All in ESL
How to Start Teaching ESL Abroad
I’ve had a number of friends now who have asked me questions about teaching ESL and where the heck to start. It can be daunting, no doubt, so I’ve put together this post as kind of a how to guide for anyone remotely interested in this teaching ESL overseas.
Tandem Biking and Boston Testing
A few weekends ago, the rest of us went to Upo Wetlands about 15 minutes from Changnyeong. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for exploring the area. We got there and it was one of the most adorable places.
Staff "Harmony" Trip
After a long, sleepless weekend in Jindo, we all woke up early Monday morning and left CEV with our bosses at 9:00 AM to begin our staff workshop - aka our "Harmony Trip" - in Geoje Island.
Easter Picnic and Evening Class
On Easter Sunday, the teachers all went to a nearby park for a picnic. It was the first weekend of true spring weather - temperature in the 70's, flowers blooming and gorgeous! We dyed and decorated eggs and then participated in one of the teacher's family traditions: The Egg Crack Off. How it's played: two opponents hold their hard boiled egg and at the same time ram them into each other. The person whose egg cracks, loses, and the other player continues on in the Crack Off Tournament.
On Sunday, the entire staff participated in a race with our 60 year old bosses. And we all crushed it. Five of the teachers (myself and Luke included) ran the 5k, while three of the teachers, Richard and Suzi all ran the 10k! We left CEV at 8:00 AM and arrived at the scene of the race with an hour and a half to spare. Drums were banging, music was blaring, balloons were fleeing toddlers' hands and our staff was drawing stares from every direction. So many foreigners in one big group!
The weather has really started to warm up so running and more outdoor activities are becoming more frequent. Saturday was gorgeous and I needed to get out of the apartment, and I actually ended up running three miles. I know it's not much to some, but considering I haven't run much in quite a while, I was quite proud of myself. Later on, a group of us drew a Four Square court and played until dark.
Fun and Games and Photoshoots
With only a few weeks left of the cold weather, some of us took a trip a few hours north to go snowboarding last weekend. We took a 30-minute cab ride at 3:30 AM to get to the bus stop in Daegu, then took that bus to the ski resort, about 3.5 hours away, so that we arrived just as it was opening.
I know it's been a couple weeks since my last post but we're still alive and doing well! After getting home from vacation, we needed a bit to unwind and get back in the groove. It was really great getting together with the group again and exchanging travel stories...and being able to easily communicate again!
CEV Olympics 2017
For two weeks (eight days), four teachers taught students who were part of the Boston Program and four teachers taught “Winter Intensive” camp of students who had been to CEV before and were there to learn more. The Boston Program is an annual program that consists of students interviewing and taking tests to prove their English skills in order to travel to Boston for two weeks.