What are the types of English Teaching jobs in Korea?

Private Schools (Hakwons) From far back in Korean history, the best Korean universities have selected only those students who scored highest on entrance exams held at the same time every year. These students in turn would receive the best education, which enabled them to get the best jobs and government positions, while those students who scored less on their entrance exams were only admitted to lesser universities, thus limiting their future careers. Because of this, the sole goal of every Korean child’s secondary education is to do as well as possible on their university entrance exam. Towards this end, private schools, or “Hakwons,” were born in the 1970s offering accelerated education. Some hakwons specialized in only one subject, English or math for example, while others offered tutoring in a wide range of subjects that students could pick and choose from, depending on what subjects they needed to improve. After attending school during normal school hours during the day, students whose parents could afford it would attend hakwons in the evening and night time and learn more and learn faster than those who did not attend, thus giving them a distinct advantage when it came time to write their university entrance exams.

1. What are the types
of English Teaching
jobs in Korea?

2. Private Schools (Hakwons) From far back in Korean history, the best Korean universities have
selected only those students who scored highest on entrance exams held at the same time every
year. These students in turn would receive the best education, which enabled them to get the
best jobs and government positions, while those students who scored less on their entrance
exams were only admitted to lesser universities, thus limiting their future careers. Because of
this, the sole goal of every Korean child’s secondary education is to do as well as possible on
their university entrance exam. Towards this end, private schools, or “Hakwons,” were born in
the 1970s offering accelerated education. Some hakwons specialized in only one subject, English
or math for example, while others offered tutoring in a wide range of subjects that students
could pick and choose from, depending on what subjects they needed to improve. After
attending school during normal school hours during the day, students whose parents could
afford it would attend hakwons in the evening and night time and learn more and learn faster
than those who did not attend, thus giving them a distinct advantage when it came time to write
their university entrance exams.

3. Class Types: Kindergarten: Kindergarten classes almost always take
place in the morning and vary from 30-50 minutes in length. Maximum
class size usually is about 8 to 10 kids. Very few schools teach ONLY
kindergarten, but rather usually combine them with elementary classes
in the afternoon. As such, kindergarten positions usually entail split
shifts, though they usually finish much earlier in the day, usually by 6pm
or 7pm.
Elementary: Elementary classes take place right after the students
finish public school, generally starting around 2:30 pm and finishing
around 8 or 9 pm and run between 40 and 50 minutes in length. Classes
usually range from ten to twelve students at most but can be as few as
two or three.

4. Middle/High School: Middle and highschool students usually study
longer at public school and so hakwon classes usually begin around
6pm and may go as late as 10:00pm. Class length is usually between 50
minutes and one hour. Maximum class size is usually between 8 and 10
students.

5. Adults: Because most adults have to work, adult classes generally take place early in
the morning, between 6:00 and 9:00 am, at lunchtime, and later on in the evening
between 7:00 and 11:00 pm. As such, split shifts are unavoidable. Maximum class size
generally is between ten and twelve students, depending on signups, and classes last
for between 50 minutes to one and a half hours. Hakwons rarely offer kindergarten,
elementary, middle and highschool and adult classes together. The classes they offer
vary according to their location, clientele and that private school’s particular specialty. If
they do offer early kindergarten or adult classes, teachers are usually required to work
split-shifts, teaching kindergarten or adult classes for a couple hours in the morning and
then coming back in the afternoon for elementary, middle and/or high school classes. But
regardless of when they teach during the day or evening, the maximum class hours
remains the same at between 100 and 120 hours per month. Hakwons operate all year
and do not take any time off during the public school summer and winter vacations. In
fact, hakwons usually offer three or four-week intensive courses during summer and
winter vacation times to help students work on their weak subjects. Teachers will
usually find that their schedules change during vacations so that classes start and finish
much earlier because students are not attending regular school. Usually, right before or
right after the summer and winter intensive programs, the foreign teachers get one week
of their standard two weeks of paid vacation per year, not including national holidays.

6. Public Schools Recent changes to the Korean education system has resulted in a flurry
of public schools positions becoming available. Public school class hours normally run
between 9am and 5pm and are between 40 and 50 minutes in length. Class sizes are
quite large, usually between thirty and forty students. The school year begins at the
beginning of March and ends about the end of December. In between each school year is
the winter vacation which runs about 45 days. Summer vacation takes place July/August
and generally is about 40 days. Most public schools run intensive classes during vacation
times, so the exact length of time-off teachers get will vary with each school, but is
generally the same as private schools. Compared to private language schools, there are
many pros and cons to teaching at a public school, though the salaries are about the
same.

7. The Pros: Shorter teaching hours: Total teaching hours at public schools are usually
about 20 per week, compared to at least 25 to 30 at private schools.
Earlier work days: Public school hours usually run between 9am and 5pm with no split
shifts, as opposed to private schools that usually finish between 7pm and 9pm and may
have split shifts starting early in the morning.

8. Greater job security: Because public schools set their budgets at the beginning of the
school year, teachers can be sure that they will get their pay on time throughout their
contract as in most cases their total yearly salary has already been set aside. Because
private language schools operate on a month-to-month basis, they can occasionally run
into financial difficulties that can result in lost or lowered wages or premature dismissal
of employees.
Resume benefits: For teachers who plan to pursue a career in teaching when they return
home, public school experience in Korea is recognized by public school boards in most
western countries, whereas private school experience generally is not.

9. The Cons:Larger classes: Private language schools generally cap their classes at a
maximum of 12 students. However public school classes often have between 30 to 40
students in one class. Classes can be all boys, all girls, or mixed depending on the
school. Because of this, the traditional conversation-class style cannot effectively be
utilized, for instructors are not able to spend as much time with students individually as
they are able to in a private school setting. There are just too many students to give each
one time to speak, and so the majority of classes must be taught in a lecture style.

10. Level mismatching: Students with similar English level ability are NOT grouped together
in separate classes as they are in private schools. Every class will contain a varying
number of students who speak well, whose ability is average and those that have
absolutely no English ability whatsoever. This creates some difficulty for teachers
because if they teach to the higher level students, those with average or much lower
ability will not be able to follow. If the teacher simplifies the teaching content so that
those lower level students are able to follow, the higher level students will quickly
become bored and disenchanted with the class. Experienced instructors may be able to
utilize students in their classes whose English levels are markedly higher than the class
average by splitting the class into groups and assigning one of these advanced-English-
students to each group. Each advanced-student is then designated the group leader, in
effect turning a class with only one English teacher into a class with seven or eight
English teachers. Korean students take their responsibilities very seriously, and public
school teachers may find this method a very effective tool for addressing this problem.

11. Limited contract start dates: Public school hiring generally occurs twice a year, the fall
before the spring semester starts in March, and in the spring before the fall semester
starts in September. Hirings do occur during the year, but when the end of the school
year roles around, teachers may find themselves pressured by their school to extend
their contract until the end of the next semester or asked to leave so that they can bring
in a teacher who will be with them the whole school year.
Underdeveloped Curriculum: Public school English language programs are much newer
than most private school programs and as such teachers are usually expected to help
with the curriculum development, or in many cases, are expected to develop the
curriculum from scratch and select the textbooks entirely on their own. For teachers who
have an education degree or have a substantial amount of practical teaching experience
this is not too difficult, but for new teachers who have little or no real teaching
experience or training, this can be overwhelming.

12. After school programs: Many schools that cannot afford to run an English program
during regular school hours because of budget or class schedule contraints instead are
setting up after school programs which students who wish to study English can attend
once regular school hours are finished. Students have to pay for these additional classes,
and because because the teacher’s salary is dependant on how many students signup
for their classes, teachers can find their classes cancelled and their salary reduced or
unavailable at any time. We advise teachers to stay away from these programs unless
they have other full or part time work as they are extremely unreliable and usually
contain clauses in their contract for class cancellations and pay reductions without
notice. Lastly, foreign teachers need to be aware that the public school system in Korea
still advocates the use of corporal punishment by teachers. School children from
elementary, all the way through middle school and even to the end of high school can
expect to get punished for things like being late, talking too much in class or smoking
cigarettes by receiving a lashing with a ruler or stick on the hands, calves or buttocks.
Though the frequency and severity has dropped in recent years, the practice is still
widespread. Foreigners who are uncomfortable with this approach should be sure to
enquire about a school’s disciplinary policy before accepting an offer of employment
from that school.

13. Universities: University positions are very sought after by experienced ESL instructors.
Though university instructors can often have split shifts and also be required to put in
office hours and greater preparation time as well as administer and mark exams,
university instructors usually benefit from less class hours and greater vacation time,
depending on the university. The majority of universities in Korea do their own recruiting
of experienced instructors from within the country, and as such PlanetESL does not
normally carry such positions.

14. Companies: A large number of companies, corporations and government offices hire
foreigners for a number of purposes:
– Providing their staff with English instruction for business purposes –
Testing/evaluating the English proficiency of staff or applicants – Editing published
materials, internet content or legal documents – Writing, editing or producing
publishable materials – Creating/managing educational programs and curriculums
Foreigners who fill these positions usually become full company employees. They are
expected to work 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and sometimes even on Saturday.
Benefits, such as pay, vacation time and bonuses are usually higher than normal
teaching positions, and can even include sick days and holiday bonuses. The hours are
longer and the work usually more in depth than public or private schools. But these
kinds of jobs usually entail little or no teaching and are very stable, making these jobs
highly sought out by people who are in Korea long-term. Jobs such as these are not the
norm, but PlanetESL does carry them from time to time, and when we do they will be
posted in our Job Center.

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