Teaching

provinces-in-thailand

Moving to Thailand: things to know and resources you’ll need

1
March 11, 2013
in , ,

As previously mentioned, it’s time to move on. Thailand is the next step, although all the Chris in South Korea posts will remain online indefinitely.

Coming to Korea was already a big step, and to be frank I did very little research ahead of time. Late 2007 wasn’t exactly the dark ages of internet civilization, but to be sure a LOT more sites have become much more helpful in recent years. I’m not yet in Thailand, but there are several places that will be giving me a head start:

Learning the language: http://www.learningthai.com. Thai has a lot more consonants and vowels than Korean, so More >

Wolsong2

Guest post: What I learned from three years in South Korea

0
March 5, 2013
in , ,

CISK note: This guest post comes to you by Sean Lords. After obtaining degrees in English Literature and English Secondary Education, Sean packed up his bags and left to Seoul, South Korea where he lived for three years teaching English abroad. Sean has since returned to the States and is currently at work on his Master’s degree.

My decision to leave the United States and teach abroad was in fact not something I had really even considered when I thought about my future.  My plans after graduation involved some vague idea of being a public school teacher or perhaps subbing part time and More >

Question from a reader: Coming to Korea as a teacher?

1
October 12, 2012
in , ,

Author’s note: everything old is new again, especially when blogging about the same things and places for several years. This seemed a good time to publish a question that’s commonly asked, upon realizing how long it’s been since I’ve seen a blogger in Korea approach the topic.

Do you have a question about Korea? Do a quick search on the blog, then send me an e-mail at chrisinsouthkorea AT gmail DOT com and your question might be answered here!

A reader writes in:

My name is [H.]. I discovered your blog today & am in love with it. I’ve been thinking about teaching in Korea for a a bit & I More >

Question from a reader: TEFL certificates and teaching in Korea

5
July 19, 2012
in ,

A READER writes in:

A few weeks ago I begun doing research into the possibility of teaching overseas. I think this is something I could turn into for the next 4-5 years of my life (I’m a recent college grad and having a hard time settling down). I do not have my TEFL certificate, so I was thinking I’d work for a company that doesn’t require it at first and then work towards getting the certificate.

I was curious if you have any suggestions or information to pass om to someone in my shoes. Recommendations for where (country/city) to teach, any companies that are legit and you recommend, what More >

11 Apps To Use In Your ESL Classroom

0
June 8, 2012
in ,

If you’re carrying a iPhone or iPod Touch in your pocket, there are probably more than a few apps on it already. There’s more than a few apps out that can make your life in the classroom a little easier:

Stopwatch (free, iTunes): a simple, straightforward app that’s easy enough for the first-graders to use. Since it is such a simple app, there’s plenty of versions out there – the one I use lacks a countdown, but then again you could always just count up.

MindRelax Lite: (free, iTunes): for those breaks between classes. Naturespace promises the same thing – relaxation through peaceful More >

Life in Korea: The E-2 health check (and where to get yours done)

0
March 22, 2012
in ,

LET’S start off this post on a high note: Thursday (March 22nd) marked my four-year anniversary of life in Korea. And what a life it’s been – filled with traveling, singing, dancing, and of course, teaching. In the four years I’ve been in Korea, I’ve been lucky enough to skate through this thing with little or no effort, thanks to having a person from the school in question with me.

And of course, a health check. I started a new teaching job recently, and part of the visa requirement is a health check. I was put in the position of finally having to tackle this thing on my own. While the test More >

Important update on E-2 visa regulations

7
December 23, 2010
in , ,

As you may have seen on Gusts of Popular Feeling, we’re finally getting some clarification regarding the new visa regulations for the E-2 teaching visa. This should come as no surprise to those who know Korean ways, but that clarification had to be specifically asked for, as seemingly none had come on its own. Credit for receiving the clarification goes to professor Ben Wagner for asking the big question.

The verbiage coming from Korean Immigration is a bit dense:

“Ministry of Justice decided to strengthen the verification for the qualification of E-2 visa applicants, and required them as More >

Should you teach English in Korea? A 10 question quiz to help you find out

4
October 16, 2010
in ,

Author’s note: this post is dedicated to the wonderful readers that aren’t in Korea yet, but have been thinking about coming to teach English in Asia. For those readers already in Korea, do the time warp back to before you came to Korea – I’d be interested in hearing your scores as well.

OK, admit it. You’ve been on the fence for awhile now, and you’ve thought that teaching English in a foreign country might be kind of fun. Still a job, but fun. Take it from a guy that’s doing it – there’s a lot more to it than being an Education major or being good with kids. Your entire lifestyle will More >

Don’t blame the foreigners – an interesting look into Japan’s English educational system

9
October 4, 2010
in ,

From the Japan Times comes an article on the JET program. The entire article is worth reading, but I’ve copied and pasted a few juicier parts.

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, touted as the world’s largest cultural exchange scheme, has brought thousands of non-Japanese into the country to teach at local boards of education. These days, with many government programs being told to justify their existence, a debate is raging over whether JET should be left as is, cut or abolished entirely.

…

The debate, however, needs to consider: 1) JET’s misconstrued mandate, and 2) Japan’s psychotic More >

On hagwons, students, and the disconnect between money and knowledge

6
January 15, 2010
in ,

UPDATE: 15 January 2010 1:38 PM – Ask a Korean! has written an exceptional post on learning a new language – involving rote memorization and an immersive environment. The best part comes in big bold letters – SUCK IT UP, YOU SOFT SACK OF SHIT! For better or worse few hagwons will give you that sort of treatment – they want you to keep coming back, after all.

This subject deserves a longer post, but I’m still catching up on winter vacation traveling posts… A hat tip to Doing It Korean Style for posting about the story first.

The Korea Herald story sounds innocuous at first – a lengthy article More >

Go to Top