A new graduate

Heather wrote her final exam on Sunday, and now she has completed all the requirements for her B.A. in English. After our vacation in Canada this summer, she will immediately begin working on a YL-TESL program at Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul. Hopefully this will help her get a teaching position at my school, where Korean teachers get paid very well.

Yesterday, I conducted a workshop for my fellow teachers. It went pretty well, and since a few teachers told me they learned some new things and would like to go to the KOTESOL conference this year, I consider my efforts to have been successful.

Remembering Hong Su-na

One day after hearing that a JLS student had died because of injuries sustained in a traffic accident, I learned more details today about the student. Indeed, she was one of my former students. Her name was Hong Su-na - known as 'Sue' in class. I heard she was riding her bike to JLS a couple weeks ago when a car hit her. She spent the last couple weeks in hospital until passing on.

Upon hearing her name, I immediately remembered Sue for being a bubbly personality in the classroom. She had been a participant in the JLS speech contest, and she gave a videotaped presentation for my team project a year and a half ago. Not in the least, I remember her writing a letter for me when I played an April Fool's joke and said that I was leaving Korea to go back to Canada. Here is what she wrote:

"Hi, I'm Sue (Suna) from 8-1s. Well, it was not a long time with you but I had many memory with you. When I participated speaking contest, I was very nervous but you gave me a courage by telling me that my presentation was 'fun and interesting.' I always wanted to say 'thank you' because you helped me with the contest and you gave me a lot of knowledge in your class.

I hope you have wonderful time in Canada. And 'study hard!' Well, this is very strange thing to say like this as a student. I'll miss you a lot and when you have time visit Korea. I hope I can see you again someday in the future. Bye! -Sue- 2004/04/01"

Good-bye, Sue. Everyone will miss you.

Sadness

I heard yesterday that a JLS student - one of my former students, and older sister to one of my current students - died after being in a car accident a couple weeks ago. She was a middle school student in the IPT program at JLS.

She will be missed.

A new option?

I've talked about Nova Southeastern University in Florida before as a possible choice for doing a doctoral degree in instructional technology because it can be done through distance education. The program there looks very much like what I'm interested in, but it would require 6 trips to Florida over three years. Coming from Korea, that would add quite a lot to the cost of the program (although offset by being able to stay here and work).

A couple days ago, I found a school in Australia that offers a similar program. The University of Technology, Sydney provides a Doctor of Education degree for international students. Occasional classes are held in Hong Kong, but the work is done primarily through distance education. I may look seriously at this option since flying to Hong Kong is much more palatable than flying to Florida.

Some kind of Metallica movie

I finally got a look at the documentary Some Kind Of Monster. As promoted, it is a very intimate and interesting look at Metallica's problems during the recording of St. Anger. The part that really stood out for me was seeing how Hetfield and, to a lesser extent, Ulrich seemed to lose interest in their own musical future. Some would call it burnout. It's something that I often feel with my job as an English teacher. There are times when I just want to do anything other than what I am doing now.

Metallica might very well have a short future given their age, but they are already rock legends. And they continue to do things that few other bands would have the self-confidence to do. They are the reason for my nickname - Speedmetal - and they will always be the premier musical force in the world for my money.

Student DVDs

On Tuesday night, I video-taped my MSA class doing presentations. I then put the video onto my computer, used Adobe Premier Elements to do some basic editing, and burned the movie to a DVD. On Friday, I showed the DVD to our school manager with the hope that he would buy me some blank DVDs to make copies for each student. He seemed impressed with the outcome, so he has sent my DVD to the Daechi office to make copies. I look forward to getting the copies to give to the students.

This project is something I did a year and a half ago in a school competition for the teachers. My team had won a prize worth about $2500 for making digital portfolios of student presentations, but the school has not promoted the making of portfolios since then. With my own interest in technology, I have decided to make use of my own equipment to make videos for the students.

The value of videos is that the students get to see what they look and sound like, which allows them to evaluate themselves as speakers of English. As well, I have learned that the students really enjoy seeing themselves, although they sometimes feel embarrassed. Definitely, it is a worthwhile experience in the EFL classroom.

Back from vacation

We came home today from our two-day stay at the Hyatt in Seoul. Nice place, but VERY pricey. A bottle of water? 6000 won. A Corona? Try 14000 with the tax. But the amenities were very nice. The swimming pool was good, attracting lots of bikini-clad ladies. Too bad we spent just a little time in the pool.

Saturday night was interesting. We joined my buddies from JLS in Itaewon to celebrate Rachel's birthday. I consumed way too many Long Island Ice Teas, and ended up sick. Oh well. That's what happens when you forget the lessons learned earlier in life.

Weekend vacation

This weekend is a long weekend in Korea, with Monday (June 6) being a national holiday. Consequently, Heather and I are spending the weekend - sans kids - at the Seoul Grand Hyatt. The weather is expected to be very nice on Sunday, with sunshine and highs near 30. We hope to enjoy the pool just as if we were vacationing in the tropics.

A favor for the school

Last week, I was asked if I would give a seminar to my fellow teachers about the art of teaching speaking. Oh great! I can barely get my students to listen to me long enough to do anything productive. Anyway, though, I thought this could actually be rewarding compared to what I have to deal with on a daily basis in the classroom, so I said yes.

I also consider this a favor I'm doing for the school in return for them letting me take a month-long vacation starting in July. I'm sure many of my fellow teachers will do their best to tune out - they usually go to sleep or mutter about how their time is being wasted when they have to attend any kind of professional development meeting. But I will be getting paid a bonus for doing this, so what the hay.