Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cubanlord]

Well, what do you guys think?

Pros:
I enjoyed meeting those whom I met...the presentations I saw were great....The give-a-ways were PLENTIFUL!!!!!

Cons: the limited amount of time I had at the conference....my inability to watch all of the presentaitons I wanted to watch.......the warm (not hot) coffee.....some errors made during someone's plenary speech that I found could have been easily avoided........that's about it.

All in all....it was excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tzechuk]

Glad you enjoyed it, R!!!

I've been elected conference co-chair... so if you have any suggestions, let me know and I will tell next year's chair!!

[Arthur Dent]

I was only able to attend for one of the two days, but it was well worth it. This was my first Kotesol conference and I quite enjoyed it. I also felt a little pressed for time, and was not able to meet as many people as I would have liked to have.
Messrs. Harmer and Rector alone were worth the price of admission. I also wish I could have met some of the Dave's posters. From the the other thread on this topic, it seems there were a number of you in attendance.
Three days might have been a nicer way to spread out the sessions, but I suppose this would be unfeasible. I didn't get the chance to view the campus either, it seemed quite nice.
I had only one wasted session as one speaker was 30 minutes late and I had to scramble elsewhere. The speaker was rather less than inspiring, though I suppose this can happen as some may have traveled from outside the country and may not have been properly rested.
Of course, the best sessions were the ones where the speaker was not plugging a text.
I will attend next year as well. Hopefully both days..

[Keepongoing]

My fourth KOTESOL and I loved it. I went to some great workshops. It was a breath of fresh air. I did a resident MA TESOL some years ago and the conference reminded me about what I learned and the importance of it. It reinforced some things I had forgotten.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

The biggest pro for me is that I could get heaps of practical information about certain aspects of English education from people who've taught in Korea. I went to several presentations about drama and public speaking that gave me a lot of good ideas and also reinforced my confidence about a lot of things I've already been doing. I'm really looking forward to teaching my drama CA class on Saturday now and trying out a bunch of new activities!

The biggest down side for me was just information overload. I wish I could see one presentation a day over the course of a month instead of 15 in two days, but that's life.

Great job to almost every presenter I saw. Well done to ex-Dave's member teachmeenglish, too - the work you've put into professional development is really evident!

[makemischief]

[Snowkr]

Sounds like a great event. I'm sorry to have missed it.

Just curious... what kinds of things did they give away? Were there rap sessions? Was the venue a good one?

I fully intend to go to the next one if I'm here.

[skindleshanks]

Yes, it was a generally good conference, and I found inspiration to keep putting my best effort into a profession I hope to eventually get out of.

I noticed that this time, most of the presentations I attended were actually helpful and, although professional egos were on display as usual, they were not so condescending. Every other KOTESOL conference I have been to there have been a couple local presenters who subtly put across the message "If you don't have an MA TESOL and a variety of published research, then you are a Philistine and have no place in the classroom or in this country." I have always thought it might be counterproductive for an organization geared at improving English education in Korea to alienate and intimidate 95% of those (BA graduates) teaching English in Korea. This time, at least, I felt that the professional development seemed to be offered equally to all. I also met a lot of very nice and interesting people, and thoroughly enjoyed the taco shop down the street.

I am curious, though about the results of the business meeting. I went to the trouble of voting online (twice), although I wish I had been able to find the detailed descriptions of the amendments before I had voted, it would be nice to know what the results were. I imagine they will make their way on the website, eventually.

As nice as the Sookmyung campus is, though, I think the event has outgrown the facilities. The commercial booth gauntlet was very small, and with a tight schedule, it is difficult to get to the featured or plenary sessions in time to get a seat. Another issue is that there are no options for a quick bite to eat between sessions. Both days I ended up dashing out to buy something quick down the street, and walking into the session 10-15 minutes late. I imagine, though, that a new venue would also entail new costs.

[jinks]

[tzechuk]

[bassexpander]

What are the requirements to present at KOTESOL?

[makemischief]

[SuperHero]

I don't see how one could go to this conference and not walk away with a positive experience.