Tag: kotesol

Language Teaching

Traits That Very Good English Teachers Exhibit

Gwangju News

Have you ever sat back in your most comfortable chair and reflected on yourself as a teacher? Have you thought about what the most important traits are for an English teacher to possess and then considered how strong you were in each of those characteristics? This is something that we all should do, and do regularly, to improve ourselves as teachers. I think it is safe to say that no teacher is equally strong in all good teacher traits – if such a person were to exist, they would probably have moved into the business field, where they could rake in an income that would place them in a much higher tax bracket than that of teachers.

Let’s consider the following (short and by no means exhaustive) list of teacher characteristics and, as we do, reflect on how strong (or how weak) we may personally be in each of the characteristics, and consider what we can or should do to strengthen ourselves in that teacher trait. As you are reflecting, you need not stop with the items listed below; add your own items and reflect on them also.

Language Teaching

Special Interest Groups for English Teachers: Interview with Reece Randall

Gwangju News

There is a new guy in town, though he is not new to Korea or to Korea TESOL. Taking up a new position at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) is Reece Randall. He is also the new second vice-president of KOTESOL, and one of his roles in that position is to oversee the organization’s special interest groups (SIGs). In this interview for the Gwangju News, we ask Reece, among other things, to explain what SIGs are and how they work.

Language Teaching

Gwangju Peeps, KOTESOL Peeps: Where Are They Now?

Gwangju News

Expats are a quite transitory group. Many are very active in their adopted community, and then one day they are gone. You lose touch with them, and as the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Well, what we have done is contact a number of former Gwangju residents who were also active members of the Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL Chapter and asked them what they are up to now and how their experience here, including their KOTESOL experience, may have helped them in life after Gwangju.

Language Teaching

Peace Linguistics and Its Connections to TESOL

Gwangju News

We are all familiar with the terms linguistics, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. But peace linguistics may not be so firmly seated in our lexicons. To find out more about this, we turned to Jocelyn Wright for an interview.

Language Teaching

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

Gwangju News

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.

Language Teaching

Teaching Teachers and Principals

Gwangju News

“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.”

Language Teaching

Curriculum-Building for Student Workshops

Gwangju News

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

Language Teaching

Understanding the EFL Teacher

Gwangju News

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.