"in learning, you will teach, and in teaching, you will learn"

Okay, so I FINALLY have something to share with you all about my teaching position at JLS! My first few weeks in Korea were spent setting up my phone and bank account, getting settled in my apartment, attending new teacher training, and so on, so I didn't have anything very interesting to say about my work. Now I have started teaching, and I have lots to share! I'll start off by explaining the basics about my school, and then tell you all a bit about what I've been doing at work recently.

Jeongsang Language School is a hagwon, or after-school academy. The students who attend JLS go to public school from 8:30am-2:30pm, and then go to various hagwons, like piano, math, or taekwondo hagwon. Some students only attend one hagwon each week, but some students attend up to four, five, or more hagwons throughout the week. Although it may be shocking to American people to think that students spend that much time in school, this heavy emphasis on education is truly a core part of Korean culture, and no one here is surprised by it.

JLS is truly an amazing school. The more I learn about this company, its goals, and its programs, the more I realize how lucky I am to be here. JLS has over 50 branches in Korea, and several privately owned franchises. The head office has a research and development department, where former teachers work to develop new curriculum, new resources for teachers, and new class activities. In the head office, there is also a recording studio where the directors of various branches can record teacher training videos to send out to the teachers periodically to help them improve their teaching practices. 

("Delicious English"! You have to love it!)

JLS also has an in-house publishing department, where people write the workbooks and story books that are the basis of the school's curriculum. There are illustrators who draw the images for the storybooks, and voice actors who record the audio CDs that accompany each workbook and storybook.

The branch that I work at is the main branch, which is right next door to the head office! Out of 50 branches, I get to work at the main one!!

The head office is on the right, and the Daechi branch, where I work, is on the left.

The classrooms are not really any different from any American classroom. The students sit in desks arranged in various groups by the teacher, and there is a projector, computer, and desk for the teacher. 

JLS's instructional model is based on student-centered learning. The main principle of student-centered learning involves moving away from the traditional model where the teacher is at the front talking, to one where the students are taking ownership of their learning and collaborating to create their learning experience, while the teacher guides from the sidelines. I ripped this handy little diagram off the internet to help you understand, like the visual learner/teacher that I am :)

Because of this model, JLS puts a lot of emphasis on student presentations, group work, and creative process. This is evident just by walking through the halls or walking into any given classroom...the walls are plastered with students' work!

In the stairwell, there are grammar posters with Korean translation, and the glossary at the back of each workbook has the Korean translation as well to aid in language acquisition. Very helpful!

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Once I finished new teacher training during my first week here, I spent about a week helping out with a "battle" program, in which students from different branches debate each other via webcam. I was one of the emcees for the event. I helped out with this program because there wasn't a class available for me to teach yet. Although emceeing the battles won't be part of my job in the future, it was good for me to see that side of it, since my future students will be participating in these battles against students from other branches at the end of the next semester. 

Last week, I began observing in two teachers' classes. After two days of observation and helping out in the classes, my boss (the director of the branch who is also one of the teachers) asked if I would teach all of his classes the next day. I enthusiastically said YES! I was SO READY to begin teaching classes on my own! Then the other teacher that I had been observing asked me to teach his classes the next day. At the end of that day, my boss asked if I could just cover both of their classes until the end of this month! The two of them are working on developing some new curriculum and a new program for the highest proficiency levels at JLS, and they have a lot to do before the new semester starts on December 1st. So now I am teaching both of their classes and LOVING IT! This was my schedule the first day that I covered my boss's classes:

Yep, you read that right: 10:00PM! The kids are definitely running low on energy by the time we get to 10:00. Thankfully I only have to teach this late one day a week!

So now I am "substituting" for these two teachers until the end of November, which is the end of the semester. When the new semester begins in December, I will get my own classes, and possibly my own classroom! I will share more about my classes when they begin in December.

(Quote cred from my post title goes to THE man, Phil Collins.)