Korean Job Discussion Forums

[obsessions]

Hello all,

I'm considering pursuing ESL teaching in Korea, but there's something in my way: a terrible phobia of public speaking. My phobia is rather severe, to the point that I have suffered a few full-blown panic attacks. I like tutoring people one-on-one, and many people have told me I would make a good teacher, but I would hate to go all the way to Korea and be debilitated by this phobia.

Has anyone here been able to overcome a fear of public speaking to be a successful ESL teacher? If so, how? Horror stories of people who crashed and burned are also welcome.

[jdsolo]

I'm not an expert by any means..

But from my own personal experience, I think the fear of speaking in front of people is based on the fact that you're afraid of your peers/superiors judging you.

I think if you remember that the people you're teaching are kids, it might help. They don't know anything and you're the boss. Going in with that mindset might alleviate any fears.

At least, that's my plan when I finally get to go to Korea to teach ESL! If you go before me, let me know how it works

Seriously though, I think you should just go and do it. You might overcome it just from the fact that you're so far from home and you have no other option.

[grant gerstners]

My history was one of great discomfort being in front of people presenting ANY material. My years in university included many papers and tests, but did not include a single instance of me making a spoken presentation. Later, my years of work rarely required me to speak in front of a group of people.

Like you, I began with tutoring English with people one-on-one.

From there, I worked with small groups of adult immigrants, in a weekly classroom setting with a non-profit literacy group, as a volunteer. The groups were from 1 to 9 individuals at a time--but usually just 3 or 4. I did that for 9 months and discovered early on that I was having a very enjoyable time with the immigrants, who were involved and participating.

In the 90 minutes we were together each week, I was mostly in front writing on the board, presenting material and giving opportunities for practice. Each time, I totally forgot my fear of being in front of people to present material. I think forgetting my fear was at least partly a consequence of me having a sense of actually helping these people with something they needed to thrive in their new culture.

I left each week feeling I had accomplished something and had really helped most of these people with learning some aspect of their new language. Most of the adults, of course, were motivated to learn English and had daily opportunities to be surrounded by their new language and use it in real situations. Their progress and motivation fed my own motivation.

The situation is different, here in Korea. The kids do not need English to get by in their daily lives. They are not surrounded by their new language, so their progress is slow. With few exceptions, most of them are really not interested in learning English. I cover conversation, but they are not tested on that and nothing they do with me is graded. They are more focused on the material covered by their Korean teachers--grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc--which the students ARE tested and graded on.

Still, I do my best to give them an opportunity to use conversation with me.

My ability to be in front of people presenting material has gradually continued to improve. I think I am more capable of being organized and confident in my presentation, compared to when i first arrived. I go to class with my material prepared and a written sequence of what I am going to cover.

It has been helpful for me to be around other teachers here, both Koreans and non-Koreans, and watch them work with students.

Ideally, you should start with elementary, perhaps middle-school students, when you decide to come to South Korea--although with public schools you are stuck with where they decide to put you (as far as I can tell).

I think it can work out for you.

[schwa]

Korea cured my fear of public speaking!

In grad school simply having to give a short seminar in front of a handful of supportive peers meant a sleepless night beforehand, dry throat, brain freeze, even dizziness. I had no idea if I'd be able to handle a classroom when I arrived here in my late 40s.

Turned out, hagwon teaching was an awesome opportunity to work through it. Small classes of credulous kids, no one looking over your shoulder, little missteps not a big deal you just try something new tomorrow. Eventually things start to click. You stop second-guessing yourself. Thinking on your feet becomes second nature.

I actually relish the chance to address groups now, the larger the better. I'm no super-speaker but a few times a year I'm invited to present to large auditoriums & I find it exhilarating.

Notice I stipulated hagwons above. Someone mortified at the prospect of public speaking might be well-advised to skip public schools until they've grown a bit of confidence. Big classes & possibly a critical coteacher from the get-go might exacerbate your nervousness.

Best luck.

[RMNC]

I've always hated public speaking, but teaching is different. I started out doing small tutoring sessions, with 1-8 people per class usually, and then when I got into the hagwon route it was no big deal. Plus, kids are just information receptacles, they're not judging you. You're going straight out of a book most of the time, so really you're just there to field questions and present new ideas.

In school, when giving a presentation, one was expected to do research and talk about new concepts that they had learned. I think a lot of people get stuck on the idea of sharing information with others that they just recently acquired. They feel unprepared and like they don't really know what they're talking about.

However, you're an expert in the language of English. You've spoken it all your life and even got a degree from a higher level institution primarily in English. There's likely very few areas about English that you aren't well-versed in. Remember that. This isn't just some report you're giving, it's imparting -gasp- actual knowledge as an expert in English.

[nomad-ish]

[lifeinkorea]

[Skipperoo]

Great thread, very reassuring.

[morrisonhotel]

I definitely felt discomfort when talking in front of big groups of people before coming to Korea. Teaching has definitely helped that a lot. Now just to work on the 1-to-1 with strangers.

[Hotpants]

If you go to teach in Japan rather than Korea, I can assure you that most adult students will be more nervous than you to speak in English in front of other people! I've got quite a few stories of terror-struck English students in Japan which really surprised me considering that quite a few of them held very senior corporate positions.

If you have any kind of fear or illness, and are unsure about making the commitment to come to Korea, always try things out closer to home first. Seeing what teaching is like by taking a TEFL certificate course will be a good starting point. That way, you can test yourself in the environment, get support from familiar people, and build up your confidence from there. Set yourself small goals to overcome one at a time instead of plunging yourself into a great big unknown. Also don't punish yourself for things you can't do first time around otherwise it just exacerbates the stress and pressure to overcome the problem.

I can definitely agree though, that if you get used to standing up in front of classes of people, you do gain a lot more self confidence.

Good luck!

[toonchoon]

teaching kids is easy. start with kinder kids, and you won't even have time to think about your phobia - they'll keep you so occupied by wiping their noses and their bums you'll be sweating and cursing wanting to be back home.

just joking. seriously though, start with kinder kids. you'll have a blast if you like kids.

[PRagic]

They make a pill for this. Seriously, look into it.

[lifeinkorea]

[PRagic]

Don't know the name of the med or meds, but I do know that they're out there. Pharmasist in the family.

[Harpeau]

Here are a few things that might prove helpful:

Bheta Blockers are pills that you take that help control the anount of adrenalin, etc. going through your system. Many actors, etc. find it helpful in calming themselves when feeling anxiety and nervousness.

Hypnotherapy might be something that might prove useful.

Exploring fears and anxieites with a trained counselor might also be helpful.

Toastmasters rocks! They're a fine organisation for improving public speaking.
There are a few books that you might want to check out as well:

Public Speaking for Wrecks. (Need to find it on my shelf. I'll then give you the author.)
(I'll think of the other books a little later.)

I think that the secret is to take your stage fright and transform the energy and make it into a fine performance. Just hang in there and keep breathing.