When I left my 4-year post in Japan, I gave the new teacher a letter with tips and instructions. On this blog, I will take out some bits and pieces that you might find useful for your TESOL experience in Japan.
- Remember to bring something from home! Always bring something from your country, be it currency or photos, to show to your students. Making purchases to enhance your classroom activities is vital (especially if you are an ALT) for having a fun-filled time and connecting with your students. Don’t be shy to get buzzers and props at the 100 Yen shop to give your classroom activities a burst of excitement.
- Spend time with your students and staff (just staff if you are an ALT!) outside of the classroom. Parties and staff outings are very common in Japan and though you are not forced to go, it is always a good idea to try everything. Go snowboarding in the winter, check out the onsen (hot springs!) with the staff, and explore! Don’t be shy about your Japanese abilities. Go out and enjoy things with your students and staff. It’s a great chance to practice your Japanese and a great way to build better relationships.
- Teach English communicatively! Textbooks teach English in a very rigid way and make it difficult for students to use English outside of the activities in the textbook. Ontesol’s 250-hour TESOL Diploma taught me to create professional lesson plans using the Communicative Approach.
- Learn Japanese! Yes, I know you are teaching English and most conversational schools don’t even allow speaking Japanese at work, but knowing some Japanese is very important. My Japanese knowledge is basic and having the ability to get around made my life much easier.
Use of the Communicative Approach in Saudi Arabia has worked very well. Classroom materials that relate to the students’ own interests seem best.
One good thing at my college here is that we are not required to limit ourselves to the standard textbook in our classrooms. Try thinking of the textbook as only a tool or a starting point. I use my imagination to improve the textbook with communicative lesson plans.
My ultimate goal is to free myself from the textbook, relying more on my own command of English and my educational expertise. Changing materials regularly keeps me on my toes and makes learning more effective and enjoyable.
I use authentic resources (ei: magazine articles, poems, manuals, and videos) as much as possible, and I use these items in a variety of ways that recreate the community of a native English speaker in my classroom. My students generally find these more interesting and motivating than more traditional materials. My goal is to help students learn to use English in more creative and spontaneous ways.
Thank you for letting me share my Saudi experiences with you on Ontesol’s Experienced Teacher blog. I wish you good luck in your teaching endeavors, no matter which points of the compass you may follow, and no matter what country may welcome you as its newest English teacher.
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Sonia writes her last post about her wonderful TESOL experience in South Korea and shares a couple of things you probably wouldn’t know until you got there. Enjoy!
You should know about the yellow dust season, particularly if you have allergies. It comes between spring and summer, and it’s exactly what it sounds like- a thin layer of yellow dust coats everything outside. Some people say it’s pollution from eastern Chinese industry, others say it’s spring pollen. During this season, weather reports will include the yellow dust predictions for the day, and on high index days you’ll see a lot of people wearing surgical masks outside. Yes, sometimes people really do wear surgical masks around all day long. Sometimes it’s for yellow dust, but the rest of the year it’s because the person wearing it has a cold and is being polite by keeping the germs to themselves as much as possible with that mask.
Now some information about Bowing. Koreans are very polite and everyone bows to each other. A deeper bow means a deeper sign of respect. As you meet teachers, principals, and administrators, you’ll probably find yourself bowing too. One lesser known sign of respect is that when you hand a card or money, or pretty much anything to someone, it’s considered impolite to use just one hand. Either grasp what you are passing with both hands, or you hold it with one hand and bring your unused hand to the opposite forearm or elbow. You’ll also see this done when people pour drinks for each other. By the way, it is considered impolite to pour a drink for yourself- wait or ask someone else to do it for you, and be obliging to those around you in return.
The last issue I want to discuss here is North Korea. When I was in Korea, regular tours were run for foreigners and South Koreans into North Korea. You can visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ) pretty cheaply and easily from Seoul. You can take a 1-day strictly controlled tour of Kaesong city, about an hour over the border into North Korea, or you can take a strictly controlled 3-day tour in what are considered the most sacred and spiritual North Korean mountains. Guards stay with you for every second of the tour, you are not allowed to talk to any North Korean people, and you cannot take pictures of things like propaganda and statues of Kim Il-Sung. Before crossing back into South Korea, North Korean guards inspect every photo and delete the ones they don’t like. You cannot bring a cell phone or even a calculator because many North Koreans had never seen such devices. Things have changed a whole lot just recently with the death of Kim Jung-Il, and will be changing lots more in the near future. What I can say is that South Koreans seemed to have a much more nonchalant attitude than Americans on the North/South issue. While my American family would call and e-mail every time North Korea was in the news to ask if I was okay, most South Koreans didn’t bat an eyelash just because, despite the differences, it seems that many South Koreans still consider North Korea part of their country and their people, just a sect that had some bad luck. Many still have family across the border and hope for reunification one day. I guess what I’m saying is, keep your eyes open and decide for yourself. Don’t let the sensational American news hype get to you.
When I decided to go to South Korea, I knew I was signing on for something really different. I fully expected culture shock, but maybe because I expected it, it wasn’t so bad. For me, reverse culture shock was by far the hardest part of living and teaching abroad. Maybe that hit me because I wasn’t expecting it, but coming home was hard. It had been over two years, and when I got home to New York I missed my students, the friends I had made, my tiny apartment, and the spicy kimchi. In some ways I felt conflicted about which was home at that point. Soon I reconnected with my family and friends, got a new teaching job, a new tiny apartment, and realized that the adventure wasn’t over, it was just part of life. All the experiences I’d had amounted to something, and instead of being sad, I now feel lucky to have friends across the world, to have glimpsed a totally different outlook on life, and to be able to surprise the waiter at the local Korean restaurant when I order kimchi in Korean.
I was excited to sit down and write all the information I’ve shared, in hopes that it might be amusing, even useful, to someone. What I realized is that there is just SO MUCH to be conveyed. It’s a whole other culture, a whole other life, and that fullness is what made my experience so wonderful. So the best advice I can give, as I’ve hinted at in my previous posts, is to jump in with both feet.
There are plenty of interesting things to see and do in South Korea.
About half the population identifies as Christian, which accounts for all the red neon crosses in the city night sky, and the other half identifies as Buddhist, which leaves you with a lot of old, beautifully painted temples to explore. Most small towns and many remote mountaintops have got a temple, and bigger cities have several each. Some temples, such as Bong Eun-sa in Seoul, offer temple-stay programs where you can get a more intensive Buddhist experience, trying out the food, dress, and lifestyle of a monk, even if just for a day or two. Otherwise, most temples have regular visiting hours when anyone is welcome to enter the grounds for a stroll or just to have a look. Note that removing your shoes is considered polite in most indoor temple spaces.
Seoul in particular has a huge range of museums, including the Rolling Ball Museum where you can see many variations on the most complicated Mousetraps, The Teddy Bear Museum, and many more museums featuring science, Korean history, and international and local art. Baek Nam Jun, Korea’s most famous modern artist, is featured prominently in many art spaces. My favorite place to go for contemporary art is Insadong, a Seoul neighborhood with a main street closed to traffic on the weekend where you can buy traditional Korean candy, various arts and crafts, stop in a teahouse, and wander in and out of numerous small art galleries.
Folk villages are a popular place for school children and tourists to visit. These are restoration villages that show what life was like in Korea throughout different times in history.
Festivals are another great way to see Korean culture. They are extremely specialized by region. For example, one small town is famous for growing potatoes, so they hold a potato festival every year, and another is famous for fireflies, so a firefly carnival is held every summer. My favorite is the mud festival held in Daechon, on the west coast beach of Boryeoung. Everyone paints themselves in local mud that is supposed to be full of skin-nourishing minerals and lets it dry in the sun. There are mud slides, mud pools, mud wrestling matches… And luckily the ocean is right nearby when you need to wash off.
If you want to go to the beach, one of the best places is Busan. On sunny summer days, the beach can get very crowded. The most popular beaches will be totally covered in matching colored umbrellas set up in perfectly straight rows. These are all owned by one company and you pay 5 or 10 dollars to rent one and the space beneath it. Light-toned skin is considered desirable by most Koreans, so they will avoid the sun at all costs- including staying in the shade as much as possible, buying “whitening” skin creams and sunscreens, and going into the water fully clothed.
Another great place to go to the beach Jeju Island. This is a popular honeymoon destination for Koreans, and is often called the “Hawaii” of Korea, though the climate is more subtropical than tropical- it can get chilly in the winter.
When winter comes around there are plenty of mountains with plenty of snow. Skiing and snowboarding are both popular and relatively affordable, with several ski resorts around the country.
Whatever your interests, chances are you will be able to find something to suit you in South Korea. If the language feels like a barrier, check with the local expat community, where other foreigners may have already done some research and found something that would interest you.
My move to China required an entire lifestyle and mental overhaul. A few things I learned within the first months of arrival:
1. Always carry enough cash – most places don’t take debit or credit.
2. There is a Chinese price and a Foreigner price – as a foreigner, expect to pay more, sometimes double or triple. Unfair, yes, but that is the practice.
3. Either way, it’s often possible to haggle for better prices, especially in smaller stores. I would start negotiations at 40 percent of the asking price. This takes practice.
4. It’s worth the money to take a taxi if it means you can keep your sanity from the huge crowds on buses and subways.
5. Meet the other foreign teachers at your school. You will be each other’s sounding board, professional development team, and support provider for the length of your stay. Usually, the expats who have lived in China for a while will be more than happy to show you the ropes because they remember how tough it could be when you first arrive.
6. Try to build a community of expats both in and outside of work. Attend expat events (google city name + expats). Attend the welcome dinner at the beginning of the school year (if available). Go on the trips the school offers to teachers during holidays (if available).
7. The clothes I packed from Canada did not fit the type of humid weather along the coast of China. It was either too warm or not warm enough. It’s quite affordable to buy new clothes in China.
8. Always carry toilet paper – they are not supplied in most washrooms.
9. If you are worried about germs, carry hand sanitizer as few washrooms have soap.
10. Take an accredited TEFL Certification . While some cram schools do not require teachers to take a proper TESOL or TEFL certificate course, these jobs offer low wages and poor working conditions.
11. Expect the unexpected. Because China is a completely different culture, the people will behave and react differently from what you expect. It’s better to simply observe and ask friends about it later than judging them and having a negative impression. The Chinese may interact with you in ways that may be frustrating or rude to you; just remember that most of them are trying to be friendly or polite according to their customs.
Public transportation in South Korea is great in a lot of ways. It’s generally cheap, quick, and reliable. Subways operate in only a few major cities. By far the most extensive metro system is in Seoul, with several very long and interconnecting lines. You must buy a T-money card from a kiosk in or near a subway station, then load money onto it at the station agent’s window or at an automated machine (these operate in English and Korean, the station agent may not). You tap the card at the turnstile to enter the subway, and tap it again on your way out once you’ve reached your destination, and your card is charged based on distance travelled. The subways operate until roughly midnight, a bit later on weekends.
Another way to get around big cities is by bus. In Seoul, double digit bus numbers are the shortest routes with the most stops, triple digit bus numbers go longer distances with slightly more space between stops, and 4-digit bus numbers usually connect satellite cities and suburbs with Seoul or each other. You can pay with exact change on buses, but this can be complicated because prices may vary based on distances and you’ll have to work this out with the driver as you board, probably in Korean. Your better bet is to use your T-money card, which also gives you a slight discount. The hardest part about riding buses is figuring out which ones are going where. As far as I’ve seen, there is no comprehensive bus map showing the routes of Seoul buses, and though all the stops are listed in large print on the sides of buses and on bus stops, they are only listed in Korean. In the beginning, you may want to rely on hearsay of which bus routes are useful to you and how, or simply avoid the bus if in doubt.
Your last option for getting around in cities is taxis. Sometimes you can hail them on the street by raising your hand, but many busy areas have taxi stands. Be sure that the driver is using the meter, and it is not customary to tip much if at all. Taxis are usually painted yellow or green, but sometimes you will see black ones, which are considered “luxury” and are a bit more expensive but provide the same service.
Many streets do not have proper names, and most people you meet will not know the names of the ones that do. It’s easy to become disoriented because many streets and landmarks look very much the same to the untrained eye. If possible, it’s easiest to have your destination written out in Korean, or to have a Korean-language map of the place you’re going on hand in case you need to ask directions.
There are many intercity buses, and these are often a bit easier to navigate. You’ll need to buy a ticket from the city bus terminal, and the ticket agent can tell you which gate number the bus will depart from, where you present your ticket to the bus driver, and off you go. There may be stops along the way, but you will inevitably arrive at the bus terminal of another city or town.
You can also take an intercity train to get around. The KTX is a high-speed train that gets you from Seoul to Busan, almost across the entire country in just a few hours. It’s quiet, comfortable, and there are only a few stops along the way. The train also has restrooms, as well as various odd snacks for purchase from a cart that comes around and vending machines at the ends of the cars.
Lastly, about an hour flight will get you from Seoul to Jeju Island at the southern tip of Korea. Domestic flights from Seoul leave from Gimpo Airport. Since flights within Korea are short they tend to be rather inexpensive as well. Most international flights leave from Incheon International Airport, which has a shuttle train connecting to the Seoul metro system.
Are you TESOL certified? A 100-hour TESOL certificate qualifies for a higher pay level at EPIK, South Korea.
This next post is about all the fun you’re going to have in Korea! There are the regular options like movies or dance clubs, but there are some things that Korea does like no place else, so read on!
Seoul’s neighbourhoods of Sinchon and Hongdae are my favourites for going out. They are near universities so they are lively all night, and you can go drinking, dancing, eating, smoke a hookah, or sing at a noraebang. Noraebang literally translates to singing room, and just as it sounds, this is Korean style karaoke. You and your friends get a private room with a karaoke machine and you choose from a huge binder listing Korean and English songs. You can order beer, soft drinks, or snacks brought to your room and you pay per hour for the use of the room. I think it’s safe to say that every town in Korea has at least one of these. By day they are crowded with kids and teenagers singing their hearts out, but at night if you ever go out to eat or drink with Koreans, chances are that you will end up singing too. Even bad singers shouldn’t be intimidated- it’s much more about enthusiasm than skill.
The biggest cinema chain is CGV which will usually play a couple of American blockbusters and several Korean films (no English subtitles though). Movie rental is pretty much nonexistent, but DVDbangs are really popular. Like a noraebang, you get a private room with a pretty large screen and a couch and you can choose a DVD to watch right then and there. These are very popular with teenagers hanging out with their friends, but also with dating adults. Most Koreans live with their families until they are married, so a DVD room affords a little bit of privacy that a couple may not often get.
The drink of choice for many Koreans is soju. Soju is clear liquor made from sweet potatoes and tastes a bit like very low-grade vodka. It’s extremely cheap and sold everywhere, usually in green bottles. If you are ever invited out to a work function, it’s customary to take shots of soju with the boss. Be careful… even though your Korean coworkers will probably keep pace and still make it to work the next morning, it can give you a killer hangover and I would usually excuse myself from drinking after one or two shots. Fruit soju is soju mixed either with kool-aid or with fruit juice, depending on where you get it, and can be more pleasant to drink than just regular soju. Some bars will even make cocktails with soju, as imported liquor is extremely expensive. Other local favorites are makolli and dongdongju, both milky rice liquors, and domestic wine which is usually very sweet.
Koreans are serious about drinking, but also serious about fitness. Korea is mostly covered by mountains, and hiking is a very popular activity. In big cities, there are some mountains too steep to build on, but apparently not too steep to climb. During nice weather, everyone from small children to old grandparents will trek up and down the mountain, often with very purposeful hiking outfits and walking sticks.
There are also loads of gyms and swimming facilities where you can get a membership or sometimes pay for a day or week pass. Roads do not have bike lanes and drivers are not particularly bike-aware, so don’t count on a bike for transportation, but big parks such as Olympic Park or Seoul Grand Park can be great for taking a bike ride.
Finally, for some relaxation, Koreans hit the jimjilbang, which is like a community bath house. It costs a few dollars to get in and you get a shirt, shorts and locker key. There are separate male and female entrances leading to locker rooms, where you leave all your clothes and things and grab a towel for a shower or a hot tub soak. On weekends, you can also pay extra for a massage or scrub. When you’re finished cleaning off, you can put on the shirt and shorts you were given and go through to the next area where males and females can relax together in sauna rooms of various temperatures and sometimes tv rooms, snack areas, exercise rooms, or resting rooms. Jimjilbangs vary from small and simple to large and complex facilities where you can bathe in jasmine tea and swim in a full length pool. Families often go together and moms and kids will help scrub grandma’s back and vice versa. You can stay as long as you like, since most are open 24 hours, and it can be a great way to relax, but some nudity is involved, so I suppose it’s not for the shy.
My Saudi students remind me of people I have taught in the States. There is no typical Saudi college student. You will find the more serious English student and the the inevitable Class Clown. As one would expect, there are many cultural differences. For instance, classes consist of all male or all female students. My students have already graduated from a two-year technical college program, in various disciplines; most thus fall in an age range of 22 to 24 years old.
I faced numerous difficulties at the beginning of the first term. Teachers were given little information on the teaching conditions we would soon be facing in the classroom, but classes went pretty well. Considering how ill-prepared we all were and the general lack of a support system besides each other, most of the teachers felt that we had done a good job. Perhaps due to the lack of support, teachers are required to hold advanced TESOL certification. All teachers have completed a reputable TESOL course and had vast teaching experience.
Some of my students informed me that they have taken English classes for at least five years. However, our “North American” ESL course is the first to offer an English only learning environment, without the use of Arabic as a “crutch.” My students also reported that English is now being taught to much younger children in Saudi Arabia. Some students feel that their generation faces a disadvantage, considering that they are just now becoming bilingual.
The food in South Korea is very different and takes time to enjoy it.
When I first moved into my apartment in Seoul, I could hardly bare to the open the refrigerator door for fear of the aroma that would pour out and linger in the room for an uncomfortably long period of time. Fortunately enough, I would soon become very familiar with the stench of Korea’s national dish, kimchi. There are a few variations on this delicacy, but the basic idea is white cabbage with hot chili pepper paste, soaked in vinegar and left to ferment for several days in enormous clay pots. It is reportedly good for digestion and very high in vitamin C. For many, this dish has an acquired taste, but if you are eating a truly Korean diet it will be served at 3 meals a day, every day, and you will learn to distinguish homemade from store-bought, which ratios of garlic and chili pepper you prefer, and so on. Personally, I wasn’t too enthusiastic at first, but after a little while I learned to love it, to the point that I now make it at home in New York City.
The other food that is present at every single Korean meal is rice. In Korean, the same word that means “rice” also means “meal,” it’s that important. It is mostly white rice and you will be very glad for it to dissipate the spice of the chili peppers if you are a kimchi novice.
One of the most popular meals among foreigners is galbi, which is lean pork that you grill at your table and wrap up in lettuce with some garlic and sauce to taste. With a beer, this usually runs about $10-15 per person. Koreans are very social diners and it may be hard to get service at a galbi restaurant if you go alone . The same goes for fried chicken restaurants, which serve beer and large plates of chicken with different sauces and seasoning. They are about at the same price range as galbi restaurants and offer the same atmosphere.
Another option that’s a bit cheaper is a kimbap restaurant. These are very informal, open really late, and serve cheap, quick food. You can get a big bowl of spicy ramen with egg for just a few dollars, or a kimbap roll, which is akin to sushi rolls, but there is no raw fish involved. Instead, the inside has a strip of ham, cooked egg, carrot, and radish, with rice around it and wrapped in seaweed- tasty and only a couple of dollars.
Cheaper yet are convenience stores. These are 24 hours and have instant noodles you can make with hot water, as well as a variety of snacks and drinks. Many also have plastic tables and chairs in or outside them where you can sit down and eat or have a beer- by the way, it’s legal to drink in public.
As foreign restaurants go, there are a lot of sushi restaurants that tend to serve mostly sashimi. American-style fast food exists too, but hamburgers are more expensive than in the U.S. and on the whole not quite as tasty. Pizza is also popular, as everywhere, but of course there is a Korean twist on it. When I polled my students, some of their favourite toppings included squid rings, corn bits, walnuts, and barbeque sauce, with a mashed sweet potato-filled crust. And pizza is always served with a side of sweet pickles for some reason. In my opinion these crazy combinations actually taste pretty good, but be warned, because it’s probably not what you were expecting from pizza.
There are a couple of things rather shocking foods that you can eat in Korea and perhaps Korea alone. One is dog meat, often served as a spicy stew. Though these dogs are raised on farms for the purpose of eating and are so ferocious-looking they bear little resemblance to the animals we keep as pets, many foreigners have a hard time with the ethics involved with this meal. If this is how you feel, don’t worry, it’s not terribly common so it’s easily avoided.
If you’ve seen the Korean movie Old Boy, you’re probably wondering about one particular delicacy. If you haven’t seen the film, I’m talking about octopus tentacles so fresh that they are still squirming. I was once graciously invited on a boat trip with some colleagues, during which a live octopus was caught and swiftly beheaded, and the moving tentacles served with a little spicy dipping sauce. The sensation and texture are the crux of the experience because they taste mild (slightly of ocean) but be sure to chew thoroughly so the suckers don’t attach to your insides on the way down.
One problem I faced when I moved to Korea was that I was a staunch vegetarian. It is possible to maintain vegetarianism and probably veganism if you’re very careful, but it’s not easy. This has not become a trend in Korea like it has in the west and I had a very tough time explaining it to most Koreans, including at restaurants. Though tofu is commonly used, it’s often just an addition to meat or fish, not a stand-alone dish.
Finally, traditional Korean restaurants don’t have chairs so grab a cushion and get used to sitting on the floor while you eat. Also, practice using chopsticks and a spoon. The custom is for many small dishes to be put on the table usually accompanied by soup and some meat or fish entrée, as shown in the picture included of a galbi meal. It all comes at once and you don’t get your own dish or bowl, everyone just sticks their chopsticks in whichever dish they want a bite of. It’s another way Koreans show the spirit of community, by really sharing everything on the table. And don’t worry, you aren’t expected to clean the plates, it’s considered a sign of hospitality that more food appears on the table than you could possibly eat.
Grocery shopping can be done at large chains like Homeplus (owned by the British company Tesco), Grandmart, or E-Mart. They are a lot like Walmart and offer a mix of clothing, housewares, and food (Mostly Korean with a bit of foreign produce). In smaller towns such large chains may not be available, in which case you will probably find a small H-Mart or other grocery store selling mostly Korean products. A great way to try out local food and get fresh produce is to shop at outdoor markets. NamDaeMun (pictured below) is a big one in Seoul. Most other cities have similar outdoor markets for food, clothing, gifts, and other miscellaneous items.
Fashion is really important to many Koreans so there is an abundance of clothing options to suit all price ranges. There are many huge department stores in the big cities that sell mostly domestic brands, with some imports mixed in, but expect to pay more than you would pay at home for international brands. Bigger cities like Seoul or Daejeon also have a lot of underground shopping malls. (Bupyeoung underground shopping in the city of Incheon is shown in the picture below). At street level, they may look like subway entrances, and are often connected to subway entrances, but turn out to be an underground labyrinth of cheaply priced trendy shoe and clothing stores. These stores tend to sell a lot of one-size-fits-all items, and the one size in Korea is pretty small compared to Western standards.
If you need larger sized clothing your best bet is Seoul’s foreigner neighbourhood, Itaewon. Lots of expats come here for the food because the grocery stores sell a much wider variety of food items from home and the selection of foreign restaurants includes anything you can imagine. Itaewon also has What the Book, a pretty well-stocked English bookstore that sells new and used books, which can be hard to come by elsewhere in Korea. A word of warning on Itaewon: it gets seedy at night. I wouldn’t call it unsafe, but I would call it unsavoury.
Moving on, if you’re looking for electronics, Yongsan is a huge electronics complex in Seoul where you can get pretty much everything for pretty cheap (don’t be afraid to bargain). If you don’t read Korean well, make sure to ask for your devices to operate in English.
In Seoul many stores will be open from late morning (10-11AM) to early evening (8-9PM), in smaller towns closing hours may be a little earlier, but Koreans tend to really maximize the hours in the day, so convenience stores are mostly open 24 hours and chain stores mostly stay open until 10 or 11PM.
