What are the best hagwons in Korea? Or maybe you are wondering where the greenlist is? Have you read some of the horror stories about teaching in Korea? You don't want to end up on a blacklist somewhere right?

I get it I was there once. I taught in Korea for 3.5 years after Taiwan and before China.

So...

Not trying to be Debbie Downer, but here's why you probably won't find the "best" hagwon in Korea

The best hagwon jobs are going to spread by word of mouth. Teachers tend to work in those positions for a long time. So when someone leaves they usually refer a friend to the position, so the school never has to advertise.

Which online TEFL course should I take? I don't have all the answers. I know it's tough deciding sometimes. I have only taken two TEFL/TESOL courses: one online and one in class.

You have a dazzling amount of options. I don't even know how many, but lets say over 50. That's too many so how can you decide?

So I put this little guide together so that it might help you. It's based on my experience.

What criteria should you use to choose a course?

You're new to TEFL so you are probably wondering a lot! I see that there are 2 basic reasons to take a TEFL course.

1. Find a job
2. To learn how to teach

I think a lot of newcomers and courses themselves place an emphasis on number 1. At this point you are more concerned about getting started teaching (by finding a job) and getting there.

How do you teach English to kids or young learners? And wait, who are young learners? Is that someone under 40?

Nope.

Generally that term is used in the TEFL course community to describe students ranging from kindergarten to middle school.

Yet there is quite a difference in my experience teaching a kindergarten student and teaching a middle school student English.

A kindergarten student is going to be full of energy, often affectionate and quite bubbly. They are also going to have a really short attention span.

A middle school student has been through the system. They tend to be more tame. but also more hormonal and that can range from totally silent and uninterested to also quite bubbly and mature.

This is a local re-posting of an article I wrote for The National Interest last week.

As I scroll through my Facebook news feed while eating breakfast, there are more and more memories of the time I spent getting ready to leave Korea. I lived there for a bit over a decade. I left in February of 2016, so it’s been almost 2 years in Canada now.