24 Language Teaching
The Jeollanamdo Language Program Still Going Strong
Gwangju has its GET (Gwangju Guest English Teachers) program, first-language expats teaching English, and Jeollanam-do has its JLP (Jeollanamdo Language Program). While last month’s interview dealt with the GET program (Gwangju News, February 2022), this month we interview the coordinator of the JLP, Chris Devison, to get a firsthand account and status report on the JLP, and on its coordinator, too! — Ed.
K
OTESOL: Hi, Chris, and thank you for making time for this interview. In this interview, we will soon be getting to questions about the Jeollanamdo Language Program, but first, could you tell us a little about yourself before coming to Korea?
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
March 2022
TEACHING & LEARNING
An Inter view with Chris Devison
▲ Chris Devison, JLP Coordinator.
Chris Devison: Thank you for having me. It is a pleasure to share some info about the Jeollanamdo Language Program [JLP] with your readers. I am originally from a small town in Eastern Canada, close to Kilometer 1 of the TransCanada Highway, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
for my parent’s generation to head to central Canada (Ontario) and for my generation to go West (Alberta) to work in oil and gas. I guess I just went a little further and now find myself as far away from home as possible here in Korea. I’d like to note that this was completely unintentional, and I didn’t realize this until after being here for a few years. Actually, I considered myself fortunate coming out of university with two decent positions in my home city of Sydney (yes, Canada has a Sydney, too), both in the social work field. This meant long hours and little free time. However, it also gave me my introduction to working in schools through the various educational programs I was running and my first coordinating experience for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada.
KOTESOL: What prompted you to move from the western shores of the Atlantic to the western shores of the Pacific, to Korea? Did you originally come in JLP? Chris: Unfortunately, my home area saw its heyday in the early 1900s with both the coal and steel industries. Unless you were involved in fishing, it was common
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▲ Chris’ hometown of Sydney, in far far-eastern Canada.
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