Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Some of you may of seen me mention it in other threads but it is official now. Me and my other half are off to teach English in South Korea for a year, flying out 22nd August. I'm a mixed bag of excitement and nerves. The attraction of being able to save lots of dollar and doing something a bit crazy before I settle down were what appealed in the main. I should have no probs settling in as I have two friends over there already, so it's just a matter of hoping I'm good at the job. I remember there was a thread about teaching English abroad before and that some of the posters on here may be doing a similar thing. If so any hints? :winkold: I don't believe VT has any posters based in Korea, so I'm going to have to try and hunt some fellow fans down, have a bit of a Seoul Villans unit. Going to miss going to VP for a while, but at least the leaving date allows me to go to the West Ham game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I was offered a job in Seoul once But i wasn't ready for a Korea move boom boom but good luck out there , Korea is on my to do list so find a bar for me for next year so i can watch the Villa game during my visit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phumfeinz Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 How exactly do you go about this Wainy? Is there just a website or something where you sign up to teach English, or do you need proper teaching qualifications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 It's different for each country but in Korea all you need is to be an native English speaker and to have a degree (in anything, this is necessary for the visa application). Dave's ESL cafe is the best place to search for positions and read up on other stuff if you are considering it. From what I hear competition for positions around Seoul is a bit more intense than it was and they often have a preference for experienced teachers or Americans, but if you keep lookin you'll find something. Alternatively there is high demand for teachers in Korea's other big cities. If your seriously considering it PM me anytime and I'll help you where possible as there is a lot of kerfuffle with gathering the necessary documents for the visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 19, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted July 19, 2010 A couple of friends of mine are doing the same this year through EPIK, a South Korean government run program. I was looking at doing it but it seems to realistically do it, and make some cash at the same time, you need a bit behind you to start with, which I didn't. But apparently they are one of the better ones to go through. There are a fair few stories online of people essentially being scammed in S. Korea through these English teaching programs, so I think I'd prefer to go through one run by their government than a private company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingphil Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I see you timed this as the series of 24 has now finished Wainy. Best of luck fella, and remember to keep in touch with us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Yeah that's the public schools, I'm going to be working in a Hagwon which is a private school. Me and my other half were unable to do private as in order to get a couple position you have to be married. These are where there have been a few horror stories come from but we have sought advice on our contract and spoken to one of the English teachers at the school and it all seems legit and well run. As you keep applying for jobs you'll be able to get a basic feel for which ones to steer clear of. As for having to have money behind you, that is not really the case. All you need is your flight money (which gets reimbursed usually with your first pay packet) and enough to live on for the first month. I hear cost of living is pretty cheap, and the school will usually feed you. Your accomadation is owned by the school, so you live rent free. The wage averages at about £1200 a month and you can look at easily saving about 70% of that from what I've read and my mates have told me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 I see you timed this as the series of 24 has now finished Wainy. Best of luck fella, and remember to keep in touch with us all. I shall indeed. Will still be on here (probably more so to keep up with Villa happenings). They are 8 hours ahead of us, but I will be quite nocturnal as my work hours will be 2-9. That means a mid-week 7:45 kick off will be 3:45am for me. Random fact South Korea has the fastest internet in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 How do you teach them if you can't speak South Korean? am I being stupid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 19, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted July 19, 2010 You give them all the answers for the tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 How do you teach them if you can't speak South Korean? am I being stupid? They believe the best way for them to learn is to have a totally English speaking environment. With the older more able students it's all based on conversation and with the younger ones it is based around repetition and games etc. The students are not allowed to speak Korean in class at all. In the event of a total communication break down they do have a Korean co teacher on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I am an ELT in Istanbul. I don't speak Turkish its just a matter of immersing them in the language as quickly as possible. Also, most (reputable) language schools have a brief test to get into the school. So a minor grasp of the language is needed. I work in a private school so the teaching is a bit more difficult due to the kids not actually wanting to learn (remember French at school?) i get 2500 YTL a month and can live on 800 of that VERY comfortably. I mean, I eat out 3 or 4 times a week with the missus so in actual fact i'm paying for 8 meals. Transport is simple and cheap. Whilst the two countries are not comparible. The correlation between salary and the cost of living is relatively similar. I'm saving for my wedding and planning to buy property on a few of the islands in around 10-15 years time. Enjoy yourself out there. Planning for lessons is a bugger to start off with but then you get quite good at improvisation and using old material. Any other questions let me know. Enjoy yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCatMe Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Hey i taught over there- amazing experience... Basically, they have Korean teachers giving them the basics, and you just act as Mr or Mrs Entertainer, showing them how to pronounce things properly (Most Korean English teachers can barely do this!) The weirdest thing to get used to is the food, especially if you're a veggie... Recommendation: Learn a little of the language, as it really will go down a storm over there. It's a beautiful country and life there is way cheaper than in the UK. I paid £10 a month tax on £1000, and had a free apartment too... Good luck!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Cool cheers, I may well come to you for advice. There a few web-sites that have examples of lesson plans that you can download, so I can get to grips with the basics before I go. One of the things I'm not keen on is I am going to have to teach American English, so it's going to be a case of 'color' and organize'. Do you need a TEFL to teach in Turkey? I have found that is usually the case for positions in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Hey i taught over there- amazing experience... Basically, they have Korean teachers giving them the basics, and you just act as Mr or Mrs Entertainer, showing them how to pronounce things properly (Most Korean English teachers can barely do this!) The weirdest thing to get used to is the food, especially if you're a veggie... Recommendation: Learn a little of the language, as it really will go down a storm over there. It's a beautiful country and life there is way cheaper than in the UK. I paid £10 a month tax on £1000, and had a free apartment too... Good luck!!! Cheers! Yeah 3% tax over there. Really makes you wonder what our government do with the masses of income tax they rake in along with duty on tobacco alcohol and petrol etc. Anyway, moving on from that, how long was you out there for? Are you British? In what location did you teach? Think I may well pick up a phrase book then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 You give them all the answers for the tests. oh shut up you dick.. you really are boring aren't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Cool cheers, I may well come to you for advice. There a few web-sites that have examples of lesson plans that you can download, so I can get to grips with the basics before I go. One of the things I'm not keen on is I am going to have to teach American English, so it's going to be a case of 'color' and organize'. Do you need a TEFL to teach in Turkey? I have found that is usually the case for positions in Europe. Yes, a TEFL is a minimum. I have a CELTA, which without sounding like an arse, is much better and a better qualification. It cost me £1200 for the course at the Brasshouse. I stand firm on the American English thing. It's not necessary IMO. It's a real bug bear of mine. Just teach normal English and if any questions are thrown up explain the difference and offer the 2 choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 19, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted July 19, 2010 You give them all the answers for the tests. oh shut up you dick.. you really are boring aren't you? Now now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Cool cheers, I may well come to you for advice. There a few web-sites that have examples of lesson plans that you can download, so I can get to grips with the basics before I go. One of the things I'm not keen on is I am going to have to teach American English, so it's going to be a case of 'color' and organize'. Do you need a TEFL to teach in Turkey? I have found that is usually the case for positions in Europe. Yes, a TEFL is a minimum. I have a CELTA, which without sounding like an arse, is much better and a better qualification. It cost me £1200 for the course at the Brasshouse. I stand firm on the American English thing. It's not necessary IMO. It's a real bug bear of mine. Just teach normal English and if any questions are thrown up explain the difference and offer the 2 choices. One of the recruiters told me to do an American accent for one of the interviews, couldn't believe it. I was getting ready to use the voice I gave to all my action figures when I was younger! Luckily the director of the school that employed me spent 4 years in London and considers Britain his second home. The school is called Eton. I am a teacher at Eton, how good does that sound, Might do some kind of course while I'm over there, in case I want to teach English elsewhere afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Yeah 3% tax over there. Really makes you wonder what our government do with the masses of income tax they rake in along with duty on tobacco alcohol and petrol etc. Those duck islands and second homes in Westminster dont pay for themselves mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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