Teaching Content Courses in the Students L2

When we think of teaching lessons in English in Korea, we immediately think of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and, most often, of the instructor being an expat, native speaker of English. However, what has been trending in recent years, especially at the tertiary level, is teaching content courses (e.g., engineering, history, mathematics) in English. To understand better this aspect of teaching, we have sought out Phillip Schrank, a university professor in our Gwangju community, for this interview.

“Teaching for a Better World”: Advancing the Field of English Education

If you are a language teacher in the Gwangju area or a member of Korea TESOL (KOTESOL), the nationwide teachers’ association, you have quite likely heard of Lindsay Herron. She has spent well over a decade teaching in Korea and almost as long involved in KOTESOL. Lindsay is presently the president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, a past national president of KOTESOL, and the chair of this spring’s KOTESOL International Conference. Lindsay graciously agreed to the following interview to talk about teaching, the local KOTESOL chapter, the upcoming conference, and a bit about herself.

The Jeollanamdo Language Program: Still Going Strong

“We are currently at just over 300 teachers. This number is on a slow decline, but this is mostly due to population decline, a prominent issue in Jeollanam-do.”

The Guest English Teachers’ Program

Each team-teaching relationship was more different than similar.

Teaching Teachers and Principals

“Trainees are in a unique position as teachers to re-assume the role of student – an excellent opportunity to use experiential learning to help them reconsider alternative perspectives.”

Curriculum-Building for Student Workshops

“I decided to focus on just three important elements: choosing a topic, planning, and audience experience.”

The Story on Using Stories for Language Learning

Everyone likes stories! We listened to stories from our mother as soon as we were old enough to hear. We followed attentively as we were read storybook stories (over and over) at bedtime. The main form of teaching for millennia has been via stories told by village elders to the children. If people like stories so much and if learning, including first-language learning, takes place through stories, how effective would they be in teaching a second language such as English? To answer this question, we look to Jessica Magnusson.

Understanding the EFL Teacher

This month, we discuss some of Ian Moodie’s recent research on English teachers in Korea, about teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) here, and a bit on the fishing connection. Ian is a tenure-track associate professor in the Department of English Education at Mokpo National University, where he teaches linguistics and English education courses to local preservice teachers.