Building Beautiful Lives
  • About Me
    • Who Am I?
    • Portfolio
  • Pedagogy & Reflection
    • EPIK Experiences: South Korea
    • Language Education
    • Comic Books and Children's Media
  • Art & Writing
    • Book Reviews
    • Photography
    • Writing
  • Travel
    • USA
    • Greece and Cyprus
    • The Caribbean
    • South Korea
    • Japan

EPIK Experiences: 'Getting By' vs Learning Korean

7/9/2018

0 Comments

 
"How long are you staying?" my friend asks. We shuffle forward in line at the bakery and place our orders: two mini-eliopita and a tea for me, iced coffee and a fruit tart for her. Once we pay and sit down, I answer as honestly as I can.

"I don't want to say any definite answer since I still haven't spent a week there--let alone a year," I respond, holding out an eliopita for her to try, "but I think my minimum ideal would be two-years." 

She breaks her tart between her fingers and picks at an strawberry that escaped. "Damn that's a long time." Then, "Do you speak any Korean?"

I wince. "A little. Not enough. I should practice more, actually."

​Most guides don't  really mention this other than to say that learning Korean isn't a requirement for EPIK. Of course, they say, it's nice to learn, but it won't affect your chances of teaching abroad. In fact, most guides kind of gloss over at least learning Hangul. Hangul seems to be the consensus, and that's why I want to talk about my decision to learn Korean. 

A little disclaimer: I've yet to land in Korea myself.
​Another disclaimer: I'm pretty shit at learning languages.

Read More
0 Comments

    Pedagogy and Reflection

    We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience

    -John Dewey

      Sign Up for Updates

    Sign Me Up!

    Categories

    All
    EPIK Experiences: Teaching Abroad
    Equitable Practices
    Language Learning/Teaching
    Reflection

    Archives

    April 2020
    January 2020
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • About Me
    • Who Am I?
    • Portfolio
  • Pedagogy & Reflection
    • EPIK Experiences: South Korea
    • Language Education
    • Comic Books and Children's Media
  • Art & Writing
    • Book Reviews
    • Photography
    • Writing
  • Travel
    • USA
    • Greece and Cyprus
    • The Caribbean
    • South Korea
    • Japan