Tuesday, August 19, 2014

What gets me down about teaching in a Korean Uni

Korea uni
South Korean Unis


Teaching in a Korean Uni is truly an excellent job and I have very few complaints about it.  Compared to almost anything else I could be doing, it's probably the most chilled out job I could almost imagine.  There is NEVER an English teaching emergency of any kind.  But something that kind of gets me down is the futility of it.  Or at least what seems like futility.

For almost everything I teach, there are no learning outcomes or expectations of any kind, unless I make them myself.  But, if I make them too high and actually challenge students, I'll probably get low evaluations and lose my job.  Teaching in Korean most often feels like I'm just filling the time, while just having to look the part of "professor" but it doesn't really matter if I actually teach anyone anything.

I'm feeling down and out.  Can I make it another 1.5 years to the end of my contract?  Maybe yes, maybe no.

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3 comments:

The Teacher said...

A means to an end, n'est-ce pas?

Ian Henderson said...

I hear ya. I teach at a uni and am gearing up for another round of failed expectations. Last year I made a course form scratch and paired them with American sociology majors for online chars, all multi-media projects, etc. Half of them didn't even bother, and yet I was forced to pass them according to the grading scale. I just broke down and ordered a textbook to work from. Ill still do some extra stuff for the better students, but I'm sick of wasting time and effort on those who neither want nor deserve it.

Anonymous said...

I think you should challenge your students. I think they need it. What do you mean there are no learning outcomes or expectations? I'm sure some of your students will take the TOEIC or the TOEFL or go abroad and travel.

I hope you continue teaching. I've read some of your posts, and they helped me out. Love your blog. Keep it up!