It’s finally happened — the Ministry of Education is opening the gate to English teachers from India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines:
Non-native English speakers from India and other countries that use English as an official language will be able to teach at public schools from next year.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Justice said Sunday the government is opening the door for English teaching positions wider to secure more foreign English teachers at primary and secondary schools nationwide.
The government has so far allowed English teacher assistant jobs at public schools only to native-English speakers who had completed more than two years of their college courses; and the nationality of the eligible applicants was limited to seven countries ― the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.
“There are about 50 countries that have adopted English as an official language. However, we will not open the door to all teachers from the countries,” Oh Seok-hwan, an official of the education ministry, told The Korea Times. “Only foreigners whose countries have trade agreements with Korea can apply for the positions. These include India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines,” he added.
Requirements will be much stricter for the “non-native” speakers, however — they’ll need a degree in English and teaching licenses.
Those queried by the KT seemed to be positive about the move:
Lee Byung-min, an English education professor at Seoul National University, said that qualified non-native speakers with teaching licenses would be much better for Korean English education than native speakers without teaching licenses. “We can also choose highly qualified non-native teachers at lower costs as their wages are relatively lower,” Lee said.
Parents’ groups also showed positive reaction to Asian English teachers. “Korean English education has put too lopsided focus on American English so far and there have been many unqualified teachers at schools. We don’t oppose English teachers from India or the Philippines as long as they are proven teachers,” said Yoon Sook-ja, chairwoman of the National Association of Parents for True Education.
If they can get trained teachers, this may prove to be a good move.
(HT to cmm)
UPDATE: Brian has some good comments on this at his blog.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
This should be a fun set of comments…
no hat tip?
If this means highly educated Filipinas and Indian and Malaysian gals coming to these shores, then excellent. I wouldn’t expect too many Singaporeans to make the leap.
I worked at a Korean K-12 school in China in a past life, and we would receive a ton of resumes from Indonesians, Filipinos, etc. Some of these people had PhDs, were licensed doctors… So there’s certainly a demand for teaching jobs among the highly educated in these countries.
I’m curious how much the government is going to lowball them on the salary, though. We were making between 15,000-20,000 RMB a month in China, which is pretty comparable to the salaries that SMOE/EPIK offer.
If they try to get them in for a million won a month, though, I’m not sure how many people would be willing to bite.
My bad.
“We can also choose highly qualified non-native teachers at lower costs as their wages are relatively lower.”
It’s a pipe dream. The fact that there is mention of lower-wages being involved clearly indicates that qualifications won’t be all that important. Just look at the pittance that foreign English instructors are getting paid at Korean universities. An MA or a PhD in TESOL is only worth 2.5 million won per month? And the government complains about the lack of ‘qualified teachers’?
“Korean English education has put too lopsided focus on American English so far and there have been many unqualified teachers…”
We only began hearing about how they were ‘unqualified’ when the government made plans to pass this law.
Oh, and the lopsided focus on American English? That’s a laughable claim given the fact that many Korean English teachers teach Konglish and quite a few of the foreign English teachers that have taught here over the years weren’t American.
It is a good move. Korea should have done it a long time ago.
Wedge (#3),
Yes, I think there will be a lot more women hired than men, and I have a feeling that they will be the prettier applicants, depending on how they are hired.
Will they use recruitment agents in places like the Philippines or will they send recruitment teams to the major cities in the said countries to hire them directly? If I were doing it, I would send teams to hire them directly to help avoid any corruption in the recruitment process. I have heard some bad stories about Filipino recruitment agents.
In a country where even immigration forms bear the mention “NOT FOR SALE” on every page, I am not really surprised…
Anything that will bring more qualified teachers to Korea must be a good thing. This is a step in right direction to fix a badly sinking ship.
Now, if we can just get rid of that damn national exam…
By “qualified teachers” they mean credentialed? Like the credentialed teachers that taught me English? Yeah, this will have a huge impact.
Please hurry. I just got to the end of the convention hosting proposal I’ve been editing all afternoon. The line on the back cover:
Convene in Korea!
Where 5 millennia have flourished!
Where the new millennium will prosper!!!
Do I hear an amen, bruthas?
I’m still not convinced that it’s about fixing the system.
A couple of English expression comes to mind here:
First, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”
Second, “a poor workman blames his tools.”
The typical and expected Korean reaction would be to blame the teaching staff rather than seriously investigate the fundamental causes behind the Korean failure to learn.
A former colleague used to work for Samsung. She told me that language teachers from developing countries like Russia and China were paid less and put in inferior housing compared to Western nationals. The children of a lesser god petitioned unsuccessfully for higher wages.
The US also imports teachers through the highly competitive Visiting International Faculty program. Tiered pay scales according to nationality would be unconstitutional; VIF teachers receive the same remuneration as their American colleagues. If Korea does start importing Filipinos, they’ll have to settle for leftovers who couldn’t get a more lucrative VIF position which not only pays much better but is also a backdoor to a green card. VIF regulations make it difficult for teachers to stay beyond the maximum nine years, but some teachers are able to finagle residency visas.
#14,
Good point… It’s not just about offering less than attractive packages. What are the odds of noted authorities like N.S Prahbu or S. Canagarajah ever being hired by the Korean Ministry of Education? If it ever happens, do you think their input would be fully appreciated and their recommendations followed to the letter?
Needless to say, I’m still doubtful. This new law might be less about fixing the system than getting cheaper labor (as I was saying before, a native English speaker who has an MA or a PhD in TESOL is only worth 2.5 million won to Korean universities?!).
It has nothing to do with fixing the system. If it were, they would start requiring native speakers to have English degrees or teaching certs, too. They don’t. In fact, native speakers can get a job now without even GRADUATING from uni. At a lower wage, of course.
This is nothing more than filling up vacant AT spots with the cheapest labor possible. Third-world teachers and native speaking non-grads fit the bill perfectly. And when the system fails again, they have their scapegoats ready made: “See? Non-native speakers can’t teach English! See? Native speakers are unqualified! Told you so!”
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