Teaching in South Korea
It is likely that you will be working in a Hagwon. Hagwons are private institutions which students attend after school.
You may have kindergarten classes in the mornings but generally you will not start work until the afternoon..jpg)
Typically you will teach 6 hours per day, 30 hours per week, Monday to Friday. You will be expected to spend at least an hour preparing your classes, unpaid.
Ages of students usually range from 4 to 18. The majority of students are between 8 and 13 although it is not uncommon to have kindergarten or even adult conversational classes.
The maximum number of students in one class is around 10 or 12.
A native Korean teacher often assists English teachers in class.
Education is of great importance to Koreans. Children from more affluent families are sent to a variety of hagwons (English, math, music etc.) after school. As a result kids are often tired and sometimes stressed. Korean teachers typically teach formal grammar leaving the foreign teacher free to teach the more relaxed aspects of English: speaking, pronunciation, reading and writing practice.
The kids will love you. They will be fascinated with you and will learn a lot by copying what you say and by playing games. They will want to touch you, sit on you and hold your hand whenever possible..jpg)
The school will supply you with the required teaching materials, and will guide you in the best way to utilise your resources.
Typically, the level of your students’ English will be quite low. Teachers are not expected to speak Korean (Hangul). In fact, many institutes request that you refrain from using Korean in the classroom to maximise students' participation in English.
Classes will be on conversational English. This ranges from teaching lower level students ‘letters’ using picture flashcards to conversing with higher level students. A good teacher is able to think of fun games and activities, making books a topic of conversation and interaction. An active, fun class will bring the best results from Korean children, and will make your teaching time more fun as well!
Many hagwons also cater to Kindergarten students. These students will be four to six years old, maybe even younger. As you might expect these classes involve a lot of games, songs, art type projects and story telling.
With younger students you will use a lot of flashcards and they will learn largely by repeating what you say and by singing songs and playing games. Students will often understand your meaning without actually understanding your vocabulary. You will find that your tone of voice becomes exaggerated and that you talk slowly and clearly. This will be most apparent to anyone you talk to from home on the phone! More advanced students will understand key vocabulary and you will be working to build on that and to enhance their English communication skills. A good tip is to never underestimate the power of hand gestures and acting. The students’ Korean names will be very difficult to remember however, this is not usually a problem as most schools advocate giving students English names. If you have a new class you may have the privilege of naming them.
Some of the staff at the school may not have a high level of English competency. Some may not speak English at all. Some may speak English but may be too shy to speak it in front of you in case they make a mistake. This is normal. While the majority of staff at a school will have a high enough level of English to communicate with you well there will be instances where misunderstandings occur.
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