The View From The Top

So it’s not really the top, it’s just the top floor of the school which is where my room is located. I am in room 303 and have a beautiful view of Sasang and Deokpo at most times. On a clear day I can see the mountains surrounding Busan and the river that comes in from the East Sea (or as the rest of the world refers to it the "Sea of Japan") to Gimhae Airport. In the evenings I find myself getting distracted by the lights outside in the distance and can’t believe the view I have.

A view from the Rooftop Patio of the Dorm looking out at Sasang

During the day the view is beautiful as well. With a south facing wall of windows I get the warmth of the sun in all day, which is nice since it is winter and cool here. I find I do not need my heater turned on all the way because it will get too hot in my room. I have heard though the blessing from the sun in the winter turns into a nightmare in the summer when it is hot and humid outside, but I haven't experienced a Korean summer yet.

Looking out my window and down the hill/mountain

To the right hand side is Gimhae Airport

A Bit About My School

My school is located in South Korea, on the southern coast in the City of Busan. Busan is a very large city so there are a lot of different areas. My school is located in the Sasang area between Deokpoe (sounds like duck-po) and Modeok (Moe-duck) on what I would call a mountain, but it could just seem like a mountain because I came from flat Saskatchewan. Some call it a hill, some call it a mountain, whatever it is, it is a steep walk up. There are railings on the side to help you drag yourself up, at least that’s what I use the railings for.

I am very fortunate to be in what is called an English Village.  The goal of the school is to have an English immersion experience for students while they are here, so the classes taught in this building are all in English. There is a Korean teacher that speaks English and a Foreign teacher paired up with each other so that creates a great support system and allows for great communication about students and possible strategies that may work with some groups or individual students.

My school.

Another interesting aspect of my school that I love is called Active Zones. We have classes in my classroom Monday and Tuesday, but on Wednesday the Monday students come to the Active Zone and on Thursday the Tuesday students come to Active Zone. Friday is reserved for extra classes and more advanced students. Right now I have been fortunate enough to teach a promotional class in the Cooking Active Zone on Fridays, which means every Friday I get to make or bake something with my students. Last Friday we made Brownies in a Microwave and they tasted surprisingly good. The purpose of active zones is to provide lived experiences for students to be able to apply the English they have learned in the classroom while in a different learning environment. So far I have done the Non-fiction Reading Active Zone, the Sounds Active Zone, Words, Science and Cooking.

Preparing for Words active zone- tongue twisters for the more advanced students

I Am A Teacher!

Okay, so here I am, it’s a new year and a lot has changed since the last time I blogged.

After graduating with my Education degree I began substitute teaching and really enjoyed myself.  It was a terrific experience and I enjoyed a large majority of the schools I was placed at. While I enjoyed this employment experience, I was looking for more. I really wanted my own classroom.

Now rewind to last February when I took a TEFL/TESL/TESOL course on how to teach English to second language learners. I gained a lot of valuable information from this experience and would encourage any teacher to complete this certificate.

So now fast forward to today. I am currently overseas in South Korea and I am LOVING my job as a teacher.  I am in the second largest city called Busan and am experiencing new things everyday. While this blog was meant for ECMP 355 I have decided to keep it as my professional teaching blog. Here I will share my experiences overseas and hopefully give anyone who is looking to teach English as a Second Language in a different country some insight and ideas.