Kotesol International Conference 2014

A reminder that the Kotesol International Conference 2014 is coming soon!  It's just 3 weeks away on Oct.3-5 at Coex in Seoul.  You can easily pre-register for the conference  online and save yourself the hassle of waiting in line on Saturday morning.  It's one of the biggest English teaching conferences in Asia and by far the biggest event in Korea.

I'll be presenting on "Portfolios as a Means of Evaluating EFL Writing."  The final presentation schedule isn't up yet, but I'll let you know the details as soon as I find out.

Networking, or putting your money where your mouth is

Lots of people approach me in person and also send me questions via this blog about how they can get a uni job.  My first answer is usually that networking is the most important thing and that they actually need to meet uni teachers.  I suggest joining a local chapter of Kotesol, such as the one in Busan that I'm a part of (we're having a meeting this Saturday, btw) because chances are, you'll meet teachers from 5+ unis in the area.  And don't just show up, but actively get involved and meet people and make personal connections.

And for the people in person that I suggest this to, I've almost never seen them at any of the meetings.  And I go to 95% of them.  I guess life gets in the way and they're busy, which I get, but then it makes me think that that person is not really serious about getting a uni job and I will most definitely NOT go the extra mile to help them in any way further!

Anyway, just a little rant to start off the morning.  And, I hope to see you at the meeting this Saturday if you're in the area.