KOTESOL: Upgrading Your Teaching Skills

Lindsay Herron is Treasurer of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of Korea TESOL (KOTESOL). On behalf of the Chapter, she invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops at their monthly meetings and special events. Herron is a visiting professor at Gwangju National University of Education, where she has taught for the past six years. She is also presently the National Membership Committee Chair of KOTESOL and a chair on the International Conference Committee.

Whether you are a new teacher or just following up on a New Year’s resolution, there is no better time than now to improve your teaching! An impressive variety of professional development options are available, with a wide range of time and financial commitment levels. Below are just a few possibilities, organized from least to most time-intensive; it should be easy to find one that meets your needs.

1. Create an online Personal Learning Network (PLN)

PLNs are certainly not new; they are an informal collection of people learning from each other. PLNs have radically changed with the introduction of the Internet, however. Today, you do not even need to meet your PLN in person. There are hundreds of websites, blogs, curated sites and social networking options available to the savvy educator. Just go on Twitter, Pinterest, ScoopIt or a similar site; search for terms that interest you (e.g., TEFL, edtech, etc.); and skim the results to see whom you would like to follow and who might have blogs you would like to peruse. These results will lead to more results, and soon you will be immersed in an amazing network of online educational resources. Then you can start sharing your own experiences and expertise by retweeting, blogging and curating sites yourself!

Tips for newcomers: It is easy to get overwhelmed and find yourself losing entire days to the online rabbit hole. You might want to consider limiting yourself to just an hour a day; and when you find yourself with 20 links open at a time, you might want to start compiling them into a single site, such as Pinterest or ScoopIt, so you do not feel you have to read all of them at once. Feedly or a similar news aggregator/reader site can help you keep up with your favorite blogs, while sites like Readability can compile online articles into a single e-book that you can later read on your favorite e-reader.

2. Attend a KOTESOL meeting

Korea TESOL, commonly called KOTESOL, is a national professional organization for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. This organization holds annual national and international conferences, and its 11 regional chapters host local workshops and/or regional conferences. The local workshops are free for everyone.

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter meets once a month, usually on the second Saturday, at Chosun University. Meetings start at 2 p.m., and they typically include two presentations and a “swap-shop,” as well as prize drawings. More information can be found at: http:// koreatesol.org/gwangju or at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/GwangjuKOTESOL.

Tips for newcomers: If you come to a Gwangju Chapter meeting, be sure to introduce yourself to people! Informal networking and socializing occurs during the breaks, and meetings are generally followed by a casual dinner in downtown Gwangju, to which all are invited.

Meetings are free; but after sampling a few, you might wish to become a member. Membership dues support your local chapter and entitle you to discounts at KOTESOL events; a subscription to The English Connection, a quarterly publication; and access to a variety of members-only professional development opportunities. For more details, visit http://koreatesol.org.

3. Observe a colleague

Watching a friend or colleague at work in the classroom can be beneficial for teachers at all levels of experience! What did you like? What did you dislike? Classroom observation is a great way to pick up tips and tricks of the trade, and it can inspire spin-off ideas and adaptations for your own classroom.

Tips for newcomers: If you are visiting a friend’s school, make sure your friend has obtained permission for you to be there. You might also consider taking a small gift for the principal, vice principal and/or co-teachers; even a box of bottled juice or Vita-C would be a thoughtful gesture.

4. Go to a conference

KOTESOL has a regional conference in Gwangju on March 15, a national conference in Daegu on May 31 and an international conference in Seoul in October. In addition, there are a variety of other language-education organizations in Korea that have upcoming events; a handy reference list can be found on the KOTESOL website: http://koreatesol.org/content/Domestic-ELT-Events.

5. Take a class

In this day of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and distance learning, it is easier than ever to continue your education in your free time. One online option worth considering is TESOL’s Electronic Village Online (EVO), which offers free five-week courses each winter. For more information, visit: http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/10708567/FrontPage.

6. Get a certificate, diploma or master’s degree

If you have the time and money, a TEFL certificate program, especially one with a practicum component and a minimum of 100 hours, can be a very rewarding experience. If you are looking for a course that can fit into your summer or winter vacation, the intensive certificate courses run by Cambridge (CELTA) or Trinity (TESOL) are highly regarded and can transform your teaching. The longer diploma courses (e.g., DELTA, DipTESOL) are worth investigating, as are master’s level courses offered through distance learning or at Korean universities.

Tips for newcomers: What do you want to do with your certificate/diploma/degree? A program such as CELTA is great for practical teaching skills; if you are serious about language education as a career path, you might want to try some graduate courses online and then decide whether you want to invest the time and money in a master’s degree. Investigate the reputation of your program before you enroll!

Monthly Chapter Meeting

Date & Time: February 15 (Saturday), 1:30 p.m.

Place: Chosun University, Main Building, Left Wing, Room 4211

Featured Workshops

• Stand Up and Read: Adding Movement and Excitement to Reading Activities. By Henry Gerlits (JETI)
• Games and Activities for Young Learners. By Jacob Boer (Gwangju EPIK)

Swap-Shop: Share your teaching ideas and activities with the group.

Admission:  No Charge

Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL

Website:    http://koreatesol.org/gwangju

Email:        gwangju@koreatesol.org

Twitter:      @GwangjuKOTESOL