Teaching Esl | GRRRL TRAVELER

Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part II: Public vs Private schools)

Filed under How & why teach in Korea?, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on January 2, 2011 at 12:14 pm {8 comments}

Continued from Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part I: Q & A)

If you ask most people why they were drawn to Korea, the very first answer you’d commonly hear is– the benefits. Korea has by far, the best package out there- public and private school alike. Along the way, you discover the experience itself is so much more, but before I get into that, here you go~

Incentive Package for teaching in a Korean public school:

• Round trip airfare to South Korea
• Free apartment housing
• Signing bonus
• Paid vacations
• 50% medical insurance

Should you work in a public or private school?

Whether you’re with a government run program or independent one, there is no guarantee that your situation will be perfect and not meet with disappointment on some level. Both public and private employment have led to hit or miss situations for many- anywhere from bad apartment situations, problems with getting paid, bad co-teachers, etc… The forums are littered with unhappy results and while you’d like to think it’s just a bunch of disgruntled folk, the numbers ten to be so outstanding that you know there’s a level to truth.

(more…)

Why I Love Teaching English to my Korean Students

Filed under Daegu, How & why teach in Korea? by Christine Ka'aloa on November 7, 2010 at 4:04 am {7 comments}

Christine Teacher! Buy from me!…
(My 4th and 5th grade boys with their own sale tent)

Sometimes life choices can make you feel like you’re on The Price is Right game show. How do you know you’ve made the right choice? So you’ve opened door #1 to a brand new car! Do you still dare risk all for the mystery behind door#2?

There are times I reflect on whether I’m making the right choices for my life.
Last weekend after just having given notice I’d not be renewing my contract, I was on my way to meet friends for a weekend getaway! Our neighborhood park was having a library sale event and I got hijacked by some of my students into the festivities. Heart tugs. I then spent the rest of the afternoon wondering if I hadn’t made a mistake…

The Perks of Teaching English in Korea
Aside from the job salary being one of the highest in the ESL world, the fact I get a rent free apartment and the opportunity to live and travel abroad; the perks for me don’t seem as great as it (more…)

Decoding the Korean workplace: My School Class Schedule

Filed under Teaching English, Tips & Fun Facts by Christine Ka'aloa on September 9, 2010 at 10:30 pm {6 comments}

My 2010 Fall/Winter semester teaching schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Video broadcast (every other week)
5^th grade	6^th grade	3^rd grade	4^th grade	6^th grade
5^th grade	6^th grade	3^rd grade	4^th grade	6^th grade
5^th grade	6^th grade	3^rd grade	4^th grade	6^th grade
5^th grade	6^th grade	3^rd grade	4^th grade	6^th grade
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
	ParentEnglish (40 min)
	ParentEnglish (60 min)			Teacher’s English (40 min)

So I’ve returned this semester to my teacher’s desk more confident, a bit more cocky and… ahem, a tad lazy. Inevitable. This is second semester and I’ve had 6 months worth of grueling experience to prime me for this lounging funk. What’s changed since last semester? I’ve come to trust the (more…)

August GRRR!: Summer’s Monumental Moments- Writing, Travel & Ending ESL Summer Camp!

Filed under GRRRL in the News, • EXPAT LIFE by Christine Ka'aloa on August 2, 2010 at 8:35 am {2 comments}

Totally cool layout! The bottom blue box even translates some of my words into Korean.
(They translated “sex-ifed“. I’ll need to ask a Korean to translate my own word back
to me to see what it means in Korean!)

The August publication in Daegu Pockets is out and I am in it!
Published! One of my blog articles is in this month’s August edition of Daegu Pockets. It’s a very cute 2 page spread, so I’m particularly stoked and tickled! FYI- Daegu Pockets is a magazine publication primarily for expats and Koreans (more…)

ESL Summer Camp: From the Superhero Factory (Pt II)

Filed under Korea, Teaching English by Christine Ka'aloa on July 25, 2010 at 7:52 am {2 comments}

Ding! Ding! Last day at Joonang’s English Summer Camp and it has me wiped! Perhaps I’m just pre-menopausal or in need of a better multivitamin; these past 4 days have been fun, but draining (I’m teaching two-hour long classes, remember?…). This could also have to do with the summer heat though. It’s hot. Daegu hot…. which is close to New York (more…)

Written by Christine Ka'aloa Teaching English

ESL Summer Camp Updates from the Superhero Factory (Part I)

Tomorrow is the last day of my first camp! Hooray! Teaching summer camp is fun, but hard work- especially when you’re teaching 2-3ish two hour classes a day! Seems I’m churning out more little Superheroes than I am monsters!…

July 22, 2010 3

Written by Christine Ka'aloa Korea

ESL Summer Camp is upon us!

During summer and winter vacations, many Korean schools put on English Summer Camps, where NET’s teach the kids how to have fun… in English. Mostly I hear, it’s games, games, games all the way! This coming Tuesday I start my first English Summer Camp! Yay!! But I’m also nervous…

July 18, 2010 1

Written by Christine Ka'aloa Korea

EPIKers under surveillance, DMOE plays parole officer

Korea steps up surveillance towards sex crimes against minors and on a similar and related note, there’s new news of how the DMOE will enforce EPIK’s NET summer work hours.