Thursday, August 23, 2012

Speaking/Speech Class

I heard that I'll be teaching a Speech class for the first time this semester, so I went onto the Kotesol Facebook Group (very helpful: join!) and asked for some advice.  People mentioned lots of stuff ranging from no book, to books, to video-taping presentations.  One book that was mentioned a few times was "Speaking of Speech" by David Harrington & Charles LeBeau, so I decided to order it and check it out.  It's quite expensive on Amazon, but I found it on Gmarket for around 15 000.  And, it arrived 3 days later. 

It looks pretty fabulous: it's beginner level, easy to understand, covers all the highlights such as posture, gestures, slides, etc and has fun, in-class practice things.  Plus, there are around 8 (didn't count yet!) ready-made speech assignments, complete with evaluation grids.  What more could a teacher want?  Planning/executing this course will be not as overwhelming as I first thought it would be. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Speech/Presentation Books

So, I'm in Busan now and just went into work yesterday.  I found out that I'll be teaching a class on speaking/presentations.  Any textbook recommendations?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Reader Question: Non-Native Speaker Jobs in Korea

This question from Angelica from Mexico:

"I really would love to have the chance to teach in Korea but all websites that I have seen are only looking for native speakers. Of course I understand why, but I hope I can find a school like the one where I used to to teach in Thailand. Even if it's for volunteer  work I would love it. I am not interested in the payment, but in the experience."

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible for non-native speakers to get visas to teach English in Korea, no matter how fluent they are in English.  However, there is a way around this: become a student!  I've had some international friends in the past who were students in Korea, and as a student, you're legally able to work up to 20 hours a week (I think) during semesters, and more during vacations.  So, you could get a part-time job at a hagwon while studying Korean at the same time.