Siphokuhle Twala
Community Tutor
Teaching in Korea / China
Hi guys! Is there anyone here from a native country who has been to Korea to teach English for a year?
How was the experience?
What did you learn?
What were your difficulties and how did you adjust?
Jun 23, 2020 11:19 AM
Comments · 8
1
I started to appreciate youku ;) VPN was a solution of course.
By the way, forgot to mention pollution and vegetables grown on fertilizers. I developed a rash on my face by the end of the 2nd year. I never knew the exact reason but it might have been the food. (The skin issue stopped after a couple of months back home).
June 23, 2020
1
I taught Russian in two different places in China ( both were colleges). Overall, it was an extremely positive experience but there were also some problems of course. Talking only about China, I'd say public universities are a safer choice though the salary is lower than in a private school. But most students were very motivated and teaching was very rewarding. It was great to be respected and genuinely loved, I really miss that attitude at times! It was my first serious teaching job so I grew up professionally a lot. However, 2 years later it became boring as I felt stuck. My Chinese colleagues except one didn't really care about my teaching, nor was there any exchange between us.
To mention some difficulties, it was all this staring &yelling thing which was extremely annoying. But I suppose it's not the case in big cities. Also maybe absence or a very limited choice of some particular things in shops like cheese/ real milk. I really missed good bread. But I think it's getting better now unless you live in a really tiny place. I'd recommend to double check the living conditions (I always asked to send me photos of every room, especially bathroom/kitchen). Oh yes, and the heating! It was freezing in Hefei! And the last thing was the lousy Internet connection with some of the websites banned. I still remember March 2009 when they blocked YouTube. A major disaster for me at the time ;)
June 23, 2020
1
I lived in Taiwan for a year while my girlfriend taught English.

One thing she said was that many of the parents (and schools) did not actually care if the children became good at English.

It was more a matter of prestige, that the parents could brag to their friends that their kids were taking English lessons.


June 23, 2020
I think those are the factors I have to consider when going there. Stick to organic food but it's probably so expensive. My skin reacts quickly to change and I guess I should be prepared for it.
June 23, 2020
OMG Tati, they blocked YouTube?!! 😩😧 I wouldn’t survive!

Thank you you for sharing your experience with me.

I am considering it for for at least 1 year. From the apartment tours on YouTube I saw how clustered the bathrooms are and it’s a huge deal breaker for me.

I guess it’s also part of the experience though, I’ll adjust to it.
June 23, 2020
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