On April 20th we had a great conference, “Putting it all together: making the pieces fit”. We had over 120 people attend and many good presentations. We would like to thank Phil Owen again for doing a wonderful job as conference chair and also thank Geunyoung Girls high school for hosting the event, their students for volunteering their time and energy and especially Park Eunyoung for all her assistance and amazing hard work for us.
Our next KOTESOL workshop is on May 11 at 2:30 but it will not be held at Geunyoung Girls’ High school as they are off on school trips that weekend. Instead, we will meet at Jeonju National University of Education (JNUE). Its Korean name (for taxi drivers or GPS) is 전주교대 (Jeonju Gyodae). Please follow the signs when you arrive at the front gate.
Our presenters that day are Phil Owen and Ingrid Zwaal, both long time members of KOTESOL with lots of experience in teaching. Their practical ideas can be adapted for use with a variety of age groups.
2;30-3:00 Arrival and registration
3:00-4:00 Workshop 1 - Phil Owen - Jigsaw Activities
4:00-5:00 Workshop 2 - Ingrid Zwaal - Writing a Comic Strip
Workshop 1: Jigsaw Activities
In a “Jigsaw” activity, each student (or each group) has specific information which the other students need. The activity requires students to go from group to group collecting and reporting the information.
It sounds simple – and it is. But it requires that students talk to each other and remember and report what they have heard. A simple reading and writing task can be the basis for the activity, so students get to use all “four skills.” When I have used “jigsaw” activities, students have been engaged, active and moving.
In this workshop, we’ll experience a jigsaw, discuss how to put one together, and how the activity might be changed to be useful to students of different levels.
Phil Owen, MSEd, MDiv, got his start in teaching English in graduate school at UCLA and taught in several programs in the US. Phil moved to Korea in 1999 to work at Kunsan National University. A year later, he joined the English Department as a visiting professor and has been there since. Phil served as Korea TESOL National President (’07-‘08) and Chair of the International Conference (‘12).
Workshop 2: Writing a comic strip
Sometimes it is hard to inspire students to write and plan. They do the minimal amount they can, especially planning. Writing does not always have to be so serious and too often students fail to use their imaginations. But what if you could get students to plan a story in eight parts, create characters and write scripts? Writing a comic strip can fire the imagination and motivation of students, besides making them plan their story and choose their words more carefully since they have a limited space. Plus they might just enjoy writing for a change and you might like grading it!
Ingrid Zwaal teaches at Jeonju National University of Education and plays volleyball with the student volleyball club. She is the Jeonju-North Jeolla KOTESOL president. Ingrid writes a weekly column called "My Life in Jeonju" for Sae Jeonbuk Shinmoon and is a member of the Jeonju Volunteer Centre. She lives with her Scottie, Spike, and four noisy birds. Her hobbies include photography, cooking (her brownies are legendary) and magic.
