TEFL Jobs Overseas is a complete guide for TEFL jobs, TEFL teachers, TEFL information or TEFL Courses. TEFL Jobs Overseas has many current TEFL jobs for teaching overseas. Before beginning your teaching overseas adventure, you can find any TEFL information you need to help make an informed decision about a TEFL teaching career teaching English overseas.
If you are on the lookout for a fulfilling English teaching job in Asia, South Korea’s public and private schools represent some of the region’s best career destinations.
Let’s do the Math to explain why. South Korea is a nation of nearly 50 million people, with an economy that has posted incredible growth and global integration over the past four decades. In 2004, the country joined the world’s trillion dollar club, rubbing elbows with economic powerhouses like Germany, Japan, China and the United States. The nation currently ranks as the world’s 12th biggest economy, providing a solid backdrop to South Korea’s equally growing global influence in the realm of popular culture and technology. Think Samsung, Hyundai, and K-Pop and you’ll see how much this northeast Asian country offers.
For ESL and TEFL practitioners, South Korea also offers a career haven, with English designated with Korean as an official language. English is widely taught in junior and high school, partly by thousands of resident language teachers from native English-speaking nations. Both the public and private school sectors currently have a strong demand for English educators, and both present unique benefits and drawbacks for people intending to teach in the country.
Public School Perks
According to the global teacher recruitment agency, Teach Away, the public school sector in South Korea offers a good working environment for foreign language teachers as well as opportunities to experience genuine Korean culture. Teachers serving in the country’s public schools directly work for the Korean Ministry of Education and are primarily hired either to teach English to the local population or to provide technical training to other teachers.
Because public schools adopt a highly structured teaching schedule, foreign ESL and EFL educators get to enjoy substantial free time on weekends and evenings. This allows for prolonged and highly satisfying forays into the country’s natural, cultural and culinary offerings. This teaching arrangement is best for foreign language educators who are interested in ramping up their international portfolio as well as those eager to discover a new and exotic culture.
In 1995, the government established EPIK, its flagship program for English language learning, with the goal of improving the English-speaking abilities of South Korea’s students and teachers. The program’s secondary goal is to promote cultural exchanges. Every year, the program recruits more than 1,000 people to fill ESL teaching jobs in the country.
EPIK teachers get to enjoy quite a number of perks:
Foreign ESL and EFL teachers intending to enter South Korea through the EPIK program can work in any of the country’s provinces. However, if you prefer a particular province over another, it is best to submit your application and state your preferred teaching location as soon as you can because teaching assignments are granted on a first come-first served basis. For South Korea’s public schools, the two main hiring seasons are in February/March and August/September. Once your host province have been determined, the relevant Provincial Office of Education (POE) will then decide which specific primary or secondary school you will be assigned to.
Comprehensive and detailed Diploma teacher training programs for graduate ESL/EFL aspirants for teachers & trainers are quite in demand. Such courses though are quite compre