Notes On A Small Peninsula
My year teaching in Korea has ended. I am now back in the United States (briefly) before I head back East to look for work in Shanghai. Before I began a long-winded blog post on my final thoughts and feelings about teaching at Geomdan Middle School, I think I’ll post some news links as a bit of a primer to tone of my final blog.
Obviously, given the topics of the links, I should preface by saying that I thorough enjoyed my experience in Korea and its very easy for many people to have a great time. However, most of the links I have posted feel as though they are written by people who have gotten very angry at the system of education and the country itself. I could see myself teaching another year in the country very easily. However, it should be noted that these are simply extreme examples. My sentiments fall somewhere in the middle.
- Korea Herald: Korean Kids Learn English in the Wrong Way
- JoongAng Daily: [Letters] Why Koreans Learn English
- Korea Times: What’s Wrong With English Education in Korea?
- Korea Times: Why TOEIC For All?
- University of Birmingham: The TOEIC: Reliability and Validity Within the Korean Context
- Galbijim.com Forums: Why Korean students don’t speak English
- U.S. State Department: Teaching English In Korea, Opportunities and Pitfalls
About The Author
John P. Gamboa
John is a Technical Success Manager at WP Engine. Before moving to Austin, John lived in South Korea and China for the better part of four years. His life as an amateur Chinese web censorship expert, traveler, map nerd and beer geek can be found on this site.
