So i have ADHD and my first job in Korea was a disaster. I messed up a lot, realized i couldn’t spell basic things under stress, and the kids barely respected me at all(although they did like me a lot and were sad when i left 6 months in. Wonder why lol). I think the kid behavior was one of the things that the Hagwon disliked the most about me, but at the same time, they knew it was my first time teaching.
the mean head teacher that supervised me a lot near the end there did give a lot of good advice to me though but she was quick to rat out any mistake i made too and then i had to have meetings and all that.
idk even so i still have japan on my mind, and who knows maybe i could do better next time. Past teaching, I know a lot more Japanese than Korean and think i’d enjoy it a lot better than hiding in my room when i was in Korea.
I just sort of wonder if it’s a good idea though as i realize im far from the best teacher. I just feel more of a push might get me there. I just don’t want to end up going to Japan and things end up the same as that brand name hagwon i was in that made me have to see a physiatrist when i came back home 6 months into the contract lol. I also actually enjoyed the traveling and all that too past teh school. 🙂
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1. Kids are going to be kids no matter where you go. 2. There are shitty companies here too.
Honestly sounds like teaching just ain’t for you.
Nope, teaching is teaching. Some can do it and some aren’t cut out for it at all. You have to ask yourself what you can do better and if you have room for improvement.
I think the kids could be slightly better in the countryside, and if you’re an ALT with a decent lead teacher you could make it work. However, I have ADHD with no hopes of being medicated out here, and it’s a struggle. Because it’s teaching on hard mode, I burn out at things neurotypical people can probably handle with ease. Survival mode everyday. Looking forward to the next stage of my life that isn’t so hard on my senses.
Depends which school IMO, though I wouldn’t go in expecting gentle treatment.
If it helps… my favourite eikaiwa was in a small town but had a big city (small, independent) chain of sister schools helping it out with things like training, materials and curriculum. I’m Aussie and it wasn’t uncommon for one of their Japanese trainers who’d spent time in the USA to come and make fun of my English. She’d also try to dominate all dialogues about what ‘the west’ is like. As a teacher/trainer she was GOOD but she could be pretty abrasive for no reason.
I had to be assertive to put up with this. 1 or 2 assistants also behaved like this over the years, which sometimes included interrupting my classes with ‘corrections’ / trying to puppet me around. IMO this happens with ‘experience’. JTs get worn out by the low pay / stress and get a bit grumpy towards gaijin teachers. Also they validly learn good ways of doing stuff. I can find it hard to take-in ‘advice’ while teaching a class and had to not take their interruptions personally.
Um. Aaah… will YOU like it better? Look I suspect South Korea’s gonna be pretty similar. This sub gets a lot of people in your kinda situation and the way I put it is that EFL is a ‘gap year’. Some last longer than others (not something to brag about) and others last less time (either because they’re dickheads who don’t fit or like you… because they care but get worn out).
Personally I’m a trained teacher and though I’m now a lawyer, I still coach kids sports (in Australia) as a bit of a side hustle because I like it (easy way to get away from office politics & make a secondary income). I find coaching kids sports comparable to eikaiwa as you’re dealing with kids and your employer’s always gonna have its preferences about how to do stuff (with a highly assertive person in charge of enforcing the said standards).
I think that I’ve ‘lasted’ in this kinda work because I’ve done it long enough that I’m not bummed by people telling me my skills are shyte or forcing me to use different techniques/instructions in my lessons (which I may not agree with, but part of ANY job is being able to adapt to what your employer/clients want). Sometimes people just squabble – it’s in their nature to constantly be butting in to ‘correct’ people and they find it hard to switch off (it’s no coincidence that this sorta personality will gravitate towards teaching roles, right?) Something to keep in mind I guess… or not. If you really hate people putting you under pressure like this then IMO your experience is gonna be quite consistent.
I’m going to be characteristically blunt with you.
You describe the school as being “hard on you” and your managers as being “mean.” But it sounds to me like you just really weren’t a very good teacher, and they were trying to correct some of your worse habits so that your lessons didn’t just completley go off the rails. They had a business to run, and couldn’t just let you run wild in the classroom.
If you had that much trouble managing your classes in Korea, you’re going to have the exact same issues here in Japan.
I get that you like to travel and want to work abroad; but at the same time, people don’t always get what they want – and if you keep banging your head against this wall, all it’s going to get you is a headache.
You’re not cut out for teaching. If I were you, I’d look at other ways to travel.
Hagwons are notorious places to work in the EFL field, for a few reasons. Bad behaviour can be one, awful management another. I work in my second one currently. There are quite a few kids with terrible behaviour, and this isn’t uncommon here. It’s partly that with many being on after school for-profit programs, they know you don’t actually have any behavioural leverage on them. You can’t give them a detention or something. A better hagwon will have Korean coteachers helping with behaviour.
I also intend on Japan in the near future. I do enjoy aspects of teaching and occasionally have amazing classes. Some, however, are just a grind. I’d caution against listening to people just telling you to pack teaching in. You only did six months and that’s barely enough time to learn anything. You could become a very competent teacher yet. I still find things hard sometimes, but I’ve improved a lot over the last year.
I literally have 5 year olds telling each other that if it wasn’t for their parents they would have quit English already and they don’t want to be there. They will literally be laughing and having fun the entire class but then say they were bored before leaving (the beauty of understanding some Japanese).
If you think you can continue to improve then by all means try Japan
I’ve found Korea to be much more satisfying, much more independence and control of my class and curriculum.
Japan was much easier though with huge blocks of free time, but I had to spend them in the teachers office, so it was hardly relaxing at all. In addition, I never got control of my own classroom except in very rare circumstances and just to play a game. It was very dull.
Korea also paid better when adjusted for living cost.
Sounds like you need to work on being a teacher before making your next move. Teaching isn’t for everyone and it’s ok if you try to find something else. Not being able to spell things under stress is pretty alarming, and the “stress” won’t go away in Japan. In some cases it might be worse than what you’ve already experienced.
It’s extremely unlikely you’ll succeed in Japan if you flamed out in Korea.
ADHD as a teacher. You need to be on meds while teaching. Also teaching takes training. If you’re struggling with children. And want to teach in Japan. My advice is. Teach only adults. Or don’t teach at all there’s plenty more to do in Japan if you speak Japanese.