I found an interesting article about expat communities.  Check it out:

What we could all learn from expats

Living and Teaching in Korea: A Different Pace of Life

A great article that I found online today:
Living and Teaching in Korea

The author and her husband also keep a blog called Kimchi and Cornbread about their adventures living and teaching abroad in Korea.

News article: Native English Teachers in South Korea

Native English teacher head count continues decline

5 Things I am passionate about

5 Things I am passionate about

1. Family.
2. Learning.
3. Teaching.
4. Creativity.
5. Conservation.

Do You Recognize the 10 Early Warning Signs of a Shady Employer?

I found this article on-line and it seems to have some solid information for folks looking into hagwon teaching in Korea:

Do You Recognize the 10 Early Warning Signs of a Shady Employer?

Thoughts IX

It's been a while since I've posted anything on teaching English in Korea.  But it has not been very long since I've thought about it.

I think about it every day.

Part of my daily routine includes reading forums on Dave's ESL Cafe and blogs from other westerners living and teaching in Korea.  I also spend time studying Korean, reading about Korean culture, watching Korean dramas, reading news about South Korea...

I am in love with Korea!

Rosetta Stone Korean - 1 Month Update

So, I am a month into studying the Rosetta Stone Korea method and I can already say that my language skills have improved.  What I especially like about this software is how it not only teaches new vocabulary and phrases, but it quizzes you on grammar, too, to ensure that you are retaining all of what you are learning.  I spend about 30 minutes per day and I find the pace easy to follow.  There have been a couple of times when I got a bit overwhelmed with a day's lesson, so I reviewed the same section the following day to make sure I wasn't going too fast.

I finished Level I - Part I with a 96%!

Since there are no accompanying books to go along with it, I am also keeping a notebook.  I bought a small Mead 5-Star 2 subject notebook.  In the front half of the notebook, I take notes on the new words and phrases that are introduced.  After the day's lesson is complete, I go into the back half and make vocabulary charts based on the new material that I have learned.  At the top of the page, I write the topic, then I list the words in Hangul on the left with the English words on the right.  I have a page for family members, colors, verbs, foods, clothing, etc.  Then, the next day, I review my vocabulary and the previous day's notes before I begin.

My only frustration is that the software does not explain the special suffixes that Korean uses.  Luckily, I can ask my wife what they mean, and sometimes we look them up in the Korean/English dictionary so it is all clear to me.  I would recommend anyone using Rosetta Stone Korean to have a dictionary, too, to help with this.

I plan to provide updates once per month on my progress- watch for more in April.

See also:
Rosetta Stone Korean
Best Method for Learning Korean

Rosetta Stone Korean

I’ve done it!  I’ve finally decided to give the famous Big Yellow Box a try and learn Korean through Rosetta Stone!  I just began last night, so I will keep you updated on my journey…

See also:
Best Method for Leanring Korean

Five Reasons Why Teaching Abroad Is a Great Idea

Five Reasons Why Teaching Abroad Is a Great Idea

Traveling is always an experience.  Visiting new places always opens your eyes to learn new things, meet new people, and expand your worldview.  Teaching English abroad will heighten the experience of travelling and bring even more wonderful things into your life!  The market for teaching English in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other points east) is strong and opportunities abound for individuals with the right qualifications.  Here is a quick list of some great reasons to teach abroad:

1. Unparalleled experience.  Leaving home and going out on your own is a big decision that will change your life in new and unexpected ways.  Going to live and work in a foreign will surely take you out of your comfort zone, introduce you to a fascinating new culture, and give you the opportunity to visit exciting new places.  There are not a lot of 9-5 jobs out there that would give you this kind of experience.
2. Learn a new language.  What better way to learn a new language than to live it?  Imagine going grocery shopping, to the bank, or to the doctor in a foreign country and being able to practice the language with everyone you see.  Learning a new language will serve you well not only during your time abroad, but also when (or if) you decide to return home, this would be a great resume item.
3. Refine your teaching skills.  Whether you are planning to be an elementary school teacher, college professor, corporate trainer, or whatever, having experience teaching will benefit you in the future.  Being on your own, you will probably have a learning curve while you try to figure out what your teaching style is.
4. Save money.  Many schools will offer free housing for foreign English teachers and this is a huge savings to your overall expenses.  You can use these savings to travel abroad in Asia, make a down payment on a house, buy a car, or whatever you so choose.
5. Meet new people.  Unless you have friends that you are planning to meet abroad, everyone you meet will be new to you.  This will give you the chance to make new friends from your new home as well as with other English teachers.

See also:
Say Kimchi!
Thoughts III - 10 Reasons I Should Teach in Korea

Best Method for Learning Korean?

What is the best method for learning a foreign language?

Every time I sit down to study Korean, I wonder if there is a better approach out there.  I hear a lot of different chatter on different methods that are available to help foreigners learn how to speak Korean, or any foreign language, for that matter.

· Classroom.  Many larger universities offer Asian Studies courses and expanded foreign language programs, including Korean language classes.  The plus side to taking a university course is that you get the daily regiment of learning from a professor and speaking in Korean with other students.  The daily assignments will also keep you focused and help you progress.  On the other hand, the time commitment is pretty intense with an entire quarter or semester lasting several weeks, plus a minimum of one hour in class every day, making it unfeasible for most working folks, but very convenient for college students.  Also, there is the issue of applying for college and paying tuition.  Of course, you could always audit the class for no credit.

· Audio Methods.  These offer the convenience of being able to study a foreign language at times when sitting down at a desk or going to the library to study, such as while you are out jogging or driving to work.  They are usually pretty reasonably-priced, too, or you can borrow CDs from the library.  The downside would be that you don’t learn how to write or spell in the language.  For a language like Korean, being able to learn how to write in Hangul is very important and this element is lost in an audio-only method.

· Book Methods.  Basically, an independent study.  This gives you the benefit of being able to study on your own whenever it is the most convenient.  Books can help you learn grammar, writing in Hangul, and many provide cultural information as well.  The downside is that the conversational element is missing, and being able to hear a language spoken is just as important as being able to write it.  Some book methods have accompanying recordings so you can practice conversations and listen to the accent.

· Software-Based Methods.  These provide an interactive learning environment that includes writing, listening, grammar drills, flashcards, and some even have an option where you speak into your computer's microphone to participate in practice conversations.  This seems like a great environment, with the only con that I see being that you have to have access to a computer.  Many people swear by these computer-based foreign language programs.

· Immersion.  Totally immersing yourself in another culture is always a learning experience and by surrounding yourself with the language, you will be sure to learn a ton of new words and phrases.  The best way to do this would be to move straight to Korea and enroll in a Korean class for foreigners living in Korea.  This way, you will be able to practice every day and put the new things you learn to immediate use.  But, maybe this is not practical, or you are travelling to Korea to teach English and you want to get a leg up on the language and culture.  There are ways you can immerse yourself in Korean culture, even in America, before you travel.

• Make friends with Korean people.  This might be hard if you live in an area without a large Korean population.  If you are in college, see if there is a Korea Club or another student organization that is focused on Asian cultures that you can get involved with.  Or you can find a few pen pals that you would like to correspond with by e-mail, instant messaging, or Skype.
• Watch Korean movies and TV shows.  There are several websites, such as http://www.mysoju.com/, that offer free streaming movies and TV shows from Korea with subtitles so you can follow along.  Korean dramas are among the very best in the world and are very exciting to watch.  My personal favorites are East of Eden, Queen Seondeok, Yi-San, Iris, Athena, All In, and Temptation of Wife.
• Listen to K-Pop (Korean pop music).  Using iTunes, you should be able to locate some popular artists and download some music.  Check out the lyrics online and see if you can follow along with the translations.
• Read blogs that are written by expatriates, living abroad and working or teaching in Korea.  See how they manage on a daily basis and how learned, if they learned, how to speak Korean.

All in all, it seems to me that the best way to learn a language is to live it.  Being fully-immersed in the language, seeing it, hearing it, and necesarily speaking it every day makes it natural to absorb the language and understand it fully.  This requires the learner to arrive in a foreign country with an open mind, though; even though I haven't done this myself, I know that once arriving in another country for an extended period of time, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, lost, and isolated.  The danger with feeling isolated is that someone could easily keep to themselves and not venture out much.  Besides leading to what I would think to be unimaginable loneliness, the golden opportunity to learn the language is lost.

Some day, when we find the opportunity to move to Korea, I plan to take Korean classes at a special hagwon for foreigners (they have a lot of these!) and try to speak Korean every day.  For me, having my family there will help, but I would not want to lean on that advantage entirely.

A Winter in Korea with No Heat

For the last year or so, I have been following Marshallogue, the daily blog of Marshall Jones, Jr.  Marshall is an American teaching English in South Korea and he is quite a character.  I find his posts amusing, intellectual, and exciting; I’ve subscribed to his blog and I receive his posts via e-mail so I can follow his adventures teaching abroad.  He is sometimes philosophical, way out there, downright funny, and always interesting.

Take, for example, his no heat experiment.  Marshall is continually running experiments, just to see what happens, and his topics range all over the place, but my favorite to-date is the no heat experiment.  For this, he turned off his heater for the entire winter in Seoul!  Check out the summary here:

http://marshalljonesjr.com/no-heater-experiment/

With as hot as it has been here in the US lately, I sure wish I was in Korea in the middle of winter with no heat!

Thoughts VIII

I'm still daydreaming about teaching English abroad and finding more and more of my mind wandering overseas.  Recently, I've taken on a few young students here in the good ol' US of A and have been teaching some private music lessons.  My heart tells me that teaching is my calling in life, but my mind keeps asking, "How?"

Originally, I went to college to become a music teacher and I was disillusioned by the tough years of schooling (in order to graduate in four years you need to go to summer school for three years so you can free up the final semester for student teaching), tough laws on teachers (too many lawsuits in recent years), tough odds (jobs getting cut left and right), and tough salary (I make more now than a first-year college professor!).  Even though I was never interested in the money, it seemed like the amount of time needed to get into a field that is losing its respect and admiration while slowly being removed from schools year after year.  Maybe I allowed myself to be too easily convinced that this was not for me, and maybe my professors lacked enthusiasm for the field for the same reasons.

If I could turn back the clock and talk to myself again at age 20, I would say, "Stop!  Don't go to the Administration Office and change your major; stay with it, trust me, and finish your degree in music ed."  But regrets are like water passing under the bridge- when you look back, you can't change the flow of the river of your life.  I am proud of where I am today, but I wish I had chosen to stay in education for the children, not for myself.  I love teaching, I love kids, and I have no greater joy than when I see a child succeed, see that lightbulb come on, and watch him or her achieve.

It's not too late to start again, but if I do that, I want to do it in Korea.  There would be a couple of things I need to take care of before embarking on that journey first, though.  From what I have read and in thinking long-term, I would need to prepare myself for a career, not just a one- or two-year gig.  Here are a few adjustments I think would benefit me in the long-term:

1. Learn to speak Korean better.  I can get by, but one can't just get by as a foreigner for an entire life.  If I can speak like a native, or even close to a native speaker, I can fully immerse myself in the culture and in the country.

2. Earn some sort of certification.  Whether it is a TEFL certificate, a teaching license, or some other sort of documentation, I think that this would be pretty helpful in making myself more marketable as a teacher, in addition to my experience.

3. Forget about turkey.  Turkey is my favorite food.  I could eat a turkey sandwich for lunch and a Thanksgiving feast for dinner and never grow tired of it, but turkey is hard to find in Korea, so I should prepare myself to live without it.

4. Dress better.  Men in Seoul dress impeccably!  My wife always guffaws at my outfits and asks me, "You're wearing that?!"  I like the way Koreans dress, but I usually choose my clothes for comfort, not fashion.  I would definitely need to dress better!

Thoughts VII

Well, it's getting to be that time again when I'm starting to think about Korea again.  It’s been several months since I have visited Seoul, since I posted on Korea, or even sat down to seriously think about it.  Everything has been so busy recently that I haven’t had the time to sort through all of my thoughts and I’ve been so caught up with life that the space I have in my mind just for Korea has taken a back seat to the rest of it.

But not in my heart; that special place I have only for Korea misses my adopted country, the family I have there, and my hope of returning there to live.  I’ve begun daydreaming about Korea recently and I’ve done a little searching in my spare time, reading new blogs, and looking at possible employment opportunities.

I think that it might be helpful for me to connect with some other Americans who are living and working there teaching English.  I do have a few questions I would ask of anyone who is currently in Korea as an expatriate:

1. How did you first learn about your current opportunity to teach English in Korea?
2. What did you find to be your biggest challenge when you first arrived?
3. Can you see yourself living there for more than a year?  More than ten years?  For the rest of your life?
4. What do you miss the most about your home country?
5. What is the biggest piece of advice you would give to anyone considering moving abroad and teaching in Korea?