Memoirs of an ESL Career

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Teaching at Seneca

It didn't take long for me to be impressed by the atmosphere at Seneca College. They had their curriculum clearly spelled out; I would be teaching General Oral Fluency - Level 4. Later, I would also teach conversation and writing courses.

Compared to my experience in Korea, I couldn't help but feel that I was in a much more professional environment. The teachers were real teachers, generally a fair amount older than I was. Some were public school teachers who did the ESL classes at night. Others had lived overseas, too (I remember one teacher who had lived in China speaking fluent Chinese in the office). I even met one woman, about my age, who had taught in Korea. We had some fun reliving the Korea experience together.

I was teaching in the Faculty of Continuing Education, so our students consisted of immigrants to Canada. (Conversely, international students would study English in the College's ESL program). The students were the really interesting feature of Seneca. A typical class had 20-25 students, and they came from all over the world. Israel, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, China, Korea, Cuba, Romania, Greece, Italy, Japan, El Salvador, Pakistan, etc. What a difference this made in the teaching experience, having people from so many different backgrounds together in the same room, all with the common goal of learning English. I enjoyed this very much.

My first night of teaching (after battling traffic from the west end of Toronto to get to Seneca in the north-east section of the city) took me to an outdoor portable classroom. I think this caught me by surprise a little, but so be it. I was nervous as I walked up to the door of the classroom. As I walked in, I turned on the actor in myself, the same character who had made it through two-plus years of teaching in Korea. You see, I am a quiet person by nature, but I found that being in a classroom enabled a different character to emerge. I could seem like a very open, gregarious person. Truthfully, that's not really who I am. Unless I've been drinking. But that's another story.

The class lasted for three hours, and I would teach two of these classes per week for ten weeks. When I started, I was being paid $25.75/hour, which seemed very impressive. Again, though, it was just six hours per week.

At the end of each semester, I was required to give the students a written test. After final grades were calculated, I had to call each student and let them know if they passed or failed. This was a difficult thing to do because these people tried hard to succeed. But Seneca had clear rules and grade cut-offs to adhere to, so that made the task somewhat easier.

Overall, teaching at Seneca was a satisfying experience. It was totally different from teaching in Korea. I taught at Seneca for two years, and during that time I felt closer to being a real teacher than I ever had before.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Back in Canada, looking for work

It was mid-1998. I had been half-heartedly looking for work in the Toronto area. Actually, I had come back to Canada with an arrangement with Heather's former boss, Harry, (a headhunter) to be his rep in Ontario. It was thought that I might end up either in southern Ontario or in the Ottawa region doing this work. I was going to advertise ESL teaching positions in Korea for Harry, plus I would be helping Korean engineers and computer programmers to find jobs in Canada's IT industry. The only problem was that I had no experience whatsoever in HR, and since my boss was on the other side of the world, my motivation to get out there and pound the pavement was lacking. Needless to say, this plan did not work out, but I was able to exploit it just enough to get my first car as I was able to say that I was employed and could afford the payments.

As the weeks went by, I sent out numerous resumes to companies that looked interesting to me, but for which I was eminently incapable of working. It didn't help that I couldn't write a cover letter to save my life, but the simple fact of the matter was that I had an undergraduate degree in history and political studies, and a resume that included two stints as an ESL (EFL) teacher in Korea. In other words, I had no skills for real-world work.

One day, while Heather and I were visiting my cousin Paul and his wife Jen in Hamilton, they took me to see a family friend who could give me some advice on my job search. This man was quite intelligent and rather blunt. When he saw my sample cover letter, he basically lambasted me AND my pathetic cover letter. Fine, I knew it sucked, and that was why I was there. Then he made the suggestion that I go to the community colleges and apply for part-time ESL teaching positions. This was an opportunity that I didn't even know existed, and I wasn't sure I would be hired in any event given that I had no formal teacher training.

I went to a number of colleges in the Greater Toronto area to inquire about their need for teachers in their ESL programs. As it turned out, Seneca College was looking for teachers and would be holding an interview session later that week. Wearing my new suit to disguise my inadequacies as a teacher, I showed up with a dozen or so other people to go through the interview process. This was followed by a sample lesson plan that we had to create for a two-hour class, and then we were questioned by current teachers about the plan each of us had created. There was also a written test of our grammar knowledge. One of the benefits of having been an English teacher was that I had relearned rules of grammar, so this test was easy for me.

Richard, the man who interviewed me, gave me the good word that I had been hired! I was surprised because most of the other applicants were experienced teachers, but Richard told me that my knowledge of grammar was better than anyone else's who had applied, and my lesson plan was unique and met the objectives of the communicative approach to teaching that they valued at Seneca. Cool.

Of course, this would only be part-time work, so I was going to need another job. At about the same time (and this was late August 1998), I had applied for a job with an Internet-based employment service in Toronto called Campus WorkLink. It was an internship position for six months, paying a whopping $1500 per month. But the work sounded all right, and it would lead to a full-time position after the six months were completed.

Thus, at the start of September, 1998, I had two new jobs in Toronto -- Institution Liason Officer for Campus WorkLink, and English instructor in the Faculty of Continuing Education at Seneca College.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Timeout to reflect

As I reflect on those first two-and-half years as an English teacher in Korea, I can see that teaching was more or less a backdrop for other developments. I met Heather while going on vacation to the east coast of Korea, and we later became friends while she was in my class. Co-workers became close friends. The money I made was used to pay for vacations (and to pay off student loans).

I will say that I found teaching adults enjoyable for the most part. Seeing them struggle with the language made me sympathetic to their situation, which was a national perception that the only path to success went through English class. I used to think this was the biggest scam, and I was a part of it by making money off it. It is still a scam, although the need for English has been made more salient now that a top TOEFL score is required for university entrance in Korea.

I never felt like a great teacher, but I thought that I was doing a good job doing what needed to be done, which was to give students the chance to speak English. I was certainly inexperienced in terms of pedagogical knowledge, but again, I never expected this to be a long-term gig. As I left Korea in May 1998 with my new bride to move back to Canada, I wasn't sure what job I would have, but I didn't figure it would involve teaching.

As for Korea itself, my feelings were generally positive. I hadn't really learned the language beyond the basics, and I hadn't explored very much of the country. However, I became comfortable living in a foreign country, and I had made my new best friend for life -- my wife, Heather. My best friend in Korea who I wasn't sleeping with was Dan, and I became very close to people such as Brian, Rick, and Sara.

Of course, the ultimate reality of being an ESL teacher in Korea is that nothing is permanent. Most people spend a year or less in any one school. People come and go, and some of your closest buddies may leave, and you never see them again. But I was happy knowing that a few of those friends -- people like Dan and Brian -- would be moving back to Canada, too, and we could meet up there and re-live the good times in Korea.

But sometimes, when you think you're headed for a big change, life has a way of leading you back to where you started. As it turned out, my life in Canada did not mean the end of my career as an ESL teacher. In fact, it turned out that this was all just the beginning.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Saying goodbye to Korea (or so I thought)

I hadn't really planned to spend more than a year at Global in any event, but the IMF crisis assured that we would be leaving Korea at the end of my contract. I can't say there wasn't any bitterness about what had happened to my bank account as a result of the crisis -- my savings would lose 70% of their value at the time of conversion to Canadian dollars. Nonetheless, it seemed like the time was right to go home. Two-and-a-half years as an English teacher in Korea was enough.

I spent my final two months at Global as a married man. Heather and I got married on March 7th, 1998. This new fact of life also had me looking forward to returning to Canada and the prospects for "real" work. Somehow, being an ESL teacher never seemed like it could be a real career. Actually, given the fun times I was having with friends, it felt like an extension of university.

In my final month, we had a good-bye party for Kelly, a birthday party for Dan, and another birthday party for Johnny. On the final Saturday of April, everybody from the Global expatriate family got together at Alicia's apartment for a dinner party, which was the beginning of our goodbye. The final goodbye party took place on my last night of teaching, April 30th, 1998. Of course, we spent the evening at Cass Town, and the party was also a second good-bye for Kelly, who decided to go home to the U.S.A.

I remember feeling a slight twinge of sadness at the moment my final class ended, believing that my career as an ESL teacher was over and my Korea experience was coming to an end. But I cannot deny how happy I was that night, knowing I would be going home in just a couple days.

Below is a video of my last day at Global.


Sunday, October 08, 2006

Favorite hangouts in the Global year

Cass Town: The beer hall in the basement of the Global building was the most easily accessible place to get our maekju on.

The Chicken Hof: Also known as Chicken on a Plate Place, this hof directly across the street from Global was where we spent our Monday nights following the onset of the IMF crisis. The most interesting aspect of the hof was the chicken troll -- the adjuma would receive the plate of chicken from some hands through the wall, but I couldn't figure out where the troll was working because the other side of that wall was the exterior of the building. Hmmm.

Chess Club: We spent many a night at the Chess Club in Kangnam. You could play chess there, but we usually played pool. And, of course, drank beer.

Hollywood: As in my first year at ULI, the Hollywood nightclub in Itaewon was a favorite place for good times. By the way, the nightclub was on the second floor at that time, but has since been relocated to the basement. There was also a cigar lounge on the third floor, and I remember having a couple puffs from a Cuban there once.

Just Blues: Is there any place greater to spend a relaxing evening with some drinks than a live blues bar? Just Blues was located in Itaewon, but it seems to have disappeared.

Nashville: Once again, the burger joint in Itaewon was one of my favorite hangouts. Great burgers and, of course, beer.

Web Village: As far as I know, it was the first Internet cafe in Seoul. Located just a stone's throw away from Global, Web Village was where I got my first email account and learned how to use a computer. No more going downtown to buy USAToday -- I could read it online.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Significant events during the Global Year

In this post, I'll talk about important or interesting events that took place while I was working at Global.

Engagement : In October 1997, Heather and I took our second vacation to Hong Kong. It was there that I proposed to her, at the exact spot that a year-and-a-half earlier she was told she would get married to me.

Wedding: Naturally, if there is an engagement, there is going to be a wedding. We tied the knot on March 7th, 1998 at the Folk Village at Lotte World. Let the uninhibited sex begin!


IMF Crisis: In a six-month period during the latter half of 1997, we were witness to an economic meltdown of historic proportions in east Asia. My bank account saw its value (when converted to dollars) drop by 70%. The crisis also precipitated two other events of significance in my life -- the start of a new Monday night tradition of chicken and beer so that we could drown our sorrows, and the decision to dye my hair blond for the first time.

The Streetfight: As alluded to in an earlier post, we native teachers found ourselves in a situation that we probably wish we could do over. After an evening of drinking (what else?), we were harrassed by some Korean punks. In the ensuing skirmish, I found myself experiencing one of those movie moments where time slows to a crawl. Yes, I had been punched square in the face, and I could feel myself gliding through the air and dropping to the pavement. It took about 30 seconds to happen, although it was probably two seconds in real time.

The police arrived to take us all in. My upper lip was split, but the wonderful cops weren't going to do anything for me. Aaron started threatening to get the U.S. Embassy involved. Finally, around 4:00 in the morning, I was taken to a police hospital. I waited... and waited... and waited some more, until I was finally informed that the doctor on call had been drinking that night. My opinion of Korea had just dropped to its nadir.

As a follow-up to this story, I was convinced by Aaron to fake a back injury to help get us some reward money. It worked, at least to the point of covering my hospital bill for the lip surgery. In the end, though, one important fact was made abundantly clear to me by this incident: my three years of training in taekwondo meant absolutely nothing.

The Metallica Concert: On April 25th, 1998, I saw Metallica for the fifth time, and first in Seoul. I was amazed by the energy and excitement of the crowd. As usual, my voice was gone for two days after the concert.

Birthdays: We always celebrated a birthday by going out for drinks (what else?!). Below is some video footage of my friend Dan's birthday celebration. Admittedly, if you weren't there, you won't likely give a damn about this video, but if you were there, now you can relive some memories.

The Students at Global

The names: Big, Sang-mo, Jennifer, Kasia, Glavine. These were the students I remember most from Global.

Big was a guy who just wanted to practice English. He was often at Global long before his class began reading the Korea Herald or Korea Times. He would ask about vocabulary in the newspaper. Best of all, he would hang out with the native teachers in Cass Town so he could listen to us speak "real" English, not the sanitized version we spoke in the classroom.

Sang-mo was an interesting character, and we became good friends (I wound up being the best man at his and Sara's wedding in Canada the following year). In pretty much every class Sang-mo came to, we ended up talking about sex. He had a great story about attending English class at another hogwan. In this class was a former Miss Korea. The teacher was a Canadian dude. According to Sang-mo, they would have made a nice couple, if not for the fact that the teacher was gay and actually preferred Sang-mo. I swear, that's his story.

Jennifer was this sweet, sweet girl who I first met when she came for a placement test. I interviewed her and discovered that she worked for a trading company, and sometimes went to Germany for business (if memory serves me correctly). Kasia was also a nice girl who came to my class, and the two of them called me oppa - Korean for big brother. We went to bars and restaurants together and enjoyed a nice rapport. When I returned to Korea in 2000, Jennifer had changed her job and became an English teacher. She recruited me for some lessons with kindergarten kids, but that only lasted a little while, and I haven't seen her since.

Glavine named himself after the pitcher Tom Glavine. Obviously, he was a baseball fan. Glavine was (and remains) a close friend of Dan's. I know he has visited Dan in Canada a few times, and when Dan visits Korea he usually stays at Glavine's house.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

The Expats of Global

Unlike ULI, there weren't any expats at Global who I actually hated. There were strange people to be sure, but they could be characterized as eccentric, I suppose. I also met one of my best friends there.

Dan was the suit-wearing dude at Web Village whom I later recognized when I walked into Global. A fairly straight-laced guy, I think I first got his attention one day when we had classes in adjacent classrooms, and there was just a glass wall dividing us (so we could actually see each other's rooms). He had his class doing something quiet, while my class was doing a party activity. My guys were noisy, I guess, and there I saw Dan peeking around the white board into my room to see what was going on.

Dan eventually moved to a new apartment in my neighborhood in Jamsil (more on the Projects later). From then on, we would spend a lot of time hanging out together after work. Towards the end of my year at Global, Heather and I got married in a traditional Korean ceremony. Dan had a part in the ceremony, carrying the wooden duck that I was to give to Heather's mom as a gift. Neither of us really knew what was going on during the ceremony, and I remember the two of us looking at each other and laughing a little bit, standing in hanboks and 'funny' hats in front of hundreds of people. Such is the way longterm friendships are forged.

Global was also the place where I met Sara. She actually only worked at Global on a part-time basis, but we would remain involved in each other's lives for quite some time (I was best man at her and Sang-mo's wedding, and she later helped me get my job at JLS). I can definitely see the difference between Sara and myself in the field of teaching: she actually cares that students learn, and takes the time to work with people who don't understand things right away (I tend to be less patient). Sara spent many years in Korea, the last six of them at JLS where I presently work, and now she and her daughter are back in Canada, where she is a "real" teacher in a French-immersion school in New Brunswick.

I will now high-light some of the other expats at Global and what they meant to me.

Kelly was a guy who I had actually met a year earlier, and I didn't get a good impression of him that first time (talked too much). Then when I met him at Global, I was worried that it was going to be problematic. We ended up going to Osaka, Japan together for a visa run, so we bonded a little bit there. Eventually, I just teased him a whole lot, which made it easier to deal with him. In the end, Kelly proved to be an okay guy, and he has made many attempts to maintain contact in the years since. Now he lives in the U.S. and is getting married in late 2006.

Another guy we worked with was Wesley, who had come north from Kwangju to work in Seoul. Ironically, he turned out to be a former roommate in Kwangju of a guy who I had known at university (Ronan). As I like to say, what a co-inkidink. Wes was a good guy, but Dan and I had a lot of fun at his expense. The three of us spent quite a few evenings after work getting shit-faced and playing Asshole.

Michelle, or "Meesh," was a Canadian chick with a chip on her shoulder from the day she walked in the door. Her personality, when mixed with the guys' aptitude for sarcasm, was not unlike nitro and glycerin. Yet, over time, Michelle began to warm up to us. We always took jabs at each other, but it was more or less good natured.

Alicia was one of those expats who wasn't really a Global teacher (part-time, on occasion only), but she hung out with us on a semi-regular basis. It was believed by some that Alicia had had a thing for Dan, but to the best of my knowledge never admitted it. She was a sweet girl, but she could be moody and distant at times.

The guy who actually hired me for that first morning class in April 1997 was Kenny, a Canadian east-coaster who enjoyed a beer now and then. I think he ended up going to work for ELS, too, but he would still show up if we were going to Cass Town.

Then there was the couple from San Diego, Aaron and Jessica. She seemed very nice, while he reminded me of a bull in a China shop. He would openly criticize Koreans in English, evidently believing they could not understand him (or else he just didn't care). My most vivid memory of him was the night we all went drinking and then got into a street fight with some Korean guys. The police ended up taking us to the station, and Aaron kept threatening the police with some U.S. embassy action. This was so funny, listening to him talk about the "international incident" this detainment would cause. What wasn't so funny was the busted lip I was nursing at the time as a result of the fight.

The last guy I'll mention here was a kyopo, Johnny Park. He was a good guy, but he was one of those expats who had me wondering if he lived in a dream world. Why? Well, there is a song by the Foo Fighters called Hey, Johnny Park! Johnny insisted on numerous occasions that this song was about him because, according to him, he and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters were close friends in school. Whatever, dude.