Tag: ESL teachers

Winter vacation in Korea is almost upon us. It’s finally the last week of classes! As I write this, I am breathing a long sigh of relief. I appreciate my job and the energetic children I work with, but the time has now come when I’m in desperate need of a break.

Handling conflict in the ESL classroom will be part of your job as an educator. Teaching your students life skills such as compassion and conflict resolution is just as important as teaching the nuts and bolts of the English language.

Using movies in the ESL classroom can be a great way to engage your students and provide a juicy topic for discussion. However, it has to be used in the right way so that you don’t end up with students viewing this as a time to relax.

As another year in Korea approaches, I have begun to reflect on the differences I am faced with and changes I have made during my time as an EPIK teacher in South Korea.

Classroom games are an essential part of the ESL classroom. You can engage students by telling a captivating story, explaining concepts in a way all students can understand, or simply creating a dialogue amongst students, even in the simplest of ways. Another way to get students attention is to play some fun and creative games.

An English camp in Korea is set up for students to attend during the summer months when they have more free time from their regular schools. Not all EPIK teachers are asked to teach in one of these but I was and I loved it.

ESL games are an important, almost vital, part of the ESL classroom. When you are teaching beginners, it’s easy to come up with simple games to incorporate into your lessons. With advanced learners, finding activities that are fun, engaging, and deeply beneficial gets a lot more challenging.

Your first ESL class is always an important one. Even if you have a set lesson plan prepared for you by your school, giving your first ESL lesson can be a daunting task. Your first lesson makes a big impression on your students, establishes your teaching style, and sets the tone for the year.