The oddity of a 1.5 week of school

Sometimes, the Korean school system doesn't make sense. Not at all. Got back from winter vacation last Sunday to start school on Monday...

All 1.5 weeks of it. 

My poor students.

Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part I: Q & A)

The original article is posted on GRRRLTRAVELER.com

Apologies for the redirect once again. This series of articles will be posted in full form at GRRRLTRAVELER.com. Though My Crazy Kimchi is my ESL teaching site, the questions of taking a gap travel year and teaching English abroad arose from readers on that site. I will be posting update links to My Crazy Kimchi in the meanwhile.

Well deciding to teach English abroad can feel like ordering a mail order bride. You've got a description and a list of hopeful expectations; yet you can't see what you've got until the day arrives. How will you know what you asked for will be what you wanted? Honestly, sometimes even when you've crossed over to seeing your prize, things can still seem a bit veiled; but at least you've tackled the biggest hurdle... making it happen!

Recently friends and readers have asked me about my experiences in the ESL classroom and how they can teach English abroad too. I've decided to make it a three part series. This is general Q&A I've gotten...

Why You Shouldn't Teach English in Korea (Funny Video)

This is currently passing through the Facebook channels of NETs. It's pretty fun and for some not far from truth. Made by Todd8771 on xtranormal.com (click here to go to his link)

NET winter vacation days at EPIK- a Juggle or a Screw?

What's my Numero Uno reason for not renewing my contract? Travel freedom. It may sound "princess"  of me to complain about vacation time. 18 days is a luxury compared to the standard two week vacation of a regular 9-5. ... but throw in the fact that we have "desk-warming days" during school vacation and the DMOE's screwing (or lack of stepping in when a school is screwing)  our vacation time. There's a reason I was a freelancer all this time.


This past month was stressful for many. Why? Winter is coming up with speed and with that follows our 10 day winter vacation. For renewing contracts, there was an 10 extra days as re-signing incentive (which must be used by the period's end or ...lost).

The problem for many Daegu EPIKers is that it wasn't possible to use all of the allotted days, within the given school/winter camp schedule. With a ticking clock of rising flight costs near the holiday

Just Show Me Pictures! When your Expat Honeymoon Fades (Pt II: Korea's NEW Visa Extensions)

Sometimes, Korea can make it hard for you to like it; moreover, it can make it hard for you to want to stay in it, even when you have to. Yes, we're past that midpoint mark-- time to look at Visa Extensions and the huge K-bomb that was just dropped on current NETs. It's got the NET community riled up and at this point, fed up!... click here to read more.

Click here to read the DMOE's letter a/o Oct 8, 2010

By the Way, You're Teaching Adult's English This Semester...

This semester I have to do a class on Teaching Parent's English. You've gotta be kidding, right? What do I know about teaching Adult's English when I'm only finally getting the hang of teaching/co-teaching elementary school students? I've taken language classes and I'd like to think there's a level of teaching qualification in the the teachers who teach them. But okay...

Sure, when this was dropped on me, I'd heard of it before. The Korean school system goes to arms with throwing NET's random programs like these, such as Teaching Teacher's English, Video Broadcast, Storytelling class...  What I just mentioned was my last semester add-on schedule. Now, a Parent's English class? A couple of fellow EPIKers had to run this kind of Parent's English class last semester and most of them felt it was pretty easy. They were told by their co-teachers that no one actually expected them to teach the parents. No, just conduct a class which opens up discussion where the parents can talk in English... assuming they had some kind of formal education of English beforehand.

A week and a half before my first Parents English class:
I was told I had to produce a semester-long schedule (from week #1-24) of subjects I'd be teaching in my class.  (Whuh?) 
- The schedule could be loose and flexible to change but I had to submit it by the end of the week...and it was already Wednesday.

Fine. Then I was also told that I needed to find a textbook to teach from. (Double-whuh?)
...and I had 2 days to find one so the school could order it for the parents. (Triple whuh?)

Level of the Parents?
-  No one knew. But it would range from Beginner to Intermediate. I'd have to find a way to teach multi-levels.

How many parents would attend my class?
-  No one knew. They had yet to send out a notice to the parents.

How long is my class?
- Once a week, 100 minutes/class!

All, a week and a half before my first class.


DYNAMIC KOREA!

What do you say to that other than ... "Uh, okay?" I ran to Kyobo books to the English Learning section and found textbooks galore-- student textbooks with accompanying teacher's guides to teaching the chapters. Yay and Oh my God, I could spend hours going through them and I did... to finally choose: First Choice by Ken Wilson & Genevieve Kocienda.

It had all the subjects which would be useful to learn for a survival command of English without a loss of modern applications and pop culture interest. Great, I was set. Fingers crossed.

Decoding my Korean workplace: an NET’s Class Schedules

When I first signed up to be a English Teacher abroad (NET aka Native English Teacher), I had no idea what was expected of me. And when I got here for my EPIK orientation, I still didn't know.... Worse even still, two weeks into teaching classes, I still didn't really have a clue. They call this Dynamic Korea. There's no head's up, no real advice as to how to work with your co-teacher, etc.. but people just figure things out as they go, as change is a common factor which keeps you on your toes. This article (click on the link to my main blog) will open the door for you and give you an insider's peek on how it works. It's my personal experience. It's not full-proof and at best, always a work-in-progress.

5 Tips for New NETs in Korea

This article is on survival tips for NEW NETs teaching in Korea