Program Reviews

From the beginning of the teaching application, and all the way up to landing your job and afterwards as well, Footprints has always been most professional with me. They have people you can directly talk to, that will indeed help you. Going with this recruiting agency, as opposed to chancing it on your own, will definitely give you an easier peace of mind in the life-changing process of becoming an English teacher overseas. I have been working in Korea for the last three years as an elementary school English teacher, and it's all in debt to them for helping me get here.

I am so glad that I decided to apply to EPiK through Footprints. They made the whole process much, much easier and gave me the peace of mind to know that I was sending a completed, error-free application to the hiring staff at EPiK! They also put me in touch with The Arrival Store, which was a great way to ensure that some essential items like bedsheets and towels would be at my school when I arrived at my placement!

It was the best experience professionally, enriching, and unbelievable! I enjoyed every single moment that I was there! In the beginning I was scared and uncertain but embrace the challenges and made the best of it!
Working with Footprints was great and I always recommend the company all to other colleagues! Footprints was honest and flexible! To me I feel I am always a member of FP! I was one of the first group of teachers recruited and accepted in 2013!

Right from the moment you do your assessment with footprints and found to be qualified and suitable for a position , you will never be alone. Footprints recruiting will guide you on application process, preparation for interview, and help you with departure from your home countrry to you primary place of assignment. As soon as you secure your job, you will receive useful information on the country, you going to work in. Great follow-up to find out how you have settled in to your new cultural environment. I highly recommend footprints for this ADEC program.

My thoughts about Footprints Recruiting are nothing but positive. I must say Footprints was always on top of my process, very helpful and honest throughout any concerns I had. I have recommended Footprints and talked highly about it to others who are interested in teaching abroad.

My teaching position with Guan Hua Kindergarten in Foshan has been great. I have been here for 3 months and I have enjoyed every minute of it, Everyone is friendly, helpful and informative about any questions I might have. I feel great being here, love the kids, love teaching everyday to these kids that with a smile make my day. Foshan is a lovely city, the language has been a challenge but fun. Is easy to get around by bus and metro to visit Guangzhou or any other city in China. I have met other foreigners that are also teaching at other schools nearby so it has been a heck of an amazing start of journey.

So far, I'm having a great experience teaching in a public school in South Korea.

First the bad:
Although a bit of the information provided in Footprints' Word documents were out of date (for example, Gangwon province no longer has 5 weeks of vacation; now it has only 4 weeks, like everywhere else). In addition, I noticed that many other recruiters had provided care packages and other support upon arrival at the airport, which is a really nice idea.

And now the good:
Otherwise, it was really great working with Footprints. The guides for filling out forms and getting hold of documents were incredibly helpful, as was the feedback during the interview process

Korea is a really amazing place, and I wish more North Americans knew about it as a tourist destination, or even just as an interesting country. Every weekend, I see a new place, learn a new activity, have a new adventure, and during the week I have a very stimulating experience teaching high school in the north of South Korea.

It seems my placement is a bit different from most of the other August 2014 EPIK intakes (English Program in Korea - the public school English program). Most people I met are teaching middle/elementary school, have smaller classes and fewer coteachers than I do, and sometimes need to work on weekends, which I do not. However, there are as many upsides as there are downs to my different situation, and I'm really happy with my decision to do this, and pleased with my choice of Footprints to help me through it.

The Footprints team was easy to work with, and very supportive during my entire application process. Even though they had many applications to keep up with, I felt like I was always kept up to speed on what was going, and my application was of utmost importance. It was easy to communicate with the team, and my emails were usually answered right away or sometimes even by phone. It was extremely helpful to have someone on my side who knew the process inside and out, and could help keep me on top of deadlines and expectations. I highly recommend Footprints if you are looking for a recruiter to teach abroad.

I contacted Footprints after doing quite a bit of research about recruiters placing teachers in South Korea. I was very happy with the information provided in terms of paperwork required and availability of jobs meeting my requirements.

I was offered three interviews and three jobs in South Korea. I chose the job in Ulsan after reading some good reviews of that city and the foreign community. I was incredibly happy with my placement at my hagwon. It was professionally ran, and I did not have any problems with pay or work hours. My director spoke fluent English and was incredibly helpful. That wasn't the case for many of the people I knew! Those of us who used Footprints were all happy with our placements.

South Korea was an amazing place to work, if you are willing to work. It is a job and you have to approach it that way. You will be teaching children and that can be difficult if you don't have any experience with kids. I found the people that had the most problems came to Korea for a vacation or didn't like or want to teach children.

If you have an opportunity to teach I highly suggest Ulsan. It is an amazing city with a vibrant foreigner community. You are immersed in Korean culture, but with some amenities from home.

I am now a teacher in the USA and I credit that to my experience teaching in South Korea.

Life as an ESL teacher in Korea is not a perfect life, there I said it. However, let's be honest, life will never be perfect no matter where you live. What a job through Footprints Recruiting CAN do is change your life and help you ACHIEVE your goals.

I had three major goals when I arrived:
1. Pay off my student loans
2. Travel and experience a variety of cultures
3. Grow personally and professionally.

Upon the recommendation of a friend, I thoroughly researched Footprints and quickly found the option of teaching in Korea to be the best way for me to reach all three of my goals.

Footprints was incredibly helpful with the application process (a dizzying amount of paperwork), and even now (one year later), I still receive check-in emails once in a while making sure that everything is well. I know that if I ever run into a problem, Footprints will help me.

As I said before, life here is not perfect and you will experience frustrations, but I have found that with the support of Footprints, along with remembering a few pieces of wisdom, life here can be a fulfilling adventure.

Words of advice:

- It's important to be aware of your expectations and assumptions, and even more importantly, be able to modify and adjust them when necessary.
-Be flexible and try and understand the cultural differences.

- Life as an expatriate is about thriving, not simply surviving.
- Soak up the new and weird experiences, try something different!

- Perhaps the most important thing I have realized, the concept that has taken root and blossomed is: Life as an expatriate is all about the people.
- Make friends that will last a lifetime, and enjoy the happy faces of inspired children.

My students make me smile everyday, they also make me mad several times a week. Its my choice to look over the frustrating moments and hold on to memories like this one:

(after a fun class period of being silly)

Me: "Ok, class time is over, good job today!"

Philip: As he plops down beside me with a beautiful smile and contented sigh, "Teacher......"

Me: "Yes, Philip?"

Philip: "Teacher, today was wonderful!"

Me: "Yes, I think so too."

My advice for anyone thinking of teaching in Korea through Footprints Recruiting: Just do it!

Footprints Recruiting did a great job with assisting me with obtaining a reputable teaching position in South Korea. I work in the capital city of Gangwon-do, perhaps the most beautiful province in South Korea.

While I love Seoul and go there often via the ITX, which connects my city to Seoul super fast (70 mins), I love living here in Chuncheon and could not have asked for a better placement. The locals are welcoming, friendly, and very hospitable.

I teach at an all-boys high school. With the exception of large classes, which can be challenging, my school (e.g. principal, assistant principal, faculty and staff) are great and make me feel very welcome here and they provided me with a very nice and spacious apartment (2BR/2BA). I was so shocked.

I have just one co-teacher and I teach 21 hours per week and my average class size is 40 students. Most of my students are good, but with such large class sizes it can be challenging. Yet, I'm thankful that I only teach at one school in lieu of more than one.

I've been here for seven months and I can truly say that coming to South Korea was one of the best decisions I have made and I intend to stay longer than a year. When I first got here, I was certain that I would only be here for one year, but life is good and I'm not ready to leave. I have made with friends with people from many different places who have become like family to me here and I get to experience Korean culture and do something I greatly enjoy.