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 Friday May 09 2008

korea - qualifications no longer necessary to teach

Well it looks like starting this fall the only qualification that one will need to teach in Korea is a heartbeat and youthful looks. Having a degree is no longer necessary. See this post from the GalbiJim blog and news article (Korean language). see also this thread on Dave’s Cafe.

Lowering the already low standards is not going to help things - the Korean media already vilifies foreign EFL instructors due to a small minority of miscreants but now new teachers won’t even have completed a degree and can arrive younger and stupider in greater numbers. - it appears that Korea really does not value English Education.

It’s time to get out of this industry and out of this country - they don’t want professional teachers.



Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Friday May 9, 2008 at 10:23 PM
Teaching | ESL_in_the_News |

Picture of kangmi

kangmi wrote 71 words  on  Saturday May 10, 2008  at  01:23 AM United States

Wow. That’s a move back to the darker ages.

Years ago, until the early 90s, the government did not require a degree for an E-2 visa. One had to prove that one had completed two years of college (via official transcript), and I still remember the name of the last person my language institute hired under the old rules.

That’s how I was able to teach there in the late 80s.

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JMac wrote 1 words  on  Saturday May 10, 2008  at  10:25 AM Korea (South)

Yikes.

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Alex Case wrote 5 words  on  Saturday May 10, 2008  at  11:52 PM Japan

Congrats on getting out then!

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kwandongbrian wrote 35 words  on  Sunday May 11, 2008  at  06:25 AM Korea (South)

Two steps forward and, uh, two steps back?

I wonder if this is a sort of amnesty for the illegal teachers already here.  Administratively, that might be a good idea but not so much educationally.

Sean.

Sean. wrote 63 words  on  Sunday May 11, 2008  at  07:17 PM Korea (South)

it’s definitely a mistake and one that is going to cost Korea big time as well as end up reflecting poorly on all native speakers.

I agree with Alex, my plan to get out of the country couldn’t come at a better time. - At least I’ve got some time to get the skills I need to transition out of EFL and Korea.

Picture of Alex Case

Alex Case wrote 7 words  on  Sunday May 11, 2008  at  07:58 PM Japan

Hope you keep the blog going though!

Sean.

Sean. wrote 22 words  on  Sunday May 11, 2008  at  08:07 PM Korea (South)

Alex, as long as I am teaching (3 more years is the plan) and longer if I can recruit regular guest authors.

Picture of Jeff

Jeff wrote 201 words  on  Friday May 16, 2008  at  12:45 AM Canada

This is a gigantic step backwards in one way and a positive step forward in another way and so is very typicaly bureacratic in nature!

Step backwards: lowering the bar for qualification for a teaching visa. This will only hurt in the mid to long run as many more people who have no business teaching will head out to Korea based on the free airfare and accomodation. You might get more “Here for the cash” types.

Step forward: Buried in this is a positive outcome and that is the opening of the market to perhaps qualified teachers from countries or regions where English is an official language but not necessarily the native language. Being a native speaker has been a qualification for far too long when in reality it is just a state of being (was raised in the language). A focus on qualifications (if that happens) would be beneficial to ESL in Korea. Who is better to equipped to teach English? A young, inexperienced fresh grad from an English country with a degree in basket weaving or a graduate of an ESL or Education university program with a desire to teach but from say India or even Quebec in Canada?

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Chris Cotter wrote 38 words  on  Tuesday May 20, 2008  at  12:47 PM Japan

And I thought the standards in Japan were low… and getting lower.  Obviously there seems to be little respect for the profession, if the government just believes anyone who happens to speak English will make a good teacher.

Sean.

Sean. wrote 54 words  on  Tuesday May 20, 2008  at  05:18 PM Korea (South)

Jeff,
Good questions and ones that would no doubt cause many an arguement in teachers rooms around Korea. Welcome to the blog and thanks for commenting. My apologies for taking so long to reply.

Cris,
I couldn’t agree more. Standards, what standards? All you need is a heartbeat to get a visa in Korea.

Picture of john

john wrote 197 words  on  Monday May 26, 2008  at  11:01 PM Korea (South)

I agree, to a point.  The thing is, I feel like people become a bit self-important when they step off a plane here.  Do you really believe that if you complete a degree, you are a qualified, professional teacher?  Obviously this is potentially a problem, but the fact is, the new president is pushing English in a major way, and there are only so many ‘qualified’ teachers out there.  Korea is not the #1 destination for native speakers, and while this could cause potential issues, I suppose they find themselves with limited options.
Head down to Itaewon on a Saturday night and take a look at what the current system provides us.  Yikes!  The majority of foreign teachers vilified in the media are not slammed for their poor teaching skills, but for their exploits after getting wasted with their friends and making asses of themselves.  Too many teachers do that, and consider their year in Korea as an extended party. 
Obviously there are a lot of great teachers out there, and of course this will have an impact on the system… but really, now we’ll just have a few more uneducated drunkards giving us a bad name.

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