Here is some good news for native English teachers:
The top court has ruled that native English teachers working at private language institutes here are eligible for severance pay and annual vacation allowance according to the Labor Standards Act.
Korea Times
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an appellate court’s decision to recognize native English instructors as employees protected by the law and thus provide them various allowances.
But the court sent the case back to the Seoul High Court to amend the calculation of such payment.
The lawsuit started in 2015 when eight English teachers sued their language institute demanding unpaid severance pay and allowances in lieu of annual vacation.
You can read more at the link.
The Japan Times recently had an editorial advising against getting tattoos and working in the english teaching industry Japan:
Reader PP is arriving in Japan soon to begin a stint as an assistant language teacher (ALT). He writes: “I am very interested in getting an irezumi (traditional tattoo) in Japan. Are there any artists that will tattoo a foreigner? If so, who and where? My interviewer for the teaching position tried to warn me that tattoos are a ‘no-no’. ”
Japan Times
He goes on to describe a story he heard about another ALT: The man had taken off his shirt to water some plants on his balcony, when a student’s parent happened to walk by and saw his tattoo-riddled back. The parent apparently called the school, claiming that they had hired a member of the yakuza — the Japanese mafia, who traditionally have tattoos. The ALT had to change jobs and cities as a result.
You can read the rest at the link, but this article got thinking what experiences English teachers in Korea have had with having tattoos?
Via a reader tip comes news that English education will soon be banned in early education classes in South Korea:
The Ministry of Education (MOE) plans to ban English classes at daycare centers and kindergartens, following its recent controversial decision to scrap afterschool English classes at elementary schools.
In December, the ministry said it will abolish afterschool English classes for first and second graders when the 2018 term begins in March.
Officials believe starting English at a young age has little benefit and claim that it creates a great deal of stress for children.
“There are two main reasons the ministry is working to get rid of the program. Many experts believe the process of learning English is too stressful and less effective for young children.” said Kwon Ji-young, a director of early childhood education, at the MOE. “Secondly, English will be provided in classes starting in the 3rd grade, so English classes before this only become early preparation for elementary school.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but it seems to me a kid learning a foreign language at a younger age is better than waiting until they are order and possibly not as comfortable with learning a foreign language.
I also wonder if this has anything to do with trying to reduce education costs for parents by deemphasizing English education? The costs for private English tutoring can be very expensive. If this is the case then English testing in national exams needs to be deemphasized as well.
Jobs of 7,000 English teachers in doubt with axing of after-school classes https://t.co/awkLWYnMmR
— KingSejong (@KingSejong) November 30, 2017
Here is a win in the courts for the foreign English teacher community in South Korea:
A court has recognized foreign tutors at a private language institute as “employees” entitled to severance pay, rejecting the institute’s claim that they were self-employed.
Judge Oh Sang-yong of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of five native English teachers at an unidentified private language institute in Seoul, Monday.
He ordered the institute to offer them 180 million won in severance pay and other unpaid allowances.
The institute had claimed the tutors were”self-employed” teachers paid by the hour so they were not entitled to severance pay. But the court ruled that the five were “employees” who had to act upon their contracts regulating their working hours, curriculum and other details. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I would think the hagwons in South Korea will just modify the contracts in some way to get around this court ruling.
It makes me wonder how many other Korean schools over the years have been conducting illegal wage skimming of foreign English teachers as well?:
Kyonggi Elementary School has been accused of skimming the wages of eight foreign teachers over several years with a contract clause that turned out to be illegal.
The wages that were taken from the native English teachers amounted to 45 million won ($40,240), with some losing more than 10 million won, according to labor attorney Jung Bong-soo, who represents the victims. They filed a collective complaint with the Seoul Regional Ministry of Employment and Labor in March, demanding reimbursement of their losses and replacing current contracts with “fair” ones.
The skimmed income ― 10 percent of their hourly wage ― was transferred to an independent Korean recruiter, who searched for and hired native English teachers on behalf of the private school in Seodaemun, northwestern Seoul.
The recruiter, surnamed Joo, is known to have introduced himself as a school adviser and is said to have drafted the contracts, including the controversial clause. The victims said they had signed their contracts not knowing the clause enforcing the monthly deduction was illegal. Under Korean employment law, giving recruiters a portion of a person’s first salary as an “introduction fee” is legal, but recruiters are not allowed to make regular deductions. [Korea Times]
You can read more at at the link.
Via a reader tip comes this news that North Korea is looking for English teachers willing to work for many years in the country, but there is a catch you can’t leave campus:
Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), North Korea’s first privately funded university, is recruiting English teachers.
The school is receiving applications from candidates in dozens of countries, many of which are ironically non-English speaking countries such as South Korea, China and Japan.
Preference is given to candidates who have a long-term mindset and are open to staying at PUST for a number of years,” the university says in its recruiting message on www.heysuccess.com , a British recruiting website.
“English teachers are required to commit to an entire 15-week semester. The spring semester begins in early March and finishes in mid-June. The fall semester begins in early September and finishes in mid-December.”
Detailed working conditions such as salary and welfare are unknown.
The university says the ideal candidate will be an “energetic, responsible, and well-qualified professional teacher with relevant English teaching experience.” It It says an English teaching qualification (TEFL/ CELTA/ TESOL) is also highly preferred.
Successful applicants are supposed to have a campus-based lifestyle, meaning they may not be allowed to travel outside the campus. [Korea Times]
This sounds more like a jail sentence then an English teaching job.
RE Korea, I guess all those billions spent on private tutoring helps… https://t.co/GKKZIrWNDE
— Sue Chang (@SueChangMW) February 5, 2017
This does seem like a really young age to begin studying a foreign language:
Korean mothers have their children start learning English before they turn five on average, an age some admit is probably too early, a survey showed Tuesday.
Yoon’s English School, a company that runs a chain of English language schools across the country, asked 466 members of an online mothers’ community between May 25-29 and found that their children started learning English at an average age of 4.8.
The survey said 24.9 percent started at age 6, 21.7 percent at age 5 and 14.8 percent at age 4. It also said 5.8 percent of the mothers started teaching English to their children, when they were still in the womb.
When asked if the chosen age was appropriate, 68.5 percent said it was, but 28.1 percent thought it was too early. The survey found that the largest group of 21.7 percent said about 8 years old, the age children normally start primary school, is the right time to start English education. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
