A Day in the Life of a Korean Language Teacher Back to Top

Overview

Korean is not ranked on the top 15 foreign languages taught in schools. In fact, less than .3% of schools offer Korean as a foreign language across the United States. The duties of a Korean teacher include creating lesson plans, planning activities, creating and grading tests or assignments, and engaging students. Korean teachers must immerse students in the language by constantly speaking, writing, and reading Korean, and encouraging students to do the same. The initial difficulty Korean teachers face is teaching the Korean alphabetA Korean teacher must be fluent at Korean and English. A Korean teacher must also often teach the history and culture of the language, so knowledge and interest of these topics is important as well.

Elementary and Middle School

Rarely do schools in the US offer Korean at the elementary level. Among elementary and middle schools, the most common foreign language program is the exploratory model, which provides introductory exposure to the language. Language focus programs are the second most common program for elementary schools, emphasizing listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture. The remainder of elementary school programs usually use the immersion model, which provides students with the opportunity to attain high levels of proficiency in the language. When a student reaches middle school, he or she is usually given the chance to choose which language to study. Middle school classes offer an introduction to Korean that will be built upon in high school.

High School

In most school systems, three years of a foreign language is required for a student to graduate. High school level classes typically instruct reading, writing, listening, speaking, and culture. A Korean teacher can teach anywhere from level one to five. High school foreign language classes move away from the simple translation of middle school and begin to instruct students on writing, reading, listening, and comprehending. At each level of Korean, students will be more immersed in the language and are expected to retain each of the levels before.

Korean teachers must earn a bachelor’s degree in Korean, and must be fluent in both English and Korean. They must also obtain a teaching certificate in the state they wish to teach in. It is also highly recommended to obtain a a foreign language certificate. Currently, only 31% of elementary level foreign language teachers have this certificate, so having one will certainly put you above the competition. The majority of high school foreign language teachers are certified to teach a foreign language. One quarter of elementary schools and nearly one third of secondary schools offering languages reported being affected by a shortage of qualified language teachers. The most affected schools were elementary schools in rural areas and high schools with a large percentage of students from a low-socioeconomic background. The need for qualified foreign language teachers is growing, and the average salary for the secondary level is slightly higher than that of the average teacher, $56,000.

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