[KS] Koreanstudies Digest, Vol 75, Issue 30

[Jeremy M. Kritt]

Hello everyone!

I would like to share a couple of things that have been on my mind while
reading these posts on English teaching in South Korea. I have listed them
below:

1. I totally agree with Scott Bergman on several points. Teaching English to
South Korean university students provides incredible access into Korean
culture that is difficult to gain anywhere else. The whole range of Korean
experience unfolds in class on a daily basis. Students often confided some
of there deepest problems with me because they trusted me as their teacher.
Additionally, there are many English language teachers here that possess
fairly good Korean language skills; however, these people are not formally
in the Korean Studies field. All of these arguments about how EFL teachers
(not ESL, an example of how little people on here know about the English
language teaching field) cannot and do not learn Korean is purely anecdotal
and not reliable. It depends. Arrogance is a common trait of the foreign
Korean Studies students that I have spoken with in Korea. They often have a
chip on their shoulder and they think they know everything about the place,
when in fact they have a very limited practical understanding of the culture
which is something that cannot be learned without a prolonged experience of
living and working in the country.

2. I do not think that English is "over-dominant" in South Korea. English
has not replaced Korean language in South Korean society by any stretch of
the imagination. Furthermore, I think it is beneficial for Koreans to learn
English, since relatively few people have any interest in South Korea or its
language, unlike China were people come in droves to learn Chinese language
and culture. This is not to say that Korea is not an interesting place with
positive qualities of intrinsic worth that people should get to know; it is
merely stating a fact. Korea does not have the same appeal that China or
Japan has on people from western countries. Despite the great marketing
efforts of the Korean Tourism Organization (example campaigns: Dynamic
Korea, Korea Sparkling, Seoul of Asia, etc.), it is hard to believe that
this situation will change anytime soon. Embracing English language
alongside Korean language will greatly assist Korea's global
competitiveness. Perhaps the need for Korea to embrace English is a result
of colonialist ideologies, but it does not matter. Korea has to deal with
realities, not ideal forms.

3. Something that is greatly overlooked in discussions about the English
language teaching situation in South Korea is the growing
professionalization of the English language teaching field in the country.
There is a growing number of EFL teachers that possess formal academic
qualifications in foreign language education, especially at the university
level. Many people in Korea do not even know that English language teaching
is a highly developed academic field with its own voluminous literature.
However, It is an unfortunate fact that many people who have these
qualifications end up leaving South Korea after a short time because of the
increasing negative attitudes toward English language teachers. One of the
causes of these attitudes have been the Korean media. They are usually
anything but responsible in covering English language teachers and they have
been very keen on portraying them as degenerate drug addicted, sexually
perverted, unreliable, and out of control people that are in Korea because
they cannot get a job in their own country. And as it has been recently
pointed out by a scholar at Kyunghee University, none of this can be
supported by empirical evidence. Many recent government policies aimed at
English teachers have reflected uncritical acceptance of consistent negative
press that is often inaccurate and xenophobic. The golden age of English
teaching in South Korea is coming to an end. I predict that new teachers
entering the ELT field will increasingly choose places like China. Perhaps
that will be of great relief to many Koreans.

Have a good day everyone!

Sincerely,

Jeremy M. Kritt

On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 12:40 PM, <koreanstudies-request at koreaweb.ws> wrote:

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> <<------------ KoreanStudies mailing list DIGEST ------------>>
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: EPIK (Werner Sasse)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:23:57 +0000
> From: Werner Sasse <werner_sasse at hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK
> To: list korean studies <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
> Message-ID: <BAY125-W17FD7839D7716726C93A87FEDD0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
> Dear Roald (and dear others on the list),
> just a short note from an old man (who considers himself not only a scholar
> but also an educator) reflecting on the term "loss" as came up
> ("... and if we happen to lose a few students because they find out that
> after working there for a while it is worth giving up their degree for, or
> in fact not their cup of tea, then I feel that that is simply a loss we must
> accept. ...")
> Having taught Korean studies all my life, I have "lost" many students, and
> in the beginning I felt sorry, tried to find out what I had done wrong, not
> to mention the
>
> pressure from the administration, a.s.o.
> But I learned that I was too much fixed on the goal (the degree / another
> scholar in my hopefully growing field) and forgot to look at what's
> happening as part of a process in which a young human being grew up. And I
> actually started to rejoice at the fact that someone had found his way after
> a detour in Korean studies. Also, whatever experience she or he might have
> had, it will be an important part of life's experience. Glad to see that
> someone had realized there was a world outside of Korean studies, or
> academics, for that matter.
>
> Let us look at biographies from the process side...
>
> Just some musing on  "not their cup of tea", which made me think the term
> "loss" was not so severly meant as read at first. But there is a tendency
> amongst us to become a little blind and living inside our own little world
> only. And I could not resist to stress the point.
>
> Best,
>
> Werner
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: roald.maliangkay at anu.edu.au
> To: koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:03:35 +1000
> Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK
>
> Dear Scott and Ross and others,
>
>
> I support your view that English is very dominant ? which is why I was
> quite happy to see han'g?l being adopted by this small community in
> Indonesia recently, in spite of the many reservations I have ? but like
> Scott I feel that we should not deny students these opportunities a priori,
> but simply inform them well of the many possible pitfalls (too heavy
> workload, no proper health insurance, no proper working space, etc.). I have
> taught at several hagw?n in the past, and sometimes the experience was not a
> good one, but I would not have been able to support my studies without it
> and I would certainly do it again. I have a number of foreign exchange
> students who are interested in opportunities like these, and for a number of
> them it may be the only option they have to go to Korea. Going to Korea, for
> whatever reason, can be a very important (epic?) experience, one that our
> program's many efforts will never be able to emulate, and if we happen to
> lose a few students because they find out that after working there for a
> while it is worth giving up their degree for, or in fact not their cup of
> tea, then I feel that that is simply a loss we must accept. In our program
> such incidences have, however, not been an issue so far, and we do try, of
> course, to send all students to Korea to simply study (and explore). Most of
> them agree with us, it seems to me, that going to Korea is vital to being
> able to gain an understanding of the cultures there and I think it is our
> responsibility to discuss with each of them what options they have and what
> they should consider.
>
>
> Just my two cents worth... :o)
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> Roald
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J.Scott Burgeson" <jsburgeson at yahoo.com>
> Date: Monday, September 21, 2009 12:00 pm
> Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK
> To: Korean Studies Discussion List <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
>
> > While I am sympathetic to Ross King's view that English is
> > overdominant in Korea, and have addressed the issue in print
> > myself in the past (see link below), I find his elitism rather
> > astonishing (or should I say somewhat typical for certain
> > members of this List?). Not all of us live happily and
> > obliviously ensconced some rarified ivory tower, and find
> > ourselves compelled to support ourselves in any way we can.
> >
> > I personally feel I learned far more about Korea and Korean
> > culture and society teaching ESL students at Hanyang and Oedae
> > during my first year here than I would have in a Korean language
> > course back home in the States. My daily in-depth discussions
> > with them were a crash course in many of the major issues of the
> > day, and a fascinating window into this society. After that
> > experience, I found myself keen to devote more of my time and
> > energy to the study of Korean culture, including the Korean
> > language. What's wrong if other Westerners choose to follow a
> > similar path?
> >
> > As for tithing or garnishing wages from the salaries of native
> > EFL instructors here on the Peninsula, what a ridiculous and
> > myopic idea. As a professional critic who has published 5 books
> > about Korea but can't even get emails or phone calls returned
> > from the Korea Foundation due to their elitist disdain for non-
> > academic critics and other writers, I'm sure they'll do quite
> > fine without living off the labor of individuals such as myself
> > and other native ESL instructors here.
> >
> > Indeed, I'm sure they would find such an indignity quite beneath them.
> >
> > A link to the article mentioned above:
> >
> >
> http://www.kingbaeksu.com/bbs/view.php?id=bug&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&keyword=speak%20english&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=456
> >
> > Regards,
> >        Scott Bug, Insadong
> >
> >
> >
> > --- On Sat, 9/19/09, Ross King <jrpking at interchange.ubc.ca> wrote:
> >
> > > From: Ross King <jrpking at interchange.ubc.ca>
> > > Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK
> > > To: "Korean Studies Discussion List"
> > <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>, "Korean Studies Discussion List"
> > <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>> Date: Saturday, September 19,
> > 2009, 4:15 AM
> > > English is a powerful and expensive
> > > commodity in Korea, and Korea is in the process of selling
> > > its collective soul to/for English.
> > >
> > > If I had a nickel for every student in the Korean language
> > > programs I have overseen who has come to me and said "I'm
> > > off to Korea to learn Korean, and plan to support myself
> > > teaching English," only to come back 1, 2 or 5 years later
> > > with little or no progress in their Korean, I could retire.
> > > ESL is a seductive mistress for Anglophones (heck, even for
> > > non-Anglophones).
> > >
> > > As a matter of policy, I decline to write letters of
> > > reference for Korean Studies and Korean language students
> > > seeking employment in the ESL industry in Korea, and also
> > > decline to return calls or emails from the many ESL
> > > recruiters who routinely contact me asking for victims for
> > > their schools and programs.
> > >
> > > The ROK should introduce an ESL tithing system -- some sort
> > > of tax on profits made via the ESL trade --with proceeds
> > > going to the Korea Foundation or some such organization that
> > > funds the pathetically few and woefully underfunded programs
> > > trying to go the other way down what should be a two-street,
> > > and thereby recoup at least some of the opportunity cost
> > > represented by the billions of Korean dollars poured down
> > > the ESL drain.
> > >
> > > A pipe dream, I know...
> > >
> > > RK
> > >
> > > > Date: Wed Sep 16 06:18:18 PDT 2009
> > > > From: "David Scofield" <D.Scofield at sheffield.ac.uk>
> > > > Subject: [KS] EPIK
> > > > To: "Korean Studies Discussion List"
> > <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>> >
> > > > As with any English teaching position in Korea, EPIK
> > > is not without its
> > > > pitfalls.
> > > >
> > > > >From the US Embassy, Seoul website:
> > > >
> > > > EPIK
> > > > "These fairly new, Korea-wide, government-sponsored
> > > programs place native
> > > > English speakers in every school district in Korea and
> > > present a unique
> > > > opportunity for the adventurous to live away from
> > > popular tourist centers.
> > > > While recruiting and training appear to be performed
> > > quite professionally,
> > > > teachers living and working experiences vary
> > > considerably.  Some are welcomed
> > > > with open arms and treated extremely well.
> > > Others, arriving in areas where the
> > > > program has been forced upon reluctant, under-funded
> > > schools, are greeted less
> > > > warmly and face significant challenges winning over
> > > ambivalent  or
> > > > antagonistic  Korean counterparts.  Housing,
> > > benefits, reliability of pay, and
> > > > access to ombudsmen are steadily improving, but still
> > > have a long way to go."
> > > >
> > > > http://seoul.usembassy.gov/t_types.html
> > > >
> > > > Two major issues in the EPIK program that seem to get
> > > flagged up most frequently
> > > > relate to class sizes and contact hours.
> > > >
> > > > 1) class size - teaching in the Korean public system
> > > often means teaching to a
> > > > regular sized Korean class - potentially 30-40+
> > > students per "English
> > > > conversation" class, many with widely varying degrees
> > > of English competency.
> > > >
> > > > The program indicates that teaching is conducted with
> > > the aid of a Korean
> > > > teacher, but this is not always as straight forward as
> > > it sounds. In many
> > > > schools the resident Korean English teacher may not
> > > speak English.
> > > >
> > > > 2) contact hours: instructors are required to teach 22
> > > hours; however, it is
> > > > important to note that this refers to in class
> > > instruction time and does not
> > > > include class prep (which can be formidable in classes
> > > with 30+ students).
> > > >
> > > > As well, the contract should be read extremely
> > > carefully as overtime, for
> > > > example, may be required and not necessarily
> > > voluntary. As well, you can be
> > > > asked to work at any location and this may include
> > > being 'farmed out' to a
> > > > private institute for evening work. The 'market value'
> > > of foreign native
> > > > English instructor is far greater than 20,000/hour
> > > ($16.40/hour) O/T pay
> > > > offered creating an arbitrage opportunity for school
> > > principals to broker the
> > > > foreign instructor to local private institutes. This
> > > is not necessarily a
> > > > regular occurence, but I did encounter EPIK
> > > instructors during my years in
> > > > Korea who spoke of this.
> > > >
> > > > As well, while the work week is set as Monday to
> > > Friday, the contract also
> > > > states that if the total teaching hours are below 22,
> > > you may be required to
> > > > work beyond the scope of a normal work week (incl.
> > > Saturday/Sunday) -
> > > > remuneration for "non-instructional" overtime is set
> > > at the equivalent of
> > > > $4.95/hour (excluding tax).
> > > >
> > > > The contract also stipulates that "training and
> > > orientation" are unpaid, but it
> > > > further indicates that training may not be limited to
> > > the initial
> > > > orientation...
> > > >
> > > > There is similar built in ambiguity concerning the
> > > housing provided. This, the
> > > > contract indicates, will be "as deemed sufficient" by
> > > the employer, with
> > > > furnishing limited to "bed, table, closet, range,
> > > fridge, washer, and tv."
> > > > Further, "the employee shall not request or demand any
> > > other appliances or
> > > > furniture..." The employee is also responsible for all
> > > utility and maintenance
> > > > fees and any other applicable taxes incurred during
> > > the residency.
> > > >
> > > > Korea can be a wonderful place to teach, but the
> > > English teaching market is not
> > > > for the faint of heart. Any prospective
> > > teacher/instructor should do as much
> > > > background checking on schools/programs as possible
> > > before departing, including
> > > > reviewing the sometimes jaundiced views of the
> > > resident ex-pat blogging
> > > > community.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Ross King
> > > Professor of Korean and Head,
> > > Department of Asian Studies,
> > > University of British Columbia,
> > >
> > > and
> > >
> > > Dean, Korean Language Village,
> > > Concordia Language Villages
> > >
> > > Mailing address:
> > > Ross King, Department of Asian Studies, UBC
> > > Asian Centre, 1871 West Mall
> > > Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
> > > CANADA
> > >
> > > vox: 604-822-2835
> > > fax: 604-822-8937
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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