21 minute read
Episode 33 – 휴대폰 (Cellphones) Language Teaching: Th e Challenges of
The Challenges of Teaching as a Filipina
Compiled by Dr. David E. Shaffer
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Filipino English teachers in Korea occupy a somewhat unique position. Although English is the primary medium of instruction from elementary school through university in the Philippines, and even though English is one of the two official languages of the nation, the Philippines is not among the seven countries that South Korea recognizes as “native English-speaking countries.” Although many Filipinos are eloquent English speakers, this distinction serves to create an undue bias against Filipino English speakers without regard to English proficiency. From the accounts of numerous Filipina English teachers in Gwangju appearing in last month’s Language Teaching article (“The Joys of Teaching as a Filipina”), we saw that there are a multitude of joys that Filipina teachers reap from teaching English. However, those were not their full accounts. What appears below is the other side of the coin, related by the same Filipina teachers who expressed their love of teaching in last month’s article. This is the rest of their stories. nothing had happened between them; they’re on good
It Takes a Lot of Prayer
“Emma” has lived in Korea for 25 years and has been teaching English for the past two decades. She teaches elementary students at two academies in two districts of Gwangju. In our last issue, she talked about the joys that she gets from teaching and that “God gives us different gifts; I just have to use mine and do the best I can in teaching my students.” Here is the rest of her account.
To be honest, one of the difficulties I have with the students is managing them, particularly my sixthgraders. Maybe it’s because of my stature or my overly her account.
friendly personality. It takes a lot of prayer and patience to have a successful class with them, but I think teaching is difficult only if you aren’t equipped with the right skills and don’t like to be with a bunch of kids. Fortunately, I don’t have any major problems with the administration at either of my schools, except that both of my bosses hide my Filipino identity from the students’ parents, which is quite burdensome to me.
Mary Joy Escobal is a missionary volunteer at the Gwangju Dream Seventh Day Adventist Multicultural Church located in Gwangsan District. She has been living and working in Gwangju for almost two years. She teaches English through the Bible to young learners and a Bible class to adult Filipinos. She previously talked about the difficulty of learning English and the “really great joy for me to teach children.” Here is the rest of her account.
One of the struggles I encountered with the children was their quarrelling with each other. At first, I didn’t notice because I thought they were just talking, that is, until one of them burst out in anger and I didn’t know how to stop them. One student went home crying, and the other is no longer participating in our class. I felt so hopeless at the time, but I just prayed for guidance on how to deal with the situation. God answered my prayers. He directed me to talk to our pastor, so I told him what had happened. The pastor talked to the students’ parents as well, and the next class, the students met again. It now seems as though terms, helping each other in some of the class activities that we have.
Thorns in a Bed of Roses
Malyn Perez Rosales Kim is an after-school English teacher in Gwangju at Juwol and Shinam Elementary Schools. Before coming to Korea, she taught elementary school in the Philippines. She has been living in Korea for nearly eleven years and has been teaching for eight of them. Last issue, she told us that she knows that God has a plan for her and that she “loves teaching kids.” Here is the rest of
One of the Struggles
The first months after my arrival seemed to be the saddest of my life, as Korea was absolutely different from my life in the Philippines. Life here is so fast, with a focus on merely working and money. Some part of me wanted to magically return to my homeland. After more than a year had passed, an opportunity came: a project from the Office of Education offering immigrant women a twomonth study program leading to teaching their culture at elementary schools here in Gwangju. I was able to be a part of this program and to share with young students the culture of my country. From this great start, I was able to gain confidence and the will to pursue a teaching career
in Korea. I worked in an English academy for a year, but since it required late-night teaching and was quite competitive, I applied for an aft er-school English teaching position. Applying for the position was not easy. I had to ask my spouse to help me with the paperwork, and aft er passing the fi rst screening, I needed to pass an interview and conduct a demonstration class.
Being hired as an aft er-school teacher does not mean that there are no thorns in the bed of roses. In my fi rst year of teaching, with my rudimentary Korean skills, I found it hard to chat with my co-workers, understand meeting agendas, and submit reports. In addition, some of the students were afraid of their foreign teacher, and communication through phone calls or messages with my students’ parents regarding their child’s behavior in class is still problematic.
Princess Joy F. Cedeño teaches at an English academy in the Suwan area of Gwangju where she teaches elementary and middle school students. She also does private tutorials with elementary and middle school students and housewives. Joy has been living in Korea for nine years and has been teaching for the past eight. In last month’s issue, she talked about joining diff erent groups to improve her teaching skills and how glad she is to see how Koreans are now changing their perspectives toward Filipino teachers. Here is the rest of her account.
“Th ey have a weird accent.” “Th ey don’t speak that well.” Th ese are some of the things that I hear from Koreans, but then they seem shocked once I open my mouth and speak because I don’t sound like their stereotypical Filipina. Many Koreans have told me that I have an American accent. I don’t really know how to feel about hearing this. For me, learning a second language is not about having a perfect native-like accent. I believe that accent isn’t a measure of intelligence or character, so it shouldn’t be used as a measure of our identities.
However, it hasn’t always been easy for me as a teacher. As a Filipina new to English teaching, I experienced a lot of rejection due to my nationality because most English academies here prefer to hire native English speakers. It was really diffi cult competing with teachers from major English-speaking countries like the US, the UK, and Canada because academies here prefer to have English teachers who have white skin, blue eyes, blonde hair, and of course, a “good” accent. At fi rst, I didn’t really care about my accent, but because of the rejections, I decided to try to change how I spoke in order to fi t the mold.
I guess it worked, as employers now seem to like my accent and some academy directors have even asked me to hide my nationality and pretend to be Canadian or American. Th is I didn’t like to do because I felt insulted and thought it was too unfair. I asked them why they wanted me to do this, and their response was that Korean mothers would like for their children to have native Englishspeaking teachers. I was devastated and wanted to give up on teaching, but there were people who believed in me – those who believed in my capabilities to excel in this fi eld. Th erefore, I decided to work even harder to enhance myself so that I could prove to them that we Filipinos can also be excellent teachers. I know that there are many Filipino teachers who are extremely responsible and hardworking. We just need a chance and acceptance. I know that we can also rock the world. I also believe that my nationality isn’t a hindrance to reaching my goals.
Sherryl Sambo has lived in Korea for 12 years and has been teaching EFL for seven. She teaches elementary and middle school students at an English academy in the Suwan district of Gwangju and tutors businessmen and government offi cials. In the last issue, Sherryl shared how she realized that she felt compelled to do master’s and doctorate study in order to compete in the English fi eld. “I believe that we should invest in ourselves and know our worth,” she told us. Sherryl is the president of the Filipino English teacher’s group in Gwangju. Here is the rest of her account.
As a foreigner in South Korea, I thought teaching English would be a career path. I soon realized that there’s more to teaching than meets the eye. I felt the need to further my education for several reasons. Besides increasing my foundation in teaching, I felt it would help me become more competitive in the intensely competitive English teaching market in Gwangju. It is very common to see online job advertisements for “native speakers only,” which I have always felt bad about since I believe that qualifi cations for a teaching position should be based more on the applicant’s competencies than on their nationality or skin color.
I can recall several incidents in applying for big academy positions like this one: Th e director and I were having a great phone conversation; I could tell that he really liked me. Th en he asked the golden question: Where are you from? I told him that I was originally from the Philippines but had been living in Korea for 11 years now and had Korean citizenship. Aft er hearing that, he said that he was surprised that I was from the Philippines because I had a “good accent.” His voice changed, and he said that he would give me a call. And as expected, he never did. If he had not asked where I was from and had relied on my qualifi cations instead, there was a good chance that he would have hired me. But because of my heritage, I was not given a chance for a personal interview and demonstration class. Before I landed my current job, my current boss told me she had already
interviewed two “white teachers,” but decided to call me and give me a chance because my credentials looked interesting and because she had studied and worked in the Philippines for a couple of years. She also knew that educated Filipino teachers can teach well. I got the job, but at fi rst my boss wanted to give me a lower salary than my native-speaker co-teacher. However, I stood my ground and insisted that my stronger qualifi cations deserved higher compensation. She fi nally agreed. Th ere I now teach elementary and middle school students and facilitate comprehension, reading, and TOEFL classes.
I Wanted to Give Up
Sabel Lee has been living in Gwangju for 21 years. She has been an English educator since 2001 and is also a mother and married to a Korean. She was a high school teacher in the Philippines before coming to Korea. Sabel has taught at English academies and English camps. She presently works with multicultural children out of the Buk-gu District Youth Center, which she enjoys very much. Here is the rest of her account.
Aft er fi ve years of teaching, I became involved as a human rights volunteer. Needing to supplement my source of income, I applied to diff erent schools, but they wouldn’t hire a full-time Filipina teacher, only off ering me a position for “aft er-school studies.” I felt very sad and discriminated against, so I enrolled in a one-year TESOL course at Chonnam University. Aft erwards, I had the opportunity to teach in a summer camp. Th e native speakers were given two classes a day, but I was given only one because I was a Filipina, making me feel as sad and as disappointed as before.
Th is sort of thing provided me with a lot of stress. I wanted to give up, but how could I – my whole family were educators. Fortunately, I have regained my confi dence in teaching and now teach speaking skills to Korean women at the Buk-gu District Youth Center. I have taught at the Youth Center for eight years now and have “peace and security” – I have found respect and recognition as an educator.
In Conclusion
We have seen how these Filipina English teachers so wholeheartedly enjoy teaching and enjoy working with young learners. However, we have also seen that this “does not mean that there are no thorns in the bed of roses.” Too much emphasis is placed on ingrained stereotypes rather than on a person’s merits. Rather than looking for a blonde-haired, blue-eyed North American with a bachelor’s degree, employers should be looking at prospective teachers’ educational background, teaching skills, and language profi ciency. “But Filipinos have an accent” might come the retort. Yes, but everyone has an accent, whether English is their mother tongue or a second language that they might have learned. Some native English-speaker accents are more diffi cult to understand than any Filipino’s English accent that I have encountered. In this rapidly diversifying world, where the number of non-native English speakers already far exceeds the number of native speakers of English, it is advantageous for the language learner to be familiar with a variety of English accents, as the likelihood of being in situations where English is needed to communicate with a non-native speaker will continue to increase.
Another stereotype that needs to be shattered is that all North Americans are native English speakers (or even that all North Americans speak English!) Many may be surprised to know that 20 percent of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home. Possibly even more surprising is the fact that English is the mother tongue of only 58 percent of Canadians.
Th ese faulty stereotypes need to be buried, and Englishteacher selections need to be based on educational background, teaching skills, and language ability (in both English and Korean) rather than on nationality, residence, and physical features. If this were more oft en the case, we would have more Filipinos happily teaching English in Korea, we would have an increase in high-quality English teachers in Korea, and we would have an upgrade in the quality of English being taught and learned in Korea. Th is is the rest of the story.
GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL UPCOMING EVENTS
Check the chapter’s webpages and Facebook group periodically for updates on chapter events and online activities.
For full event details:
The Editor
David Shaff er, as vice-president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops and their regular meetings (in-person and online). He also invites you to visit “Gwangju Filipino English Teachers (GFET)” on Facebook. Dr. Shaff er has been a resident of Gwangju and professor at Chosun University for many years. He is a past president of KOTESOL and is currently the chairman of the board at the Gwangju International Center as well as editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
Book Review HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST By Ibram X. Kendi
Reviewed by Kristy Dolson
“I used to be racist most of the time,” Ibram X. Kendi writes in the introduction of his latest bestseller. “I am changing.” Both a sweeping international history of racism and an intimate personal history of one man’s growth away from racist ideas, How to Be an Antiracist is a phenomenal read. Aft er the murder of George Floyd earlier this year, the Black Lives Matter movement gained massive international support. Books by Black authors, both fi ction and non-fi ction, fl ooded bestseller lists as people began undertaking the work of educating themselves on the history of police brutality and racist cycles.
How to Be an Antiracist is about peeling back the layers of internalized racism in the lived experiences of one Black American in order to build a more sturdy foundation of intersectional antiracism. As a step-by-step guide towards antiracism interwoven with a chronological memoir, he begins by outlining his parents’ entry into the Black power movement of the 1970s. Th ese values and beliefs dueled with the dominant White consciousness that he encountered in school to shape his own views on race and racism. He traces the development of those internalized racist beliefs before pointing out the key individuals and interactions that helped him to eventually identify and dismantle them. In the end, he compares racism to cancer and explains how, like cancer, there is a clear treatment for racist policies. Eliminating these policies and voting out racist policymakers will make the body politic of America healthier and longer-lived.
“Ideas oft en dance a cappella,” Kendi later writes in his chapter on gender. Refl ecting on his parents’ silence towards gay and lesbian lives, this chapter highlights how silence causes harm for all groups pushed to the margins of society. I felt a huge shift when, as an undergraduate encountering feminism and queerness for the fi rst time in his role models, Kendi recognized an ignorance in himself and went out of his way to learn more. He off ers himself as a model for how others can move towards their own intersectional antiracist support by owning up to his ignorance and erroneous views.
How to Be an Antiracist is exceptionally well organized. Kendi begins with an introduction that highlights a formative event on his journey towards antiracism before setting out on that journey proper. Chapter one outlines why defi nitions are necessary to clarify our views and goals. Th ese defi nitions anchor the remainder of the book. Most chapters begin by juxtaposing the defi nition for a racist approach against the defi nition for an antiracist approach to the topic of that chapter. With 18 chapters ranging from “Power” to “Sexuality,” this book scaff olds the reader towards practical and functional antiracism as it seeks to dismantle 500 years of racist policies.
“Changing minds is not a movement,” Kendi writes as his narrative catches up to the present day. When this hypocrisy was pointed out by audiences of his lectures, he founded the Center for Antiracist Research. He now works full time towards changing policies. As part of that work, he wrote this book to provide readers with a stepladder towards antiracist action and the creation of a more equitable and just society. Published in 2019, this book meets the needs of the current political and social climate of North America. BLM movements around the world have gathered increased strength and support in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. An outraged population has fi nally mobilized against racist policies and policymakers. It feels like real progress is being made. But power never gives itself up easily. Only time will tell what today’s actions will yield.
How to Be an Antiracist is a must-read. Share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. At times diffi cult to digest, the overall tone and message is hopeful. As Kendi states, “Our identities are not fi xed.” We can be racist one minute and antiracist the next. But it is in the best interest of ourselves and our planet to strive towards antiracism at every opportunity. Th is book will show you how. Reading and learning is an important step on my road to active antiracism. However, I won’t stop here. I will amplify historically marginalized voices. I will donate my time and money to support organizations fi ghting for antiracist policy change. I will do the work needed to bring a more equitable society into being for future generations. It is my hope that many others will join me on the unlit road of antiracism.
The Reviewer
Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for fi ve years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has now returned to Gwangju, where she splits her time between teaching at the new Jeollanamdo International Education Institute and reading as much as she can.
Budae Jjigae: Army Stew
Written by Joe Wabe
This year, Koreans celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, a tragic event and turning point in the history of this country. On June 25, 1950, the north invaded the south, sparking a war that killed millions. In the end, the war lasted almost three years and concluded with the signing of an armistice that split the peninsula in two.
Th e infl uence of the American army stationed in key locations in the south has left a formidable imprint on the lives of locals living around those army bases – infl uences that later expanded throughout the peninsula and have become part of the culture. Among these infl uences that have helped shape contemporary Korea are the English language and Western-style food.
One of these post-war dishes that became well known, and then later became extremely popular, is budae jjigae ( 부대찌개, army stew [literally, “army base stew”). Aft er the locals began making use of the surplus food available on the army bases, traditional Korean cuisine became more creative and allowed dishes like this to fl ourish.
Th e availability of ingredients like bacon, Vienna sausages, American cheese, baked beans, and even macaroni contributed to the birth of this popular dish. Budae jjigae restaurants are now found all over South Korea, but it’s well known that Uijeongbu City is where it all started, as well as the place where one can fi nd the fi nest army stew. If you haven’t tried it yet, this is a good chance to experience this tasty fusion dish. Ingredients (Serves 4) • 4 cups of beef bone stock • ½ loaf of tofu, thinly sliced • 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced • ½ cup chopped kimchi • 1 cup of thinly sliced rice cake sticks • 3 hot dog-style sausages (franks), thinly sliced • ½ can of Spam, thinly sliced • ½ green onion stalk, diagonally sliced • 1 pack of instant ramen noodles • 1 slice of cheese • 1 cup of bean sprouts • ½ a sweet red pepper chopped • ¼ can of baked beans (optional) Sauce • 1 tablespoon of gochujang (red chili paste) • 1 tablespoon of red chili fl akes • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce • 1 tablespoon of minced garlic • ½ tablespoon of sugar
Preparation In a shallow cooking pot, arrange all the ingredients except for the cheese, green onions, and noodles. Pour in the stock and add the sauce in the center. Boil at medium heat for about seven minutes. Add the noodles, cheese, and green onion and continue to boil at a medium heat for about four more minutes. Serve with white rice.
The Author
Joe Wabe is a Gwangju expat, who has been contributing to the GIC and the Gwangju News for more than 10 years with his work in photography and writing.
Community Board
Have something you want to share with the community? Th e Community Board provides a space for the community to announce activities and special events. Please contact gwangjunews@gic.or.kr for more information.
Gwangju Teens Project
For all teenagers (12–25 years old), workshops about changes, purpose, and power of the adolescent brain! A little bit of neuroscience and a lot of the practical skills to benefi t your brains, your emotional state, and your relationships with yourself and others. Free, twice a month, in English.
GIC Ecology Club
Th e GIC Ecology Club is a community project related to helping the environment while making a positive diff erence for Gwangju and beyond. Memebers meet regulary for cleaning up beaches and streams. Facebook: GIC Ecology Club
KONA English Center 코나영어센터 KONA Storybook Center 영어독서교육연구소 UNESCO KONA Volunteers 유네스코 코나 자원봉사단
Programs:
1. 영어독서멘토링 (Mentoring in English Reading) 2. 영어로 배우는 과학 (Science in English) 3. 영어로 배우는 위인전 (Biography in English) 4. 코나비전특강 (KONA Vision Talk) 5. 외국인과 함께하는 문화교실 (UNESCO CCAP)
Tel: 062-434-9887 광주광역시 서구 상일로 37 37 Sangil-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju
The KONA English Center (KEC) is an educational center for English reading and culture exchanges. The KEC will guide any family and their children to develop a love for reading and to explore foreign cultures.
The KONA Storybook Center (KSC) is a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children to learn English independently through storybooks and storymaps with UNESCO KONA Volunteers (UKV).
