For our upcoming workshop, we'll have two presenters travelling to Jeonju from out of province. Please join us on April 15th to give them a warm welcome.
Title: What is going on here? A Road Map to Navigate Korean Workplace Culture
Abstract: There are some difficulties in living and working in any foreign country. South Korea is not an exception. Not being able to identify and then manage these difficulties can be frustrating and exhausting at times. In this workshop, we will be discussing a sample of difficulties within the context of the Korean educational setting (academies, schools, research institutes, district offices, etc) and methods to navigate Korean workplace culture.
BIO: David Kim has a variety of professional experiences which range from Taekwondo instructor to ESL adjunct professor in the States to Paju English Village head teacher to an NET in Korea. David is currently the English Program Coordinator at Gyeonggi-do Institute for Global Education. At GIGE, he does a variety of things including organizing training programs, managing workflow and liaising between non Korean and Korean staff.
Title: The Finer Points of Organizing Students Into Pairs and Groups
Abstract: It might seem strange to focus an entire workshop on the organization of student pairs and groups. After all, most teachers are aware that pair work and group work are possibilities! However, there are finer points to consider when organizing students. Failure to practice ‘preflection’ about our choices can impact classroom experiences in disappointing ways. In this workshop we will reflect on strategies for situations such as:
You want students to do pair work, but there is an odd number of students.
There is a student who is often left out.
Students like choosing their own partners or groups, but then they are not always on-task.
In groups there is often one student doing most of the work.
In addition to exploring these issues, we will get hands-on with some tasks and strategies for organizing pairs and groups in fun, engaging, and productive ways.
BIO: Bryan Hale teaches at Jeonnam Foreign Language High School in Korea. He has experience working with all age groups and levels, but especially teenage learners. In 2020, Bryan completed a Master of Applied Linguistics (TESOL) through the University of New England in Australia, in which he researched language play and playfulness in the foreign language classroom. Bryan is currently chapter president of Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL.
