to blog! ^^
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I know a lot about teaching abroad based on personal experiences as well as my friends' experiences. In South Korea, appearances matter. A white teacher will be treated differently than a black teacher or Asian teacher.
You will start out with few friends, but will make some (probably starting with other foreign teachers at the same school).
There's so much to say, but I dunno where to start. I'll just answer questions instead.
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I've lived in Korea for four years, two of them teaching.
Since the end of BW, there hasn't been such a TL "community" in Korea, but a lot of TLers do still live here and I'm sure would be more than happy to answer any questions you have.
It sounds like you've thought everything through pretty thoroughly and have a plan, which is good. In my experience, people who come here for a real reason (ie: not just the money and job) adjust more quickly and have a better time.
I wouldn't let the horror stories turn you away from private schools completely. Yes, there are dodgy employers out there, but it's not all of them, and it's definitely an option worth considering. I personally enjoyed working at an academy more than at a public school, but it's different for everyone.
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On June 06 2014 13:33 lichter wrote:
Living alone abroad is an awesome experience, I'd recommend it to anyone
Goodluck and I hope you don't get homesick too quickly.
Absolutely. I've lived on 3 continents in the past 5 years; met some disappointments along the way. I have my regrets and my triumphs, but if given the same choices I'd make the same decision to get an adventure again. Do something you've never done, be somewhere you've never been, and discover more than you ever dreamed of; not just about the world, but discovering yourself as well.
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How are different teachers treated differently @29 fps?
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If you get TAKEN, I will find them, and I will kill them.
As always, I wish you the best, and hope your plan works out to be 99% perfect, because it'd be weird if it were 100% exactly.
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I've been teaching here about 2 years. Terrible experience with a hagwon and I'm now working in a gov. subsidised after-school program (great pay, hours and more days off). I think you're making the right call going public as I've heard so much dodgy shit from teachers at privates (I'm still owed $2k+). Too much can go wrong with private colleges and you're very limited in terms of legal recourse if you're fired/not paid fully/forced into overtime and you risk being kicked out of the country if you can't get your visa transferred over to another school fast enough. Since the owner sponsors your visa they've got you by the balls (metaphorically) and there can be a lot of unpaid OT/promotion days/'training'. The best thing about working at privates is the friends you'll make as you suffer together. Public's can be a bit lonely (I have 0 western coworkers and only one with half-decent english), especially if you don't have many initial contacts.
That said, it's still worth doing for a year. Most people I meet have had overall positive experiences and a lot do stick around for a second tour.
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On June 06 2014 14:31 29 fps wrote:
I know a lot about teaching abroad based on personal experiences as well as my friends' experiences. In South Korea, appearances matter. A white teacher will be treated differently than a black teacher or Asian teacher.
You will start out with few friends, but will make some (probably starting with other foreign teachers at the same school).
There's so much to say, but I dunno where to start. I'll just answer questions instead.
Yeah I've heard that, and uuh luckily I'm white. In regards to the second statement, I'm not too worried about not making friends.
Mostly my questions right now are about good organizations or recruiters. The list I have currently is: EPIK, Korvia, Korean Horizons, Say Kimchi, ESL-Planet, TeacheslKorea. I have to make sure that I don't send more than one application to EPIK though, cuz that's an instant throw-out of your application, apparently.
Most of my real questions will come later. Like taxes, living in Korea, all that stuff that comes later.
On June 06 2014 15:30 ninazerg wrote:
If you get TAKEN, I will find them, and I will kill them.
As always, I wish you the best, and hope your plan works out to be 99% perfect, because it'd be weird if it were 100% exactly.
lol thanks. :D
@Scarecrow + @FuRong Yeah, I dunno. It's my back-up plan, but having heard so many stories...the advice I've gotten is to make sure to get contacts of current/past English teachers and ask them how they were treated. And, obviously, research if it's a long-standing private school or recent start up.
@lichter + @BigFan I'll probably get homesick real quick but I know it passes!
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This is what I want to do, look forward to reading your future updates OP and who knows maybe if we both succeed I can meet you for a coffee ^_^
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Something that a lot of people might not know about is the private sector for teaching that's not English.
I'm currently a SAT prep teacher, and while we work a ton, we get compensated much more than average teachers. If you want to teach something outside of English, you might want to see if you can get a visa teaching something like that.
I've really only taught at one place, and it's not English, but I've found that the key to teaching has always been about the right place. I'm currently at a place that doesn't pay me as well as other academies (and I've gotten other offers that could raise my salary by 50-100%), but finding a place you're comfortable with is really big. The place I'm with feels a lot like a small family, they were incredibly supportive of me doing my Masters, and scheduled classes around my schedule, and also they let me teach how I wanted to teach, provided I don't drive away students. For me, that was worth more than the salary bump I could've gotten.
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On June 07 2014 06:55 Chaggi wrote:
Something that a lot of people might not know about is the private sector for teaching that's not English.
I'm currently a SAT prep teacher, and while we work a ton, we get compensated much more than average teachers. If you want to teach something outside of English, you might want to see if you can get a visa teaching something like that.
I've really only taught at one place, and it's not English, but I've found that the key to teaching has always been about the right place. I'm currently at a place that doesn't pay me as well as other academies (and I've gotten other offers that could raise my salary by 50-100%), but finding a place you're comfortable with is really big. The place I'm with feels a lot like a small family, they were incredibly supportive of me doing my Masters, and scheduled classes around my schedule, and also they let me teach how I wanted to teach, provided I don't drive away students. For me, that was worth more than the salary bump I could've gotten.
That's interesting. Are you teaching English-speakers who just live in Korea? I imagine/know there are jobs for English speakers that aren't just teaching English (people mention finding second jobs to supplement income), but I have no idea how to reach out to those jobs from here.
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On June 07 2014 09:52 ZombieGrub wrote:Show nested quote +On June 07 2014 06:55 Chaggi wrote:
Something that a lot of people might not know about is the private sector for teaching that's not English.
I'm currently a SAT prep teacher, and while we work a ton, we get compensated much more than average teachers. If you want to teach something outside of English, you might want to see if you can get a visa teaching something like that.
I've really only taught at one place, and it's not English, but I've found that the key to teaching has always been about the right place. I'm currently at a place that doesn't pay me as well as other academies (and I've gotten other offers that could raise my salary by 50-100%), but finding a place you're comfortable with is really big. The place I'm with feels a lot like a small family, they were incredibly supportive of me doing my Masters, and scheduled classes around my schedule, and also they let me teach how I wanted to teach, provided I don't drive away students. For me, that was worth more than the salary bump I could've gotten. That's interesting. Are you teaching English-speakers who just live in Korea? I imagine/know there are jobs for English speakers that aren't just teaching English (people mention finding second jobs to supplement income), but I have no idea how to reach out to those jobs from here.
Yes and no. We teach primarily in English, but it really depends on the teacher. For example, my Korean isn't that great, so I teach in English. That means sometimes I teach students who doesn't have great English, but since we're talking about science, it's all the same - it may just take them a bit longer.
Generally if you want to do something that's not teaching English, you're gonna have to be an engineer, or really someone lucky. I ended up with the second category and worked for a large chaebol as a non-engineer. I got the job purely cause I knew someone. If you're looking at second jobs though, those are mostly private lessons, and you have to market yourself well to do those. As a white female though, you'll get more looks, however you could also attract more attention - something that I don't suggest since it is quite illegal.
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On June 07 2014 07:12 krndandaman wrote:Show nested quote +On June 07 2014 06:55 Chaggi wrote:
Something that a lot of people might not know about is the private sector for teaching that's not English.
I'm currently a SAT prep teacher, and while we work a ton, we get compensated much more than average teachers. If you want to teach something outside of English, you might want to see if you can get a visa teaching something like that.
I've really only taught at one place, and it's not English, but I've found that the key to teaching has always been about the right place. I'm currently at a place that doesn't pay me as well as other academies (and I've gotten other offers that could raise my salary by 50-100%), but finding a place you're comfortable with is really big. The place I'm with feels a lot like a small family, they were incredibly supportive of me doing my Masters, and scheduled classes around my schedule, and also they let me teach how I wanted to teach, provided I don't drive away students. For me, that was worth more than the salary bump I could've gotten. Could I ask how you got that job and what kind of requirements it holds? I've taught SAT to several students through private tutoring and I think I am quite good at it. I'd also be interested in teaching abroad, though I am an American-born Korean. I'm going to be a junior in college so no bachelors yet.
I got it through a friend that I worked with. I was looking around for something that I could do while going to school, and she offered to recommend me at this place.
To get the job, you want to have a degree in something like economics, some type of science, history, etc (really anything that can give AP credit). Some academies want you to also go to a Top 25 university, the better, the better chance you'll have.
From there, you just contact SAT hagwons and ask around. They are especially busy in the summertime, with wages reaching upwards of 8 million to 10+ million won per month. If you can advertise yourself well, and gain a loyal following of students, you can reach easily about 60-70 million a year, if not more. There's a few people I personally know that are making in the low 6 figures annually.
It's a slowing market though, the economy in Korea blows, and the president has been putting limits on academies. Furthermore, I think that SKY schools used to take SAT/ACT/AP scores as a sort of replacement for the Korean test, but I've heard rumors that they can't officially take them anymore. Things like this have slowed down the market quite a bit, but it's probably one of THE best places you can go to, to advertise yourself and earn lots of money very very quickly among the richest people in Gangnam.
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On June 08 2014 03:23 krndandaman wrote:Show nested quote +On June 07 2014 15:36 Chaggi wrote:On June 07 2014 07:12 krndandaman wrote:On June 07 2014 06:55 Chaggi wrote:
Something that a lot of people might not know about is the private sector for teaching that's not English.
I'm currently a SAT prep teacher, and while we work a ton, we get compensated much more than average teachers. If you want to teach something outside of English, you might want to see if you can get a visa teaching something like that.
I've really only taught at one place, and it's not English, but I've found that the key to teaching has always been about the right place. I'm currently at a place that doesn't pay me as well as other academies (and I've gotten other offers that could raise my salary by 50-100%), but finding a place you're comfortable with is really big. The place I'm with feels a lot like a small family, they were incredibly supportive of me doing my Masters, and scheduled classes around my schedule, and also they let me teach how I wanted to teach, provided I don't drive away students. For me, that was worth more than the salary bump I could've gotten. Could I ask how you got that job and what kind of requirements it holds? I've taught SAT to several students through private tutoring and I think I am quite good at it. I'd also be interested in teaching abroad, though I am an American-born Korean. I'm going to be a junior in college so no bachelors yet. I got it through a friend that I worked with. I was looking around for something that I could do while going to school, and she offered to recommend me at this place. To get the job, you want to have a degree in something like economics, some type of science, history, etc (really anything that can give AP credit). Some academies want you to also go to a Top 25 university, the better, the better chance you'll have. From there, you just contact SAT hagwons and ask around. They are especially busy in the summertime, with wages reaching upwards of 8 million to 10+ million won per month. If you can advertise yourself well, and gain a loyal following of students, you can reach easily about 60-70 million a year, if not more. There's a few people I personally know that are making in the low 6 figures annually. It's a slowing market though, the economy in Korea blows, and the president has been putting limits on academies. Furthermore, I think that SKY schools used to take SAT/ACT/AP scores as a sort of replacement for the Korean test, but I've heard rumors that they can't officially take them anymore. Things like this have slowed down the market quite a bit, but it's probably one of THE best places you can go to, to advertise yourself and earn lots of money very very quickly among the richest people in Gangnam. It seems the best jobs are found through networking. My private tutoring jobs in korea were pretty good but I also got them through a friend who had contacts with hagwons/students. Unfortunately I won't have a degree in one of the AP subjects- don't think International Studies counts. Thanks for the info though, hopefully if I do teach abroad I'll find a good opportunity.
Honestly, some places will take you if you've taken classes in one of the AP subjects. It's just that if you have a degree in one, it's "preferred". I will say that a lot of these jobs goes to Korean natives, or Korean-Americans to get around the visa issues. If you're a student and on a student visa, that could work as well. I'm pretty sure they can't grant an E-2 visa for this (though don't quote me on that).
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EPT
