I haven’t written papers since my third year in university, but my school really wanted me to enter into the TaLK scholar essay contest.
Learning to Teach in Samsan Elementary School
Tiffany Wun-Yun Tam, 8th Generation TaLK Scholar
Life before Korea
“What are your plans now?” is probably one of the most common questions asked right before and after graduation. Fall of 2011 was my last semester at the University of California, Merced and my family and friends slowly began popping the question. Also, graduating a semester early meant I had less time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Although I did enjoy working as a teacher’s assistant at a child development center and teaching science for an after school program, I did not want to apply to graduate school without being certain that I wanted to become teacher. With only a few months left before graduation, I met a friend who had recently completed a year with the Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK) program. He then began to share stories on his adventures in Korea and how he managed to teach English to his entire school of students. Hearing his first-hand experiences abroad made me eager to more look into the program. After a few weeks of research, I applied for the Teach and Learn in Korea program, was interviewed, and received a letter of acceptance.
Jochiwon Days
Within a few months later, I packed two suitcases and was on my way to Korea. Having lived in California my entire life, “cold winters” in San Francisco meant putting on a jacket and wearing sneakers. I had not realized how unprepared I was for Korea’s extreme seasons until I had arrived at Incheon International Airport during the winter. I will never forget my first time experiencing frostbite cold. As I exited the airport for the orientation bus, the frigid wind blew right through my jacket and I immediately began to shiver hoping the winters in Korea would shorten somehow. After arriving at Korea University in Jochiwon, I joined 219 other TaLK scholars from all around the world with different accents, backgrounds in careers and education, values, all with a common goal to teach and learn in Korea. I met TaLK scholars who were recent postgraduates, university students who were taking a break from studying and travelers who have been to several countries before Korea. Over the four weeks in orientation, I quickly grew close to a few friends that I had made. It’s amazing how having a common experience can create close friendships within a short amount of time. But it’s not surprising with the amount of time spent with each other, by going to and from lectures all day, living in a dormitory building, and going to noraebangs (singing rooms) after lectures.
My Daily Life as a TaLK Scholar
During the four rigorous weeks of training and taking notes, I was able to learn a bit about the Korean culture, English Foreign Language education, and the essentials on how to live in Korea. When Jochiwon orientation had concluded, all the TaLK scholars quickly dispersed into their designated provinces. My province was located in Jeonnam, the most southern tip of Korea. Our Provincial Office of Education (POE) orientation took place in Gwangju, one of the sixth biggest cities in Korea. It was also where we received more hands-on teaching opportunities. Receiving feedback from our colleagues during our lesson presentation helped us become more aware of what we needed to work on. And when orientation had finally come to an end, we were picked up by our school staff and were taken to our respective schools. Having already spent a total of four weeks in Korea, it was not until I arrived at my school in Samsan when I realized I was actually going to live in Korea for the next year. The mini town that my school is located in is a lot smaller than I had anticipated with only a NongHyup Bank, a few restaurants, a post office, a small health clinic, and of course it was surrounded by paddy-fields. However within a ten minute bus ride to Haenam town where I lived, I was able to go to a few coffee shops, taste ethnic Korean foods, and spend time with Jeonnam Language Program (JLP) teachers who had also lived in town. When I first moved into town, the JLP teachers were extremely helpful by taking me and a few other TaLK scholars out to different restaurants to eat, showed us where to shop for groceries, and gave us useful tips on how to teach. They reminded me that teaching English in a foreign country is not an easy task to take on, but if we ever needed help with anything they were only a Facebook message and phone call away.
With the help of the JLP teachers, I became more confident teaching English in Korea for the next year. One the first day of school, I was given my work schedule and was assigned to teach kindergarten to sixth grade after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, while I assisted my mentor teacher while she taught fifth and sixth graders on Wednesdays and Thursdays. My first semester of teaching became a humbling experience when charades became one of my main sources of communication with my students. Although there were many challenges teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) with language barrier being one of them, within a few weeks I was able to assess my classes and create lesson plans that were within their level. However, I found it much easier to lesson plan than to actually teach the lesson. When I first started teaching, I made several rookie mistakes, by handing out candy during class time, turning my back while writing on the board, not memorizing my student’s Korean names, and not enforcing classroom management.
Lesson Learned
One of the many lessons I learned while teaching in Korea is to be effective and impact lives. To not only be a teacher and teach the fifteen hours assigned to me, but to go beyond that by offering free tutoring courses to my students. Prior to leaving for Korea, my mentor teacher in the Science and Math Initiative, an elementary school education program that I was enrolled in during university, bought me “The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher”, written by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong. The classroom management book has been one of the most useful tools that have guided me to think like a teacher. It has also given me useful ideas on what to expect on the first week of school.
Secondly, I learned how to incorporate lessons and activities that helped accommodate students with different learning styles. There are three major types of learning: auditory (listening and speaking), visual (through the eyes by watching), and kinesthetic (physical activity) learning. Some students are able to understand my lessons from giving examples by showing visuals, while other students might find it more useful to listen and repeat key expressions. Others also might learn better from using movements with their body. For an example, my kindergarteners all have different learning styles, so I created a lesson that will fulfill the needs of most of my students. In one of my lessons on shapes, I prepared several laminated and magnetized circles, triangles, rectangles, hearts, stars, and squares each in different colors. After reviewing the colors from last week’s lesson, I showed the class all the shapes, while naming them so my visual learners will be able to recognize the new materials introduced. Afterwards, I asked my students to repeat after what I had said, which helped auditive learners. Then I showed the shapes again to my students and had the students draw the shapes in the air with their fingers. By having the students draw shapes in the air, kinesthetic learners are able to understand the outline of the shape. To review, I handed out a few shapes per a student and when I called out the shape or colors, students were to locate and raise the shapes up in the air. Using this method of review not only guided kinesthetic learners by allowing them to move around, but it also helped auditory and visual learners to by being able to locate the shapes.
The third thing I learned is to be innovative not only with lessons but also for classroom management. During my first few months of teaching, managing a class was one of my biggest hurdles. It took me awhile to figure out what worked and what did not work. I have also attempted to settle down a class by using several different approaches, but all of them failed to work. It did not take long to take notice that negative reinforcements did not work while positive reinforcements worked really well. One of the ideas that I borrowed from my teacher was having my students make a currency system for the classroom. This system is known to create positive rather than negative reinforcements. I then designed a 영어마트, also known as English Mart where students could earn English classroom dollars and purchase stationery items. Using this method of reinforcement has helped create a better learning environment for my students. Also spending time memorizing my students’ Korean names improved classroom participation. Another method I borrowed and altered from my fieldwork class was tapping each student’s desk to dismiss them if they are sitting quietly on their chairs with their hands folded properly. I find it very intriguing to see how some classroom management tools and methods are useful and can be translated from different cultures. Yet, at the same time some methods simply cannot be translated from culture to culture.
Teaching eventually became much easier after learning several lessons the hard way, but sometimes having growing pains is the best way to become a better teacher. Living the life of a teacher, my weekdays were packed with attending hweshiks (staff dinners) and playing volleyball with the staff, meeting up with English teachers in town for dinner and coffee, lesson planning, studying for entrance exams for grad school, and volunteering at a local orphanage. And during the weekends, I met up with TaLK scholars from different provinces to experience Korean culture by attending cultural festivals such as the Nonsan Strawberry Festival and Jindo Miracle Sea Festival and traveling to several provinces: Gangwon-do, Jeollabuk-do, Jeju-do, Gyeongsamnam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, and Gyeonggi-do. In each of the provinces I was able to visit famous landmarks, which include the 3rd tunnel located at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Yeosu World Expo, N Seoul Tower, Haeundae Beach in Busan and try an array of foods the provinces are known for. Not only did I have the opportunity to experience the traditional culture, but I also had the chance to learn about the pop culture in Korea. To list a few, my friends and I visited Lotte World, the world’s largest indoor amusement park, ate kimchi fries at a Korean-Mexican fusion food eatery in Itaewon, accidentally stumbled across B1A4, a pre-teen boy band meet and greet session in Daejeon, and sing Korean pop songs in noraebangs, also known as singing rooms.
Acculturation
Utilizing the opportunity to learn about the Korean culture by traveling all over Korea, I also wanted to share with my students what life back in the states is like. As the only foreign outlet for my students this year, I made Jell-O with my students, handed out Caramel Apple Pops, Sour Patch Kids, and Haribo Raspberries as a treat, made paper pumpkins out of construction paper and paper plates, hosted an Easter egg hunt, hand-painted Thanksgiving turkeys, showed pictures and videos of California, showed my students what the United States currency looks like, and more. Although often times when I tried to explain to them what America is like, a few of my students question whether or not if I really did come from America, because I “looked” Asian. The same question has been repeated by people asking for directions, taxi drivers, coffee baristas, and other curious Koreans I would encounter all throughout my journey in Korea, but that’s alright. I would explain to them that I am from America, but my parents came from Hong Kong with my limited Korean and that would create opportunities to start up conversations with locals. Living in one of the more rural parts of Korea, I was able to experience southern hospitality. Often times when the English teachers in my town go out for dinners, the restaurant waitresses would just stare at us and smile as we conversed in English.
The Final Days
As my journey in Korea is drawing to a close, enculturating myself abroad over the past ten months has been one the most rewarding experiences I have ever done. Within a couple months I will be on my way back to the sunny side of California in the middle of winter, around the exact same time last year when I had first arrived in Incheon International Airport experiencing my first real winter. Learning in Korea has helped me better understand the history, culture, and lifestyle of Koreans. Prior to coming to Korea I avoided eating greens and living in a country that eats vegetables every day I have learned to eat everything and not waste. I have also developed a habit of separating my garbage between compost, recycle, and waste to create a greener environment. Not only did I learn in Korea, but it has changed my views on conserving and eating more greens that I will carry with me to the states. Teaching in Korea has allowed me to develop a greater appreciation for teachers from all around the world. Without being in the TaLK program I would still be just unsure with what I wanted to do with my career. Unfortunately, teaching is not exactly the career pat that I have decided to take on after all. But after tutoring my student one on one for the past year, I am certain that I am more effective at teaching individuals one-on-one and it has given me a greater passion to want to help students with special needs by going into occupational therapy within the education system. I also would not have met so many amazing people from all around the world who have impacted and inspired me and will take a special place in my heart. My teachers at school genuinely care about others and have included me in school events, given me food, and have offered to drive me home while only knowing a few sentences and phrases in English. I will never forget all the memories I have had with my students who have especially have shown so much progress in English. Leaving Samsan Elementary School, I am certain my students will not only be more confident in speaking English, but will one day be able to converse in complete English sentences. I do hope that one day we will cross paths and I will be able to speak to them in English. I am extremely grateful and fortunate for receiving the opportunity to TaLK. Being in the scholarship program I have made lifelong friends whom I will keep in touch with all over the world. It has also exceeded my expectations and I will cherish every moment I have left in Korea.
Tiffany in Korea 