Seoul KOTESOL Chapter September Workshop - Differences Between the Korean School System and the American School System

Presenter: Prof. Akli Hadid
Date: September 20th (Saturday)
Time: 3-5pm
Venue: Rm. 105, Injaegwan, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea
Workshop Coordinator: Dr. Ian Done D. Ramos / workshop@seoulkotesol.org

Abstract
This workshop will explore five areas of the cultural differences between Korean schools and 
American schools.

First, a 20 minute overview will be given on the Korean and American education systems, what the similarities and differences are. This will be an extended pecha kucha (60 slides, 20 seconds per slide) which will draw on a large body of literature in the areas of education and organizational behavior from a cross-cultural perspective in student/teacher relationships, teacher careers, student expectations, parent expectations, hierarchy expectations, grading systems etc. 

Each topic will then be addressed with a pecha-kucha (20 sildes, 20 seconds per slide) meaning a 7 minute presentation which will be followed by questions and discussion. There will be a total of 5 pecha-kuchas. The topic aims to give an idea to Korean EFL teachers in Korea an idea of how schools in the US are organized and foreign EFL teachers in Korea an idea how Korean schools are organized. 

The pecha kuchas will be: 

• What is permissible in American classrooms but frowned upon in Korean classrooms
• What is permissible in Korean classrooms but frowned upon in American classrooms 
• What is permissible in for American teachers but frowned upon for Korean teachers
• What is permissible in Korean teachers but frowned upon for American teachers
• 20 major differences in the grading system between Korea and the United States

This workshop is aimed at EFL teachers who want to learn more about the differences between Korean and American schools. A list of references and literature will be given in the form of an electronic handout, and a frequently asked questions sheet will be made with the most common questions about the differences between school systems in Korea and the US. By the end of this session, EFL teachers will hopefully be able to understand the differences and different expectations between Korean schools and American schools and understand their colleagues or schools better.

Bio
Akli Hadid has been in Korea for 9 years and is a Ph.D candidate at the Academy of Korean 
Studies, majoring in Korean Studies. He did his M.A. at Kyung Hee University, majoring in 
Peace and Governance studies, and his B.A. at the University of Paris, majoring in Applied 
linguistics (English and Spanish education). He also has a 6-level certificate in Korean 
language from Yonsei University Korean Language Institute. He taught EFL at Kaya 
University in Gimhae for one year. For his dissertation, he is doing ethnographic work on 
EFL teachers in Korea, focusing on their career cycles, job satisfaction and professional 
development. He may be contacted at hadid.akli@gmail.com