Chinese and Korean Language Classes?

[rayne]

I originally planned to work as a native English teacher in Qingdao. 

 

I expected there to be racism and discrimination (I am ethnically Chinese) but it was worse than I thought. 

 

After a particularly nasty exchange with a recruiter I decided that I should think about my back up plan more.

 

I was already planning to take Chinese classes (I don't speak Mandarin Chinese) but I'd like to take Korean classes as well. 

 

Are there any universities that also provide Korean language classes? I'm interested in serious classes and not language exchanges (I know there are many Koreans in Qingdao). 

[roddy]

I would choose a university based on their Chinese classes, and then look for a Korean solution - at the same uni if they have good classes, or at a private school or with a tutor. As far as I'm aware there are no universities in Qingdao specialising in foreign languages, and any university classes you do find are likely to be very much of the traditional rote learning method.

 

Sorry to hear about your experiences - stick a post up in Teaching English forum and have a vent if you want...

[ChTTay]

Also sorry to hear you've had trouble with your move. Was the recruitment agency in China or from the your home country?

I worked with two British born Chinese teachers in the past. That particular school had recruitment done out of a company HQ by other foreigners. Those teachers still encountered problems at school but usually just one or two parents of students having issues.

[anonymoose]

You could try Future/Aston English, based in Dalian. I worked for them 11 years ago, and they had ethnically Chinese English teachers. The company is (or at least was) good and reliable, but the pay is low.

[ChTTay]

Small world! Aston is the company I worked at also. It was 4 years ago for me.

Their HQ is in Qingdao as it happens. There are over 40 schools around China. Many are franchises but the ones in Qingdao are not - or they didn't used to be.

[rayne]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm currently at an intermediate level in Korean so I don't want to lose it when I move to Qingdao... I couldn't find any results on google in English but I'll try using google translate tomorrow.

 

The recruiter's company is based in China but the recruiter himself appears to be American, judging from certain syntax clues. 

[ChTTay]

If you've just dealt with one recruiter so far, then it's probably worth trying more.

I'm sure there are private Korean classes for Chinese people. I don't see why you couldn't find a tutor or class to join, especially if your Korean is good enough to communicate.

[rayne]

No, I've contacted a lot of recruiters (who were discriminatory) but the latest one was extremely racist.... listed out all the races and explained why they don't deserve a job 

 

And I've contacted schools directly and they stopped replying after they found out that I look Chinese.

[ChTTay]

That's pretty terrible. I'm sorry you had to go through it. Aston English might be worth a shot as myself and Anonymoose mentioned above.

 

If you do go to Qingdao to study you might still be able to find some work as a tutor for some 'pocket money' so to speak.

 

As for Korean language lessons in Qingdao, let us know if you find any :-)

[Saxondale]

I know a few Chinese people learning Korean in Qingdao, but I guess that'll only work for you if could join a class that was purely taught in Korean. Considering the majority of foreigners in Qingdao are Korean, it shouldn't be difficult to find a proper tutor or at least a half decent language partner.

[dingye]

안녕하세요

 

All universities in Qingdao provide Korean classes. And there are so many private language schools which have Korean classes. But I think the problem for you is that all those classes are taught in Chinese as far as I know. You can take an audition and see whether you can understand it.

 

Otherwise I think you can  hire a Korean whose English is good enough to be your private teacher. There are so many Koreans(more than 100,000) in Qingdao. I think it will be easy. The problem could be the high cost.

 

Another option is to hire a Chinese who is ethnically Korean, of course he/she should be fluent in English. That could be much cheaper. That's not difficult either. You can start your search with students major in English. Or you can try your luck by attending "English corner" (All universities have these kinds of club activities) within your campus.

[studychinese]

Like some of the other posters said, there are plenty of Korean speakers in Qingdao.

 

If your Korean ability is intermediate as you say, it is unlikely that formal group classes could do anything for you. Find Korean people around the universities and talk to them. You might be able to find some language exchanges or even 조선족 朝鲜族 to tutor you.

[rayne]

This is a long post but I felt I needed to explain to people who keep telling me to do language exchanges even though I stated I in my OP prefer not to do those. 

 

I don't agree that formal group classes are unlikely to do anything for me.

 

I live in Korea now so my speaking is up to par but I need help with proper grammar and writing, which is exactly what a class would do for me.

 

I already stated in my original post that I would not like language exchanges... the reason being that I find that most Koreans struggle to explain grammar and things because they don't quite know the reasons themselves.

This is normal because a lot of native speakers tend to 'just know' but they don't 'know why'.

Since I'm an English teacher I do 'know why' when it comes to English. 

 

I've had the experience of language exchanges turning into a one on one teaching session or me teaching a small group of Koreans because I have the ability to teach them since my profession is a teacher! But then when it's Korean time, they can't really do anything beyond chatting, which is not what I want. 

The whole purpose of language exchanges is to talk, which is fine but not what I'm looking for right now. Plus, time times when I actually am looking for just talking,the Koreans are always shocked about my teaching ability and they can't help but whip out their homework or something so it turns into a tutoring session... but when it's Korean talking time, they can't explain anything...

 

I have plenty of Korean friends and my fiance is Korean! So I can chat with them... but they don't have the ability to teach me. Which is fine because I see them as friends and not teachers. 

 

I want to take a class with an actual Korean teacher who can teach me things. I work at a school in Korea and the teachers teaching Korean classes to Korean students struggle to explain things to me sometimes. It's different teaching Korean to little Korean kids compared to teaching Korean to adult non-Koreans. They all have degrees in the Korean language, too so they're not incompetent. And my Korean is decent enough for them to explain to me in Korean, so it's not a language problem. They just don't know how to teach Korean to a non-Korean.

 

I'm taking an actual Korean course for foreigners now taught by someone in the midst of their PHD in Korean language and she taught Korean to Korean high schoolers before and she's doing an excellent job. I think she's had training in teaching Korean in foreigners. I need someone like that. Someone qualified.

 

 

I am hesitant on getting a tutor because, as I stated above, they may not be qualified.... in my example, even my coworkers who are native Koreans, have a BA in the Korean language, and are teaching Korean at an elementary school struggle with explaining things to me. I've already tried tutors in Korea, I'm sure I'll get similar (disappointing) results in Qingdao.

 

To put things into perspective teaching English is different than teaching English as an additional/second language. This is the same as teaching Korean as an additional/second language. 

[dingye]

Well, I think the only feasible option is to get a tutor in your case. The reason why you can't take a group class is that all Korean classes are taught in Chinese which you can not understand. 

As long as you can afford, you can try to hire a professor who is teaching Korean in the university, such as OUC (Ocean university of China) and Qingdao university. And there are so many Korean teachers in all kinds of private language schools. I think you will be able to find one suitable for you at last.