안녕하세요! 제 이름은 재닌입니다.

Hello! My name is Janine Perri, and I am a Long Islander, a Villanova Wildcat, and a 2015-2016 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Korea. This blog will chronicle my adventures, reflections, and insights during the thirteen months I will spend abroad.

I graduated from Villanova University in May 2015 with majors in English and history. While at Villanova, I tutored in the university’s Writing Center, mentored and tutored elementary school students in Philadelphia, and founded a student publication dedicated to engaging with intellectual and cultural life at Villanova. To culminate my senior year, I wrote an Honors thesis on the state of English writing skills in college, using a survey of Villanova faculty and students to answer questions such as: What challenges currently face instructors and students in teaching and learning how to write? How do these challenges differ across academic disciplines, class years, and cultural backgrounds?

Now, I am exploring these issues and questions from a new perspective – that of an international teacher.

Over the next year, I will build upon my experiences in English writing and tutoring by serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Gimhae, South Korea, helping Korean high school students improve their English conversation and writing skills. At the same time, I will immerse myself in a new culture, a new language, and a new pedagogical tradition. As a Fulbright ETA, I will serve as a teacher, a mentor, and a cultural ambassador. And I will learn as much from my students as they will learn from me.

By sharing my own language and culture and learning from my students, I hope to engage, and help others engage, in global conversations. I invite you to follow me on this journey.

The views expressed in this blog are mine alone and are not affiliated with the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.