I have lived in Korea for a year and a half, arriving in March 2010 from the US. My reasons for moving to Korea are like many other foreigners: to teach English and travel doing so. ESL, or English as a Second Language, has become the rage in Korea these days and teaching in Korea is incredibly rewarding and fun.
However, there are also challenges as well. Language barriers and cultural differences will be your greatest obstacle. Fortunately, by turning the tables and using their own Korean pop culture, teaching in the country becomes a lot easier.
It was April 2010. At that time, a song by the name of 'LOVE' caught my attention. I fell in love at once with its melody and tempo. The song was performed by CNBLUE, a newly emerged four-member South Korean indie rock band, whose presence is not only fast growing in the Korean kpop scene, but also in Japan and many parts of the world.
Since then, I began watching Music Bank every week, eagerly awaiting CNBLUE's performance. Another hit by the group entitled 'I'm a Loner' got me all excited because the style, tempo and lyrics of the song, are exactly the kind of stuff I'd loved. I could not wait to explore further into their music. The process led me to discover more great songs and I am now a crazy fan of CNBLUE! On the other hand, my interest in kpop grew tremendously.
CNBLUE's music encompasses a good mix of lively and slow numbers. Their music style and approach is easily acceptable by people of different age groups. Members do compose music and lyrics in different languages like English, Japanese and Korean. Really talented, aren't they? Band members, who are used to performing in the streets of Japan and South Korea in their earlier days, are beginning to see their efforts pay off. If you enjoy Kpop, Jpop and Hip-Hop style of music, you will be bound by their creative work.
2) Learn the culture. Every country has their own ways of standards. Korea is no exception. Although new teachers will struggle to learn Korea's culture at first, it will aid you in classroom teaching down the road. Don't know what Pepero Day is? Ask one of your Korean co-workers. Do you know the significance of Chuseok Day? Take the time to look it up on Wikipedia. Ever heard of the date 6-25 before? Look up history about the Korean War and find out.
Your students will appreciate your attempts to learn their culture. Thus, they will be more motivated to learn.
3) Take a Korean class. Korean can be difficult at first. Their writing system, Hangul, will look like Egyptian hieroglyphics at first sight. Speaking Korean will also be a game of tongue-twister to many. Yet, even knowing basic words will make the students laugh. Rather than tease you, they will be in awe how a foreigner is learning a new language. They will appreciate the fact that you are learning their native language, much like they are learning yours.
Anyone that takes the time to learn someone else's language shows that you care. And you definitely do.
If you follow these three tips, your students will be motivated to learn in the classroom. Often times, the best way to teach is not having the best theories or mythologies, but rather, to simply relate to the student. To see what makes them tick, their likes, and their hobbies. Once you take a curiosity in learning about them, they'll naturally do the same for you.
Author Resource:-
If you love Korean stars then So Sweetly has lots of Kpop fanclubs, such as 2NE1 and more.
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