United States
US
Rea Burke
Teach Enrich Empower
The Cat in the Hat in Busan
The TEFL Academy has provided me with invaluable skills and allowed me to land my dream job teaching in Busan, South Korea.
I teach kindergarten and elementary students at a private school near Gwangali beach. Busan is a great place to live with a huge expat community, beautiful beaches, hiking trails, restaurants, cafes and party hot-spots. Furthermore, South Korea has a fascinating history and rich culture. The food can be described as nothing short of incredible and I am enjoying learning the language, visiting local temples, art galleries and museums.
I work Monday to Friday, nine until six and have every weekend off, plus a bunch of national holidays too. They have a holiday for everything in South Korea including Budda’s birthday, Independence Day and even Children’s Day! All this free time has allowed me to explore South Korea. I have even had the opportunity to visit Japan which is just a short two-hour ferry ride away from Busan.
From nine a.m. until two p.m., I teach kindergarten children. They are so smart and super cute! I really don’t need to worry about the language barrier with them at all. First lesson of the day is story time, where we will read our weekly story together. I really enjoy this first lesson as there is something so lovely about reading to children and seeing how engaged they are with the story. So far, they have absolutely loved reading the ‘Cat in the Hat’. The second and third classes of the day are reading classes. We focus on preparing the children for their monthly reading tests and we also look at parts of grammar. This is where The TEFL Academy has really helped me. Their detailed module on grammar has given me a firm understanding of the basic rules and also given me plenty of ideas on teaching techniques.
“The TEFL Academy has opened so many doors for me!”
After lunch I normally get to teach either a Science or a Maths class which is always really fun. The tasks are normally pretty simple and the children love them. It also gives them an opportunity to practise using their situational English. In the afternoon, I teach Elementary students. My TEFL Academy training really comes into play here. I have to pre-teach a lot of new vocabulary and come up with engaging ways to do so. The TEFL Academy has given me lots of ideas and taught me how I can make my lessons informative and fun! The phonics module has helped to develop my teaching style significantly. I have learnt how to use different techniques in breaking down the sounds of words and thus maximising the student’s understanding and learning experience.
The job is tiring, but I get a lot of time off too. Teachers also get paid a lot in South Korea and most schools will normally offer you a free apartment and free round-trip air fare from your home country. The TEFL Academy has opened so many doors for me and provided me with an amazing job opportunity. The course has definitely had a positive effect on my teaching and whole experience. Furthermore, I now have the skills and qualifications to teach at many other schools around the world and turn my TEFL experience into a long-term career.
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