This study seeks to understand why Korean primary school teachers choose to teach English and how their motivations for teaching are influenced by education policy. Data comprise 20 narratives from primary school teachers (5 male and 15 female), looking at their reasons to become teachers and to teach English full-time. Contrasting with recent survey research, the study found that respondents’ motivations were largely extrinsic, being drawn to the field for the working conditions and the status of teaching in Korea. The findings also suggested differing motivations between male and female teachers in the study: Female participants were widely motivated by the working conditions and status of the profession, but the males tended to choose teaching as a fallback career. Regarding English, although some teachers volunteered to teach it, about half were motivated by extrinsic factors, the most prominent of these being assigned to English because of how the teacher assignment and rotation system works. Although the study focused on English teachers, the implications apply across all primary school teaching assignments in Korea and reveal an area in need of further investigation, that is, to look into the impact of the teacher assignment and rotation system on teaching efficacy in Korean public schools.

Key words: motivations for teaching, teacher commitment, English language teaching, primary schools, grounded narrative inquiry, narrative frames.