Woosong Answers
You must be a native English speaker from America, Australia, Canada,
England, New Zealand or South Africa. Or you must speak English
with native-speaker proficiency. You must hold
a passport from one of the aforementioned countries.
You must have two years of college teaching experience and have
a master's degree in a field related to English. Other kinds of
teaching experience might be considered. Trained teachers with BA's
in Education (as well as holding an MA in a related English field)
will be highly regarded.
You would be teaching English majors for 15 contact hours per week
in a classroom that will more than likely be in very close proximity
to your office (i.e., the same building). You would not be teaching
on weekends. Between semesters, when you are not on holiday, you
would be preparing your resources for the coming semester and possibly
involving yourself in teacher training classes, projects and/or
immersion classes for students wanting to improve their English
during their normal vacation time.
As you might expect there is a heavy emphasis on conversation and
getting the students to actually speak. Nevertheless, all the other
skills necessary for language aquisition are also included in our
course requirements. This means, of course, that the range of subjects
taught essentially covers topics involving reading, listening, writing,
pronunciation, as well as conversation.
We use a variety of the standard American and British ESL/EFL texts.
In addition, teachers are encouraged to be creative in preparing
activities which compliment textbooks. We do not want you to be
merely a textbook teacher. There is ample scope for individual styles
and creativity.
Classes will vary in size. As a general rule and wherever possible
(particularly with conversation classes) the student/teacher ratio
is kept as low as possible. It is recognized that students benefit
when a teacher can individualize with each student in their class
for even a few minutes each lesson. Because of this, some of our
classes may only have ten to fifteen students. A class of 25-30
students is still possible though.
Instructors are contracted for 15 teaching hours per week. In addition
to your 15 teaching hours, you must expect to do four hours of office
time each week for possible student/staff meetings etc. This of
course means that you can do some of your lesson preparations at
home if you wish. You must also expect to involve yourself with
the students in study club activities once a week for one or two
hours.
Between semesters, when teaching hours tend to be lower, teachers
might be asked to participate in faculty projects such as preparing
standardized syllabi for upcoming classes, mentoring new instructors
or updating the Course Handbook, etc.
Generally speaking, classes are conducted between 9 a.m. and 6
p.m. Regular university classes are not scheduled on weekends but
you must expect to accompany students on orientation camps, etc.,
occasionally (which will include some part of a weekend) as this
is considered an important component of getting to know all the
students and establishing rapport, etc.
No accommodation site is more than a 10-minute walk away from your
office.
Teachers are paid monthly. Your salary is in your account on or
before the 20th of every month.
Woosong teachers enjoy the Korean government medical and
dental insurance, which provides basic coverage. You will
contribute approximately W40,000 per month. There is a small fee
with each visit and sometimes certain procedures are not covered
by insurance, but overall this is an excellent program that makes
healthcare very affordable. Korean doctors/dentists provide high-quality
services.
Woosong teachers also benefit from participation in a mandatory
pension plan. A certain amount of your pay will
be deposited every month into an account, which Woosong match. This
contribution increases with length of service. You get everything
back, including Woosong's contribution (deposited into your bank
account) a few weeks after you leave. You don't have to worry about
getting your pension reimbursement, but you must expect to have
to wait up to two weeks after your contract expiration date before
it's deposited into your account.
Housing is provided at several sites owned by Woosong. By North
American standards, it is small. It is clean and well-maintained.
Apartments are semi-furnished. Tenants must supply their own bedding,
dishes and cookware. There is a fridge, stove and telephone, but
no TV. All single and most married apartments have air conditioning.
Contact to Contract Step:
- Scans of all relevant degrees, transcripts, etc.
- Letters documenting your teaching or other work experience
- Scan of the information page from your passport
Contract to Visa Step:
- Copies of your degrees/diplomas with Certification of Authenticity
stamps from Korean Consulate
- E-2 Work Visa (stamped in your passport)
- Criminal background clearance from local law enforcement authorities
- 15 passport-size photos
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