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Life as an EPIK Teacher on Jeju Island

Island life is usually supposed to be fun-filled, hot and humid and very relaxed right? Well, in my experience - it is. It is fun-filled as there is so much to do, it is quite hot in the summer and the people are very relaxed and kind. As an EPIK teacher who is originally from South Africa, my journey to Korea was one that I didn’t know what kind of expectations I should have. Nonetheless, when I landed in the country, I was received with warmth and kindness from the citizens, my school and students. I have been on Jeju for more than a year and I am currently on my second contract which is something I did not expect. I did not expect to extend my stay mainly because I was coming from a corporate background and was quite nervous about being a teacher to elementary school students. My first day of teaching was accompanied with great assistance from my co-teachers, who helped with getting my bank card, gave me a breakdown of Korean culture and even taught me a few Korean words! I also got assistance in teaching strategies and the different ways I can apply myself in the classroom whether it be from online classes or interpersonal interactions. I then met my students who overwhelmed me with so much charisma and warmth. My students were quite interested in my culture and background which was a great ice-breaker and opportunity to learn from one another. Due to Covid-19, it was first a challenge to manage the classroom in a way where I could adhere to social distancing rules while making the classes as interactive as possible, but with creating a community and speaking with different native teachers, I have found ways to incorporate social distancing activities, games and material where the students can participate and adhere to the rules while having lots of fun.

As an elementary school teacher, one would assume that being in a classroom as an English native speaker may be intimidating or there would be a language barrier. It is with the support of my co-teachers and home-room teachers that I have been able to set communication standards as well as behavioral standards for the students to co-operate and participate in the classroom. Support is not only required in the classroom but it is also required outside the school. Korea is full of culture and traditions that the people hold strong and it is important as a guest native English speaker to immerse myself in the culture. I have done this by visiting temples, attending language exchanges to meet people who were born in Jeju Island and take every opportunity to learn new things about the culture as well as eating different types of food.

Before coming to Korea, I had never been a fan of seafood- I now eat sea food regularly as Jeju Island is quite famous for the variety in seafood options. As traveling has been difficult due to the pandemic, I have found myself exploring the island more. I am quite lucky to be on Jeju as there is so much to do and learn from. Health is an important part of my life and the Jeju Olle Trails which is a long-distance footpath in Jeju Island have been great for hiking and keeping a healthy balanced life. Overall, being on the EPIK program has helped me learn so much about Korea, Korean traditions and the language. I have managed to learn how to read in Korean and have learnt more about the history and culture.

Not only so, but I have learnt a few things about myself too, such as knowing how to adapt in a completely new environment and learning how to survive in situations that I may never have come across in my life. I have also learnt to be more patient as teaching children has taught more about managing students and leading a classroom. If you are considering joining the EPIK program, it is important to understand that it is a big step that requires one to be mentally prepared and it is worth it! The experience cannot compare to anything I have been through and it gets better by the day. It’s been a remarkable journey that I hope to continue for a long time.

me teaching

4 years ago

Leaving Space for Students in the Classroom

Tatum Shannon

When I first started teaching two years ago, I was under the impression that I would be the one leading the classroom. I thought the lessons would start and end with my planning. Little did I know that the course of elementary classes— despite all of the books and worksheets, PowerPoints and English games I prepared— was charted by students. From the very first day, my students shaped my English classes with their curiosity, their interests, and their moods. If they were excited, they projected their energy into the activities I planned. When my students were having a hard day, when they were tired or frustrated, they let me know both vocally and with their body language. Even when I didn’t factor my students into my lesson plans they showed up to class and shaped the 40-minute blocks of time we spent together.

Therefore, after a bumpy first few months, I made the conscious choice to leave space for my students in the classroom. Activities became more open-ended. I started each day by asking students how they were feeling. If the resounding answer was bad, then I would follow up with more questions. And slowly, through surveys and speaking games, comics and posters, the interests of my students began to emerge. Baseball and Hip hop. Pokémon and ant colonies. BTS and sewing. I learned which students took horse riding lessons every week and which students visited their grandparents by the beach. Students talked about their upcoming BMX competitions, their unicycle academy, and their Rubix cube records. Their interests were wider and more varied than I could have ever imagined, and with each class the small window I had into the lives of my students grew larger and larger.

I teach at two small, rural elementary schools and the students rarely have a chance to use their English outside of the classroom. Therefore, this spring I decided to initiate a postcard exchange between these two schools. At first, I was unsure if my students would even be able to write enough text on the postcard, much less be excited for a project that might seem so intimidating. To my surprise, the students responded with resounding enthusiasm and were eager to meet another kid their age through the postcard project.

I did a day of pre-writing before we wrote and decorated the final postcards. After our pre-writing exercise, I collected their worksheets and settled into my desk to check what they had written. The letters written by my students ranged from sweet (I love my school and P.E. class. You should come to my school) to silly (I hate studying and I hope you hate it too). Students shared their interests (I like drawing and looking at the sky) and their future hopes (In the future, I want to be president). They were curious (Do you know how to write in cursive?) and excited (Let’s be friends)! For many of them, this was the first chance to connect with someone else their age using English.

The students asked constantly when they were going to receive their card. Finally, after two weeks, I handed out the postcards and gave students time to read. They hunched over their own postcard and then ran to compare with friends. They pointed at the drawings students had left them, small stickers stuck to the corners of the cards. They critiqued the designs students had selected. As I left their classes, I heard some students ask their homeroom teacher if they could hang the postcards up on the bulletin board.

After that first semester struggling to connect with my students and unsure of my own teaching abilities, making my classroom more open-ended is what ultimately helped me grow into a better teacher.

Now, two years later, I am so thankful for my students—for all of the times they stuck with me when I was trying out a new activity, and all of the times they threw themselves into a new project with passion and enthusiasm. If there was one thing I could tell a new teacher it would be this: listen to your students. Give them time and the opportunity to communicate with you through speaking, writing, drawing or any other medium. I guarantee they will surprise you like they surprised me. I didn’t know how much my students wanted to express themselves in the classroom until I made the conscious effort to start listening.

Tatum Shannon

4 years ago