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What are the hours like? Will I do overtime?
In most “Hagwons” you will be expected to work around 30 hours a week. Most English teaching jobs are Monday to Friday. Some schools do have Saturday classes and this will be stipulated in your contract. Most schools will clearly state in the contract the maximum teaching hours required per month. You can choose to teach overtime, this is entirely up to you. The school will pay you between $18-25 per hour for overtime. This too will be clearly stated in the contract.
Most schools require at least one hour of preparation each day for lesson planning and some employers ask that you arrive at work a little earlier to do this. This is NOT considered teaching hours. Realistically you can expect to work about 35 hours a week. |
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Will my school provide me with ESL teaching materials?
Most schools provide you with the teaching materials and a curriculum. They either have their own textbooks which you teach from or provide the students with selected material. As long as you meet the objectives you will find that a little creativity and imagination will help make your classes fun. Remember, you can also check this site or contact us for ideas! |
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Will someone meet me at the Airport?
Yes, there will be someone to meet you at the airport. Look for someone holding a sign with your name on it.
On occasion, you may be asked to take a shuttle bus to a hotel near the school, the airport is quite far from the city and sometimes the director may not be able to get there. This depends on when you arrive. If this is the case, we will let you know exactly which bus to take and where to get off and someone will meet you at the hotel to take you to your new apartment. |
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What if I have to leave early due to an unexpected emergency (death, illness of family member)?
This is a very difficult question to answer as it all depends on what the circumstances are. Your employers are people too, and we all understand that an emergency is an emergency and sometimes things happen that we have no control over. Any such instance would be treated as an individual case. For example, if you had to return home for a funeral half way through your contract, but planned to return after a week, there would likely be some arrangements made to accommodate this. |
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I have no experience teaching, or teaching English as a second language? Will I be trained?
Yes, there is at least a week of training at your school upon your arrival. You will spend some time shadowing other teachers and observing their classes. This will give you a good idea of what to expect. Once you are comfortable on your own you will then start taking your own classes.
All our schools offer a curriculum which is easy to follow. You will have a teacher’s guide and all the kids in your class will have student books to work from. You can add materials from the library of resources your school will provide. To make your classes more fun and interesting ESL teachers like to add supplementary material. The teaching itself is not too difficult once you develop your own style. Be patient as it does take a few months to get the hang of things. Consistency and good class management is the key to your success as a teacher . |
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Will there be English-speaking people at my school?
Yes, all our private schools have bilingual Korean staff as well as other foreign teachers like you working there. Most of the directors are bilingual. If not, there will always be someone there to translate and assist you should you need to discuss something.
If you choose a position in the Public school you will be the only foreign teacher in your school with a Korean Co-teacher. We will discuss this in the interview and together we will assist you in deciding which public school job in Korea would be right for you. |
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Do the kids speak English?
You will find your classes vary in English competency. The students are grouped by age and skill level. The teaching material is useful in teaching the children basis phrases which you use in your daily class. Keeping the phrases short and sweet can really help. For example: Sit in your chair, be quiet, stand up, and look at teacher. Games are a great way to teach phrases in a fun and interesting way. Having basic rules of the classroom can help you too. Some examples:
Do not talk while teacher is talking. Do not run in the school. Sit in your chair nicely.
Most schools have all levels of students, so it is safe to say you will teach a lot of different age groups and be exposed to various skill levels. At first this may seem like a daunting task, but you will be surprised by how much your kids learn in the year. They are like sponges. |
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What is the difference between the PRIVATE and PUBLIC schools when teaching overseas?
During the interview we will discuss this with you. Often it is personal preference, and depends on what kind of experience you are looking for. We have compiled a list to give you an idea of the pros and cons of both.
Private Language Schools – HIRE EVERY MONTH
- 1 year contracts- start from the day you start teaching.
- Pre-school to high school–usually you will have a mix range of ages.
- Smaller classes with 3-12 students per class
- Opportunity for overtime. If you teach over your allocated hours you will be paid overtime.
- Can be more specific in location preference
- Will have support of other foreign teachers- usually 3-20 other teachers depending on the size of school
- School training provided
- Jobs start year round- so you can apply anytime
- Lots of resources available to you – provide by the school
- Schedule is usually Monday to Friday. No weekends are required.
- Teaching certification not required
- Pay usually is a little higher
- Specific vacation time is allocated to the teachers
- Teach your own class
- Focus on speaking, conversation, pronunciation, reading and writing.
Public Schools – HIRE MOSTLY FOR FEBRUARY AND AUGUST (however positions at a later date do come available at times)
- Over 300 jobs in February, over 500 jobs in August.
- Orientation session and training provided
- Security of working for the Korean Ministry of Education
- Slightly lower pay with no experience
- For experienced teachers or those with higher levels of education, the pay packages can be competitive.
- Only foreigner in the school
- Less choices for placement
- More rural positions
- Relevant transferrable experience
- Larger classes involving 30-50 students
- Have a Korean co-teacher who is in the class with you
- Fewer resources-however most can be accessed on the internet
- Teaching schedule is usually Monday to Friday
- Teaching hours are usually 7 or 8am to 3 or 4pm
- Education Degree preferred
- Teaching certification or experience more likely to secure you a position
- 3-4 weeks paid vacation
- Focus on the development of oral communication skills.
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What are the hours like?
This depends on the age group you are teaching.
The private academy: If you are teaching kindergarten and elementary you can expect hours around 10-6pm. Classes geared towards elementary/middle students after there regular school can run from mid-afternoon into the evening. If you choose to teach older kids you will probably teach from 1-9pm. Of course, these are just examples and before you are hired the hours will be discussed with you. They are never set in stone and the hours can change through out the year.
The ESL teaching job’s hours will be stated in your contract, the average is 120 teaching hours a month, which is about 30 hours per week. Sometimes it can be more or less depending on the time of year. Along with your teaching hours you will also have an average of about an hour a day of prepping, photocopying, or correcting to do. This is not considered teaching hours and will be expected of you.
The Public School: The public school position is a standard 40 hours a day work week. The hours are usually 7/8am to 3/4pm. You are required to only teach 22 hours a week and do additional work which is referred to as office hours for the other 18 hours. |
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What if I am having communication problems in my class?
You will have support from Korean teachers in your school. If you are having communication problems you can always ask a Korean teacher to come into your class to explain in Korean. |
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Will I have a co-teacher?
In the private schools you will teach your own classes. You will have Korean teachers at your school who share the class time. For example: If the kids study for 90 minutes, you would teach 45 minutes and a Korean teacher will teach the other 45 minutes. You would be expected to share the material.
In the public school system you share the class with a co-teacher, taking turns to teach. |
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