I M In Korean

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Before starting my TEFL course to gain a more professional basis, I worked as an English teacher in South Korea for about one year. In this short essay, I will explain some of the most prominent difficulties South Korean students seem to face when learning English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Laura M. First and foremost, the educational structure in South Korea is quite different from those of Europe or the United States. Korean kids usually start studying English from the age of three. However, the average class size of about 40 students is way too big for such young students, making any interaction between teacher and student impossible. Later on, most Korean students become...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This essay examines English education in South Korea and its socio-cultural problems. The discussion draws on my personal beliefs and experiences. First, the history of Korean education is laid out by illustrating the cultural background of Korean society. Following that, it traces the problems of learners of the English language in Korea and tips on how to improve their learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nayoung H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For a long time, Korea has been a country that’s been highly education-obsessed. Entry to a top university has led to prestigious, well-paying, and secure jobs; it has...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences From my combined interest in Asian, and more specifically Korean, culture and my desire to teach English to anyone wanting to learn, I have personally come to interact with several adult learners from South Korea during the past few years. Through this experience, I have come to detect several common problems that students coming from this country, as well as students from neighboring Asian countries such as Japan and China, may face while learning English and that I will, therefore, develop in this short essay. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kimberley H. M. The most common problem would be pronunciation. Yes, it may be a common problem to all English learners, or any language learner...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Many students of English as a Second Language (ESL) find that, of the many struggles they have with the language, pronunciation is the most difficult to master. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sophie M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Pronunciation is an extremely important ability to have to sound more fluent in English. By gaining the knowledge and skill of proper pronunciation, an ESL student can come across at a much higher level of English ability and intelligence. However, this is easier said than done. In South Korea, for example, certain sounds aren’t used in their language but are used in English. Because these...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations Alumni Experiences Korean learners of the English language face numerous challenges in acquiring the language on a proficient level, although English is introduced to children at an early age. English is incorporated into the primary school curriculum from the age of four, yet only a small minority master the language on a proficient conversational level. Unfortunately, the reasons seem to stem from cultural and social differences, the significant differences between the two languages; Korean and English, and the Korean Educational System is also a contributing factor. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Beatrix N. To begin with, cultural differences seem to be a central reason why Koreans...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences American and German Augsburg, Germany 26 Bachelor’s of Science in Management Yes. Growing up in Europe with a German mother and an American father I had the opportunity to travel around Europe and the US. After studying Mandarin, I also spent some time in China. San Diego, California Being able to explore the world and making use of my foreign language skills in Chinese. I was concerned about the language barrier, especially in China where English is not widely spoken. Even though I studied Mandarin, I was worried that my language skills wouldn’t be good enough to be able to live in China and get by alone. However, everything went very well and I was able to improve my Chinese language skills immensely during...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information Hi and welcome to another live session from ITTT. My name is Linda and I'm here today to talk about teaching English in South Korea. Let me just show you today's topic so that everybody who's joining knows what's happening today. Today we're talking about teaching English in South Korea and I'm so excited about this topic and it's actually been a super requested topic every time I do a live session. I've been living in Korea for almost six years and I have been teaching a few different classes. I have done summer camps and winter camps and teaching kids and teaching adults, teaching business English, teaching conversation, teaching full-time at a kindergarten and elementary school...  [Read more]

Brittany Varano Destinations Alumni Experiences For those thinking of teaching English in South Korea, the EPIK program offers one of the best job opportunities in Asia. An acronym that stands for "English Program in Korea," EPIK hires native English teachers to co-teach or lead English lessons in public elementary, middle, and high schools around the country. I got my start in the world of TEFL through the EPIK program and fell in love with the lifestyle of an EFL teacher in Asia - so much so I stayed for two years! The work was enjoyable, my EPIK salary went a long way, the benefits were hard to beat, and the expat community I met through it all helped foster lifelong friendships I hold dearly to this day. To be considered...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I have had the opportunity to study several foreign languages, some in a formal setting, some self-taught. Through my personal experiences learning other languages, I have developed some insights into language learning. I would like to describe some of my experienc| ITTT | TEFL Bloges, and some of my thoughts on what I have learned from them, and from this course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kim T. My first experience in language learning began at age fourteen with French; by the time I graduated high school I had studied French, German and Spanish as part of my curriculum. The method in use then was ALM, so as a result, I learned language patterns very quickly. However, the only...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences I decided to write about the subject I’m an expert in, my personal teaching experience. The focus will be on what I’ve gained from the last nine years as an EFL instructor. I’ll begin by telling you about my first teaching position in rural South Korea. Next, I’ll share my experience taking the TEFL course. Finally, I’ll discuss my efforts to become an independent online English instructor. I hope my experience can provide some insight into some of the many options for EFL teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Karissa B. After too many hours in an airplane and another two hours in a taxi, I finally arrived at my new home. My co-teacher was there to meet me. He would become...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For this task, I have selected Korea as a choice for some students having difficulty learning. Korea is one of the countries investing a lot in the field of English education. Also, results achieved by Korean students on the TOEFL test improved by 10 points over the past six years. However, there still seems to be less proficient skills in writing and speaking in English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Heejeong K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When I taught teenage students in Korea, I watched them being reluctant or struggling to speak and write in English even though they had more than average scores in reading and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I’m a non-native English speaker who never once benefited from an effective ESL program in her entire school years. It’s rather ironic that I became an ESL teacher and taught English for six years, essentially preaching what I had never practiced myself. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Somy L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I was born in Korea, and my family and I moved to South Africa when I was ten. Before 2000, ESL programs were not widespread knowledge and resources were on the limited side. My ESL teacher at the time would just give printouts to the students to color and trace words. The amount of progress I made in...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Having worked in South Korea for almost 8 years, I have been fortunate enough to experience a rapid influx of new technology in the classroom. As a hub of new technology, Korea promotes the use of new technology by teachers in public schools. These new technologies include the use of touch-screen TVs, Ipads and tablets, as well as VR systems. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hannah P. Touch screen TVs can really benefit the teacher in the language classroom. It makes creating interactive materials a lot simpler, as well as allowing for students interaction during the class. Interactive games and PPTs can make the materials more fun and help to increase...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences Looking back at my teaching life, I’m very proud of the teaching experiences I’ve had. Even though my teaching experiences are limited to one culture, Korea, still they are all very special and unique in their own ways. I started my journey as an EFL teacher a couple of years ago, thinking that I could learn other languages myself. I thought that I would move from place to place, possibly different countries, and learn different languages and get various teaching experiences in different settings. However, it turned out to be Korea only. I could soak up Korean culture and learn the language more easily because of my origin. The more time I spent teaching, the more I got to love teaching children and feeling...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When I was a university student, my roommate was from Busan, South Korea. I loved spending time with him. We became incredibly close friends, and I also became close to the other students who came through the same foreign exchange program as he did. I helped them learn English regularly, checking and proofreading essays and explaining phrases to them. They left the United States after one semester, but they had already introduced me to other Korean students who would be there for two more years. I enjoyed learning about their culture and the cultural differences that we had. I also learned a lot about the obstacles that my friends faced in learning English, and worked to help them overcome those obstacles. This...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Hi my name is Linda from ITTT, international TEFL and TESOL Training and I'm back again today for another live session. If you can hear me and see me please let me know as I'm trying out a new mic today so if that is working well it would be good to know. So please leave a quick comment to say hi and where you're watching from. I have been living in South Korea for five and a half years, so for me right now it's 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. Let me know where you are tuning in from and what time it is where you are. We can get started on today's topic which is the best government programs for teaching English abroad. If you're interested in teaching English abroad then you should...  [Read more]

  This TEFL review is from Paavani. She is from Ohio, USA, but just moved to South Korea where she will work as an English teacher. As this will be her first full-time teaching position, she decided to take our online TEFL/TESOL program to get the best possible foundation in teaching before starting her new position. After completing the course, she feels ready and prepared to teach Korean students in her own EFL classroom and she recommends this course to other new teachers. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations Alumni Experiences Welcome to another live session this week and we're on at a different time this week. Usually we're a little bit earlier, but we have a special guest today, and that's because she's based in Germany. So we had to change the time a little bit. I’m Linda from ITT, you've probably seen me before, if you've watched us live and I’m here with Brit today. Hi Brit! Hi, thanks for having me, and painting your time to meet my schedule, and thank you so much for getting up early.I know it's early in Germany right now. just have my coffee and I’m good to go.That's awesome,where in Germany are you exactly? so I’m based near Trier, which is along the border with Luxembourg. So very close...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. In high school, I was inspired by my English teachers and the way they were able to make material interesting and motivating. I remember telling myself that I would not be the person who changes the world, but perhaps as a teacher, I would be able to inspire the person who would. From the beginning, my motivation was to help others in a meaningful way. My goal was to improve the lives of others. When I entered university, I found myself studying philosophy to become a professor in the future. However, the reality of being a university professor was a lot of presenting and publishing, with very little teaching. Because teaching was my goal, I decided to leave my Ph.D....  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Hello everyone, how are you doing? Linda from ITTT, back again with another live session. I’m super excited to be here today to talk about this exciting topic, teaching English abroad and how it enhances your career prospects. I'm just going to wait for a couple more people to join, you know how it usually works. Once we are a good sized group of people we can start diving into this topic. If you can hear me and if you can see me please leave a comment. We are live on Facebook and on YouTube at the same time, so wherever you're watching from just leave a quick hi or hello in the comment section and also let me know where you are watching from. I am in South Korea about an hour...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas English to me and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. We have a first time watcher Sebastian watching from Cameroon and it is 2:00 a.m. there, wow thanks so much for staying up and watching our live stream, that's awesome. We are actually streaming live on Facebook and also on YouTube at the same time, so wherever you're watching from you can throw your questions at me at any time and if you don't want to miss out on any of our live streams don't forget to like and subscribe so that you always get notifications. I go live every Friday morning my time, depending on where you're watching it might still be Thursday, and then my colleague...  [Read more]

Prachi and Morgan from AlienEating Destinations Alumni Experiences Teaching. It's frustrating, exhausting, and a whole lot of kid wrangling. It's also rewarding, eye-opening and will give you more patience than you ever thought possible. I had no idea how much went into this job. One day when I'm in Forbes 30 Under 30, I'm going to personally send a tower of Ferrero Rocher to every teacher in the world. This job is a huge responsibility and it's more difficult than I ever imagined. I urge everyone to dip a toe into the teaching world at least once. I've taught English in South Korea for two years now in both the open countryside and bustling city. It may not seem like there's too much of a difference, but there are a few things...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations TEFL Information Teaching English abroad is now a popular career option for many people of all ages. While there is a strong demand for TEFL certified teachers in many different regions of the world, there are certain countries who have implemented government-funded programs to attract foreign English teachers. Through these programs, qualified English teachers are placed into schools around their countries where they are employed for a set period of time. Here is a list of the best government programs for teaching English abroad. The EPIK program in South Korea is one of the largest and most popular teaching programs and stands for “English Program in Korea”. This scheme is run by the South...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Hi, I am back for another live session this week. My name is Linda from ITTT. I took a break last week, I was traveling a little bit in Korea, not too far but I got to enjoy the cherry blossoms. That's why there was no live session from me last week. But I'm back this week and I'm super excited. Today we're going to have a Q&A session, so you guys can ask me questions about TEFL and TESOL, teaching abroad, teaching online, whatever you want to know about. So something a bit more casual, let's have a chat. I would like to get to know you guys better and you can get to know me, ITTT and TEFL. If you can see me and hear me please drop a hi or something into the comment box so that I know that everything is working...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information oday’s exciting topic is the top hiring seasons for teaching English abroad. We're going to go over different countries on different continents and what their hiring seasons are, so when's the best time to go job hunting. Also there will be some tips for job hunting in those places as sometimes you need to get hired in advance when you're still in your home country and you can do online interviews, but in some countries you need to apply in person. So we're going to talk about that as well. Thanks so much for tuning in and as always please don't forget to like and subscribe so that you never miss a live session. We go live twice a week, one time with me on Fridays, or Thursday...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Budget and Salary TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Hi guys, Linda here from ITTT with another live session. Super excited to be here again, thanks so much for tuning in today and if you're listening to this as a podcast episode thanks so much for the download, we really appreciated it. We turn all of our live sessions into podcast episodes and you can find them on all major podcast platforms like iTunes, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Just search for the TEFL and TESOL Podcast by ITTT and you will find all our episodes there. Hi Tiana, thanks so much for tuning in today. How are you? I'm so excited to be here again and I think today's topic is going to be really interesting for people who want to...  [Read more]

Linda is a passionate traveler and English teacher exploring the world one country at a time. After studying Mandarin Chinese, she moved to Guangzhou, China, to pursue an internship at a German online marketing company. She loved it so much that she decided to move back to China after finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Management in California. After working in online marketing for a while, she got into English teaching. Teaching English overseas has enabled her to experience life in different countries and fund her passion for travel. She taught English in China for a year and also during my her year in South Korea. She’s been living in South Korea since 2015 and returned to working in online marketing and teaching online in 2016 remotely. On her Website, she shares her tips and...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Hello everybody and welcome. We're actually also going live on Instagram today, so I'm going to check that out as well as the usual Facebook and YouTube. Hopefully everything will work fine. I hope everybody can hear me well and can see me. This is the first time that we're actually live on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube at the same time, so I have a lot of screens here in front of me. Hello there, I see somebody tuned in on Instagram and we have a few people here on Facebook and YouTube already. I hope everything is going well today. Unfortunately, if you're watching on Instagram you won't be able to see the screen and maybe some of the...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences My teaching experience began in a whirlwind. I graduated from college a semester ahead of my class, married, lived with my husband in my sister’s basement for two months, and moved to South Korea. We had no idea what to expect. Sure, we’d read the blogs, talked to the director of our school, and even talked with people we know who had lived and taught in Korea. It still didn’t fully prepare us for what to expect, how amazing it would be, and how hard. We lived in South Korea for 19 months teaching three through seven year olds daily and first through third graders several times each week. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Sarah S. When we first moved to Korea, our head teacher had to teach us how...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Confident teachers can make confident learners. A confident teacher would have a positive impact on his or her students' attitude. Teachers' belief in their teaching capabilities could affect how they perceive, approach and teach their students. Having confidence as a teacher can improve your overall effectiveness as well as your well-being. Unfortunately, students can be quick to spot a lack of confidence, which can lead to issues with classroom management. Everyone needs a confidence boost from time-to-time, whether there is a new teacher or a teacher gracing classroom for years. There are a few ways to boost confidence in the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ami M. Please note...  [Read more]