CIEE Korea Spotlight: Read Karime's Experience at EPIK's Orientation!

Karime recently arrived in Korea to begin her year of teaching abroad! She attended EPIK’s Orientation recently and wrote about her experience. Read her interview below: 

How was orientation? Walk us through the week.

Day 1:Arrival Day! This is the day when all the EPIK teachers arrived at Incheon Airport. EPIK arranges transportation from Incheon to the orientation site, which this year was hosted at Jeonju University, about a 3-hour drive from Incheon. I traveled with a friend to orientation, and we arrived the day prior, so that morning we traveled back to Incheon airport from our hotel to check in! We arrived at a designated pick-up area where we waited with tons of other teachers to check in and depart to Jeonju. 

When we arrived at Jeonju University, we checked in and were given our name tags and an EPIK swag bag (EPIK Bag, EPIK orientation book, pens, fan and a water bottle). We were also assigned dorm rooms and had dinner with all the teachers and staff. Following dinner, we had a campus tour as the staff wanted to make sure we knew the buildings and campus since we would be in multiple locations throughout the orientation. We ended the night by separating into our designated provinces (I was placed in Seoul!) and each province had a head teacher. The Seoul head teacher was named JJ and he was a welcoming part of the orientation. JJ provided us with an overview of schedule and expectations, highlighting Saturday as class demonstrations, where we would be paired with one to two teachers to create a 15-minute lesson. We then were assigned partners, and this is where I met my two partners Kevin and Grace, and we were assigned a lesson for high school students titled “Hi! High School!” where we were tasked to show students entering high school how to suggest clubs to join based on interests. 

Day 2: Medical Examination Day! The first half of the day consisted of medical exams. EPIK requires these exams to make sure its teachers are physically and mentally healthy to perform in the classroom. This exam consisted of various smaller exams such as vision test, blood pressure test, blood test, urine test, and chest x-ray. That process took about an hour in total of waiting and getting the actual exam done. The exam also has a fee of 50,000 Korean Won (~37 USD).

After the exam, we were given some free time and in the late afternoon, all 500+ EPIK teachers gathered at the student union, where we got a warm welcome from the EPIK Staff, Office of English Education in Korea Staff, and Jeonju University President. Following that we were surprised by a performance by the Jeonju University Taekwondo

team, SSAULABI. They recently came from performing on Britain's Got Talent where they earned a Golden Buzzer. Their performance was amazing, they had high adrenaline combined with insane board breaking!

The rest of night ended with a session on the duties and responsibility of an EPIK Teacher (overview of job and going over items on the contract) and ended with a session on Lesson Planning for our Lesson demonstration by a former EPIK teacher who had worked under EPIK for various years before becoming a regional trainer. He gave us helpful tips on how to create lessons that are suitable for students and the do’s and don'ts of lesson planning.

Day 3: By far one of the busiest days! This was the day we had a workshop. We had multiple lectures titled the following: Co-Teaching in the Classroom, Survival Korean Language Class, PowerPoint use in the classroom, and Cooperative Learning. These lectures were given by former or current EPIK Teachers who were experts on the subject and provided theory expertise on the topics through their own devoted research and personal experiences. They answered the questions we had and made sure to assure us that although they are experts, it took them years to perfect their crafts and assuring us that practice makes perfect and that through applying what we learn in the sessions, we too can become experts in these areas some day!

Day 4: This was the second busiest day of the week where we had a second round of lectures that consisted of the following topics: making your English comprehendible, lesson planning, and classroom management. Similar to the previous day we were given these lectures by professionals in their fields and were given an inside look on how to apply all of these within our classrooms. The special part of the day was that we were given a taekwondo lesson by the Jeonju university team. We learned basic moves/kicks and we were also taught a style of taekwondo that was mixed with K-pop dancing. This was definitely one of the more fun experiences during our orientation as we were able to embrace a part of Korean culture.

Day 5: Cultural Experience Day: On this day we visited the Jeonju Hanok Village. We loaded up on buses after a small breakfast! Upon arriving, we were given about three and a half hours to walk around and explore. My friend and I decided to walk around the village and we were fascinated by the culture and history behind the village but this visit also happened to land on a day where mother nature decided to drop a heatwave on us. We ultimately decided to go around to different cafes to enjoy the world's greatest invention, AC. 

We ended our visit with dinner, where we ate Jeonju style bibimbap, a dish that is very popular in the area. We then prepared for our lesson demos the next day.

Day 6: Lesson Demo Day! The most stressful yet rewarding day. We all piled into our classrooms where we were given an order in which the lesson demos would be done. The overall schedule consisted of the first 3 hour round of lessons, a lunch break, then the last 3 hour round. Understandably so, every group was very stressed out and overwhelmed. What made it stressful for my group was that we were one of the last groups to present on the and although it may seem like a good thing, we were extremely stressed that we had to sit through all of the other demonstrations, knowing that ours was at the end. However, it came to our end up doing really well and we were given feedback after to hopefully improve on our skills in the classroom. Overall, this day consists of us learning from each other and participating in all of our fellow teachers demonstrations. The point of this day was to present to our peers and overall get feedback from them so that when we actually do get into the English classrooms we are able to execute our lessons, the best of our abilities and overall create our own style.

Day 7: This was essentially the day that we were all waiting for, which was finding out what specific city we would be living in and what school we would be at. The day started off with a quick lecture on what our life would look like as an EPIK teacher given by a principal in the Seoul region. She gave us tips on what she expects from her teacher so that we could get an insight on what they expect from us. We then transitioned into our final class meeting where we were given our certificates of completing the orientation. We were then led to a meeting with the head of our office of education and we were given our specific schools and cities, followed by a contract signing which made it feel like we were finally sealing the deals on becoming English teachers in Korea. To end our long orientation, we had a closing ceremony where we were able to say goodbye to all fellow teachers, and prepare to leave for school the following day.

What was your favorite activity?

I think my favorite activity of the week was when we had our lecture on classroom management. I feel like a lot of us going into this, even those with previous teaching experience, were very nervous about what classroom management was going to look like abroad and in terms of teaching English. I feel like we’ve all done the Google search of what it’s like teaching in Korea and we all get mixed reviews on the subject. We see some say that the kids love learning English and that some absolutely hate it. Being able to talk and learn from someone who has had a lot of experience not only in the classroom, but also as a specialist in classroom management was very helpful. I think if I didn’t have this specific lecture I would’ve not been able to manage my class as efficiently as I do and it just comes to show that even the small things that we might not see as very important in the classroom can make a big difference in not only your experience as a teacher, but the way that your students are going to learn!

Were you able to make friends?

Yes! I feel like I was able to meet so many different people not only from the United States, but from many different countries and although a lot of us had applied with friends or met people previously we were all like a big happy family. I feel like everyone at the orientation was willing to help you out or just chat and it definitely made the experience amazing! I still keep in touch with some of the people from orientation, especially my roommate! So don’t be afraid about going into orientation and not being able to meet anyone because you’re always gonna find people who are willing to create those bonds with you!

What was your biggest takeaway from the training?

I think one of the biggest things that they kept telling us in training was just expect the unexpected. Every school in Korea is going to be different in terms of rules and expectations. No EPIK experience is the same and everyone gets what they give. So being able to adjust to sudden changes is always very important. Also making sure that you're giving that respect and effort to your student and school can make a world of difference on what experience you’re going to have and what impact you will have on your students.

Do you feel prepared to teach abroad?

I feel like no one could be 100% prepared to teach abroad. It’s all a work in progress at the end of the day! As I mentioned before every experience is very different and you might go into this thinking it’s going to go one way, and it goes the complete opposite. However, I feel like I have confidence in the classroom because of the orientation. Had I gone into this job not having the guidance given through this orientation and being thrown into the classroom, I would’ve felt like I was not ready for it, and I honestly probably wouldn’t have lasted. However, the orientation helped me learn different ways of managing not only my students in the classroom but myself as a teacher. I got amazing tips and guidance on what it’s like to teach in a country where English isn’t the dominating language. I was able to work and learn from English teachers who have been in this position for many many years and get their expert opinions on these topics. 

What made you want to teach abroad?

From a very young age, I knew two things: I wanted to be a teacher, and I wanted to live abroad for at least a couple of years. I have always valued language a lot in my life. I am bilingual in Spanish and English, with Spanish being my first language. I recognized how many opportunities I gained from knowing two languages. Often, we as bilinguals think we need to give up our first language to make space for a second, but I like to believe we can utilize both to advance our skills in each. We don't have to lose part of our identity to fit into another!

Realizing this during my time in college, I decided to focus on teaching English as a second language. During the summer before my senior year of college, I had the opportunity to study abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul with CIEE, and I fell in love with the country because of its rich culture and commitment to quality education. Through the university, I learned about the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program and added it to my course of study. I began to look into jobs through TESOL, but it felt like all roads were leading me to Korea, so I decided to apply to the EPIK program.

How was your experience in CIEE’s Teach in South Korea Basics program?

I think being able to go through CIEE definitely made the experience a lot less stressful, and less overwhelming. Being able to have someone to go to in order to ask questions or clarify on certain things that we needed before going to orientation was definitely very helpful. I feel like if I would’ve ended up applying to EPIK on my own, I would not have been as prepared as I was going through this program. Whenever I had questions even on small things or even things that sounded a little bit silly, I knew that there was someone on the CIEE team that was willing to help me out and walk me step to step on what I needed to do. They are also really great at being able to keep you on top of your things and there’s constant communication, which is amazing! Probably wouldn’t have been as positive had not gone through this program!

Where are you placed? Have you been to this city before? 

The school I'm placed in is in the Yeongdeungpo District of Seoul! I have never visited this specific area of Seoul before, but I love how it still feels like city life without being as intense. A lot of families and elderly people live here, which makes it peaceful. It's a great area if you love the fast-paced nature of the city but with a more relaxed feel.

What are you most looking forward to this upcoming year?

 I am looking most forward to growing as a teacher. This is my first time teaching full time and so far, it's been such an eye-opening experience to be in an environment that is familiar yet so foreign to me. I want to continue to learn more about my teaching style as I'm still working every day to develop it. I am also looking forward to seeing the students grow as English learners and develop their confidence!

Any advice for those just now thinking about teaching in Korea?

I think my biggest piece of advice is just be prepared for anything whether that be during the application process or during your time as an EPIK teacher. I feel like a lot of the time you expect one thing out of this decision and once you experience that, it definitely is different than what you had expected. For example, this isn’t a normal application process where you apply one day and hear back from them the next. This is pretty much a four-to-six-month process. Starting with the application phase, and then the interview phase that then leads to the selection phase, but what most people won’t tell you is that those phases usually take months, and it does feel stressful and often you feel lost, but at the end of the day, it’s worth it.

You’ll be going into a completely different environment, where you don’t necessarily know what to expect. Although I had previous teaching experience, nothing could’ve prepared me for what it is to teach students to learn foreign language but overall, it’s been very rewarding and exciting to see the kids every day because you’re able to help them grow. Overall, just make sure you’re extremely prepared for this entire process and put your all into it to make it worthwhile.