Unmasked: The Realities Native English Speaker Teachers Face in Korean Schools

What is it like to be a native English speaker teacher (NEST) in Korean schools? Dr. Hunt takes us on an experiential journey that is best described as "shocking," "eye-opening," "disheartening," and yet "inspiring." Using research as voice, this book provides readers with phenomenological insight into the lived realities of those who are esteemed as the possessors of a highly-prized language and yet paradoxically devalued in Korean society as raciocultural others. The differential treatment NESTs receive is of such that their experiences should not be taken lightly, trivialized, or dismissed. This book has thus been written to provide a composite description of the phenomenon of student misbehavior in South Korean classrooms from the perspective of NESTs' lived experience. The knowledge generated from this book may be used to (a) extend critical discourse on student misbehavior, (b) illuminate prevailing societal norms and values that inhibit Korea's present transition into a multicultural society, and (c) reform a system of education whose recruitment policies contribute to a deprofessionalization of the English language teaching field. By exposing a social ill in such a way that ultimately leads to healing, Unmasked compels us to believe that change is possible.