Footprints Recruiting

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Two of my previous troublemakers, Benny from Grade 4 and Peter from Grade 5, have experienced considerable turnarounds.  Their type is fairly easy to identify: they're both very smart and need to be constantly engaged.  The way the respond, in contrast to another one of my students whom I'll describe in a moment, is to act out and be "naughty".  It seems like so long ago at this point it's actually a bit difficult to believe they were once my biggest "problems".  All I really had to do was have a talk with them, nothing more.  Now I have them on my side.

Grade 1

Teaching 5 year-olds is unlike anything I have ever done before in my life.  It's very, very hard.  I don't think I am naturally inclined to do it, but I find myself in this situation and it is a rich one, ripe for exploration.  How do I set the stage?  Well, I have about 21 students who all require a tremendous amount of attention and who each pose their own unique challenges.  The first difference that comes to mind when comparing 1st graders with their older counterparts is that there are really no independent learners in the classroom.  With the exception of 3 of the girls, every other student needs constant monitoring.  I am quite grateful to have another teacher in the classroom who is fluent in Chinese and quite adept at working with young learners.  I don't think I could manage without her.

Every class is a real challenge.  I feel like a brand new teacher.  I can't really rely on everything I've learned up until this point.  I can plan a lesson, but honestly that doesn't come in all that handy when circumstances beyond my control force me to improvise and I'm left not really knowing what to do.  I imagine this feeling isn't' something that leaves us entirely, even after a decade of teaching.  That's probably something I will learn to appreciate as time passes. 
Anyway, the kids are cute.  Quite lovely, actually.  I have a few textbooks to peruse during my spare time that offer some good advice on the subject.  I should probably consult them more often.  
One question I am left asking myself is: realistically, what sort of language objectives can I have for a group of students so young?

The idea to teach English abroad came to me about 2 summers ago; I decided I wanted to do a Gap year between my undergrad and grad school and go to Japan to teach ESL. Now, I'm finally getting ready to graduate and this dream is quickly becoming a real possibility that I do not want to miss out on! Over the past few months I've been doing some research about different locations. It makes me both anxious and excited to think about living in a completely different culture for an entire year! It's going to be the experience of a lifetime, to be sure.

As a thank you for all of my readers I am doing a giveaway in honor of the fact that my little travel/teaching blog has reached 20,000 in little over a year and a half!!

Hi Everyone

Throughout my blog I do tend to use terms unique to a foreigner living Korea, teaching English as a 2nd language, and/or a weird combination of the two.  I usually try my best within each post to define words that may be unknown to most of my readers but today I decided to create a glossary of terms that tend to come up as a teacher in Korea and therefore also in my blog. 

Scaling the mountain of paperwork required to teach overseas may be one of the hardest parts of the entire process.  There are so many specifics and mistakes can cost you both time AND money.  Even going though the paperwork process before does not make me immune to mistakes and the need for clarifications. 

Hey Everyone,

I'm in the process of becoming an English teacher in South Korea. However, I'm having troubles deciding whether to go public or private. If anyone would tell me their experiences and/or opinions or give me any advice on public vs. private school in South Korea I would greatly appreciate any of it! I want it all good and bad!! Thanks everyone!