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Language Teaching
The Joys of Teaching Expat Educators Explain Compiled by Dr. David E. Shaffer
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
October 2020
EDUCATION
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any of the English teachers coming to Korea to teach do so with the intention of staying for a year, maybe two, and then moving on. But there are also a considerable number of expat teachers here for whom that one or two years has turned into one or two more, and even into one or two decades more. What is it about teaching in Korea that keeps teachers here for extended periods of time? Four educators in our area have been asked exactly what it is that they enjoy about being an expat teacher in Korea. The following are their accounts.
A GIFT I GET TO WITNESS
Maria Lisak has been teaching for nearly 24 years, and for much of that time, she has been teaching in Korea, including 15 years in Gwangju. She is presently teaching mainly content courses in the Department of Administrative Welfare at Chosun University, where she has worked since 2012. Maria holds a master’s degree in education and a second master’s in business administration. She is currently completing her doctorate of education and is a past president of Korea TESOL’s Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter. Here is Maria’s account of the joys she gets out of teaching in Korea. I love teaching. It’s not the job I expected to have when I was young, but when I came to South Korea and started teaching, I felt more at home in my life and career than I ever had before. What always keeps me going through any hardship is seeing the lightbulb go off for a student. When they’re struggling to make themselves understood or to understand, and suddenly that light in their eyes just pops – this is a gift that I get to witness, and I’m so grateful. Teaching motivated students is always the easiest kind of teaching. When students are motivated and invested in their own learning, as a teacher I get to be a true guide on the side instead of feeling like a dentist pulling teeth.
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I’m always very grateful for motivated students, as I get to learn a lot about them and their ways of seeing the world. So really, it’s my learning, not just theirs. Another thing that makes me happy is when students show initiative. I don’t expect students to always follow along; I expect them to ask for what they need and want to learn. Showing that kind of guts is tough. I respect students who have the courage to speak up for themselves, especially within South Korean culture, where the teacher–student relationship is so hierarchical. Passive students are always harder to teach because it’s more about a teacher-centered classroom than a studentcentered classroom. While motivated and invested students, as well as those who take initiative, bring me a lot of enjoyment, still some of my best memories are the struggling students who don’t give up and continue to show up. I always await that light in their eyes that something had meaning for them. A pure moment of joy! It’s my hope that my university keeps renewing my contract so that I, too, can keep living my dream here in South Korea!
IMMERSION: THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE
Jonathan Moffett came to Korea in 2016. After teaching for two years at the elementary school level, he now teaches at three different middle schools in Gwangju. Jonathan has a master’s degree in education from the University of Missouri and is a member of Korea TESOL. Here is his account of the satisfaction he gets out of teaching in Korea.
Since my arrival in Korea four years ago, I’ve had innumerable positive and simply unforgettable experiences. For my present purpose, however, I’ll focus only on those related to teaching itself. For my first two years in Korea, I worked in various public elementary schools, four different ones to be exact. Without a doubt,
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