Saying Goodbye Saying goodbye is something that everyone has to do a lot of in life, but still somehow feels uniquely painful. I still haven't gotten good at it, but I've gotten used to it. I said a lot of goodbyes when I left for college. Then when I started teaching English I became…
Tag: TESOL
September Update: Mom Comes to Korea!
September Update: Mom Comes to Korea! Brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen this is going to be a long one. September was eventful to say the least. In the beginning of the month at school I was enjoying the accidental success of a particular lesson for my grade one classes that I expected to flop…
5 Types of Classes You’ll Have as an EPIK Teacher
5 Types of Classes You'll Have as an EPIK Teacher Every class I teach has a distinct personality which is the puzzling combination of all 30 something personalities in the room. And despite the fact that often those personalities are each perfectly pleasant on their own they can sometimes combine into something truly bizarre.…
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Looking Back at 2017
As I try to look back on this past year in Korea and come to some sort of conclusion about things I've learned or ways I've changed, I can't seem to come up with any clear answer. I've learned a lot and certainly changed in a lot of ways, but Korea is not a complete…
The Oscars Lesson: Part 2
I made a post a few weeks ago about a lesson that I did that went surprisingly well. It was called The Oscars lesson. The activity is essentially just "write a dialog" but disguised as "we're all going to the Oscars next week and you have to present a script." And it worked shockingly well.…
Korea Month 7
Korea Month 7 Here we are, 7 months and a few days after I first arrived in Korea. This semester is proving to be significantly less stressful than last semester. Due mostly to the fact that I planned all of my lessons in advance over the summer and a shift in my expectations of…
How I Feel About My Students
Basically I feel a lot of things. I love them more than I could have ever imagined I would but I have struggled for these past six months to try to put into words exactly the kind of love I have for them. It's special. So that's what I'm going to try to do in…
Building Relationships At Work
Being the single non-Korean person in an entirely homogenous workplace is quite a unique experience. In some ways I feel like I benefit greatly from it, and in other ways it's quite difficult. So today I'd like to talk about the relationship between the Guest English Teacher/Native English Teacher/Foreign Teacher however you like to call…
Korea Month 6: Calm Before the Storm
This has felt like the longest month I've had in my time here. Because I haven't had to teach any regular classes this entire month, the days have been very slowly, but happily, and peacefully passing by. It's incredible how the constant stress and tension of the regular semester schedule makes the weeks fly by.…
Korean Middle School Summer English Camp
I'm writing this from my desk on the LAST OFFICIAL DAY OF THE SEMESTER! Well the last day has been long gone for the kids, but for my co-teacher and I today marks the end of our two weeks of English Camp. English Camp is something that get's a lot of attention at EPIK orientation…