Published by the Gwangju International Center since 2001
It is not very often that we run into a person who is a speaker of many languages. It is even rarer to meet a polyglot who has had formal instruction in not only learning languages but also in teaching. Our interview here is with one such person living amongst us here in Gwangju: Aline Verduyn. She has much to offer on speaking, learning, and teaching multiple languages.
Learning a second language is time-consuming hard work. We do not usually think of it as something enjoyable. But maybe that is where our thinking has gone wrong. Bryan Hale is an advocate for “playfulness” in EFL teaching and learning whom we were recently able to interview on the topic. Bryan teaches at Yeongam High School. He is presently the president of Korea TESOL and a past president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL Chapter.
When we think about teaching and learning, we think of all the time and effort teachers put into lesson planning and the ever-present administrative work, and we think of all the time students spend hunched over their textbooks, doing homework, and cramming for tests. Little do we think of our own well-being or that of our students.
Interview with Maria Lisak. It is obvious that knowledge is related to education and teaching EFL, but it is not so obvious what “funds of knowledge” is. Although the concept … Read More
Interview with Lindsay Herron. I thought I was aware of what cosmopolitanism entailed, that is, until I saw a presentation on cosmopolitanism and EFL learners at a Korea TESOL event. … Read More
By Dr. David Shaffer. I dislike the word Konglish. This allusive coinage (Korean + English) is a difficult animal to corral. It has so many different meanings to so many … Read More
Compiled by David Shaffer. When we think of primary and secondary education in Korea, we think of the national public school system and the national curriculum that it is required … Read More
By Dr. David E. Shaffer. When I began teaching English in Korea, standard practice was to introduce new words by writing them on the blackboard (yes, they were black), saying … Read More
