When you’re at home deciding on whether or not to teach English in Korea one aspect of the industry you may not be considering is the the number of different types of English schools. Sure, you may know about hagwons and public schools but what about Universities, Company in house instructors, or adult language institutes? Then there’s also the vagaries that exist within each of those.
Work place enviornement plays a huge role in determining whether you’ll end up happy at work. To that end I thought I’d give a brief glimpse inside each segment of the Korean ESL industry in hopes of shedding some light on the variety of situations you could possibly end up in. As always if anyone has anything of merit to add please let me know in the comments!
Hogwans
Hogwans are the usually the first stop for many first timers arriving in South Korea to teach English. It’s easy to see why: there’s a huge number of hogwans all over the country. Still, all hogwans are not the same.
Huge Chain: Examples include Poly and Avalon English
First up, you have the monolithic chain schools. These are the hogwans with several hundred students. They usually take up several floors of buildings complete with libraries, computer rooms, conference rooms and media centers. These schools are usually franchised which means you’ll be relying on the luck of the dice in whether you end up at a great school or not.
Hogwans of this size have their own in house curriculum. You may have to stick strictly to the book without the use of any outside materials or your own ideas. This could be a good thing or bad depending on the individual. Schools of this size usually employ over ten native English teachers as well as a huge Korean staff and teachers. You may be just another pretty face, but typically you probably won’t have to worry about being paid and collecting your pension, severance and ticket home.
Huge hogwans like this usually are franchised by individual owners who buy the rights to use the curriculum and name of the school. This means that one franchise may end up being like a fairy godmother towards their employees while others come across like the wicked stepmother.
Mid-sized: Examples
The mid-sized hogwan may or may not be a franchised. I’ve seen just as many that are independent as those that have been franchised. Usually the only thing that matters with going with a franchised school is that the curriculum is set. You have something to work with. Of course whether or not they want you to work with it is up to them. Midsized hogwans may give you more leeway to put your own ideas to work in the classroom. You may also feel like less of a cog in the big machine.
Mom & Pop
Small doesn’t mean bad but it doesn’t necessarily equal good either. When dealing with a mom and pop shop you may find yourself with smaller classes and maybe one other coworker or it may just be you and the boss teaching in a one room class with the landlord waiting at the door to collect the rent. Usually open less than a year with students coming and going and financial Armageddon riding on whether little Mina will decide to drop out or not.
Still these places could be more flexible toward your wants and needs. The small work environment often leads to closer bonds at work. Sometimes lunch and/or dinner is provided.
Public Schools
When deciding on teaching at a public school the most important thing to keep in mind is that it’s really a matter of luck if you end up at school you’re happy with. Your relationship with the principal, vice principals, co teachers and staff will play a huge role in your work life, however you rarely, if at all, have a choice in the school you end up working. So its the luck of the draw whether you end up in a relationship of mutual respect or one of strife, conflict, and miscommunication.
Don’t despair, though, because all is not left up to fate. You will have more of a choice when it comes to choosing between elementary, middle, or high school. Here it all boils down to your own personality and comfort level. Which ages are more simpatico with you?
In elementary schools the kids tend to be enthusiastic, eager to learn, outgoing, curious, and friendly. Well, except for the sixth graders who seem more intent on being preteen Kings and Queens of the school. As the age increases you’ll typically find the interest in English dwindling which makes your job a bit more challenging for Middle and High Schools. On the other hand your materials can be geared toward more current events and mature subject matter.
Business English
Example: Berlitz, Hi English, Wallstreet
I have no experience with teaching business English, however my friend Jodie does and here are a few words of advice from her:
It is hard to break into if you have no experience. Keep that in mind.
One-on-one English is actually harder than group lessons. With groups you can have them do pair work,etc… Rebecca knows more about this as she does debate style classes. Adults are just like kids when it comes to learning English. They are just as afraid, if not more to speak in English. You need to just be persistent when applying for jobs b/c you have no experience but once you get a job and gain that experience you will have many more oppurtunities open up to you. But it will be hard at first to find jobs that will hire you. I hope this helps
University
Some see teaching at a University as the holy grail of ESL. However, for a newbie, landing such a position is not easy unless you have the credentials or connections. Usually a master’s degree is a must for Universities to even glance your way. Still, there are those that will accept a BA applicant if he or she has experience, an education background or some form of supplementary credential like a CELTA.
From those I’ve spoken to working at a Uni might not be what you envision. First up, don’t expect your students to be fluent in English. I’ve been told that an introductory English class at the Freshman level will have students whose ability will be below some elementary school students. Next, you’ll have to deal with the vagaries of student personalities. If you thought parents could be a tad extreme there’s nothing like an Uni student after an A plus.
Expect to hold office hours, but from what I understand not many students take advantage of the time and you can use it for grading and lesson planning.
Without a master’s degree or experience getting your foot in the door will be tough but not impossible. You might wind up at a school way out in the countryside, but at least you’ll have your foot in the door. Once you have a few years experience a move to a bigger city and bigger university is not out of the question.
Hopefully this will help anyone out there who needs a little more information to help determine where they’ll end up teaching in Korea. Remember, though, there’s no concrete rule about the above situations.
