Tefl in South Korea

public schools will be on their summer holidays in August, so providing you don;t have any English camps on the dates of the wedding then you should be fine to go home for it.

Although it's going to be pretty expensiive, I would think you'd be better securing a placement for the end of August / start of september and not spending a fortune coming home for the wedding a few weeks after you start work.

I'd look for a job for after the wedding, it's not easy coming home for a few days, the wedding will pass you by in a haze of jetlagged tiredness.

I first went to Korea in February 2007 knowing I'd have to come back for my brother's wedding on October 29th of the same year. The wedding was on a sunday as it was a bank holiday, I got a flight on the Friday before it, with my flight being delayed by a few hours too. I ended up getting to my house at about 1am on the fri night/sat morning. I didn't enjoy the wedding because I was so tired, I felt kind of bad for my brother but it cost me about €3,000 in flights / travel / lost wages and living expenses for the 6 days I was home, so it's not like he thought I didn't want to be there.

Do you only want to work in public schools? You'd multiply your chances of employment ten or twenty fold by looking into private schools too.

squeakyduck wrote: »

You've sold me, I'm gonna email my recruiter back and not bother applying for the job in June. I said originally I wanted to go after the wedding, but talking to my recruiter the other day when he asked me to apply for the job he made it seem that there would be no jobs left. (I was upset about EPIK rejecting me and I panicked)

I'm scouring Daves cafe for jobs, both public school and private schools are applying for teachers in August now. I'm guessing applying for jobs on Daves cafe is applying to recruiters that are advertising.

On forums here and on Dave's cafe I've heard bad things about private schools while they have MUCH smaller class sizes I've heard that sometimes they can with hold wages and stuff. This worries me. Public school stories paint a much brighter happier picture.

What about my notarised details. Would they only make me send them on when I have the job? I only have one hard copy of them and they are also scanned into the computer.

Of course the recruiter wants you to come now, the only get paid when you go over there and start workng. Don't limit yourself to one recruiter, apply for as many jobs as possible. Think of it like looking for a job at home, you wouldn't limit yourself to applying only to one job here, so don't do it there.

Yeah, Hagwons have a bad reputation, but that's only because the people gettting screwed over (sometimes majorly, sometimes totally exaggerating it because they are d*cks) go on the internet and bitch and moan about their poor treatment, while people in good places stay quiet and never publicise how good their school is.

The only thing you can do is find out as much information as possible about the school. Talk to current and past teachers, speak to the principal, ask around on different forums if people know about the school (most twons have a facebook page so you should find out some information there).

As for the notarised stuff, don't send them anything until you have had your interview and secured your position with a school and are then applying for your visa. You can e-mail them the scanned copies, but keep hold of the originals. The stamps are good for 6 months for the garda check so you have a good amount of time for that.

Can someone tell me whether a TEFL certification is a requirement to getting a good job. Going by any info I can get, it's not a requirement but it doesn't say anywhere to get it or else you will get a **** job! So, would one need one to get a decent role?

I've just finished my penultimate year of university and I'm considering teaching English abroad, probably in South Korea, after I finish my degree, i.e. summer of 2012.

I have a number of questions which I hope are not just repeating things that other people have already asked. Firstly, when should I apply for jobs If I'd like to start in September 2012? Could I apply in the summer of 2012 or should I apply much earlier? Is it possible to get jobs on a rolling basis, i.e. midway through the academic year such as December/January? Secondly, what websites should I look at for jobs? Would I earn more money in public or private schools? Is it better to get a job in a public school even if it's less pay? I'd like to get a job that pays for return flights and accommodation, as I've heard some schools/companies do. Is this the norm or the exception?

Also, I was considering doing a CELTA course. I've heard that you don't necessarily need this course to teach English in South Korea but that it increases your pay. I'm primarily interested in doing the course because it would allow me to teach English in Ireland/UK in the future which may be useful. However, the main problem is the cost, I was looking at the CELTA course in International House Dublin and the cost is a whopping €1450. Is it worth my while to spend this much money? If so, when would be the best time to do the course? This summer or wait until next summer? Obviously I cannot do it during the academic year due to the fact that I'll still be in university. My problem with waiting until next summer to do the course would be that I'd be too late applying for jobs after the course is done, i.e. I'd be doing the course around June 2012 and then hoping to get a job in South Korea in September 2012. Or alternatively, should I do the cheaper CELT course? Or even the cheaper and shorter again TEFL course? What's the main advantage of doing CELTA over CELT?

Generally, do people like it in South Korea? Are the working conditions good? I have heard the hours can be long. Roughly, what is the pay like? Obviously I'd like to save money for travelling or perhaps a Masters therefore with the average pay is it possible to save money or does the pay just about cover living costs?

I know I've asked a lot of questions, some of which may have already been answered in this tread, but I'd really appreciate some responses.

Very much appreciated virmilitaris.

I think some Korean students are very studious...especially the ones whose's parents ship them abroad to learn English at great expense. Also, lower level Korean students are not so good at conversation or even trying it...it mostly the transmission mode of education that is expected mixed in with a lot of saving face.

Once you get used to them or get to know more about them then classes are really enjoyable. At the end of the day, all students are trying to learn something, just takes longer for some.

Deleted User wrote: »

The most I've heard first hand from people regarding savings after a year in Korea is about $10,000.. Is that accurate or too low? That's based on maybe 10 people I've chatted to about it.

I know Korea has accommodation paid for etc. and it's all laid out on a plate for you but that's one of the things I don't like... It's absolutely great in a way but it all seems very restricted. "here's your gap year planned for you".
I mean I can just quit this school tomorrow and move to another one if I want.. Or I can fek off to the Philippines for two months, come back and pick up new work in a couple of days. No one even thinks about visas.

I would consider Korea someday if it was particularly good money but that's it.. I've heard all the comparisons between Korean and Vietnamese students and everyone is glad to be away from them. Even my friends in the Philippines who teach Koreans and Japanese love the Japanese and can't stand the Koreans.

Again, all I'm saying is that Korea isn't the only option.. It's a great option but most people at home think it's the only option in Asia. It's only ever Korea being discussed in this forum.

Well it's in the title

Totally agree on the rest though...I don't much about the rest of Asia. Was only ever interested in Korea and Japan to be honest. HK wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so crowded. China still has a lot to do to catch up in payment and benefits.

Many people have made their career in teaching but true, it is totally different if you have one year out and you do not want it to be planned or structured too much in advance.

Deleted User wrote: »

I meant the forum, not just the thread :P

The last point I'll make is that you can backpack S.E Asia for a couple of months before/after teaching very easily.. And it's on the way to Australia. My holidays will be spent in the Perinthian islands of Malaysia while a few of us are going back to Laos for a look weekend to do the Gibbon experience.

Seriously people, don't just look at Korea.. You can teach anywhere.

you can fly air asia from korea to K.L for just over $100 so backpacking around S.E asia is easy from korea too. granted, it's not feasible to go for a weekend trip, but you could go to japan or Beijing easily for the weekend from Korea.

As for hanoi, out of all the places to live and work in Vietnam, I'd have put Hanoi at the bottom. HCM / Saigon is much better, more things to do and has a better atmosphere. Now, in saying that, Vietnam is probably the most beautiful country I've ever been to so Hanoi did have a lot of competition and is still an okay city, but seoul, busan and daegu are much better than it.

Oh and as a small aside, I enjoy not getting pestered by touts trying to sell me stuff in Korea, you can't get away from it in Vietnam, even my friend who works in one of the best universities in Saigon, has a vietnamese g.f and has been there a good few years now find the place a struggle at times, just because he gets pestered so much. Peace and tranquility alone is enough to make me keep Vietnam for visiting and Korea for living.

Can anyone recommend a good book for learning Korean or a phrase book?

hyperbaby wrote: »

Finally tomorrow I will have all my documents sorted out.

What courier service did ye guys use to send your documents?
I got quoted 70 euro for my documents today, pricey much?

I used Fed Ex to send over my documents. I sent them from the office near Santry. DHL is the other option for sending docs over.

Ya mine was around 70 euro, sounds expensive but its guranteed to arrive in around 4 days. Your also given a tracking number which the school/recruiter will like to know so they can check the status of the docs.

gluck

nameproblem wrote: »

Hi guys, great thread, I know the answer to these questions are probably in the thread, but I don't have time to go through the 98 pages to find them all. would really appreciate if ye could help me here with a few things.

What documents need to be Appostilled? The Degree photocopy, Criminal back ground check, anything else? These all have to get a Notary too yeah?

degree needs to be notarised and apostilled. Most solicitors can notarise it and it is then apostilled at the dept of foreign affairs.

The back ground check doesn't need to be notarised as it's signed by the superintendent, it is then apostilled by the Dept of foreign affairs.

Does the photocopy of the passport need this too?

no

Do I need two sealed copies of my degree transcripts? I have one already, but read somewhere that the school and the embassy want a copy, is this true?

make copies for yourself just to have them, it'll save having to look for them again in the future. You can just photocopy them yourself, then bring them into your college and get the envelope sealed and stamped.

Where do I get the health check, here beforehand, or over in South Korea?

Korea. Though you have to fill out the health form and send it with your documents to get your visa.

Oh and has anyone ever worked for GnB schools? we have had an interview with one in Ulsan and so far it looks good...

It's a massive chain of schools. The franchise is sold to whoever wants to use the name. Each one is as different as the last in terms of how your boss will be as they all have seperate owners. You will find at least 3-4 GnB schools in every large town, let alone city. There doesn't seem to be any need to have a specified distance between where one can open in relation to an existing one. The was two in the space of 200metres where I lived and I knew of 3-4 others within 30mins walk from them.
Thanks

Who stamps the back of the passport photos?

no one, I think you may just have to write your name on the back (if you even have to do it) having a copy of your passport in with the documents proves you are the person in the picture.

Also, would anyone be interested in a boards meetup in Seoul some weekend? Would be good to gather a few people here for a spot of galbi seeing as this thread is going so well.