Teaching Spanish and Teaching Abroad

A lot of people have recently asked how I learned Spanish and how I am now teaching Spanish in Korea. I've gotten this question here from my students, friends and even taxi drivers (at least, that's what I thought they were asking!) I've also had a lot of native speakers of other languages (besides English) ask how I became a teacher. I've also had people how to find teaching jobs abroad so I'll try to answer that, too.

Well here it is and I hope it's useful to prospective language teachers and future international teachers!

Becoming a foreign language teacher
Many current foreign language teachers studied the language in university and did study abroad programs in order to become certified teachers. The teachers that I work with have spent semesters and years in countries such as Chile, Spain, Mexico and other fabulous places. (Jealous!)

For native speakers, there's another route that you can take.

Although born in the US, I also consider myself Honduran and American. My parents moved to the States in the early 1980s from Honduras and knew they wanted to raise their children speaking both languages. This is a pretty common desire for Hispanics in the US. Unlike previous immigrant groups that have been obligated to renounce their first tongue and just speak English, I would say that probably most of Spanish-speaking immigrants in the US teach their both languages to their children (everyone that I have met has taught their children both) It makes sense, too. If you can, then why not? So basically my whole life I have been speaking both languages. My mom says that we (siblings and I) started talking later than other toddlers our age but when we did, we started speaking in both.  I grew up watching shows and cartoons and both languages. Even at school in Honduras, I went to an international bilingual school where everyone was taught Spanish and English. I have always spoken both languages at home. Now, I've used both in Korea!

Although I didn't study education in college, I knew that at one point I wanted to try teaching.  As college came around, I knew I wanted to work with adolescents in a school environment, probably as a school psychologist or counselor. Then grad school came around and I decided to study school counseling. Although teaching isn't a prerequisite for becoming a school counselor, it is suggested by many states that you have some teaching experience. I figured I should try to get some experience in a school setting.

After my first year of grad school, I took the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) exam. It basically measures your skills in a foreign language, both speaking and writing. Side note-the ACTFL provides states with standards and foundations on how to teach and learn a foreign language. Well anyways, this exam consisted of a long multiple choice section, a long reading section and then a formal interview where you basically talk about all sorts of subjects. In my interview we talked about my childhood, college experience, politics, celebrities and many other topics. They are basically looking for fluency in the interview.

A few weeks later, I received my passing scores and then I applied to various school districts, hoping I would be given an interview for a Spanish position. I didn't hear anything back and I had kind of given up. By this time it was August and I was interning at an eating disorder facility right outside of Richmond, VA. I thought I would just try applying to schools again after I was finished with my M.Ed. the following year. Then a few weeks before the 08-09 school year started, I got a call from a school system and they were looking for a high school Spanish teacher and a middle school Spanish teacher. I set up the interview and I was offered the position right away. They gave me a choice and I decided on the middle school level.

The next stop was to get licensed. The State of Virginia provides a provisional license to foreign language teachers based on the following: you must have been offered a teaching position, you must have a Bachelor's degree, you must have taken and passed the ACTFL test, you must finish about 12-15 education credit hours in 3 years and you must take the Praxis II exam and VCLA. There are also a few technology and child safety regulation courses that have to be taken but usually they are done every year in most school systems. Many of the education credits were covered in my M.Ed. and I only had to take 2 more classes.

Going into teaching was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Although I still plan to counsel in the future, I love my current position.  At some point, I would really like to pick up French again and get certified in it, as well.

So for all of you that speak and write another language fluently and want to teach, take the ACTFL and send out your application. Many school systems are always looking for language teachers (and not just Spanish). ¡Buena suerte! Check out www.actfl.org.


Teaching abroad


There are many schools and institutions around the world looking for fluent English speakers because English is considered the "universal" language. There are countless of websites that recruit English speakers for schools (www.teachabroad.com, www.daveseslcafe.com, www.transitionsabroad, etc) .
As I mentioned when I first got here, Korea is a country that is really pressing the population to learn English. There are many hagwons/hakwons (private institutions) that focus on teaching English to children starting at a very young age. One of the easiest ways to do so is to hire native teachers. Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Korea is very common. Most of the expats here are EFL teachers (See my previous entries from my old school). The qualifications that Korean schools have for EFL teachers are: native speakers, must have a Bachelor's degree and no criminal background check. The hagwons here hire year round and the public schools hire close to August and March (based on the academic school year here). The process is pretty simple. You usually send your information to a recruiter (such as www.footprintsrecruiting.com). They then forward your information to many schools and set up interviews. The interviews are very laid back and short (I hear public schools are more intense, though) Once you get offered a position, you then have to send in a lot of paperwork to your school and then they set up an appointment for you at the Korean embassy or consulate. The school then provides you with flights (sometimes reimbursed-depending on the school) and an apartment (free or they provide a stipend). It's a nice deal, especially for recent college grads. Most of the EFL teachers here work at hagwons and they just wanted an adventure and a wanted a way to pay off those pesky student loans (good old Aunt Sallie Mae). Contracts are usually for one year.

If you are wanting to teach abroad, Korea is definitely looking for EFL teachers. You basically teach kids conversational English. (The age groups range but most of these hagwons' students are preschool aged. There are some adult hagwons, as well. Public schools hire for all age groups). Of course, many other countries hire native EFL teachers, too. I've known people that have taught conversational English in Senegal, Czech Republic and throughout Latin America. Many of these places have the same requirements as Korea, however, if you want to teach at a K-12 school and you actually want to teach a subject and not just English speaking, then you would most likely have to get certified and have teaching experience (see the next section)

If you are a certified teacher in your home country and have a few years of experience, the best option would probably be bilingual or international schools. Throughout the world there are many international based schools. These schools primarily serve the expatriate community and their children. These schools usually follow the North American school calendar and the faculty and heads of schools are usually English speakers. They usually have grades K-12 and instruction is mostly provided in English. Multilingual schools are a bit different. These schools start off instruction in more than one language so that all students are multilingual by the time they finish high school (This is the type of school I went to in Honduras. We had students from various places but regardless they all spoke English and Spanish fluently. Kids are enrolled in Prekinder/Preschool and even though at home they might just spoken Spanish or another language, the are taught English from the beginning and you take all your classes in both languages).
International schools only usually only hire certified teachers with experience. The benefits at these schools are great. The salary is usually higher than the average salary for a public school teacher in the US because it is not taxed and they provide round-trip tickets once a year, an apartment with utilities (usually), professional development and a lot of other great things. These are just a few examples here at my school: the apartments for faculty are right on campus, access to school vans and vehicles, relocation allowance, sign-on and renewal bonuses, professional development, free-tuition for dependents, etc. Of course, benefits are going to vary across international schools. I'm still amazed at how different it is coming from the public school system ( as far as finances and benefits but I definitely plan to return to US public schools).

Another major difference is that teaching and education is a career for international teachers. Many of my colleagues have been in the field for many years and hold Master's and Doctorate degrees in their field. They have also been in the field of international teaching for many years, too. My principal and her husband have been in Korea for 6 years and prior to that, they both taught in Japan, Malaysia, Saudia Arabia and Greece. (Now on the other hand, many of the hagwon/hakwon teachers usually did not study education and are here to gain experience abroad and take time off between undergrad and grad school)

American teachers have yet another option, which are the Department of Defense Schools. I'm not too familiar with these schools but I have met other people that have suggested this to me. DoDs schools are schools for the children of military men and women around the world. Basically, if there is a US military base, there will usually also be schools for the children to attend. You can find out more info here: www.dodea.edu.


I hope this was helpful!

Hanok Villages and a match at the World Cup Stadium

Hanok homes are traditional Korean houses. They are one-story homes made entirely from wood. The windows are made of a thin translucent paper that allows daylight to stream in. They're heated with ondol (heated floors) sent through underfloor passages. Hanoks were designed to blend with nature. Life was lived on the floor (eating, working, sleeping), so all the furniture was low and people sat on mats. It is not common for Koreans to live in hanoks anymore but many of the have been reserved or restored. 

There are a few areas within Seoul that house many hanoks. Here are a couple of visits to two different hanok villages. 

Namsongal Hanok Village is located in a central district of Seoul.

A traditional Korean style garden, complete with a flowing stream and pavilion was constructed on the site in order to revive the classical feel of the Joseon-era. Five traditional houses, including some of the residences of high government officials - some of the largest mansions in Seoul at the time, along with commoners houses were moved to the this area.

 Kimchi pots

Bukchon Hanok Village is located close to Insadong in the downtown area of Seoul. It used to be the high-end residential district for royal family members and high-ranking government officials.

This area is surrounded by a couple of palaces and is also a traditional residential area of the city that boasts 600 years of history.

 There are about 920 Hanok houses, a museum and various craft shops across this area.

I hope to stay in one of these hanoks soon and hopefully enjoy some tea and a taste of the royal cuisine.

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Here a few pictures of a soccer match between South Korea and Honduras. It came at a perfect time because my mom and sister were here and it was the last night of their trip. Honduras lost and there were about 20 Honduran fans among thousands of Korean fans! Koreans are serious about their soccer and hopefully I'll get to go to more games (and hopefully some Baseball ones, too).

China!

This year's spring break trip included climbing The Great Wall! China was on my "to-see" list while living over here and I was able to go with my mom and sister. After being a tour guide in Seoul to my mom and sister for a week, we were off to Beijing, China!

China requires nationals of many other countries to obtain a visa to enter their country. The fees are usually $20.00 to $50.00. Not too bad, huh? Well, when you're from the States the price is usually around $140.00. Well, here in Korea, the Chinese government requires that you obtain your visa through a travel agent (instead of just going to the embassy) which adds another fee. So about 2 months ago, I turned in my application to the travel agency that works with my school, they came to pick up my application and fee (good customer service!) and then after 5 days and $185.00 (this was almost as much as my flight there! ), I had my visa. China, here I come! My mom and sister headed to the Chinese Embassy in DC and picked up their visas and after we had all paid an arm and a leg for them, it was time to book our trip!

  

My Visa

We left to Beijing on the morning of March 19th. The flight time was about 2 hours. After a lot of charades and pointing at our itinerary, we made it to our hotel where we waited for the hotel personnel to find our information (apparently our hotel wasn't used to bookings on Expedia). After the hotel personnel located our information, we headed to our room to relax. That evening, we headed out to explore a little bit.

Our hotel

 Chinese coke

 Charades while ordering....it got pretty interesting when I had to act out toilet paper at the front desk:)

Subway

Our second day, we headed to The Great Wall of China! 

 Tour bus on our way to The Great Wall

The Great Wall of China:
China's Great Wall is the world's longest architectural structure and is widely renowned as one of the seven great wonders of the world. The wall stretches 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles) from the Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province to the Shanhaiguan Pass in Hebei Province.
A first set of walls designed to keep Mongol nomads out of China were built of earth and stones in wood frames during the Qin dynasty, 221-206 BC.

 Bucket List item: Climb the Great Wall--CHECK!

 The stairs were very steep!

We made it!

 Souvenirs

Some fun pictures...

 We got trapped in the whole tourist moment and took a picture on this camel.

Then we had to make it all the way back down...

After the Great Wall, the tour bus stopped at other "touristy" spots such as a jade shop, candy shops and more jade stores. We then had a family style lunch with the tour group. We ended up eating with a really nice family. We didn't really understand each other but it was still nice to sit down and have a good time with them, despite language barriers. 

Lunch...REAL Chinese food

A lot of the people on the tour bus or at the places where we stopped wanted their picture taken with us. They especially loved my mom! :) They kept saying "picture, picture!"

 A megastore

 Peking duck--a Beijing specialty

 Lots and lots of candy

 More of my documenting everything...

Wangfujing 
Located in Dongcheng District in Beijing, this is one of the Chinese capital's most famous shopping streets.

Peking Duck is a famous duck dish in Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era and is now considered one of the national foods of China. The dish is prized for the thin, crispy skin with delicious versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and a little bit of the meat. It is usually sliced in front of the diners by the cook.

...yum!

  Traditional Chinese tea

 Our last couple of days we stayed closer to the centre of the city

 Candy shopping in Wangfuging

 Time for souvenirs!

 Caramel fruit! There were all these caramel fruit that we tried. It was similar to caramel apples in the fall but they had caramel pineapple, candy strawberries and a lot of other good things. This is what you're "supposed" to eat in Wangfujing

The pineapple one was our favorite!

 There were also scorpions on a stick for a snack but we weren't that brave!

 Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!

Our last night, we went and saw a great show about the history of Kung Fu

 Around Beijing

 The is the silk market where they harass you until you buy something. These men and women were the most persistent sellers I have ever seen. They all spoke about 10 languages, too, so they could convince people from all over the world...

 The Forbidden City

 Our last lunch in China...REAL dumpling soup...

 Getting on our plane back to Seoul the "good old-fashioned" way.