Camp Fulbright

During orientation ETA's spend two weeks being involved in Camp Fulbright. It is an English immersion camp for Korean kids (anywhere from 8 to 17 years old) that has two purposes: to teach English to Korean children and teach ETA's how to teach. For those of us who have never taught before, the value of the camp is immeasurable.
A particularly challenging aspect is figuring out how to teach Korean students who have grown up with a different style of learning. Korean classes tend to be focused on memorization and repetition, which means that students can probably read and write fairly well but have a great deal of difficulty in speaking and hearing English. Since I am also taking Korean language courses, I can completely relate with the students. If I have to sum up the language learning experience, I have four words: it is very hard!
I got to teach my first and second class last week and here are a few tips I picked up. Foreign language teachers must be prepared to repeat directions over and over and over. For my first class, what was intended to be a lesson on establishing clear and concise rules (they were supposed to invent a game and make rules so everyone could understand) regressed to me flailing my arms in front of class while fruitlessly explaining the rules of the activity. Oh the irony.
Another lesson I learned is SP-EA-K S-L-OW-LY. Many ETA's vastly underestimated how much we had to slow down our speech. The problem was, Korean students were generally way too polite to point out that they had no idea what we were saying, so they just nodded their heads every time we asked if they understood. I was told that if a teacher can get half the class to repeat instructions, then you are having a good day.
Keep students busy and provide them with structure. The students I encountered felt very uncomfortable when they had to use their own judgment for the assignment. Most eventually started playing with their Korean-English dictionaries. Basically, one teaching generalization I have come up with is if it worked for me in college, don't use it here. That is by no means an exhaustive list and over time I'm sure I'll develop more rules in retrospect.
We are told that the purpose of ETA's is to provide Korean students the opportunity to actually communicate in English rather than to study the grammar and syntax of the language. Basically, I see it as find ways to keep students motivated and interested in learning English for their own fulfillment. I recognize now that that will be incredibly difficult because Korean students, especially high school students, work so hard for their college entrance exams. During the last year of high school, students take an incredibly rigorous and important exam that practically determines their futures. During testing day, all airplanes are grounded for a few hours to prevent distractions during the test. The goal is to get a high enough score to get into one of the SKY schools (Seoul University, Korea University, Yeongsei University). High school students will often times start class at 8 AM and go home at 10 PM (with a couple of breaks somewhere in there). On the plus side, college is apparently far less intense than high school.

7/27/08

Orientation has reached its fourth week and it's safe to say that many ETA's and I are still adjusting to our new environment. However, many of us are doing what we can to immerse ourselves in the culture. Several ETA's have been frequenting meetings held by Key club. Key club is like an English club but a little more intense. All members have forty minute discussions in English about a variety of topics. Discussion topics range from opinions on marriage to womens roles in society. It is interesting to take part in those talks because Americans can get a real sense of Korean society from a college student's perspectives. One of the discussion topics was the growing acceptance of the "Gold Miss" concept in which a growing number of Korean women are choosing to part with tradition and work toward financial independence. Although this particular societal phenomenon is not extremely widespread, the "Gold Miss" effect on marriage in Korean society seems to reflect the types of changes in this country.
It is said that Korea becomes a different country every ten years and there is much evidence to support that statement. The juxtaposition of old and modern buildings shows just how quickly Korea is modernizing. Many of the younger people have also embraced western influences. A lot of students love greeting Americans with handshakes rather than the traditional bow. It's kind of fun because Korean youths don't quite have the hang of it yet. Sometimes handshakes linger to the point of holding hands, but it's nice to see them try.
Getting to know Key club members has been a real treat for us. They are all very welcoming and enthusiastic people who are thrilled to practice English with us. Many have become good friends which leads to an exchange of cultural awareness, language lessons, and drinking games. The drinking culture is very different in that it feels like an event every time. Generally, one is not supposed to pour their own drink, you pretty much give cheers (kom-bay) with every sip, and most importantly... the food. Americans are used to peanuts or popcorn at a bar. In Korea we usually end up eating chicken or pork with an assortment of sides (of course kimchi). Almost everything is done in a communal manner.
One thing to note is the prevalence of the mandatory military service in Korea. One of our good friends at Key club, who likes to be called "Anthony" recently received his summons for his mandatory service. It was pretty sad to hear and it makes me think about how much it can alter someone's life. There is not any real concern about an outbreak of war, but two years of service is required and that is pretty significant for young men in their early twenties. I guess my American perspective can't quite fathom the idea, but it doesn't seem to be that tragic for the guys I've talked to. Most just accept it as their duty to Korea and leave it at that.

Arrival

The plan landed in the Seoul/Incheon airport on July 7 at four AM. I have never known jet lag until that morning. All the ETA's (English Teaching Assistants) were herded onto two buses and shipped off to Chuncheon. Chuncheon, in the middle north of the country and surrounded by tall mountains, is considered to be a fairly small town by Korean standards. For a South Dakotan, it's anything but a small town. Pedestrians have to be a little more aggressive, but I would recommend a little patience. The streets are congested at best and anarchic the rest of the time. There is probably an art to it, but I have yet to figure that out.

All 75 ETA's are living in a dormatory while we go through our six week orientation. It is the purpose of the seminars to prevent us from committing any of the cultural sins for which there is ample opportunity for Americans. For example, playing the "got your nose" game with a baby is the equivalent of a middle finger, don't write names in red in (unless they happen to be deceased), always take your shoes off in someone else's home, and so on.

ETA's take Korean language courses and we all spend a significant amount of time trying to become somewhat functional in Korea. Easier said than done. The few sad attempts I have made in speaking Korean has resulted in dumbfounded looks. Simple transactions can be a Sisyphean ordeal as I have often ended up with more than I wanted. Suggestive selling is very easy when the foreign sap (me) has no idea how to say "no thanks." Somehow, I ended up with two boxes of detergent.

The city of Chuncheon is very cramped. There doesn't seem to be a segregation of residential and commercial zones. Apartments share buildings with restaurants and cell phone stores. There is a bar and grill that we occasionally go to that is on the fourth floor, of an apartment complex. You can't look anywhere in the city without flashing neon lights and advertisements. There are a lot of little stores that look like they are bursting with a random assortment of goods that put most flea markets to shame. Until I learn to haggle, or at least defend myself, I just go to E-Mart (pronounced E-Mot-u), which is the Korean equivalent of Wal-Mart.

There seems to always be a frenzy of activity in Korea as everyone seems to be hustling to somewhere. Even kids no older than five have their own cell phone (It's easy to tell because both his parents were on their phone as well). There isn't much time for taking it easy. Most companies in Korea will allow a one week vacation for the whole year. High school students go home as late as 10 PM. In fact, only the college students seem to have any recreational time (although their summer vacation started in July). Korean work ethic is very impressive, but seems a little excessive at times.

Anyway, those are some initial observations of Korea. Hope all is well in the States and if anyone has any questions or wants me to look into something, let me know. Good night.

Intro

Anyeonhaseo (Hello) all from Korea. As some people have expressed interest in hearing about my Korean adventure (as well as trials and tribulations of teaching in a foreign country), I have set up this blog for those who would care to read about it. Although I was born in Korea and have a few childhood memories, I will likely find myself to be a fish out of water for the next year, but that's the fun part of traveling anyway. I hope you enjoy reading this as well as find it informative in terms of Korean culture and education.