tahn

Experience: 1-year teaching experience in Shincheorwon, Gangwon-Do
(1 March 2019 – 28 February 2020)
– Elementary (Grade 4-6), Middle (Grade 1-3), and High School (Grade 1)

I am an enthusiastic teacher that loves to find fun and exciting ways to teach my students. I am very hard working, reliable and flexible.

I have taught textbook based English lessons for Elementary and Middle School. For the After School and High School classes, my students provided topics that they were interested in and I developed the lessons around it. We covered various topics from cultures in different countries to new and exciting innovations.

I am very keen to return to Korea to continue my teaching career as well as sharing my culture with my students and co-teachers.

Please feel free to have a look at my video
(drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UUhTVE5rYVeUJOWzkliB7sUcGWODX08C).

I have recently graduated from the University of Glasgow, attaining a Masters degree in Modern History with Distinction. I am always looking for exciting new challenges, and my strengths include learning and researching which is why I have decided to pursue a placement with ESL. My five years at University have granted me several different strengths that I believe make me the ideal candidate for this position, including excellent language and communication skills, perfected through the undertaking of several academic papers, and two dissertations. Attaining a Masters degree with Distinction in a Humanities subject with very little contact time has provided me with invaluable self-discipline and time-management skills, meaning I am an incredibly hard working and goal-oriented person. Perhaps most importantly, however, small seminar based sessions and debates undertaken throughout my university career has afforded me excellent communication and educational skills. These strengths have been complemented by my six years in retail, experience which has allowed me to work in large teams with a diverse range of people. I have a very outgoing and extroverted personality, loving nothing more than meeting new people and being able to work with and educate them.
My early experience teaching English in Spain with the company Diverbo provided me with experience from a young age in teaching English to non-native speakers, and instilled in me a passion for such work. My position as a key holder and team manager at my various retail jobs has greatly enhanced the leadership skills I know would be necessary for a English teacher position, enabling me to command large classes of all ages. These roles have also ensured that I thrive in fast-paced and high-pressure work environments, working with a large number of people. This experience, gained in confluence with my University education, has provided me with the resilience and emotional intelligence I anticipate will be required for a position as an English teacher.
My natural affinity for engaging with others and avaricious interest in education and communication is why I know I would be well-suited to this programme. If given the opportunity, I will work incredibly hard to prove that I can excel in this job.

In winter 2020, I was awarded a MSc in Modern History with Distinction from the University of Glasgow, a Russel Group establishment. The previous summer, I graduated from the same institution with a First Class Honours degree in History. I am also in the process of completing the 120 Hour TEFL course. I believe my sterling academic record demonstrates my mastery of the English language and proves me capable of executing instruction in English language at any level. Additionally, my attainment of the highest possible degree classifications demonstrates my determination and love of learning.

Furthermore, I have been working with children in some educational or extracurricular capacity since my early teenage years. I have worked and volunteered as a peer mentor in High School, with a local youth education charity Up2U, as a music tutor, and as a youth leader with the Girl Guides. Most notable, however, is my experience as a General Counsellor at American residential summer camps in 2016 and as a Widening Participation tutor with the University of Glasgow Top-Up programme from September 2019 to June 2020. As a Camp Counsellor I oversaw groups of girls aged between five and sixteen years old throughout the days in a variety of activities, from arts and crafts to high ropes courses. Alongside a host of general administrative duties, I had to ensure that each girl was engaged and enjoying herself. Additionally, the camps’ residential natures meant I had to act as an emotional caretaker for many campers. As a Top-Up tutor, I introduced and equipped High School students with the knowledge and skills to undertake further education and counselled pupils regarding concerns they harboured about the university or college experience.

Such experiences have taught me that I love working with children and take great pride in seeing them succeed in whatever they put their minds to. I strongly believe that learning does not need to be passive and can be made incredibly enjoyable. I hope to inspire children to indulge their intellectual curiosities and develop a lifelong love of learning. I want to positively contribute to the world by nurturing children’s minds, inspiring them to challenge themselves and build human connections, and have confidence in themselves and their abilities.

During the third year of my undergraduate degree I attended the University of Melbourne, a period of study which demonstrates my self-sufficiency and adaptability. This experience of living on the other side of the world for a year proved to be a critical point in my education and self-confidence journey and inspired enormous personal growth. The practice of uprooting myself and partaking in cultural exchanges is something I hope to replicate in the next phase of my life by teaching English in South Korea. I’m eager to try new food, meet new people, and learn new things- I have even begun learning Hanguk-mal.

I am a native English speaker having grown up in Scotland.

I have experience in both middle school as well as high school settings which I was able to obtain during my teaching practice. Additionally, I have worked as a private tutor assisting a scholar through high school to university level. This in turn has helped me to develop abilities to cater to the needs of various age groups.
I believe that as a teacher, I do not only focus on teaching but also recognize I too can learn from my students. Moreover, the classroom environment should be a fun and free learning environment, meaning, my students should feel free to ask and answer questions, this way it is much easier for them to grasp new information. That said, Zone of Proximal Development by Lev Vygotsky is an important method of teaching in my classroom due to the fact that it creates an interactive learning environment, thus, making it easier for me to recognize my learners strengths, weaknesses and possible barriers to learning. This will then be incorporated into the lesson plans and be implemented timeously.
During my teaching practice, I have come to realize how important it is to get to know your learners and what a vital role a teacher plays in each learner’s life. I possess the necessary to qualities, teach, empathize, have fun, organize and run disciplined yet relaxed academic setting.

I am a motivated individual who is realistic and acknowledges the many challenges that teaching will bring and strives to meet them. Recent teaching experience has taught me that every child is capable of reaching tremendous heights and it is my goal to possess the required skills, qualities, and attitude to successfully play a key role in helping them to achieve their true potential.
In my experience as a teaching assistant at a local secondary school I gained an insight into both the demands of teachers and the importance of teacher/student relationships. This role required initiative, self-confidence, and the ability to remain calm and composed in challenging situations. I have developed the ability to interact with pupils on a professional and nurturing level. As well as subject planning, I was responsible for preparing worksheets, activities, and homework to enable students to improve their grades. I became aware of the satisfaction that can be gained in working with children through observing their development, progress, and achievements. Initial teaching skills were developed when I began working as a tutor which consisted of two hours per week at the local community centre. I planned and delivered revision sessions allowing the students to compare what they knew before the revision lesson and what they knew after it was discussed as a class.

Seoul, Korea is my homeland and I have not been back since I was young. When I was three months old, I was sent on a plane from Seoul, Korea to the United States. Right as I was birthed, I was taken out of my biological mother’s arms and was immediately placed into the Korean governmental foster care system. She desperately wanted me to have a life that could provide me with opportunities and privileges in America. I am a first generation, Korean American college graduate in a Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) major.
In college I made it my goal to be educated on a magnitude of disciplines, I wanted to be diversely educated on many subjects. I did not want to only focus my education on one specific topic, I took advantage of the different classes that are offered. I have a strong cultural background that greatly makes up who I am. When I was an adolescent my American parents decided this would be a striving age to expand my personal education through cultural immersion. The main principle of the cultural immersion is to physically and mentally explore the different and unique cultures, but most importantly to be a part of a diverse community. I have mainly focused my scholarly career on environmental science, and integrating general science and mathematical studies, as well as cultural classes that include language. My goal is to do the most I can with the knowledge I have gathered so far into my life by helping and supporting others.

Having over 2 years experience working as a teaching assistant at St Barnabas and St Paul’s Primary School, I have gained invaluable skills working with children of all abilities, including children who do not have English as their first language. Among my responsibilities, I plan and lead group interventions, which include speech and language interventions. Through working at a primary school, I have expanded on my ability to adapt to changing circumstances, whilst continuing to provide a professional and engaging attitude. I would bring a passion for learning and a positive attitude to the team, as well as a keen determination to become the best possible teacher I can be.

I have excellent teamwork skills, which I have been able to expand on through working as part of a large team whilst working in the catering business, as well as my current job working in a large school.

To give myself the best possible start to an ESL job, I have also obtained a 120 hour TEFL certificate from TEFL Org, and I am excited to put into action the knowledge and skills I have acquired through my course.

As a physical geography graduate, I have a passion for exploring new places and immersing myself in diverse cultures. I am extremely friendly and approachable, and I am keen to embark on a new adventure.