I am sorry for the sporadic posts! I've had some internet problems and my new job is sapping a lot of my time.
I wanted to quickly share this video my friend's students made over the summer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfFmBKkHXYo is the link since this YouTube video can only be played from the main YouTube site in some countries.
I know I've discussed making videos with students before, and I've also discussed illustrating them. This is an easy way to have student visualize vocabulary, get used to syntax, and really make them understand a song that they probably have had in their head for ages (instead of using Google translate)!
Plus, the pride they get from knowing that they've made something real that people around the world watch is incredible!
If you have a moment PLEASE check it out and leave a comment. I know students appreciate feedback so much.
If you have a video your students made that you'd like me to comment on just leave a link in the comments and I'll get to it as soon as I can!
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Friday, October 5, 2012
Is it safe?
As a single female who travels to random countries to teach English, I often get asked is, "Is it safe?" My godfather has repeatedly told my mom, "Your daughter backpacked through Southeast Asia when she was in college, anything from then on will be considered 'safe.'" While that may be true, the real answer is that it depends greatly on who you are, where you are going and what kind of jobs you have. Here are a few super quick "safe" tips.
1. Be Legal! As stated in "But how do you work abroad" I am a goodie goodie. I don't believe in working illegally. First of all, it can put you in unsavory positions. Friends have been blackmailed, jailed and just threatened when they were working illegally. It doesn't happen all the time but it can happen, so just don't put yourself in that position.
2. Walk with purpose. I am not quite sure how to teach this as I have it naturally. It isn't always a good thing. Quite often in high school people approached me and asked, "Who do you want to kill?" or "Why are you so angry?" I am normally a very pleasant person, but when I walk I have a tendency to look angry. This is good for me. People are more likely to go after a skipping lollygagger, or a person who keeps looking at road signs than someone who is walking with determination.
3. Know your surroundings, and be nice to the regulars! I walk to work early, before 5am, sometimes. I take the longer route because it is better lit and has more guys selling newspapers. I am very nice to these men. I know their names. If I ever feel unsafe, or don't like the person walking behind me, I stop and talk to them for a while. In Spain there were three homeless men who lived in a church near my apartment. Sometimes my friends' host families gave lunches my friends didn't like. When that happened I would collect the lunches and give it to these guys. One night a guy followed me home and would not leave me alone. I made sure to pass by them and told them the guy wouldn't leave me alone. They stood up and ran screaming at him. He quickly left me alone. This was possible because I knew them, I knew my neighborhood and I planned on it. Another time someone was following me and I stopped into a nearby hotel my parents stayed at once. I explained someone was following me and I didn't want to keep walking home. They let me stay in their lobby until he left.
4. Don't be too polite all the time. I got to know the newspaper salesmen and homeless men in daylight. Not at 4am. Sometimes when I walk to work I have people pulling over to offer me a ride. 60% of the time it is a shady offer and I quickly refuse it. 30% of the time I think it is someone honestly concerned for me walking so early. 10% of the time it is someone asking a question. At 4am on a not so well lit street I am not polite. I don't walk over to the car to hear them better. I don't offer to show them. I curtly say I don't know, sorry, goodbye. There are times to be sweet and polite, but you need to know when those times are and when to just tell someone to go away. I happen to be a hitchhiker, but that doesn't mean that I would hop in every car that pulled over.
5. Be prepared. For all that is good and holy you should know the emergency contact number wherever you are. Before you learn "hello" in the language you should know their emergency contact number. When you walk keep your keys in one hand and your phone in the other.
Randoms:
What about you? What tips do you use to stay safe when travelling or living abroad?
THE BIG FIVE: If you learn nothing else check out these quick five guidelines to staying safe while teaching abroad.
1. Be Legal! As stated in "But how do you work abroad" I am a goodie goodie. I don't believe in working illegally. First of all, it can put you in unsavory positions. Friends have been blackmailed, jailed and just threatened when they were working illegally. It doesn't happen all the time but it can happen, so just don't put yourself in that position.
2. Walk with purpose. I am not quite sure how to teach this as I have it naturally. It isn't always a good thing. Quite often in high school people approached me and asked, "Who do you want to kill?" or "Why are you so angry?" I am normally a very pleasant person, but when I walk I have a tendency to look angry. This is good for me. People are more likely to go after a skipping lollygagger, or a person who keeps looking at road signs than someone who is walking with determination.
3. Know your surroundings, and be nice to the regulars! I walk to work early, before 5am, sometimes. I take the longer route because it is better lit and has more guys selling newspapers. I am very nice to these men. I know their names. If I ever feel unsafe, or don't like the person walking behind me, I stop and talk to them for a while. In Spain there were three homeless men who lived in a church near my apartment. Sometimes my friends' host families gave lunches my friends didn't like. When that happened I would collect the lunches and give it to these guys. One night a guy followed me home and would not leave me alone. I made sure to pass by them and told them the guy wouldn't leave me alone. They stood up and ran screaming at him. He quickly left me alone. This was possible because I knew them, I knew my neighborhood and I planned on it. Another time someone was following me and I stopped into a nearby hotel my parents stayed at once. I explained someone was following me and I didn't want to keep walking home. They let me stay in their lobby until he left.
4. Don't be too polite all the time. I got to know the newspaper salesmen and homeless men in daylight. Not at 4am. Sometimes when I walk to work I have people pulling over to offer me a ride. 60% of the time it is a shady offer and I quickly refuse it. 30% of the time I think it is someone honestly concerned for me walking so early. 10% of the time it is someone asking a question. At 4am on a not so well lit street I am not polite. I don't walk over to the car to hear them better. I don't offer to show them. I curtly say I don't know, sorry, goodbye. There are times to be sweet and polite, but you need to know when those times are and when to just tell someone to go away. I happen to be a hitchhiker, but that doesn't mean that I would hop in every car that pulled over.5. Be prepared. For all that is good and holy you should know the emergency contact number wherever you are. Before you learn "hello" in the language you should know their emergency contact number. When you walk keep your keys in one hand and your phone in the other.
Randoms:
- Watch them pour your drink or order a beer and watch them open it.
- If you do end up at knife or gun point and are asked for your wallet/purse throw it away from you and when they go for it run in the opposite direction
- Learn one really good phrase in the language of the place you are staying to get someone to leave you alone. The varies from culture to culture. In Dutch it was, "F*(# off Cancer Dick" in Arabic countries, "What if I was your sister" etc. Learn it well. Often if you are in a not so great situation them hearing something firmly in their own language will get you out of trouble.
- Don't get drunk! The vast majority of bad situations my friends have gotten into happened as they were leaving a bar (in fact both the stories above with men following me home happened out of a bar... luckily I was sober and they were not, so the odds were in my favor).
- You know how some bras have that removable padding? Take out the padding. Take a few bills (it should be enough for a taxi home if you are in your city or a bus ride home if you are in another city) and wrap them in toilet paper and put it in the padding's place. Now even if you do get pick pocketed (which I have a few times) you will have enough to get you where you need to be.
- Know your nation's rules and FOLLOW them.
What about you? What tips do you use to stay safe when travelling or living abroad?
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Jobs for experienced teachers
In another post I point out a few good places to check out jobs if you are just getting into the TEFL. There are other places to look when you are already an "established" teacher and looking for jobs.
Now I am at a point in my life where I have experience teaching at multiple levels, a CELTA, and a Masters in a relevant field in addition to my Bachelors. This means that I am looking for other jobs than I did in the past.
I still think you should keep three things in mind when looking for a new job.
1. Is it legal? I always avoided anything that appears to be under the table. First, because I hate breaking the law (yes yes I am a goodie goodie) and second because I planned on spending most of my life living abroad; the last thing I needed was to be blacklisted from visiting some country because of visa violations. It is also safer to have a legal job. At this point in your career you are a professional and should not be sneaking around.
2. Is it verifiable? Google those people! Use your blind date stalking skills for good. Google e-mail addresses, names, the company, etc. Check out their LinkedIn profiles. Check blogs for past employees. Ask to speak to past/current employees. Again, you shouldn't need to take many chances here you aren't a risk so they should be a sure thing.
3. Is it appropriately compensating you? In Mexico I don't make as much as I would in San Diego (assuming I could get a job), but my apartment is much cheaper than what I would be paying in San Diego (as well as other expenses). So even though I am making less I am still able to save, and overall my pay is appropriate for my experience and location. There are other jobs here that pay half of what I make. Those may be great for other people, but at this point in my professional life they aren't for me anymore.
If you are looking into Korea I still recommend EPIK(rural Korea and Seoul) or GEPIK (involving the doughnut shaped province that surrounds Seoul). Again you must be a "native English Speaker." You do get a pay raise depending on how your level of experience. Salary varies from 2 million won to 2.5 million won depending on your experience and qualifications (2,000-2,500 USD roughly) plus a one time settling fee (to buy pots, pans, etc). If you finish your contract you get a months salary as a bonus. You are given an apartment (which is paid for by the school) and there are often workshops. You work 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but you should only teach 22 hours a week. I believe now GEPIK requires a TEFL.
There's quite a few job search sites that you can find focused on different grades:
Now I am at a point in my life where I have experience teaching at multiple levels, a CELTA, and a Masters in a relevant field in addition to my Bachelors. This means that I am looking for other jobs than I did in the past.
I still think you should keep three things in mind when looking for a new job.
1. Is it legal? I always avoided anything that appears to be under the table. First, because I hate breaking the law (yes yes I am a goodie goodie) and second because I planned on spending most of my life living abroad; the last thing I needed was to be blacklisted from visiting some country because of visa violations. It is also safer to have a legal job. At this point in your career you are a professional and should not be sneaking around.
2. Is it verifiable? Google those people! Use your blind date stalking skills for good. Google e-mail addresses, names, the company, etc. Check out their LinkedIn profiles. Check blogs for past employees. Ask to speak to past/current employees. Again, you shouldn't need to take many chances here you aren't a risk so they should be a sure thing.
3. Is it appropriately compensating you? In Mexico I don't make as much as I would in San Diego (assuming I could get a job), but my apartment is much cheaper than what I would be paying in San Diego (as well as other expenses). So even though I am making less I am still able to save, and overall my pay is appropriate for my experience and location. There are other jobs here that pay half of what I make. Those may be great for other people, but at this point in my professional life they aren't for me anymore.
If you are looking into Korea I still recommend EPIK(rural Korea and Seoul) or GEPIK (involving the doughnut shaped province that surrounds Seoul). Again you must be a "native English Speaker." You do get a pay raise depending on how your level of experience. Salary varies from 2 million won to 2.5 million won depending on your experience and qualifications (2,000-2,500 USD roughly) plus a one time settling fee (to buy pots, pans, etc). If you finish your contract you get a months salary as a bonus. You are given an apartment (which is paid for by the school) and there are often workshops. You work 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but you should only teach 22 hours a week. I believe now GEPIK requires a TEFL.
There's quite a few job search sites that you can find focused on different grades:
- Now, everyone will tell you to check out Dave's Cafe, as it is a pretty good site with jobs worldwide. It is very popular (which means lots of jobs!) but it doesn't really regulate who posts jobs. Because of this, it is really important to thoroughly check the company.
- HigherEdJobs is available for people looking for jobs in higher education (which normally requires more experience).
- The Chronical of Higher Education has a job forum which also focuses on higher education.
- ESLJobs is a decent job forum as well.
- Mainly however I find these jobs through networking. My Masters program still e-mails me when jobs are available that would be suited to my major.
- I am a big LinkedIn fan. Especially if you are active in relevant discussions people are more likely to think of you as a fellow teacher, rather than a stranger.
- I know that facebook is traditionally a personal site but every year when my school hires new teachers I make a quick announcement on my facebook to let my fellow teachers know that they can apply. If they were to apply then they would have a plus: a teacher working here now who can talk to the director personally. What a leg up! In addition a lot of schools have facebook and will post job openings on their social networks before reaching out to recruiters or job sites.
- Nowadays Twitter is a pretty easy place to check out jobs. You can keep it like facebook where you just follow schools' tweets and look for hints of jobs. An alternative is to look for relevant hashtags there's also a twitjobsearch page worth checking out.
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