mrx
- 2011-11-09
YBM PART 2
This is in response to Paula who seems to have a problem with YBM, and all I can say is I completely agree. Why aren't more people upset by the system at YBM? First off, completely agree with the strangeness of listing being paid on time as a good thing, instead of a legal obligation! Only in Korea does the fact that the employer lives up to some (not all) of the contract count as a positive. And YBM does make you work Saturdays if you are under hours, which happens a lot outside of Seoul. And I keep waiting for the day when Koreans just kick everyone out and start using English dvds, or Chinese ones. YBM allows for no teacher input. They did, at one time, tell teachers they could suggest changes, but when teachers actually started making recommendations that idea got put on the back burner. I guess people are just happy to do their time, get out and never look back ... but I found YBM a soul draining experience, not just for me but for students as well. The students were forced to discuss the topics in the books, many of which are idiotic and repetitive. One week spent on directions is enough for even the most ardent of students to start phoning it in.
First timers to Korea - do not believe the garbage about vacation days. You might be lucky and get five days. Or your manager might say you can take a month off (this will usually affect your end of contract bonus), but be careful and do not trust advertisements.
And as for the Korean way of thinking, if a holiday falls on a Tuesday, or say a Wednesday and Thursday, you might wonder why they don't move it a day and create a longer break. You might try pointing this out to your students, who have been raised to NOT think. It gets a bit frustrating - tap tap pae. Of course walking into a freezing cold room, everyone wearing jackets and the window wide open ...
Paula Smith
- 2011-10-16
A truly awful school to work for, and not one I would recommend anyone working for.
First off, the good points:
The pay was ok, and always came on time, but as a previous poster has already pointed out, this is expected, and not something exceptionally good on YBM’s part.
OK, on to the numerous bad points:
Working hours: Expect to start at between 7-9 am and finish at 10pm EVERY day!!! No joke, though you will only (LOL) be expected to teach 6 – 8 hours daily (but you’ll need to find extra time in the day for marking and planning, non of which is considered as overtime).
Holidays/ vacations: All but none, in reality. I was mislead by the advertisement, thinking I’d have 10-14 days’ holiday time to use when I wanted. In reality, these 10-14 days are chosen by YBM, and often midway through a week, making it impossible to travel within Korea itself, nevermind taking an extended break home (and believe me, 12 months is a long time to go without a proper break!).
Saturday teaching: Again, I was lead to think that this would be only done in around 2 of the 12 months I was teaching there. In reality, I was teaching Saturdays most Saturdays and didn’t have a choice. To make things worse, I sometimes did not get the extra pay I deserved for these Saturdays, if I hadn’t been given the minimum number to teach Monday to Friday. Very unfair, and not what was laid out in the contract!
Lack of respect: Yes, it’s true. YBM has no repsect for its teachers and doesn’t listen to their opinions. Teachers are not allowed to use their own style, or even select their own materials for teaching. Everything is super prescribed by the company and a syllabus (which is fair enough) and even a detailed lesson plan for each class is given to all teachers. Any deviation from the plan is punished, meaning no teacher autonmy is allowed. YBM might as well employs androids to teach!
A number of teachers I worked with were actually fired (with very little notice or warning given) because of this.
Classroom materials: Rubbish, in a word. Stilted and not very helpful for the students. Teachers are not allowed to use their own ideas or materials in class, and if they do, they are punished or even fired!
Housing: Not provided by YBM, but a small contribution towards the rent is given. No useful help or advice given in finding accommodation, however.
I did manage to save quite a lot of money, and Korea is a great place to live (good food and interesting places to see), but don’t teach at YBM as you’ll find with precious little time to actually be able to experience life in Korea (in fact, you won’t have the time or energy to HAVE a life working for YBM, and you’ll feel run down and undervalued as a teacher). In conclusion, YBM is not a good school to work for.
OK, readers, heres the third edition Please keep those contributions coming!
PUBLIC SCHOOL Programs
EPIK (English Program in Korea)
SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)
These are both government-run public school ESL programs catering to elementary to high school-age students
Searching ESL websites, one will find a range of opinions, but of course LOTS of negative ones, especially regarding lousy, deplorable housing conditions, and the challenges of dealing with Korean children and their parents.
- - -
HAGWONS (private training schools for adults and/or children)
Private "Hagwons" -- also known as "cram schools" (for middle high school students -- a dreaded part of their daily life for most) or adult ESL training centers -- "Hagwon" has a very broad meaning in Korea
YBM
The largest and most "reputable" of all (of hundreds) of ESL franchise operation Korea (and unfortunately the one I worked for/endured for a thorughly miserable seven months)
Standard practice for most adult training centers in Korea is that NO housing is provided. That might not sound so bad, but what they won't tell you prior to arrival is that when one rents an apartment/studio in Korea (at least in Seoul where I was), NOTHING is furnished. The tenant is expected to purchase/supply ALL appliances and furnishings (refrigerator, A/C, TV, bed -- I'm NOT kidding!) and then is expected to get rid of it all at the end of the lease (most FTs want out of Korea after a year).
"Key money" is also a standard part of renting a place to live in Korea -- which is another term for HUGE deposit -- on average 5-12 million won. Most hagwons will post this key money on behalf of their FTs, but some (YBM for example) will subtract about 300,000 won for doing so. There's more I can tell you, but suffice it say that renting one's own dwelling in Korea is cumbersome, confusing, and very expensive!
YBM ECC (YBM's nationwide franchise of children's schools)
This arm of YBM also has a very bad reputation among FTs in China -- on lots of ESL-related websites.
As with most companies and public schools that cater to young children, YBM ECC does provide housing for their FTs, but again, there slots of complaints from FTs about the provided housing and other contract terms and working conditions. Definitely avoid YBM ECC.
Other hagwons/hagwon franchises to avoid in various locations throughout Korea (based on numerous negative posts on this and other ESL websites):
PAGODA
NEW BRITON
TOPIA ENGLISH ZONE
MODERN ENGLISH STUDIO
CHUNG DAHM LEARNING INSTITUTE (CDI)
AIS ENGLISH TRAINING ACADEMY
KIDS HERALD SCHOOL in Cheonan
LCI KIDS CLUB in Gwangju
GLOBAL LANGUAGE INSTITUTE in Ansan
POLY SCHOOL
CANADA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
KIDS COLLEGE
LCC in Mokpo
DAEJEON EDUCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE
TOM & JANE in Ulsan
WILSHIRE KOREA in Pusan
What readers should also know is that Korea's policies/regulations for issuing proper and legal E-2 visa (visa especially for foreign teachers of English only -- no other type of employment) is complicated (and becoming more so every month), risky, cumbersome, and expensive.
South Korea requires prospective FTs to send ORIGINAL diplomas to the employer, who in turn will take to local immigration, a criminal background check from state/local area of home country that must have apostille affixed, lots of other documentation, and last but not least, a visa "interview" which must take place in person, at one of only five Korean consulates (in the U.S.).
Mine was a complete waste of time (as my visa had already been approved in South Korea) and expense (flight to and from my home town and one night in hotel -- interview was early in the morning and was refused a later interview time in order to go and return in the same day). When I balked about the cost (about $800 in the end) my employer (YBM) pledged to reimburse, but of course after I arrived the made up a ridiculous excuse why they would NOT to reimburse me.
For a country so eager to attract and hire more and more FTs (the ESL business for children is currently skyrocketing) they make it amazingly difficult, unreasonable, inefficient, and expensive to do so. Simply idiotic.
Be very careful when deciding to accept a teaching position (public or private) in South Korea.
RECRUITERS to avoid:
EnglishWork
Perfect English
Here are some other ESL websites that have "blacklists" or at least Korean school/hagwon reviews:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5Zor6fK824Q7OcjZlH6dGA
http://teflblacklist.blogspot.com/2008/01/korea-times.html
http://www.pusanweb.com/guides/newteachers.htm
http://www.reliableteacher.com