Somalia: Islamic radicals raid private English school killing 4 teachers

Sunday, April 13, Hakab Private English School was raided by Islamic insurgents...
Visit www.esldaily.org for our new website
View full article here:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/04/14/somalia--islamic-radicals-raid-private-english-school-killing-4-teachers.aspx

Korean E2 Visa Drug Test Pot Free

What might be old news to some teachers will be a sigh of relief to others. As of March 15th, the Korean Immigration Service announced the Ministry of Justice has dropped the cannabinoid test from the medical check required to receive an alien registration card.

For full article please see our new website at:
www.esldaily.org
or go directly to our blog at:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/04/07/korean-e2-visa-drug-test-pot-free.aspx

The New Korean E2 Visa: A Teacher's Story

This is a story in the words of an American teacher who recently went through the experience of applying for and receiving a Korean E2 visa after the new regulations of December 15th, 2007...

Please see our new site for the full story:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/03/25/the-new-korean-e2-visa-a-teachers-story.aspx

No Child Left Behind Act Leaves Many: America

A new study by Rice University and the University of Texas-Austin finds the 'accountability' model on which the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is based upon a direct contributor to lower graduation levels...

Full story can be found at:

http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/03/14/no-child-left-behind-act-leaves-many-america.aspx

New Foreign Teacher' Association: Korea

There has been talk for years now about forming a foreign teacher's union to fight for and protect the rights of contracted English language teachers in South Korea. Although it is not a union, and does not have the power of one either, ATEK (Association of Teachers of English in Korea) will have to do for now...

Full article can be viewed at our new website:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/03/13/new-foreign-teacher-association-korea.aspx

Lee Takes Office: ESL Promises

President- elect Lee Myung Bak finally took office this past Monday, February 25th, to a crowd of 55,000 spectators at Korea's National Assembly. Lee's landslide victory on December 17th was due in large part to his promise to lift South Korea's somewhat stagnant economy up 7 percent by 2017. Among his other plans, he intends to double per capita income to $44,000 by creating new trade partners, cutting taxes and implementing the first stages of his controversial Seoul-to-Busan canal system, which is estimated to cost 16 trillion won (16.8 billion US). Tied to all of these projects is the commitment to increase and strengthen the English language proficiency of the country's workforce.

Visit ESL Daily at our new website to see the full article:
http://blog.esldaily.org/2008/02/27/lee-takes-office-esl-promises.aspx

Chinese English Teacher Caught in Train Delay

What was expected to be a regular 36-hour journey through Guangzhou province, Edward Wang describes as a hellish trip during China’s worst blizzard in over 50 years. After spending over double the time of the original trip aboard the train, food and water began to run out. People began getting desperate and knife fights broke out over food.

Chinese officials expressed to the international media that locals were struggling, but coping with the situation nonetheless. In reality, close to 7.5 billion dollars in damage has already been caused and a confirmed sixty deaths have taken place, though these numbers may rise. Another disaster awaits China if people choose not to attend the Olympic Summer Games this July as a result of the government’s slow reaction at the beginning of this crisis.

For more on Edward Wang’s story: http://winnipegsun.com/News/World/2008/02/05/4827751-sun.html

The BBC has reported that the Xinhua News Agency in China claims the “Widespread transport chaos ha[s] now eased.” But thousands remain without power and many families have given up trying to travel to see their relatives for the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Rat, or Earth Rat, is in Chinese astrology associated with the qualities of patience, thoughtfulness, practicality, hard work and stability. And in the effort to deal with the aftermath of this storm these virtues will be put to the test.

For the BBC article, refer to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7229707.stm


For current weather conditions in China, refer to:
http://weather.china.org.cn/english/

By Spencer McCall

Scotland to Increase ESOL Funds

In 2006, Scotland had a 30% increase in students enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. Trying to meet the new demand has been proven difficult on the limited government resources allocated to this program. As a result, the Scottish government announced this week it would spend 9 million pounds on expanding its current ESOL program in an attempt to accommodate an additional influx of up to 7000 more “migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees who want to attend English language classes.”

The government has not yet announced whether they will hire local or international teachers to fill the new positions. As the ESOL classes are run for the purpose of integrating immigrants into Scottish society, it would make sense to hire local, qualified teachers that would allow the students to grow accustom to the Scottish accent.

Further details can be seen at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7226241.stm

By Spencer McCall

New English Tests for Korean Children

The Korean public education system is renowned for placing special importance on English proficiency tests. And it seems the government of incoming President Lee plans to follow in that tradition. This week, the President Transitional Committee announced plans to reform the English proficiency tests for all levels of education to take effect between 2012 and 2014. Some grades will see more lenient tests, like Middle schoolers, who will only be expected to take a listening and reading exam and forego the intense pressure of a major written exam. This format closely resembles a TOEFL style test. University entrance exams will also being revised along the same lines as the TOEFL, although a writen component will remain for these tests.
For further information please read:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200801/200801290025.html

By Korea Jim

English Immersion in Korea Quashed

Here today, gone tomorrow. Incoming President Lee Myung-bak's transition team has stopped the current government's proposal of introducing an English Immersion program into the public education system. Only last week the South Korea government announced their plan to implement English immersion in all middle and high schools by 2010. The announcement was met by an uproar from teachers, parents and students.

For further details refer to:
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/266275.html

by Jim Korea

Korea to Drastically Change English Education By 2010

South Korea, home of thousands of private English academies, will soon introduce a public English emersion program. Regular classes will be conducted in English.

“A pilot English immersion program will be introduced at some elite private and public high schools starting this year”
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/01/117_17878.html
An educational team stated.

This program will then be gradually expanded to all Korean public schools. Korea already has over 2000 foreign English teachers working across the peninsula in the public school system and earlier planed on having every public school hire foreign English instructors. This program will extend not only to the elite wealthy class citizens of the country but extend to even the less fortunate living in rural areas.

By Korea Jim

E2 is Prejudiced: Foreign Envoys Criticize

The Korea Times recently reported an outcry by foreign ambassadors that Korea’s E2 teaching visa discriminated against other English speaking countries. The term “native” speaker was the word of contention that caused ambassadors from Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and even India to request changes be made to the visa regulation which would allow teachers from non-native countries, but with a high proficiency in English language, to seek employment in Korea’s strong ESL market. For further details go to:

Korea only accepts foreign English teachers from Canada, America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The large majority of these teachers also happen to be Caucasian, although this is a prejudice that exists only in hiring practices and not as a stipulation in the Visa itself. In an independent report published online last year, Caucasians has a higher success rate of employment that any other racial group.
(http://korean-school.blogspot.com/2007/03/study-five-skin-color-popularity.html)
In many ways, this policy is discriminatory since the E2 Visa is based upon nationality rather than a teaching qualification, unlike most other Asian countries that offer teaching visas.

The new visa regulations that came into effect on December 15th have discouraged many potential teachers from applying because of the long process involved in getting a criminal background check and paper work processed. The new regulations have also discouraged many experienced teachers from reapplying to Korean schools, choosing to find employment elsewhere. This has begun putting pressure on many private institutions, as well as public schools to continue guaranteeing the prestigious presence of a native speaker in their classrooms. In the Korea Times article of January 20th, 2008, the envoys were reported as suggesting the “ ‘narrow-minded’ visa policy prevents Koreans from developing English proficiency in a more efficient and cheaper way.”

Although no official announcement has been made in response to the ambassadors requests for a change in the policy, if one is made it could not only benefit the Asian teachers, but the Korean school system as well. The suggestion that hiring other non-native English proficient teachers would be a cheaper and more effective way to develop English language ability would definitely help many of Korea’s private language academies which are financially stretched offering foreigners generous salaries in order to entice them to suffer the long, arduous task of applying to the new E2.

By Spencer McCall

Teaching ESL in Taiwan: A look at the visitor visa

You may have to distort the truth in order to get a job teaching ESL in Taiwan, but don’t worry, your employer will most likely return the favor. In order to get a work permit you will need to get an extendable visitor visa outside of Taiwan. Most teachers do a visa run to Hong Kong while others may get one from their home country or elsewhere. Here is a link to the Taiwan consulate in Hong Kong, www.whosetravel.com/Hong_Kong_Embassy.htm, it gives you an idea of what is involved in applying for a visa. The hitch is you can’t tell the authorities that you intend to work in Taiwan, instead you must make up a story about wanting to visit a friend or learn Chinese for two months. This fictionalization of the truth really only becomes a problem if the consulate doesn’t believe your story and issues you a non-extendable visitor visa, which will allow you in the country but prevents you from getting a work permit. One fun way to look at things is that legal teachers in Taiwan began illegally.

Now lets look at just one (and I think one of the more blatant) ways in which some employers can be dishonest. You will hopefully notice that the repercussions can be much more dramatic.

A bill passed for political reasons in 2003 by the Taiwanese government made it illegal for foreigners to teach kindergarten classes (www.tealit.com/news.htm). Not only is it illegal for you to teach kindergarten age students (many jobs on Tealit.com will list “very young age” or “3 to 10 years old” instead of using the word “kindergarten”), but it is also worth noting that it is illegal for foreigners to even teach in a school where there are kindergarten classes being held. It will come as no surprise to teachers who have worked in Taiwan to hear that a number of schools still have foreigners teaching kindergarten classes. These schools will often simply dismiss or play down the legalities of teaching kindergarten if questioned by a possible teaching candidate. It is also not uncommon to hear stories of teachers who were told to practice an escape route in case government officials raided their school. Be assured the raids do happen and the escape routes are used and an unfortunate few do get deported. Why does this practice still continue? The schools with kindergarten offer teachers more hours and sometimes better pay, while the schools themselves generate a wealth of extra income. So maybe you should ask yourself if you would like jumping out windows or hanging off fire escapes before signing that kinder contract.

Both the visitor visa and the kindergarten classes fall into the ESL grey zone. This is not unique to Taiwan, as bending the “rules” for both employee and employer in most Asian countries is nothing new. But never forget that the teacher, and not the school, will pay the higher price...if one should be caught doing something one should not.

By Sean McCall

Canadian Consulate: Further Information on the E-2 VISA Korea

Recently, in South Korea , there has been much speculation about the changes in the laws regarding E-2 VISA regulations, otherwise known as a "Teacher's VISA". This is the VISA required for teaching English in South Korea.

Upon browsing through the Canadian Consular website at http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/world/embassies/korea/menu-en.asp, I believe that I've found information on where to go in South Korea regarding information on the E-2 VISA. I hope that this information will be helpful and useful.

In South Korea , the Immigration Bureau of the ROK Justice Ministry should be contacted for information regarding other types of visas and/or adjustments of visa status. You can learn more from the Immigration Bureau on-line. Their main Seoul office is located at #319-2, Shinjeong 6-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul , telephone 02-2650-6225/6. Take Line 5 of the subway to Omokyo Station, Exit No. 6. The Bureau is about a 10 minute walk once you exit the subway system.

You will find their pamphlet, "The Korean Immigration Service" (their number 11-1270000-000279-1) a useful English-language reference for visa questions. Contact the Immigration Bureau directly or refer to its website www.immigration.go.kr.

Concerns and complaints should be made to Korean Immigration's "Foreigner's Advice Office", telephone number 02-2650-6341, or to the "Control Office" at 02-2650-6212 in South Korea .

If you have any questions or concerns about the new changes in the E-2 VISA regulations, you can try this website for information.

John "pipes" Lawley

China Cracking Down on Plagiarism

In a country notorious for pirated movies, music and software and where copyright infringement and intellectual property are truly foreign words, the wind of change is coming. In the past, China has rarely, if ever, punished a teacher or professor for plagiarism. But things are changing. Huang Zongying, a former associate professor of English literature and language studies at the Foreign Languages School of Beijing University has been fired. Authorities found that a good portion of his academic work from 1999 to 2003 was laden with plagiarism. This is a rare move by a Chinese University to fire one of its professors. Hopefully it will mark the beginning of a new era for academic writing in China.

For further details see http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/06/content_362347.htm

ESL Jobs: When To Go Where? (Part 2)

By Spencer McCall

ESL Jobs: When To Go Where? (Part 1)

In Part 1, I provided you with some general timelines of when you should apply for jobs in certain countries in Asia . In Part 2, I am offering some complimentary advice on two more things you should be aware of when searching for a job in Asia . Again, please feel free to comment on anything you read, whether it is to provide further advice based on your experiences or if you have found this article to be of any help to you.

International Schools: These schools can be a good option for qualified teachers or someone with a Bachelor’s of Education. But don’t judge a book by its cover. These schools are sometimes nothing more than glorified private academies. Although International schools pay higher salaries on average than most private academies and boast prestige because of their “international” staff, they also require longer hours and more work that is often times incommensurate with their salaries. International schools can be affiliated with Universities as well as government-run programs, but this is not always the case. Bottom line, do your research and don’t assume from the title of the school that you will be working for a reputable company. In terms of the best times to teach at one of these institutions, their semesters follow the same pattern as most Universities. January and September are the months when most new teachers are hired. That means teachers should apply at least a month before, in December and August.

Countries: Every country in Asia has at least a few International schools. If you are interested in working for them, try directly contacting someone at the school if possible. Don’t rely on what a recruiter has to say.

Calendars: If you were planning on teaching in Asia , it would be wise to consult a lunar calendar as most holidays that affect ESL hiring dates are based upon it. It’s a good idea to always check out a local calendar of the country in which you intend to teach for special events and festivals. All of them are available from government and tourist homepages.

If Asia is not the place for you, please stay in touch in the coming weeks as we will also be covering the best times to teach in Europe and South America .

Volunteer At Own Risk

By Spencer McCall

If you’re an English teacher thinking of heading down to Mallipo beach to help clean up Korea’s worst ever oil spill, don’t let your goodwill get the better of you or you might just be deported. Unless you fill out the proper form and pay a certain fee, the Korean government would much rather you stay home. There are rules for foreigners volunteering, and the rules mean paying for offering a free service.

As surprising as it sounds, under the Immigration Control Act of Korea, “it is punishable that you [a foreigner] engage in the activities beyond your current visa status without permission” from the Ministry of Justice. This includes volunteering, not just at the oil spill disaster, but also for any work or event outside of the school that is sponsoring your E2 visa. The documents you require to volunteer include:

A travel document (passport)
Alien Registration Card
Application forms (downloadable from http://www.immigration.go.kr/)
Fees (60,000 won)

The government crackdown on volunteering extends far beyond the recent natural disaster relief effort, a particular event that has drawn dozens of English teachers to the beach in a genuine gesture of goodwill. For more on the extent the government has gone to pursue E2 violations check out an article by Carli Brosseau on Empas News <Click Here>

Japan Fingers Foreigners

By Spencer McCall

On November 20th, 2007, Japan implemented a regulation to fingerprint and photograph all foreigners entering the country. This new regulation extends not only to short-term visitors, but also permanent residence, work visa and spouse visa holders.

Once a foreigner enters any airport or port of entry, they must wait in the foreign immigration line to be fingerprinted and photographed. Once this has been done, their information will be cross-referenced with an immigration blacklist, which will determine their eligibility to enter the country. The main goal of the program, the Japanese government contends, is to bar entry of suspected terrorists or criminals. However, this is the first time an all-encompassing approach is being taken in fingering foreigners as they enter a country. Even the United States, the only other country currently fingerprinting foreigners, still allows visas and residency holders to enter the same way, as do American citizens. Japan, so it seems, has made no such distinction.

This is yet another blow to the ESL market in Japan, which has been reeling from the recent scandal of Nova Corp., the nation’s largest ESL franchise. The new immigration regulations will most likely further decrease the desirability of the country for teachers. Coupled with Korea’s upcoming regulation to ban visa runs to Japan, these new steps leave little doubt that both Korea and Japan are becoming less interested in supporting an ESL market as both governments continue to pass laws which restrict foreigners in entering, leaving or staying in their countries.

For further details on the new Japanese regulations, read The Yomiuri Shimbun, of Nov. 19, 2007
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/20071119TDY04310.htm

Both Japanese and foreigners have begun to speak out on the new changes. Several foreigners have expressed their outrage at the new treatment. To see what two have had to say in the Japan Times, click on the links below:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20071120zg.html
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20071101a1.html

Not all Japanese consider the new changes negative. To find out what some Japanese people think of the new system, go to Japan Today at:
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/popvox/758

Change is Imminent

By Korea Jim

The Korea Herald stated "According to a Ministry of Justice press release, foreigners who apply for teaching visas will have to submit a criminal background check and a medical check, and must undergo an interview at the closest Korean consulate to their home town. Visa runs to Japan will also be scrapped. Teachers must now receive and renew visas in their home country."

Regardless if you disagree with these policy changes, the visa process in Korea are changing. It should be noted this information comes on the heels of the announcement made by the Minister of Education and Human Resources Development, Kim Shinil, that in 2008 the number of foreign teachers will increase in the public school system and that English education will be made more of a priority, both increasing the number of hours of English class and number of foreign teachers.

One teacher I talked with, who did not wish to have his name disclosed, was not happy about the recent changes. "I have been in the country for over 5 years," he stated. "However, why would I return if it takes my whole vacation time just to renew my contract? I would have to travel to a city that I don’t live in [and] wait for an interview and visa to be processed. The trip would set me back too far. There are many other countries I can teach in, without the hassle of this change." This is a reality many teachers, both new and experienced, will face in the coming year.

Though some teachers are finding the positive side of these changes. One teacher I spoke with, who is married to a Korean woman, believes the new E2 visa requirements will mean "fewer teachers, greater demand [and] more money." Which is very likely as private schools will be forced to offer even more incentive to returning teachers, or even first-year teachers, to go through the hassle of the application process. "This is the change I have been waiting for," he said smiling. However, his F2 visa, which he received upon marrying, precludes him from having to submit to any of the new requirements to obtain employment. He is definitely a minority among foreign teachers.

Korean private schools pay thousands of dollars in recruiting fees to attract ESL and EFL teachers. The extra expense to return a teacher to their home country on a round trip for an interview with a consulate will probably force some smaller schools to shut down. These expenses will also likely affect public schools, which operate under strict budgets. This will hinder public schools in providing for their classes native English instructors, the very instructors the government wants more of in the coming year. It’s not clear whether the government will provide extra financial assistance to public schools to cope with the added burden of this expense, but at the moment they have not discussed the issue.

One outcome of the new changes could be foreigners working illegally on a visitor visa, something that already occurs and though the numbers of teachers doing this has declined recently, they could easily spike again in 2008. Fake marriages to obtain an F2 visa might also transpire. Another scenario could see a drastic drop in teacher recruitment as a result of teachers who simply refuse to work in Korea and submit themselves to a laborious application process.

The Korean government is pushing these new policies to increase the number of qualified, experienced teachers in the country; however, the consequences of these policies may discourage them coming in general. It will most likely increase the people who are willing to take the risk to come and work illegally without proper teaching credentials. Especially if private institutions are willing to increase the pay of illegal ESL instructors in order to avoid the new changes in the visa process.

A Korean Paradox

The Korea Herald News paper stated in the front page today that:

“Regulations on foreigners set to be eased… Government looks to make the life of foreign residents in Korea easier.” The Korean Herald, Monday October 29, 2007. However, the Korean Herald also reported on the same day by the same author “Entry requirements for foreign teachers to be toughened… Starting in December, foreign English teachers coming to Korea will be required to submit their criminal and health records when applying for their visas…” The Korean Herald, Monday October 29, 2007.

People who wish to teach in Korea will soon be required not only to submit their original degrees, sealed transcripts, photos, and scanned passports, they will also have to submit a police background check along with their medical history. Furthermore, the Gyeong-gi Board of Education now demands teachers give further proof of their degrees and transcripts, i.e. verification of school alumni.

Speaking from experience, it is difficult to receive a criminal record check while outside your native country. Teachers already in Korea may be expected to give criminal and medical history checks from their native country upon finding a new job in Korea, adding further stress in applying for employment.

Perhaps the relaxation of “regulations on foreigners” as stated earlier will push more and more foreigners to teach privately, rather than dealing with the tougher policies for legal English teachers.