Graduate Programs for teaching English in Korea

Graduate Programs for teaching English in Korea
Author: Craig21 White.12

Now-a-days there is a good amount of migration in countries with a large workforce to go and find jobs or look for opportunities in other countries where jobs are available in large numbers. There are countries which are technologically advanced but the manpower or labor force is expensive there. Korea is a country which recruits people in various occupations from different parts of the world, mainly from countries that have a large cheap workforce. As Indian teachers are known for their not demanding very high salaries and are known fore their intellectual bent of mind, Korea employs Indian teachers.

There are also many other countries where teachers from India are in great demand. If one has a teaching degree and has worked as a teacher for a few years he or she is eligible for applying for jobs in Korea as an English Teacher. English Teachers are categorized as ESL (English as a Second language) employees. Many of them have qualified the TESOL to work in foreign countries as language teachers. TESOL is the standard examination needed to qualify as an English teacher in foreign countries.

English is a world language and students in Korea who are taught in Korean find it difficult to learn English and grasp its nuances. So, English teachers are in high demand in countries like Korea. It is also a fact that English and Korean belong to entirely separate groups of languages and Koreans take time to grasp the nuances of English. In India, English education is widespread and lakhs of students pass out from English medium schools every year. A prospective teacher must obtain an employment visa for working in a foreign country like Korea. This is also known as the work visa. The Korean govt. tightly controls issuance of vises for employment and it is sometimes difficult for teachers to obtain visas.

Most English Teachers work in schools and language institutes in Korea. Teachers go to work in countries like Korea and Chins from many other countries, too. Most teachers go to Korea after signing a contract that entitles them to work in the institute or school, college or educational establishment for a fixed period of time. The contract is subject to renewal depending on the type of work. Positions are available in several types of institutions like

• The ‘Hawkwons’ (in Korean, the institutes for learning foreign languages that are run on private enterprise)
• Colleges and schools run on public enterprise
• Language programs that are run by the corporate houses.
• Language institutes run by the universities.
• Research centers run by the government or private enterprises.
• Advertising companies or editing and PR houses.
• Teaching on totally private basis.

The modern Korean school system consists of 6 years in elementary school, 3 years in middle school and 3 years in high school. The program for international student assessment co-coordinated by the OECD ranks Korea’s education as the 11th best in the world, significantly higher than the OECD average.

So to obtain employment as an ESL instructor in Korea there area few options available. To have a teaching degree and pass the TESOL examination, to have a few years of teaching English at any level.

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Craig White is author of this article on Teaching English in Korea. Find more information about English teaching job portal here.