Pastures New

WMS and ACHS Science Technician Miss Jensen is leaving us to explore and experience a new culture in South Korea. Whilst we are sad to see Miss Jensen leave us, we are equally excited for her new adventure into education in a different country. Miss Jensen will be teaching English as a foreign language in South Korea through the English Programme in Korea. EPIK is a government sponsored program that runs in South Korea with the aim to provide public schools with native English speakers to enhance their English education.

Miss Jensen hopes to spend her first year immersing herself in South Korean culture, learning some of the language and trying all the delicious foods they have to offer! She also hopes to engage her new students in exciting English lessons and activities.

When asked about her longer term goals Miss Jensen said: “There are native English teaching programs all over the world. So I hope to spend a year or two in South Korea and then who knows! I would like to teach in Europe too, maybe France or Spain. I think this is a great way to gain teaching (and life) experience and hopefully it will lead into a career in English foreign language teaching or speech and language therapy.”

Miss Jensen told us more about her forthcoming plans.

EPIK - English Program in Korea.

TEFL - Teaching English as a foreign language.

EPIK is a government sponsored program that runs in South Korea with the aim to provide public schools with native English speakers to enhance their English education. 

EPIKs main goals

• Improve the english of Korean students and teachers.

• Develop cultural exchange between South Korea and other countries.

• Introduce new methods of teaching to the korean education system.

What I will be doing/job description

• Assisting Korean teachers with their english classes, and/or jointly conduct classes/extracurricular activities

• Conduct english conversation classes for students and teachers

• Prepare teaching materials

• Demonstrate a good command of the English language, both written and spoken.

The process

I will be arriving in Korea in February, where I will undertake 10-days mandatory quarantine and then a week-long orientation, which will involve teacher training and cultural lessons amongst other things. This is when I’ll find out where in the country I will be based, but I will not know the exact location, school or age group I will be teaching until a few days before I start. I will be given a flat, found and paid for by my new school, and they will also help me in setting up a phone contract and bank account. 

Reasons for going

• I want to explore and experience a new culture.

• Share my culture with Korean students and teachers.

• I think it's a good opportunity to inspire inclusivity, acceptance and global connection by learning and sharing a language.

• Learn a new language.

• Free apartment and flight (!!) in a beautiful country.

• Inspired to stay in the education sector by working with the great kids in WMS and ACHS.

• Great life and teaching experience.

My future goals/plans

Short term: I hope to arrive in Korea with no covid hiccups! I want to spend my first year immersing myself in Korean culture, learning some of the language and trying all the delicious foods they have to offer. I hope to bond with my new students and engage them in exciting English lessons and activities. Although I will be the teacher, I hope to learn just as much from them as they learn from me.

Long term: There are native English teaching programs all over the world. So I hope to spend a year or two in South Korea and then who knows! I would like to teach in Europe too, maybe France or Spain. I think this is a great way to gain teaching (and life) experience and hopefully it will lead into a career in English foreign language teaching or speech and language therapy. 

If anyone else is interested in a career in teaching, EFL, or any work in the education setting, this could be a great way to gain experience and travel the world. 

In order to be eligible for most TEFL jobs you will need:

• A bachelor's degree (in any subject - Mine is in Biology! Although it helps if it is in English or education)

• A TEFL certificate - I have a 120-hour certificate but different jobs require different lengths of course. 

I would love to stay in contact with WMS/ACHS and give the students the opportunity to learn more about another culture, possibly through pen pals or other means… we shall see.