The end of Native English teachers

[jehall]

Hey my co-teacher just told me that she got word today from GEPIK that they will begin decrasing the Native English teachers they bring in as they are now near the point where they believe they have enough Korean teachers in the system who speak fluent English. She said next year's batch of Native English teachers will be much less than this years and the plan is to phase them out completely in the next 3 years.

It makes sense to me, but 3 years seems a little soon. Anyone else hear about this? I'm sure Hagwons will still have foreign teachers, but it looks like a lot of good jobs will be gone.

[Janitor]

Yes, I had heard that by 2014 Busan will stop hiring foreigners to work in the public schools. Ulsan has already started training Korean teachers to replace foreign teachers but will probably wait until Busan stops hiring before they do anything. Last year, I did my open class alone and was told that it was the same for the part-time "English Language Professionals"

We will see what happens. Again, by not hiring foreign teachers the school systems will saving a lot of money and you know where most of the MOE's heart are. Certainly not with the quality of language acquisition.

[cgreen]

I've heard that too.  I don't think it'll be 3 years though...I think more like 5 years.  I think 3 years is a very aggressive goal.  It's much more expensive to hire one of us than it is to hire a Korean teacher to teach English.

[cgreen]

Oh and they've already started the process.  This year we had a Korean English teacher who was a contractor like me. 

[shea.karssing]

Now this is taking it a little too far ... http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/03/123_59809.html

[honeymooners]

We in Gangwon-do recently had a talk from our regional coordinator. She said there will be a 10% decrease in teachers next year, I think 30% year after and 40% year after (total reductions). I think these are right, I can't quite remember but definate on the 10% next year. The reduction will come from new applicants, not existing teachers. I think they want about half the current level. Again, this is Gangwon-Do, could be different where you are.

Charlie

[thomas]

I just interviewed with a university administrator for an English Professor position at a university in Cheonan. She is also a recruiter for EPIK in that area. She's dying to fill ESL teacher vacancies in EPIK. I've heard many rumours about GEPIK down-sizing but not that the NET's would be completely phased out in 3 years. I've heard there's been corruption and mismanagement of funds which has contributed to some of this downsizing.  Glad that I'm signing my 2011 year contract as a university English Professor this Friday and will bid farewell to the secondary public school scene.

[techteacher]

I am in Ulsan. My Vice-Principal told me this about 2 months ago. He said EPIK would be over in 2-3 years. He also said TALK was cancelled. I think the 2011 intake will be the last.

[jehall]

Nice. Universitys are supposed to be the best job. No summer and winter camps!

Anyway, will hagwons keep hiring a large number of Native English teachers? Or will the government reduce the number of Visas issued for that as well.

[Janitor]

Nice. Universitys are supposed to be the best job. No summer and winter camps!

Anyway, will hagwons keep hiring a large number of Native English teachers? Or will the government reduce the number of Visas issued for that as well.

Hogwans will thrive they always have. However, recently the government has taken aim at them try to reduce the study times and what not. Private business will always hire foreigners because that is what the parents want and will pay for.

To make light of all of this, EPIK has failed before in the '90s due to the same mismanagement and misused funds. It is a program that was created to fail because there is no longevity to the system. Frankly speaking for many long-term teachers there is no future in it. The MOE's do not want highly paid/ highly trained foreigners in the system.

They will always be alternatives and places for ESL teachers to work. When I first came here in 2003 people rarely worked in public schools. Universities were like striking gold. Be aware that NOW University jobs are getting a little strange by not offering as many of the perks that people think they do. Some universities have "English Learning Centers" that are basically hogwans in disguise. You certainly are not the professor there or paid anywhere near one either.

[minamteacher]

I don't see the number of native English teachers decreasing drastically while Lee Myung-bak is still president. If I remember correctly teaching 'English in English only' was a major initiative of his. That being said, the use of native English teachers could be improved greatly if they focused on better training. A week or two of training is not close to being enough.

[jehall]

It seems like they are decreasing drastically already though with reductions around 20% for next year. And doesn't Lee only have 2 years left?

[angel_kaye13]

I don't know too much on this topic, but I'm working in Cheonan, and I've broached the topic with my co-teachers before.

I have one co-teacher that is a contracted Native Korean, but I think...Well, to hear one full-time teacher put it, contracted teachers aren't very welcome by the full-time teachers. I think the contracting of teachers is mostly to give jobs to recent college graduates? (At least, that was one co-teacher's opinion; I'm just going off of that.) I've heard that that program isn't expected to last long, as it's creating a bit of friction with the full-time Korean teachers. But, as to our positions...I think we're about as safe as we've always been, for the time being, at least.

I do think that, ideally, Korea would like to phase out native English teachers, but...I cannot say when that would be. Programs in secondary education may come and go, but...there is still a great deal of work we could do, I think.

Whatever the case, we are here just for a time. So we may have to leave Korea. That's inevitable, unless you've married/found a lasting employment here; it's just the way of life. And I'm sure that other viable teaching positions may exist in other countries. Don't freak out too much. ^^

[isanghan]

My co-teacher mentioned this to me a while back. Apparently, my job is secure for the coming year, but I do know of some people whose jobs are no longer available. But he wanted to give me a heads up so I could make plans for the 2012 school year.

As far as Lee Myung-bak's "Teaching English in English" policy, it was actually geared at making the Korean English teachers proficient in teaching English only in English. Check out YBM's "TEE" competition. The idea is to gradually phase out NETs completely, as they're largely seen as a drain on school's budgets.

But there will always be a place for us in the hagwon, where mothers will still pay a premium to have their child taught by a real, live Native Speaker.

[rainesbaines]

I think this isn't such a bad shift.  To me, the swell in number of native speakers has conveyed a 'quantity before quality' mindset in the way problems are being approached by the bigwigs in charge of English education in Korea.

Given, it has been nice for a lot of us to come here and have (easy) jobs and save (or drink away) most of our incomes while many, many people back home are unemployed.  We've benefited from a liberal hiring policy (maybe we're guinea pigs, mostly) and have been lucky enough to monetarily benefit from Korea's educational ambition.  The presence of so many, dare I say, clueless -yet idealistic and headstrong- "teachers" (and I'm including myself in that category as someone whose major was not related to English education) definitely has had its negatives, putting off lots of Koreans who work endlessly to try to give their kids a competitive education.

I reckon that if you want to avoid being shaved off and tossed to the side as a public school English teacher in Korea who has fallen victim to robots and/or fluent Korean teachers, you will have used your time in Korea to polish your skills in other areas (or become awesome at teaching), and to map out a future that makes you flexible and marketable in places that will primarily consider your education or professional worth, rather than giving you hefty brownie points simply for being able to hold chopsticks or tolerate spicy food well.

[JC49]

I totaaly agreed with your points . There has been waste if u want to look at it objectively and unbiased.

[Morticae]

EPIKs hiring numbers for the March intake are still very high, I don't see the sign of downsizing.

[shelleydee]

Two things...
I'm in Daegu, but got an email from Footprints recruiting.  Out of a possible 1,000 spots to fill for EPIK teachers coming in March, only some 300 spots have been filled. 

Secondly, the robot thing isn't as far fetched as it seems.  Its already been implemented.  Schools in Daejeon have them, and I believe that Daegu schools will start to get them soon.  I know nothing more than this, I was just listening to other teachers talk about it during an Open Class I went to.

I still think Native English teachers will be around for at least another 5 years if not more.

[Morticae]

Two things...
I'm in Daegu, but got an email from Footprints recruiting.  Out of a possible 1,000 spots to fill for EPIK teachers coming in March, only some 300 spots have been filled. 

Secondly, the robot thing isn't as far fetched as it seems.  Its already been implemented.  Schools in Daejeon have them, and I believe that Daegu schools will start to get them soon.  I know nothing more than this, I was just listening to other teachers talk about it during an Open Class I went to.

I still think Native English teachers will be around for at least another 5 years if not more.

That robot? It's somewhat of a joke in my opinion. My students would rip it apart, like they did the new english room. First, I think anybody currently in the field need not worry. A robot wont be stealing your job ANY time soon, and you'll likely leave Korea long before you're truly threatened. The robot is expensive and not something they can roll out quickly, not to mention its questionable effectiveness.... and it still uses a native english teacher, who is teaching 'remotely'. Is there a savings? Sure... long term and into the future. The remote teacher isn't free, robot isn't free, maintenance and updates certainly aren't free.

I'm really not sure how the parents will take it, and that's the real deciding factor. We'll know more in a couple years, but for now, do not fear the robot.

They are testing in a few schools. Big deal. There are THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of schools, many schools still without either a robot OR native who are trying to hire (but seeking funds, or they are rural and having difficulty, etc).

As for Korean teachers replacing us... that's been being said for many, many years. Native teacher numbers just keep going up, so don't worry about it. If you're hear or just getting ready to come over, you wont even be phased by it. Maybe at some point longterm into the future, after 85%+ of us currently here have left, we'll see a significantly different teaching climate.

[helloana]

My boyfriend is a teacher in Daegu and he is getting a robot in January.