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Mandatory NES Teachers workshop in Seoul, January 7-11

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lisadream:
Hi All,

My co-teacher informed me today that I have to go to Seoul for a Mandatory teacher's workshop from January 7-11th but couldn't give me more information than that, I guess they're sending a document with an itinerary? Is anyone eslse going to this workshop? Did you get more information about why/what it is we're going to be learning at the work shop for five days?

incognito84:
Its a standard orientation deal for all Native English Teachers. Gyeonggi-do province has one and Seoul has a separate one.

The good: You get to meet and converse with a lot of other foreigners. You'll hear a lot of sound presentations about teaching and get a lot of advice from others (I'm assuming you're new-ish). If you have any complaints about your school's situation you might have an opportunity to bring them up. After 4-5:00pm you're free to do whatever you want. The culture classes can be a lot of fun and usually a few good Korean movies are shown. You get free food all three meals of the day and usually its of a much higher quality than the food at your school... there are actually vegetarian options (*GASP*!)

The bad: You have to meet and converse with a lot of other foreigners. If you're big into drinking then you'll have a good time. If you've actually finished college, mentally, then you might not unless you find the appropriate clique of well-balanced people. This experience will taint your opinions of foreign English teachers, unfortunately. Another downside is that most people forget everything they've learned within two weeks after the orientation. It simply isn't long enough. I almost forgot to mention: you have to sleep in a dorm room with two strangers, too.

...

Have fun!

mtnbk13:
"if you've actually finished college, mentally"

too true.  my orientation "tainted [ed my] opinions of foreign english teachers".  be prepared.

theaaronwile:
My orientation tainted my liver.  I'm not sure how the orientation in Seoul goes but the one in Jirisan was pretty good.  There were lots of good tips, a few sessions ended up dragging on, but to reiterate what incognito said, i'm sure you'll meet some foreigners that you'll have fun with. Have fun, take in as much as you can and meh, if there's free booze have a few on Korea :)

Brian:
Pardon the interruption, this post caught my eye because it's something I recently wrote about in the Korea Herald:

* http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/12/02/200912020021.asp

* more commentary and comments here: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-korea-herald-writing-about-mandatory.html

It looks like it's part of a drive to require foreign teachers to have training on Korean culture and practices, even though many have been here for a while, and even though "culture and practices" are not exactly practical.  I've sent out a few notices for information for a follow-up piece.  Certainly the people I've talked to are not happy about having to attend these things.  Given how they usually turn out, there's little to be accomplished and that week would be better served covering professional development, teacher training, workplace culture, and other things directly relevant to teaching English in Korea.  I'm sure by now most of you have heard about Korea's four distinct seasons and kimchi, and most of you use chopsticks so well. 

Most agree that training programs are a good idea, and Jeollanam-do was among the first to put on orientation sessions for new teachers.  But I question how useful a week-long session will be for teachers who are already here and who are looking for a little bit more. 

I'll reiterate that if anybody receives anything official they'd like to share, they can do so anonymously at deutsch.brian at gmail.  I'm preparing a follow-up next week, though I'm not confident people in charge are open to compromise.

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