What do I do in Korea? The same as most other ex-pats in South Korea do, attempting to teach English to Koreans. I have been an NET (Native English Teacher) at Mokpo Girls High School for just over one year. I’m on my second contract with the school. I generally enjoy it here. My job is to try and get my students to converse in English as well as immersion around a foreigner. I teacher sixteen classes a week and each class has around thirty to thirty-five students. In theory I am supposed to co-teach with a Korean. The reality is different.
High school in South Korea is divided up into three grades. I teach the first and second grades as the thirds are far too busy preparing for university entrance exams.
The technology in the schools compared to what I had in Canada amazes me. Each class has a fifty inch LCD tv and newish computer with good internet access. The majority of my lessons are on powerpoint but also include work sheets and speaking activites as well. It is difficult to get full student participation but I get between 60-75% student participation in most classes.
Most students by this education level can read and write with English and do a decent job but there has been little emphasis on speaking (there is where I come in). “I’m fine, thank you, and you?”, “Hello.”, “See you again.”, and “Do you have a girlfriend?” form the core of my students vocabulary.
Students are at school from eight in the morning until ten at night. They have night study in their homerooms and also have school in the morning every other Saturday. School life is hell.
Students are generally upbeat people who when they aren’t shy, can be really outgoing and talkative people. This is what I do in South Korea.
