Korean Job Discussion Forums

[uk27]

Hi everyone.

So, I'm coming to Korea to teach in a Public School with EPIK later on this year.

Never taught kids before but I am TEFL qualified and have taught, briefly, in company classes to adult Europeans. However, I had very few classes each week when I did this and in no way do I consider myself experienced.

Basically, what I want to know is how much preparation did you do for that first month of teaching in Korea BEFORE you actually arrived, if any?

For example, did you plan a few weeks' worth of lessons before you arrived to get yourself off to a running start, or did you just blag the first week with introduction lessons and start planning for week 2 while you did that?

The main problem with doing any significant prep' before arriving is that with EPIK I don't know what age level I'll be teaching yet. Or even whether the school I go to will give me a free rein on syllabus, or handcuff me to a textbook.

Am I just making a mountain out of a molehill? I really want to do well, wherever I end up, and don't want to be caught off guard and make a bad impression from the kick off.

So any advice on this would be much appreciated (even if it's just in the slap on the head/pull yourself together man sort of a way!)

Thanks a lot

[Johnny_Bravo]

[Jessie41]

[BS.Dos.]

Bring photos of your family and home etc and any other tat that you think might be useful. The first week or so you'll just be introducing yourself really, so use the time wisely and focus on getting both your teaching voice and teacher persona fine tuned. You'll be expected to hit the ground running, so try and project yourself with both authority and confidence even if your not. I'd definitely bring a few activity books with you as there probably won't be anything waiting for you save some crappy Konglish book which they may or may not insist that you work from. Either way, try and bring something so that you've got enough activities and games etc to get you through your first couple of weeks. Also, be aware that wherever you eventually end up, the students English speaking ability will most likely be much lower than you'd anticipated.

Once you have actually arrived, don't panic and go over the top and start expecting your new charges to be as enthusiastic about learning as you will be about teaching. Ease into it and don't try and dazzle them with anything to fancy to begin with. After all, you may have some pretty big boots to fill if your predecessor made an impression and they'll be the benchmark by which you'll be measured. It'll probably be a couple of months before you've got the wider measure of things, so don't expect everything to run smoothly and fall in to place from the start. Chances are, you'll be frequently perplexed by what's going on around you. Roll with it and don't lose your cool. Koreans' have an unusual way of doings things, which to outsiders can seem extremely illogical at the best of times. As much as you'll want to try and convince them that there is in fact an easier way of doing things, it's probably best to soak things up until you've gained their confidence. Once you have, then you'll be afforded a much higher degree of autonomy.

Good luck with it.

[uk27]

Hey, thanks for those detailed replies, I appreciate it

Like suggested, the best way seems to be to prepare a couple of fun intro' lessons about me that can be adapted for whatever age group it turns out to be, take a few teaching resources of my own to carry on with after that just in case, and slug out those tricky first few months as best I can without having it all prepared beforehand.

After all, the Devil fools with the best laid plans... (especially, I hear, in Korea)

Thanks again

[Johnny_Bravo]

[uk27]

[Johnny_Bravo]

meant enjoyment levels thread

here's the link

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=157193