As previously mentioned, our orientation is held at Jungwon University in Goesan, a rural town about two hours south of Seoul. Although we spend most of our time in the dormitories, the Korean classrooms, an auditorium called “the Fishbowl,” and the cafeteria, today I explored some of the grounds outside of the university. Here are a few pictures to show the strange combination of traditional architecture, modernity, rural roots, and dinosaur art that characterize this place we will call home for the first six weeks of the year.
Category: Fulbright Korea
Reflections from a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Korea.
Receiving Insa
I was walking around Jungwon today, taking pictures with two of my friends, when we saw a Korean woman and her three children playing on the steps of the university. As the three of us walked past, we smiled and waved at the young family. The woman smiled back, inclined her head, and called out, “Hello!” She nudged one of her sons and said what sounded like, “Say hello!” The three children smiled and waved back, the son calling an enthusiastic, “Annyeong!” (“Hi!”). When I responded with “Annyeonghaseyo!”, the mother suddenly grabbed the child’s hair and pushed his head down into a full 90 degree bow. His siblings followed suit.
First Language Class
So maaaaaybe “advanced beginner” is a little ambitious for me!
The little Korean I knew promptly disappeared as soon as 선생님 (“seonsaengnim” or “teacher”) began speaking. I have not heard much spoken Korean, so I spent most of the class trying to follow along and hoping that I was not the only one who was lost. It’s tricky to listen to the teacher, take notes, and look at the textbook at the same time when missing a word or two means the difference between understanding and confusion.
Site visit to Gongju Sa-Dae-Bu High School
Today the ETAs went on site visits to elementary and high schools across Korea. I was in the group that shadowed David, a current ETA at Gongju Sa-Dae-Bu High School, and sat in on a few of his classes. During the day, we met the school principal and a few of David’s co-teachers, and we also ate lunch with the students in the cafeteria. It’s hard to believe that this will be me in a few short weeks!
Like in America, it is common for Korean high schools to be all girls or all boys. But even coed schools in Korea often have their classes separated by gender. Such was the case at David’s school. The ETAs in my group shadowed two of his female-only classes. Each class had a different lesson, but both were equally fun and successful for the students.
Continue reading “Site visit to Gongju Sa-Dae-Bu High School”
Korean Language Test
After a full night of much-needed sleep, we started Day 2 with the infamous language placement test. Professors from Korea University’s summer language program greeted us in the English Center (known among students as the “Fish Bowl”) and administered the test, which contained a written exam and an oral interview. The prompt for the exam was to write a self-introduction in Korean. More than half of the ETAs, who did not know any Korean, wrote their names at the top of the test and handed in a blank page, at which point they were allowed to leave without taking the oral portion of the test.
I knew a few phrases and sentences from the last few weeks, so I wrote “Hello! I am Janine” in Korean and stood on the line to hand in my test, expecting to be excused. When one of the instructors saw that I had written something, he whisked me away for an oral interview. Wait, what?!
From JFK to Incheon
So today was the big day! Until now, Korea seemed like a point way off in the future and a place far away on a map. But as I packed my (waaaaaay) overweight suitcases into the car and said goodbye to all my neighbors, my trip suddenly became much more real.
How the Journey Began
November 2014
“So, what are your plans after graduation?”
My uncle looked at me over the Thanksgiving table as he began carving the turkey. I cringed as he asked the one question every college senior dreads. While several of my friends knew exactly what they would be doing after May 15, I was still unsure. I knew only two things. The first was that I applied for a Fulbright ETA.
The second was that I hadn’t told my parents yet.
Hello, World!
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.
Janine Perri 