If you’re planning on teaching Korean students, the first thing you need to understand (and accept) is their culture. To be honest, in my more than 5 years of experience both as an online English teacher and as a trainer, I still have difficulty adapting to the cultural differences. The good news is, this is not only my issue. It happens in different countries all the time. What’s important is how you respond to these differences.
Here are some things to bear in mind when teaching Koreans.
1. English is the missing key.
Koreans are very competitive, and they love to show the world that there’s more to them than meets the eye. (Then again, don’t we all?) That’s why they invest so much in education, with parents spending thousands of dollars to send their kids to academies. To them, education is the key to success, and they never stop learning.
This paid off, actually. Coupled with hard work and a strong work ethic, Koreans have put their country on the international map. Today, the country’s economy sits among the world’s largest.
But no matter how successful they are, South Koreans recognize that to be globally competitive, they need to communicate with the world. In other words, they need to speak English.
What can be deduced from this? I’m sorry to say this, but many teachers don’t take their job seriously. “It’s easy teaching Koreans English. What do they know?” I heard a few say. If you think it’s easy, trust me, it’s not. If you don’t take your job seriously, your students will know, and they won’t hesitate replacing you.
Yes, this also applies to young learners. Even if they don’t like studying English, rest assured that their parents are monitoring your classes.
2. Attendance is everything.
If you want to work for a Korean company, invest in a clean attendance slate. Don’t be late, don’t be absent. Even if you’re sick, they’d rather see you having a fever in the office than wonder if you’re truly in the hospital seeing a doctor.
Your students won’t easily understand your absences, and if you absence is perennial, they will file a complaint against you, or worse, request for another teacher.
Everyday, most Koreans wake up early either to prepare for school or to go to work. After school, students have to go to private-owned academies to study English, Science, Math, and other subjects. They go home around 10 PM or even later. They go to bed, then they wake up, and the cycle goes on.
As for grown-ups, they get stressed out at work, and though this is the case, they still work overtime. Then they go home, sleep, and wake up to begin the same, boring cycle.
That said, it’s best to ask questions about their daily life such as the following SPARINGLY:
- What did you do over the weekend?
- Did anything special happen today?
- What are your plans for the weekend?
- What did you have for dinner / breakfast / lunch today?
Instead, ask more interesting or more challenging questions.
4. They expect much from their teachers.
Teachers are free to hit their students if they misbehave. I asked my Korean boss for an explanation about this, and she told me it’s normal. Parents don’t mind because they believe that teachers hold the key to success. They respect teachers so much.
But this respect comes with great expectations. They expect you to teach their kids well, and they expect you to share everything you know.
5. Koreans love talking about their country.
Call it pride. Call it patriotism. Koreans can go on and on talking about their country -- from Kim Yuna to their success story. With that, if you can’t find a common theme to talk about, try mentioning a popular Korean actress, and you’ll make your student happy.
So if you have time, learn enough information about Korea. Some good topics to talk about include the following: how good Korean movies are, the Wonder Girls, Kim Yuna and why she beat Mao Azada at the Olympics, their first Lady President, and Jeju Island.
