Overview of the company
ELS/E4U is the largest adult language school chain in Korea with an average monthly enrollment of 40,000-60,000 students, most of whom are either business people or university students. The foreign teaching department offers five courses of study, ranging in length from 1 hour to 6 hours (+OT) of instruction per day. All programs are based on nine levels of student ability with class size limited to a maximum of 15 students. In addition we offer TOEIC (Test of English in International Communication) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test preparation courses. All curricula, contracts, and policies are set at head office in Jongno and affect all 17 adult schools in Korea.
Dress code
Appearance is very important in Korea and teachers are required to follow a dress code. Koreans are usually conservative in their dress, especially in work situations. Male teachers must wear dress shirt and tie, slacks and professional-looking shoes. The tie is not optional unless you are wearing a turtleneck sweater. Facial hair should be neat and well trimmed. Women should wear professional-looking dresses, skirts, slacks, blouses and shoes. The following are considered unacceptable for either men or women :
Sheer clothing
Jeans of any color
Shorts
Sandals, sneakers, hiking boots, or sport shoes
Chinese collars
Sleeveless shirts, dresses, blouses or sweaters
Short skirts or dresses
Hats of any kind
Private Teaching and Working outside the School
Teaching private lessons (at locations other than YBM Institutes) is illegal in Korea and in violation of your contract and visa regulations. The school will not tolerate private language lessons between ELS teachers and students outside the school and will be unable to offer any assistance if a teacher is caught doing so. The government penalty for private tutoring is a W10 million fine to both the teacher and student and the immediate deportation of the teacher.
Other YBM
Sisa / ELS Work
Work at other Sisa-Yong-O-Sa institutes (teaching at other ELS, ECC, PSA, CT, SETTA, INTERNET OFFICE or other related activities like
textbook writing or recording) is available, usually on fairly short notice. Working in these locations is not in violation of your contract and
your visa. However, you must have any work approved by both the Academic Supervisor and the Institute Manager prior to starting the job.
Also, your first and foremost responsibility is to ELS. Should you wish to pursue any of these avenues of additional income, please bring
it to the attention of the Academic Supervisor for his/her consideration..
How ELS Deals With Complaints Made by Students
Students occasionally complain about their teachers. This is often due to something relatively simple. With complaints received either
verbally or in writing, the first step is for the complaint to be explained to the Academic Supervisor. At this point, the Academic Supervisor
will arrange a meeting with the teacher to discuss the complaint and get the teacher's side of the story. Any necessary action will only be
taken once both sides of the story have been considered.
Meetings and Workshops
Teacher meetings covering administrative and program-related matters are scheduled by the Academic Supervisor or Senior Teachers whenever
necessary. These meetings may be anywhere from 10 to 120 minutes long and are mandatory for all teachers not in the classroom during the
prescribed time. Payment for attendance at these meetings is considered part of your base salary; no overtime payment is made.
Punctuality
It is very important that teachers turn up for classes on time. Students should not be kept waiting for the teacher to come to class after the bell has rung.
Repeated lateness will result in a formal warning, and should the behavior continue, the contract will be terminated.
Student Surveys
YBM ELS has a standard survey form to be handed out to students at the end of a session.
At all ELS schools, we ask the teachers to conduct these surveys every two months.
When you are conducting the survey, please have the students complete the individual forms
and turn them into the front desk. The Academic Supervisor will review them and then meet with you to discuss them.
Observations
The Academic Supervisor or Senior Teacher observes each teacher during his or her first month at ELS.
A meeting is conducted following the observation to discuss any suggestions that the observer may have
and the results of the student survey. Follow-up observations are done periodically. Teachers may request
an observation at any point following the initial one.
Scheduling Policy
The Academic Supervisor determines teachers' work schedules. Instructors are contractually obligated to accept up to 160 classes per month (8 hours per day).
While every effort is made to accommodate individual teacher requests, the needs of the school and fairness to all teachers comes first. Teachers should understand that scheduling often requires last minute changes, making the whole process very complicated.
Schedule Requests
During the last week of session, you must fill out a "Schedule
Request" form and turn it in to the Academic Supervisor
by Day 17. The "Schedule Request" form allows you to indicate
what levels and classes you prefer to teach, what times
you would like to work, and any special circumstances
that you would like taken into consideration. Submitting
a schedule request does not guarantee that you will get
the schedule that you have requested. Scheduling
at ELS is done on the last business day of the session
before the next session begins. This is awkward but unavoidable.
Due to the tendency of students to register at the last
minute, some classes cannot be opened and scheduled before
the new month begins. It is an unfortunate fact that nearly
40% of our students register after the session starts,
thus individual teachers' schedules may change during
the first few days of the session. The Academic Supervisor
will try to have a schedule ready on either the day immediately
before a new session or on the Saturday before, depending
on the calendar for the month. Your patience and understanding
during this stressful time is highly appreciated.
Pay
Contract teachers are paid on the 7th day of the month following the session in question.
Deductions are for health insurance (approximately 3%), taxes (4-6%) and the Korean National Pension Fund (4.5%).
U.S. and Canada citizens are eligible for national pension refund at the end of the contractual term;
the amount will be doubled when receiving the refund. (YBM matches pension payment each month)
Korea does not have a pension refund agreement with any other countries.
Incentive bonus
Every two months, teachers may be eligible to receive an incentive bonus based on re-registration rates,
Academic Supervisor's assessment and Student Surveys. The bonus ranges from 50,000 won ~ 1,000,000 won.
Please ask your Supervisor for details.
Attendance Sheets
Copies of attendance sheets must be turned in to the Supervisor on Day 6 of the session
and the original must be turned in on the final day (Day 20).
Teachers are encouraged to telephone students who have been absent for more than three days in-a-row.
Your students will not want to disappoint you by missing too many classes. Having the teacher
phone the student reflects well on the teacher and the school.
Level Adjustments
If a student approaches you requesting a level change, you may either refuse the request (if you feel he or she is properly placed) or send them to the Academic Supervisor for an interview. Teachers may adjust new not returning, students' levels during the first five days of a session with the consent of the Academic Supervisor. Level adjustments may be made on the sixth day of session only for those students that registered on day five.
If you feel that a student should be moved, fill out a "Level adjustment form" and give it to the Academic Supervisor for his signature. The student will receive a transfer notice from the front desk and take it to their new class.
Teachers should not accept new students who do not have a transfer notice. If they do not have the transfer form, send them back to the front desk.
Individual Student Evaluation
Forms
Student evaluations are to be filled out for all Semi and Intensive students. 1 hour and 2 hour students may receive evaluations by request: By the 15th day of the session, the teacher MUST let the students know that evaluations are available for those who request it.
Evaluation forms are handed out to students on the nineteenth day of session. At this time students should be told if they are repeating that level. Teachers in the Intensive and Semi-Intensive programs should consult with the other teacher(s) of that particular class regarding progress and final grades. All company students are to receive evaluations. The front desk will compile lists of company students for each class and put copies into each teacher's mailbox. If a teacher has company students, give a photocopy of the evaluation to the student and the original to the front desk on the final day. If a student is absent on the last two days, turn in their evaluation to the front desk. You are not required to give evaluations to students who miss more than five days in a session but may do so if you wish. If a company student has more than five absences, you are still required to turn in an evaluation form.
Beginning of Session
Procedures
Teaching schedules will be available by either the Saturday before session or the day before session,
depending on the calendar for the session in question. Class lists will be distributed to the teachers
by the front desk staff.
Usually, the class lists will be placed on your desk or mailbox. If you do not receive a particular class list,
ask the Academic Supervisor for it. Once you have received your class lists, obtain attendance sheets
from the forms drawer files and make a sheet for each class that you teach. Transfer the names of the students
onto the attendance sheet. Students' Korean names should be recorded. Other information that the attendance
sheet should contain is the classroom, time, and session. Your attendance sheets should be kept in a folder
labeled with the session, class, room number, and time. You should keep lesson plans and supplements
for the class in this folder on your desk so subs, if they are required, may go in to teach your class.
Housing
All teachers are responsible for making all utility, maintenance and rent payments. If you have taken the key money,
your severance and/or final pay will not be made until the 5-10 million won key has been returned to the school by
your landlord. This means that if you are using the key money, the end of your lease must coincide with the end of
your contract.
Key Money
Teachers on key money addendum contracts may receive up to W10, 000, 000 key money from the company.
This is subject to the prospective landlord satisfying company financial stability requirements. ELS will not
release key money to risky landlords, i.e. landlords who have mortgaged their properties heavily and who
may not be able to repay the key money. The key money is released to the landlord and not to the teacher.
At the end of the teacher's rental agreement (lease), the key money is returned to YBM. Please note that
key money will only be given if the teacher's contract end date and the proposed lease's end date coincide. * Key money addendum: If you are renewing a contract you must review the lease end date with your contract
expiration date.
Housing Deposit for
Teachers in Company Housing & with 5-10M Key
ELS will withhold a security deposit of W300, 000 from your salary over the first three full months of your contract (W100, 000 per month).
This is a guarantee against damages to your apartment and unpaid utility bills. Upon contract termination, this money is either held
by the school in trust for a period of three months (to cover any bills that appear) or it is returned to the departing teacher provided that
the teacher has found someone willing to act as his or her guarantor.
Utilities
Teachers are responsible for paying their utility bills. There are a number of ways to pay your utility bills.
You may pay at the appropriate utility office, you may pay at the post office or bank, or you may arrange
for the monthly charges to be deducted automatically from your bank account. Your water bill is usually
sent to the landlord who will divide the total by the number of tenants and collect the money from you directly.
