The (At Times) Frustrating Reality of an EFL Teacher Living Abroad

This is a little piece about a discussion I had today. I will try not to endlessly rant and just get my point across.

In this day and age, I probably need to begin with a disclaimer: I need to state that this is my opinion and a reflection of my feelings after living and working in South Korea for almost 8 years. I don’t think all Koreans are horrible and I don’t think all foreigners are great. I am not making any absolute statements here, just reflecting on some recent happenings in my school life.

I need to preface this with a statement that many of the people I have worked with, both Korean and foreign teachers, have expressed the sentiment that we foreign teachers don’t work as hard as our Korean counterparts.

In the spirit of fairness, I will also say that the requirements and day to day duties differ between foreign teachers and Korean teachers. This is a fact, and it will not change. The way the government or a private institution sets up their school is up to them - not the workers - and often foreign teachers end up with what is considered a ‘lighter load’ in terms of day to day stuff. This is true of some schools, and completely false of others. Again, I speak in no absolutes.

And right before I get to my main point, let’s just all agree that there are foreigners who do take advantage of their job and don’t work as hard as they should. I’ve worked with plenty. But, some do not equal all.

After years of falling under these blanket statements, I have finally begun to see that many accusers (from both cultures, mind you) are missing the fact that lack of cultural awareness is often a key player in this belief of ‘lazy foreign teachers’.

Today I had lunch with a coworker, and during a particularly charged discussion, she admitted she was angry because the foreign teacher she previously worked with was 'watching videos instead of working hard' like her, and that he got paid significantly more each month. I felt she was justifiably upset until she cast a wide net over the entire foreign teacher community by saying that it is unfair that we are paid more to work less (in comparison to Korean teachers at the same school). She also stated that many Korean teachers feel this way and that is why I must work even harder to make a great impression on them.

In a nutshell, it has become apparent to me over the years that, in Korean society, workers are expected to be constantly ‘busy’, rarely take sick leave, work late often, be ready to change something at the drop of a hat, and to follow your boss at all times. Of course, every workplace is different and I am sure there are Canadian workplaces like this, but I believe these are not the norms of workplace culture in my home country. 

I expressed to her that we have different educational and workplace cultures and that there will always be misunderstandings and miscommunications because of that. I also told her that I think some of what she said about inequality is true, but that most of her frustration could be lessened by simple cultural awareness, especially in terms of the differences in educational culture between Korean and western cultures.

Here is the gist of what we discussed after I said that.

"Foreigners are coming to our country and so we expect them to follow our rules and culture. We have a proverb – If you go to Rome, follow the Roman rules." - coworker

"Yes, I understand that. I am curious if you knew that most of us are trained and encouraged to follow Korean culture from the minute we arrive in Korea? (bowing, only giving positive praise, age hierarchy, appearance is everything, etc.) When a foreign teacher comes to your school, are you asked to learn about their culture?”

“No. They are in Korea, they should follow our Confucian society fully.” - coworker

“OK, so let me ask you another question to express my point more clearly. If a Korean moved to Canada, would he/she concede that Canadian rules and culture are better and more worthy of following, simply because they live there?" – me

"Well… there are no jobs for Koreans in Canada, so we don't go there." – coworker

“But if you went to Canada, would you follow the cultural rules and workplace expectations without complaint or frustration? Because that is often what many foreign teachers are expected to do when they enter a workplace in Korea. This is a very difficult thing to do, and that is why many are frustrated with us." -me

“…. I don’t know because I never worked there before.” - coworker

“Ok, so imagine if you did move there, and someone said, "Koreans are selfish because they work when they are sick and endanger the students and they are lazy because they only teach ‘lecture’ style", would you be offended? Especially if you were working hard every day?”

“Yes, of course!” - coworker

So there we have it. Once you put yourself in my shoes, you understand my situation. That is a fundamental part of teaching EFL. You need to understand the person you are teaching. I've always considered Korean culture as I teach my students while infusing a bit of my own culture where appropriate. If you can't understand why a student won't speak out against a classmate who is older than him or why someone would rudely criticize you, then you will take it personally and fail to see the cultural impact that is often found in multicultural or non-English dominant classrooms. 

We come here and the majority of us follow the rules as best we can. Sometimes immersing yourself in another culture while trying to stay true to yourself and teach English fairly and comprehensively is very difficult. Sometimes it's too much to handle and we have a little bit of trouble feeling heard and understood. We cannot help it if we were raised to take sick days and not work until we are exhausted. We understand that Korean culture demands that of its workers, but we are also not Korean workers: we are foreign teachers, hired by Koreans to teach our language and culture to the residents of Korea. Not everything we fail to do stems from a place of laziness or irresponsibility. You may think we are lazy for not working 12 hour days and we may think you are crazy for doing so. We may never agree, but we deserve to be understood, just as you do.

We are here on behalf of our countries, teaching your students about our language, and that includes our culture as well. Some part of your country believes we are important to your society. I think, hey, if we are going to work together for a year, take some time to look up the educational culture of my country. The same goes for any students you teach. If I have a student coming from another country, I will consider their educational culture and try to make them as comfortable as possible. With the ever increasing multiculturalism of the world, teaching EFL/ESL is going to be a hugely important part of creating a global society. It's time to start considering what is vital for us as EFL/ESL teachers to stand up for.