Times Terrace - English Cafe

Dongtan sees more foreign teachers in Korea working in shopping malls

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As Korea’s department stores and shopping malls increasingly fight for the attention and wallets of young Korean parents, these shopping venues keep expanding their culture center offerings to include more English education and even the development of kids cafes staffed by foreigners teaching English in Korea.

As we recently reported, Lotte Department Store has become aggressive to enter into this kind of business and now the Times Square shopping concept owned by Kyungbang is starting to bring English teachers in Korea to their environment.

One area in particular is the hot district of Dongtan, located with Hwaseong City, south of Seoul and just west of Osan and Suwon. Last August, Lotte Department Store open up a new location in front of Dongtan Station, and since then, that shopping mecca has been booming thanks to its family-friendly concept that includes an ‘English Kids Club’, attracting 1500 visitors a month since opening and a ‘drawing cafe’, likewise garnering the attention of 1500 aspiring young artists per month.

Times Terrace is connected with a residential complex as well as a Home Plus, and will be home to ‘Sesame Street Run and Play, an English kids cafe where native English teachers take care of kids, and a kids lounge that is considered to be the largest among department stores in Korea. Activity-based cafe, ‘Champion the Energizer’ will be further innovated and a baby food cafe will also be introduced.

Common English Mistakes in Korea - Hi/Hello

Common English Mistakes in Korea – Hi/Hello

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When teaching English in Korea, you can often come across common English mistakes in Korea ranging from the bonafide wacky stuff like someone saying ‘I’m so hard’ in the wrong context to even the slight and subtle ones such as simple greetings.

Wait, how can someone screw up saying ‘Hi’?

Well, it is not a screw-up per se, but there is the Korean mindset and usage behind it. As most Koreans think in Korean as they are speaking English, you should notCommon English Mistakes in Korea - Hi/Hello just listen to what they are saying but also what they appear to be thinking.

Korean language uses honorifics in their words and sentences that vary depending on the relationship the speaker has with the listener. For instance, a grandchild would not say the Korean word for ‘Hello’ in the same way as the grandparent would say it back to the grandchild. Same with the student and teacher relationship. Even if the teacher is younger than the student. Role matters more than age. Case in point, my Korean brother-in-law is younger than me but as soon as he married my sister-in-law (who is older than me), I had to modify my communication to where I had to speak honorifically to him from that point on. Because his role changed to where he was in the more senior role due to his marriage to my sister-in-law. Confusing, right? Don’t worry, we can get your head around honorifics in a different article.

Common English Mistakes in Korea. Crossing the big divide between ‘Hi’ and ‘Hello’

Point being, in the vast majority of cases, any time a kid sees you and greets you with a ‘Hi’, it’s no big deal. But there are some parents who are sticklers when it comes to honorifics to the point where they sometimes transliterate the honorific into what they assume to be the English equivalent despite English not really having honorifics aside from tone or in a few cases like ‘Can I go to the bathroom’ vs ‘May I go to the bathroom, please?’ These parents can sometimes lecture kids into extending Korean honorifics over to English equivalents.

For example, ‘Hi’ in Korean is normally associated with ‘Annyeong’ (안녕), a greeting almost exclusively used between kids, close adult friends, an adult addressing a child or when a teacher is addressing a student (particularly kids), etc. Whereas, the more honorific ‘Annyeong-haseyo’ (안녕하세요) is sometimes associated with ‘Hello’, and thus may inadvertently carry the cultural implications over to the English greeting.

Although maybe not a glaringly common English mistake in Korea, next time you hear a child saying ‘Hi’ to you vs another one saying ‘Hello’ to you, you shouldn’t be bothered by it too much but instead, be mindful that in the Korean mindset, they have stepped out of the teacher-student relationship and could therefore be somewhat disrespectful. But it could be one overlooked clue in diagnosing if the student is actually disrespectful in general so you can modify your teaching approach with him/her. On the other hand, if a student consistently opts to greet you with a ‘hello’ and the Korean bow when they enter or leave the classroom, you could read more into that where the parents may likely be overextending Korean honorifics into English and English situations, which could complicate their learning and understanding of the language and situations. Being polite is fine, but as Korea has a labyrinth of Confucian references in its language and culture, that should be avoided completely when learning a new language and the culture behind it. Otherwise, loads of miscommunication are bound to surface in a wide range of situations later in life when communicating in English.

So in those cases, you could take the initiative to inquire with the student as to why they prefer to interact with you in the way they do and if they are indeed appearing to wrap English in a Confucianist blanket, in which case, you might want to consult with a Korean co-teacher on how to adjust that perspective the student may have.

Have you ever received any odd questions from a Korean before that made you wonder what they may have been thinking in Korean before the English came out of their mouth? Let us know in the comments and we can help wrap your head around it!

Korea's E2 visa requirements being challengedPhoto by Cut in A Moment on Unsplash

Korea’s E2 visa requirements being challenged

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“I speak English well and I can teach well. I also have certifications. But why can’t I teach English at school? What really matters?”

The requirements for teaching English in Korea have traditionally been quite inflexible but a little hope on the horizon exists as some foreigners seek to challenge those rules.

On Feb. 28th, a 36-year-old Ugandan humanitarian resident who met with the Hankyoreh at the ‘Friends of the Immigrant Center’ office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul asked, “Why can’t I teach English?” The Constitution of Uganda has designated English as the country’s official language. School classes are taught in English, and English is used in official events such as those involving mass media and public institutions. Mrs. S (redacted to ensure her anonymity) has had hopes to teach English in Korea, having been educated in English for 17 years, including a college course in accounting. However, the Ministry of Justice declined to approve an E-2 (English teaching visa) visa to S, as she was not from the 7 countries where English is her native language (USA, UK, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand).  Not convinced, S filed a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court in January with a friend of the migrant center, arguing that the standards were unconstitutional. Lawyer Yeji Lee, who represents S, wrote in the claim, “It is discriminatory treatment without a rational basis, and it infringes the right to equality.”

S, who came to Korea in 2011, applied for refugee status, but was not accepted, so she stayed as a humanitarian sojourner. It was difficult to find a stable job with a humanitarian sojourn visa that could only allow for one to engage in simple labor. She was hospitalized for years with musculoskeletal problems after hard physical labor on farms and in various factories.

Korea classroom

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

However, the Immigration Office that informed that it was possible to obtain a certificate said to S last year, “You are not eligible for teaching English in South Korea,” and was not subject to receive an E-2 visa. This is because the Ministry of Justice’s standards for visa issuance stipulates that only Indian nationals who have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with seven countries whose native language is English are allowed to work as English assistant teachers. However, among the seven countries, South Africa does not use English as the mother tongue, but it is still deemed as the official language.

Regarding the visa issuance criteria, the Ministry of Justice said, “In order to achieve international standardization of English education for Koreans, after consulting with relevant ministries, it was designated by comprehensively considering culture, customs, pronunciation, and people’s preferences among English-speaking countries. In 2001, we started issuing a conversation instruction visa only to the citizens of that country.”

Requirements for Teaching English in Korea Long Overdue for Being Relaxed

Japan’s Native English Language Teaching Assistant Program (JET) allows native English language assistants to work in schools who are not only from one of the seven countries, but also who are from countries where English is the official language, such as the Philippines, Singapore, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. The system was introduced in 1987 in Japan, which accepted only nationalities of four countries (USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand) as native English language assistant teachers, however, since then, the country has steadily expanded its teacher qualifications to various countries. Mae-Ran Park, a professor at Pukyong National University (Department of English Literature) said, “When Korea first introduced native English language assistant teachers in the 1990s, they modeled the program after Japan’s JET program.” Professor Park said, “In English education academia, the notion that even non-native speakers can become good teachers if they have subject expertise, teaching methods, English proficiency, and cross-cultural communication skills is the prevailing theory. That said, I think it is time to reconsider such standards governing teaching English in Korea.”

Have questions concerning requirements to teach English in South Korea? Be sure to email us at [email protected] for the latest info!

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Requirements for Teaching English in Korea

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The requirements for teaching English in Korea are diverse and are always subject to change on a dime. But after going through all these motions, English teachers in Korea can find themselves with an experience that leaves a lasting impression on their lives. And with Adventure Teaching leading you the way and helping you navigate through all the riffraff and pitfalls, that lasting impression is sure to be a positive one! Rest assured, with support staff who are bilingual and also have lived in Korea for many years on both sides of the fence, both as teachers and school administrators, we have got your back.

Before we get too deep into the requirements for teaching English in Korea, please feel free to skip right to the comments at the bottom if you have any questions to start off with or email us in confidence at [email protected].

Otherwise, come along on a deep dive with us as we cover the requirements for teaching English in South Korea as follows:

Visa Requirements for Teaching English in South Korea:Requirements for Teaching English in Korea

  • You must be a citizen from a country deemed to be a native English-speaking nation: U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.
  • Bachelor’s degree or diploma from an accredited university or college (4 years if US/3 years if UK).
  • Current background check (less than 6 months since date of issue) indicating a clean criminal record.
  • Clean health check and drug test.

The above are the minimum requirements for what is referred to as an E-2 teaching visa issued by Korean immigration and allows you to work for one year at the workplace of your visa sponsor. Please note that there are other visas that may apply to you where you are able to teach English in Korea, such as E-1 (university professor), F-2 (Long-term Residency Visa), F-4-11 (Overseas Korean, ie. Korean-American, etc), F-5 (Permanent Resident) and F-6 (Spousal Visa, ie., Spouse of a Korean National). If you are eligible for any of these visas or have any questions about obtaining one of these visas, feel free to ask in the comments or contact us at [email protected].

Documentation Requirements for Teaching English in Korea:

To be able to teach English in Korea, you must be able to fulfill certain documentation requirements mandated by the Korean government. Emailing us at [email protected] is your best first step to get started and we can advise you with our documentation checklist that will be most accurate in case of any recent changes to the process.

Throughout the process of applying and interviewing for any of our English teaching positions, and then getting your visa processed via the consulate after agreeing to a contract, all of our incoming teachers must have ready and be able to provide the following documents at certain stages:

  • Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree/diploma (a copy notarized by a public notary along with a letter from the notary. This will later need to be verified by a Korean Consulate. Again, we’ll advise you on all this.
  • Sealed college or university transcript (Stamp/sticker/or registrar’s signature should be over the seal of the envelope)
  • 1 original Criminal Record Check with issuing agency’s stamp (ie. FBI, RCMP, etc) verified by Korean Consulate (no older than 6 months since issuance)
  • Your resume
  • A clear photocopy of the information page of your passport
  • E­2 Health Statement
  • 5 Official Passport Photos (1 of which to be later submitted to Korean Consulate)
  • Completed E2 Visa Application
  • Consul’s Checklist
  • Original contract (issued by your employer for visa processing at consulate)
  • Original passport (still valid for at least one year)

 

Think you are all ready or have some lingering questions? Comment below or email us at [email protected]!

 

 

Common English Mistakes in Korea

Common English Mistakes in Korea – Expect

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A common English mistake in Korea can cause heightened anxiety on unsuspecting foreigners, especially those of you teaching English in Korea who are trying to get a read on what might be an overly demanding school director or head teacher. This involves the use of the word ‘expect’.

This gets tricky because the Korean word ‘기다리다’ (kee-dah-lee-da) is often used interchangeably for ‘expect’ as in ‘wait’, as in waiting for someone to do something, and ‘expect’ as in ‘looking forward to’ but in a non-demanding tone. Tone and situational context mean so much in Korea and this is one such example.

Going further, if Koreans are very enthused about doing something with you, they might even place more emphasis when pronouncing the word ‘expect’.

If that’s still fuzzy, then this example will help.

Years ago, we held a language exchange event involving teachers and Koreans. Wine was involved and everyone’s spirits were up. The stage was set for a load of common English mistakes in Korea. Especially one particular Korean who wanted to express how enthused they are for coming to the next event. He indicated ‘I had so much fun. I EXPECT your next event like this!’. As he was a doctor at a local hospital, we first took him to mean that he was almost demanding that we do another event like this in an almost boss-like way and made a few of us a little flustered and thinking we need to please him by planning another event as soon as possible. But upon getting different reads from others about his English level and how he was likely thinking in Korean when stating his enthusiasm, we concluded that he was just basically saying ‘I really look forward to your next event’ which carries a lot less urgency in the tone.

Common English Mistakes in Korea – Not what you might ‘expect’!

Likewise, at school, you might hear a Korean co-worker or director say ‘I expect you at school tomorrow’. This doesn’t necessarily mean your likely first take should be ‘I expect you to be at school at 1:45pm sharp and not a minute less!’. Context and tone can signal that this would have been better worded as ‘Looking forward to
seeing you at school tomorrow’. Big difference and these tonal differences all add up sometimes and you’ll see English teachers in Korea commenting online about horror stories involving a school and saying that they are a good judge of character and swear that the director is strict as hell. Well, that may be partly true as some directors are known to be legitimately strict. But such misreads are made by English teachers in Korea who are coming fresh from a country where they know every (or most) nuance and innuendo being spoken to them and can often sum up the situation pretty well, and they assume that they can rely on those same assumptive skills around people who don’t speak English well and certainly not well enough to let advanced forms of English like phrasal verbs, sarcasm and tone to roll off their tongue with ease. Trust us when we say, check those first reads for a moment sometimes and give a little benefit of the doubt until you get a better feel for the real English level of the other individual and preferably until you’ve got a better feel for the Korean going on in their heads before they are saying these things in English.

Have any similar moments involving common English mistakes in Korea when a Korean said something to you that you feel you might have misread and leapt to the wrong conclusion? Let us know in the comments!

Common English mistakes in Korea

Common English Mistakes in Korea – I’m So Hard!

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Among common English mistakes in Korea, there is one particular hiccup that is most likely to cause you to pull a muscle when you raise an eyebrow, such as when you hear a co-worker or student tell you that they are ‘so hard’.

Common English mistakes in Korea

You’re….so hard???

You may consider yourself to be physically appealing, but trust us, the LAST thing you want to assume is that everyone in Korea wants to sleep with you just because they might say this around you. 

Unless you are in a dark nightclub listening to pickup lines, expect when your co-worker or student is uttering this common English mistake, they are actually ‘very frustrated’, ‘under a lot of pressure’ or ‘experiencing difficulty.’ And that’s a perfectly understandable feeling for them to have in a workplace or ESL environment!

Understanding Common English Mistakes in Korea. Not ‘so hard’!

As the vast majority of Koreans you will encounter in Korea will be thinking in Korean before uttering English, this obviously will begin brewing your own personal volcano of common English mistakes in Korea that are sure to cause you to erupt at some point. So it is important for you to give them the benefit of the doubt, knowing that what they are really saying is something involving ‘매우 힘들다’ (mae-oo heem-deul-da’) or simply ‘힘들다’ (heem-deul-da) which Koreans are often taught to mean ‘so hard’ or ‘hard’, respectively.

So you can imagine a Korean learner of English who hasn’t broken through the glass ceiling yet of where they possess more diverse and contextually-accurate adjectives to choose from might trip up and say ‘I’m so hard’ when they really mean to say ‘I’m so frustrated’ or similar.

Ever experience this in your workplace or classroom? How did you handle it? Let us know in the comments! Or better yet, what are some better and more accurate expressions you can explain to your co-worker or student? Adopting this kind of mindset will power you through those delicate first few months of misunderstandings in Korea.

 

Maple Bear English Academy

Maple Bear English Academy Concludes Canned Food Donations

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Maple Bear English Academy, a popular English teaching franchise throughout Korea, announced on the 11th that it had held a Canned Food Drive to deliver warm love to underprivileged children, the elderly living alone, and the disabled.

Maple Bear students participated in the donation by bringing canned foods to their campuses.

In order for children to participate more actively and interestingly in donation activities, a thermometer of love was set up to track donations and an event was held in which the children who donated directly would write their names and track the results.

Food collected through donation activities was delivered to various neighbors through the local food bank. An official said he was able to feel the joy of donating while watching the thermometer gradually go up over time, watching the kids show their enthusiasm and seeing how much the donations were helpful.

Maple Bear English Academy in Korea is part of a global education brand headquartered in Canada, operating as many as 500 campuses in 30 countries around the world, and providing immersive education that enables students to learn English naturally.

Looking to find employment teaching English in South Korea at Maple Bear? Reach out to us or apply today!

Maple Bear Korea Contest

6th Maple Bear English Writing Contest completed

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Maple Bear English writing contests are held annually, and the most recent iteration was their 9th one ever. Maple Bear in Korea, a global educational institution specializing in bilingual education for preschoolers and elementary school students based on Canadian public education, announced that it had successfully completed the Maple Bear Storytelling Contest.

The contest is a speaking contest in which kindergarten and elementary school students in Korea tell a fairy tale in English. Due to COVID-19, this year’s storytelling contest was conducted in a non-face-to-face, video submission method.

The Maple Bear English writing contest was held for students from the age of 6 to the 3rd grade of elementary school at 10 Maple Bear campuses throughout Korea, and a total of 702 students participated in the contest. The participants went through preliminary and final rounds, and the final 36 students competitively performed against each other in the national finals.

Maple Bear operates as many as 500 campuses in 30 countries around the world, and in Korea, Maple Bear campuses can be found in a total of 10 locations in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Daejeon, and Daegu.

Interested in teaching English in Korea at one of Maple Bear’s campuses? Drop us a line or apply through us today!

Maple Bear logo

Maple Bear wins 1st place in ‘2021 Excellent Customer Impression Brand Awards’

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Maple Bear in Korea was selected for first place in the ‘2021 Excellent Customer Impression Brand Awards’ sponsored by JoongAng Ilbo and hosted by JY Network. The feat was even more remarkable, knowing that this is the third year in a row that the English education company has won such an award.

Headquartered in Canada, Maple Bear has approximately 500 campuses in 30 countries worldwide. As a global education brand with 10 campuses in Korea, it has steadily grown and is receiving glowing reviews in the international education sector.

Through immersion Education, an orthodox Canadian approach, Maple Bear provides an environment where children around the world can learn English naturally, and hundreds of trainers and educational program developers provide education to students who range from those in kindergarten to high school. In Korea, the program is focused on those in kindergarten and elementary school.

An official from the company said, “We are very pleased to have won the award for the third year in a row as a result of our efforts thus far for children to acquire the world’s dominant language.”

Curious to come to Korea to teach English at one of Maple Bear’s campuses? Let us know by sending us an email or applying today!

Maple Bear Korea

Maple Bear Korea Debate Contest held

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Maple Bear Korea, a global English education company, announced that it successfully held the 2019 English Debate Competition for high school students on Saturday, October 12th.

The Maple Bear Debate Contest, which is the second one of its kind to be held this year, was conducted in a format where participating students went through 3 rounds and competed against each other’s themes in pros and cons. In addition, after the students on each team presented their arguments, the judges gave feedback to all students, encouraging them to debate with confidence.

The Maple Bear Debate Contest provides students with an opportunity to train their logical thinking by comparing the pros and cons of debate topics while preparing for the contest. It is a contest where students ascend above and beyond the usual curriculum for English teaching in Korea and instead can use the discussion and presentation skills they have learned so far, as well as the skills to research data to form in-depth arguments about the topic.

Through these processes, the students exhibited more growth and development, and showed a heated competition atmosphere in which they listened to the other side’s remarks and presented their arguments with confidence. Maple Bear Korea, who organized this contest, said that it hopes that by experiencing the debate, students will grow interested in what is happening around the world, and develop the ability to communicate and collaborate with others.

Maple Bear Global Schools is an educational institution for children headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Based on Canadian public education, Maple Bear Global Schools provides immersive education that naturally spreads English as a native language.

Interested in working at a Maple Bear branch in Korea? Contact us or apply today!