Global 21 Korea Summary

Global 21 is an online ESL company from South Korea that teaches children and adult professionals through audio-only classes. A teaching certificate and experience are not mandatory, and they pay Native English Speakers $15-17/hr, though you must have a 4-year/Honors degree and be available to work fixed slots Mon-Fri.

Global 21 Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Audio calls will suit teachers who are uncomfortable on camera
• Simple application process – just send your resume
• A teaching certificate and experience are not mandatory to apply
• 1v1 sessions with adults or children

Cons:

• Must work fixed hours 5 days a week (Mon-Fri) – limited flexibility
• Requires a 4-year/Honors degree
• Not much publicly-shared information about the company
• Existing teachers have been mostly negative about their experiences

What Is Global 21?

Global 21 is an online teaching company that is based in Seoul. They provide audio-only language classes to children, adults, and corporate clients located in South Korea.

Global 21 ESL lessons cover:

• Course and daily life conversations
• Grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension
• Speaking and listening
• Business language
• Proficiency tests (e.g. TOEIC)

The company also teaches Japanese and Chinese.

Global 21 Korea Salary Information

The Global 21 salary is $15-17 an hour, depending on teaching experience. There is also an attendance incentive scheme, while payments are made each month via wire transfer.

Global 21 Hours and Schedule

Global 21 ESL lessons consist of voice calls lasting 10-40 minutes. While these may still come through video-conferencing software such as Skype, the webcam will be turned off.

Teachers must be available to work 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, for consecutive hours over the following shifts (Korea Standard Time):

• Mornings: 06:00-09:00 or 06:00-10:00
• Evenings: 18:00-23:00 or 19:00-00:00

There is no teaching during South Korean national holidays. Taking any other time off requires one week’s notice.

Global 21 Requirements

To become a Global 21 teacher you must:

• Be a Native English Speaker from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa
• Have a 4-year/Honors college/university degree
• Show ‘good personality’, specifically friendliness, honesty, reliability, and punctuality
• Be interested in Korea and in teaching
• Have a Skype account and access to a fast internet connection

A TESOL/TEFL certification and teaching experience (especially with Korean students) is a plus but not mandatory.

Global 21 Application Process

To apply for Global 21 Korea jobs, simply send your resume and cover letter to their recruitment team via:

• Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
• Skype: live:globalt_admin

There is also a help email address at [email protected].

Should you be invited for a Skype interview, you will be asked:

• About your experience – “How long have you been teaching?”
• “Why do you want to work here?”
• “How would you go about teaching English as a Second Language?”

Global 21 Korea Reviews – What Is It Like Working There?

Glassdoor gives the company a rather underwhelming score of 2.6 out of 5, with 0% willing to recommend them, though this comes from just six Global 21 reviews currently. Teachers here talk positively about the added benefits and location flexibility of not having to teach via camera, however, there are complaints about the rate of pay, unreliability of classes exacerbated by student cancellations, technical problems, and unsupportive management:

• Advantages:
  • “You can talk to your collegue [sic] when you don’t have class
  • Phone classes which mean you didn’t necessarily need to wake up early and get ready.
  • That it’s over the phone, especially working super early shifts, it’s okay.
  • work online, work from home
  • Working from home and no need to use video for lessons.
  • Work Anywhere – Don’t have to use a webcam (work is done over the phone!)”
• Disadvantages:
  • “There will be no attendance incentive if your [sic] late for just one minute or absent for one day even though you’re sick.
  • Constant cancellation of classes from the students, the daily assessment requirements were long and without extra pay, the management was mediocre at best, would call on off day or leave messages at 2 or 3 in the morning my time.
  • 14/hr but barely any classes, so hardly making 500/monthly. Many students postpone classes or are absent a lot. So, it’s like getting up really early to not get your full pay because of students. It’s quite strange. I worked here for 2 1/2 months straight. Their phone systems have some many technical problems (that they blame you for) I ended up getting a sever [sic] migraine that lasted for more than two days. My manager and the ones above her went off on me for taking a day and a half off. Which means I worked half a day and couldn’t keep going and had to take the following day off. These people could care less about your health and are just greedy and it shows. Such a disgusting company.
  • low pay, working really late at night
  • Schedule isn’t very reliable from month to month.
  • Pay is kind of low”

Conclusion – Is Global 21 Worth It?

The general lack of information available about Global 21 makes the company a bit of a risk, especially considering the negativity of the few teacher experiences that have been shared. The fact that you can apply simply by sending your resume means little time is wasted if you want to take a chance on them, though more substantial offerings can be found within our full list of online teaching jobs.