My career in ELT is
yet to start... Moving to Korea was definitely the biggest turning point in my
personal and professional life. Up until moving here about three years ago, I
worked at public and private hospitals as a clinical dietitian. One of my main
responsibilities was provision of nutrition education to patients and their
families. I was involved in nutrition classes for kids, expectant mothers and
patients in the psychiatric wards (not just those with mental illness but
teenagers struggling with eating disorders as well). Even though on the
surface, all this had nothing to do with ELT, in fact, it taught me a great
deal in terms of how to devise the right strategies to get through to different
individuals with different personalities as well as cultural competence having
to counsel people of different races, ethnicities, and religions.
Once I moved to
Korea, I struggled for a while trying to find where my skills would be the best
match. I also wanted to get personal satisfaction from what I did for living as
I was not able to continue my career as a clinical dietitian (at least not
until I pass the national test administered in Korean). I have been working in
my current position with the Ministry of Health and Welfare for a little over
two and a half years. Pretty much from day one, I have been doing what Koreans
refer to as “language exchange” with my colleagues. Although we are supposed to
be splitting time between English and Korean, and helping each other out, I am
pretty much helping my colleagues with their conversational and, to some extent,
writing skills in English. I have realized how much I enjoy sharing my knowledge
with others and take pride in helping them to move forward with their language
skills. I shared how I felt with my family and friends. I then started looking
into how I could teach in Korea. I knew that I did not have enough experience
nor did I have the right educational background. But I knew I had to start
somewhere. It did not take me long to come across SMU TESOL Program’s website
and the rest is history.
As a side note, I
do have something to share about my interview for SMU STG Program. I remember
vividly how after the interview I called my husband and told him that I wouldn’t
get in. I felt that I didn’t manage to really show my whole heart and sincerity
during the interview when I was asked why I wanted to teach. I am very privileged
to be a part of such a great group of classmates who all bring different
experiences and points of view to the table.
I look forward to
our classes on Saturdays and teaching on Sundays. Once the class is over, I am
planning to teach more. However, I feel that I am a better fit for children in
elementary school and above for the time being. My ultimate goal is not only to
teach English but also food & nutrition, hospitality management or public
health to put to use not only my teaching skills but my medical knowledge as
well. I have never really been driven by money. What I value the most is waking
up in the morning and wanting to go to work (as opposed to thinking “oh gosh,
it is another Monday!!").
I value professional development and having a sense of
purpose in what I am doing. Right now, I am a part of many health care projects
between Korea and other countries. But I fail to see the “big picture.” I seem
to be constantly working on some kind of internal report to present information
to the higher executives or gathering market data to put together a report,
again, for the higher executives. I don’t seem to see the “point” in all this
anymore really. I have lost my enthusiasm over the years. I am surrounded by many
people at work and outside (family friends, acquaintances, etc.) who have
shared similar stories with me or with others who have told me. Why don’t they
do something about it? Are they scared of taking any risks? How can they go on with
their lives doing something that doesn’t give them personal satisfaction? We
spend more time at work than anywhere else, if we add it all up. I am not a big
risk taker. However, I do not see any problems with taking calculated risks. I
would like to quote Albert Einstein by saying: “A ship is always
safe at the shore - but that is not what it is built for.”
I have been
questioned by several colleagues, friends, and family on several occasions.
They all tried to encourage (some force!!) me to teach English. Even after I
would tell them that I didn’t have the formal educational background or any appropriate
teaching certificate, they would still stick to their guns working under the
assumption that “if you can speak the language, you can teach it.” I have also
heard of many native speakers doing so without any proper credentials. I would
have never considered going down this path, as I don’t believe that it should
be just about making money. How could I live with myself if I ever..?
Once I start
teaching as part of an establishment whether it is a public school or a hagwon,
I need to prepare myself for the fact that I may be marginalized. I will need
to persevere, keep up-to-date through professional development, share my
knowledge and grow with others in the field and have a ball teaching. :)
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