Hi all! If you don't know me, my name is Melinda. I'm going to South Korea to teach English next month. I thought I'd start a blog to discuss South Korea related stuff, whether annoying bureaucratic issues when getting a visa, culture shock, or anything! I hope you enjoy my adventures as much as I will.
First off, why South Korea? I'll be honest, at first the thought of teaching in a foreign country for a whole year scared me, and it still does. But being a recent graduate of UCSB and having nothing lined up after graduation the real question was: why not? I began researching what teaching in South Korea would be like and the benefits were incredible. A typical Korean employer will provide you with the following:
1) Round trip flight to South Korea
2) Your housing paid for
3) Half or all medical insurance
4) Typical monthly salary of 2-2.4 million won (approx. $1,600-$2000 USD)
5) Paid vacation time (5 days-4 weeks)
6) One month's salary as a bonus for fulfilling your year-long contract
The first step I took was to enroll in a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification class. This certification is not required, but we felt that it would help, since neither of us had experience teaching. After researching online, we found a reasonably priced course through LCC. I commuted to UCLA to attend classes and immediately found the information invaluable. Not only did we learn how to teach others without knowing their native language, we gained knowledge about relationships, communication (verbal and nonverbal), grammar, teaching children, teaching business English, and much more. I would suggest that if you are interested in taking a TESOL/TEFL course, make sure to look for one that includes hands on teaching practice. Another good quality is having about 100 hours for the certification course, because employers look for about this amount.
After I graduated from the certification course, I began applying to jobs right away. You can find many job postings online with a quick google search. A good website to start with would be Dave's ESL Cafe.
I'll leave it at that for tonight. Later I will talk about the process of obtaining a visa and the differences between Public and Private (Hagwons) Korean schools.
Before I go, check these out:
1) Three Sheets: South Korea (A fun look at the drinking culture in South Korea)
2) Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations: South Korea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (From YouTube.com, so sorry for all of the separate links)
Bye for now!
First off, why South Korea? I'll be honest, at first the thought of teaching in a foreign country for a whole year scared me, and it still does. But being a recent graduate of UCSB and having nothing lined up after graduation the real question was: why not? I began researching what teaching in South Korea would be like and the benefits were incredible. A typical Korean employer will provide you with the following:
1) Round trip flight to South Korea
2) Your housing paid for
3) Half or all medical insurance
4) Typical monthly salary of 2-2.4 million won (approx. $1,600-$2000 USD)
5) Paid vacation time (5 days-4 weeks)
6) One month's salary as a bonus for fulfilling your year-long contract
The first step I took was to enroll in a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification class. This certification is not required, but we felt that it would help, since neither of us had experience teaching. After researching online, we found a reasonably priced course through LCC. I commuted to UCLA to attend classes and immediately found the information invaluable. Not only did we learn how to teach others without knowing their native language, we gained knowledge about relationships, communication (verbal and nonverbal), grammar, teaching children, teaching business English, and much more. I would suggest that if you are interested in taking a TESOL/TEFL course, make sure to look for one that includes hands on teaching practice. Another good quality is having about 100 hours for the certification course, because employers look for about this amount.
After I graduated from the certification course, I began applying to jobs right away. You can find many job postings online with a quick google search. A good website to start with would be Dave's ESL Cafe.
I'll leave it at that for tonight. Later I will talk about the process of obtaining a visa and the differences between Public and Private (Hagwons) Korean schools.
Before I go, check these out:
1) Three Sheets: South Korea (A fun look at the drinking culture in South Korea)
2) Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations: South Korea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (From YouTube.com, so sorry for all of the separate links)
Bye for now!
Best wishes. Hope you'll enjoy your stay in SK, and above all teaching English to the Koreans.
ReplyDeleteHi Melinda & Steve,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations again and I wish you both all the best on your upcoming (exciting) journey in South Korea!
Best,
Patrizia Delesante