“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 English of North Korea: Analyzing Kim Jong-un’s Revised English Textbooks

Before the revision in North Korea, English or Russian were the only languages taught in cities in 2003, but in 2013, English education was expanded nationwide. In the revised curriculum, foreign language subjects were unified into English, and the Russian language course was abruptly ended. As a result, the number of hours spent by students in English classes has been greatly expanded (Cho et al., 2015).

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.”

Flipping the Classroom: Walking in Students’ Shoes

“This warm welcome reminded me to be mindful of our students’ current circumstances.”

Curriculum-Building for Student Workshops

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

Fun & Free: Creating Multilinguals at the GIC Korean–Chinese Language Exchange

“It is definitely the most genuine and wholehearted language exchange program you could ever wish to experience.”

How to Study Chinese Characters

“They will make you a monster on the reading section of the TOPIK.”

Learning Outside the Classroom

“Find ways to excel with your abilities, improve your skills, and remember that we will be students forever, so let’s choose our methods of learning early.”