tahn

I’m interested in applying for your current English Teacher position at your school. I believe I can be a great asset to your education system because of my high interest in helping develop adolescent minds. Your schools location within Korea is also another reason I hope to work for your program. Korea’s rich culture, food and way of life has always inspired me to one day be able to live and teach there.
In terms of why I believe I’m a good fit for your school has to do with my educational history along with my experience. I have a 4 year degree from California Polytechnic University in Business and I have a TEFL certification. My TEFL certification consists of 150 hours of coursework such as teaching approaches, formulating activities, etc. It also, includes 20 hours of practicum were I have to observe, privately tutor or teach a class. I have also recently taught English at a school in Japan where I gained hands on experience with a variety of students and materials. Between the course work and experience teaching I have been able to gain skills that will allow me to adapt to different classroom environments. This has prepared me for a country like Korea were teaching is drastically different from the U.S. In Korea, I will be able to use cooperative activities along with differential teaching approaches for a better outcome with the students. Along with this dynamic approach, I have a business background and have worked in the industry for a few years. This experience has enabled me to communicate well amongst others even when the common native tongue is different. I also have personal experience from living in other countries for an extended period of time, such as New Zealand and Japan. In life I work hard on everything I commit myself to, from triathlon’s to education to workplaces, I always give it my all. In essence, giving a 100% in life is like my religion to me. Through all of my personal qualifications, I believe that I’m fit for this job and no matter what fields I may struggle in or lack, I will attain through my hardworking mentality.

During my time in teachers college and my bachelors of education, I have worked in a variety of settings including both elementary and high school classrooms, coaching sports, and overnight summer camp. During my time as a student teacher in two different high schools I covered several subjects but my teachable is science; I taught the entire biology unit for a grade 10 academic class in my last placement including all course material, quizzes, the final exam and labs. I was also successful in my interview at the Thames Valley District School Board for a supply teaching position.

My skill set includes communication, organization, enthusiasm and creativity. I believe in supporting, encouraging, and guiding students so that they may become self-directed learners. By creating an environment that emphasizes cooperative education and inquiry based learning, I can help foster diversity, growth, leadership and success in all aspects of student’s lives.

I have an outgoing personality and adapt well to new situations quickly and with ease. I am patient, kind, and have excellent classroom management.

Thank you for your consideration.

I am a single, 27-year-old South African male from Northern Cape, South Africa. In 2017 I finished my postgraduate studies at Stellenbosch University and remain determined to further utilize my skills through teaching abroad.

In early February 2019 I finished a temporary adult training position as the main facilitator and educator for Media Work’s Chemical Industries Education & Training Authority (CHIETA) Course for a class of twenty-five adult students aged 18 to 35 in the the Northern Cape region. This was a semi-state sponsored Adult Education program (AET) focused on bettering Computer Literacy and English language speaking abilities that are aimed primarily at adult students residing in rural areas. Lessons involved oral presentation skills, financial management and other humanities-related topics such as public policy, financial management, geography, mining and minerals as well as codes of conduct in the workplace.

Before undertaking this project, I helped my country’s National Department of Economic Development and Tourism of South Africa to update their provincial Trade and Investment Strategy (TIS) within the Nama-Khoi Municipal region, a project which was crucial for the latest BRICS report, the first to include the region since 2015. This was done in conjunction with Urban Econ and involved data analysis as well as one-on-one interviews with local business in an effort to determine external investment potential. I have also participated in assigned projects throughout my academic career in geography and urban planning that required a high level of competency in terms of Geographic Information Science (GIS) and related-task management projects.

Most recently I finished a one year teaching contract in Tokyo, Japan for Shane Schools. Overall my students comprised of elementary, intermediate and advanced levels of instruction with a few Business level students. Throughout it was expected of me to teach constituents working at various financial institutions in the Shinjuku, Tokyo metropolitan area. I taught in Akabane, Iidabashi, Ogikubo, ShakujiKoen, Ikebukuro and Kunitachi.

I want to join the international workforce yet again and broaden my skillset in terms of bettering my method of instruction all the while reaching new audiences. I have been described as being a very confident teacher that brings out the best in my students. With a diverse background, and whether teaching in Japan or South Africa, I can positively state that I can handle any group dynamic I am fortunate enough to be a part of.

I have also studied and passed English on a tertiary level up until the end of my sophomore year (Stellenbosch University). In addition I have passed a two day TEFL UK practical classroom training session in Cape Town. This qualification was accompanied with a 168 hour online course that makes up for the requirements to pass a Level 5 TEFL UK Certificate. Furthermore i also obtained my 56 hour practical training certificate upon completion of my one year teaching contract in Tokyo as recently as March 1st 2020.

I have the required skillset and competency to teach younger learners as well as higher levels. I have been involved with Disaster Risk mitigation projects with i-RADAR South Africa that not only required fluent English language capabilities but also excellent presentation skills, the latter being essential in awarding me with the National Disaster Management Bursary in 2017, the only student from my university that qualified for the honor after successfully compiling a yearly report of backyard dwellers in the Cape Winelands District Municipality region.

I work well under pressure and can rightfully state that I will be a valuable asset to the integrity of your organization.

I hope to hear from you soon.

I graduated with my Bachelor of Education in June 2016. Since then, I have been teaching in a variety of fields. Tutoring, Private school, High School, Elementary school and coaching volleyball are all the different ways that I have used my degree. I then went back to school in September 2017 and got my Masters in November 2018. I find that my personality is complemented as approachable, where students are able to come to me with whatever is bothering them (socially, academically) and I will not judge them. They then become quite comfortable with me. In addition, my skills vary, but most importantly, I am qualified to teach IELTS and help ESL students through the process of enrolling in Western universities.

I enjoy learning languages as a hobby. Because of that I understand the common difficulties of learning a language and what are common mistakes language learners stumble upon. I also have taken linguistics classes and a history of the English language class. I purposely worked in Chinese and Korean restaurants in America to do language exchange with my co-workers, because of this I believe I am used to understanding people who are non-native English speakers. I'm currently learning: French, Mandarin, and Korean.

Growing up as a Korean-American, living within two cultures is difficult enough at times. Especially when I spend a majority of my time outside of home trying to become an American and socialize and follow the norms of being one, while at the same time, trying to maintain my Korean identity, valuing the traditions at home with my parents. However, I always faced the conflict of having to understand the ideal Korean values and principles for I was never exposed to them in society except at home. As I grew up, I realized how my being was also a non-being in a sense that I am not truly considered to be a Korean-Korean among my fellow Koreans in Korea, nor am I considered to be an American except for my passport which identifies me as one. The struggle to fit into or even be identified for who I am was a big question for me. Although I was lucky enough to get a view of both worlds, there are many times when I still struggle with trying to categorize myself as one or the other, along with having to take in certain values and principles because that is just who I am.
These curiosities have been an impetus for me to seek what it means to be living within two different cultures. My diverse experiences since high school and college includes volunteering as a Sunday school teacher, working with second-generation Korean-American students to help build and foster a learning community about our roots and in developing our identity within two cultures. Likewise, as students began to create and understand their identity, I took this opportunity to go on mission trips where students were unable to speak or understand the native language to gain another perspective of what it means to live in a global world. Within these experiences, my teaching philosophy rises from the idea of building a classroom community to help develop globally competent youths.
With the support of my educational background, I gained the importance of understanding child development and learning in order to provide an effective differentiated learning that meets the needs of all learners. While at Temple University, my previous experiences in classrooms range from working with kindergarten and first grade students in inner-city public and charter schools in the Philadelphia School District, where I learned to work with students from low-income families who often struggled with emotional support. I also had the opportunity to work in third and fourth grade classrooms that were ELL friendly, where building relationships with students to help them gain confidence was more meaningful. While working with early childhood students, I realized how being an educator is more than being just a teacher. Specifically for kindergarten students, I learned that this is the only opportunity where students grow and learn to practice behavior and social skills along with their academics in a safe environment for the first time before they practice what is expected of them in the upper grades.
As a teacher, I believe in young people and their impacts in the global world. Hence, we must help students discover their passions, and give worthiness to their dreams. Through working with children, I discovered the importance of helping students grow to become a global citizen which is grounded in empathy, understanding, and respect. English may be the dominant language, and many schools may focus on the importance of English, but learning the language itself for the mere purpose of trying to stay on the top of the tier is meaningless nowadays. With that in mind, I think it is important that learning is structured in ways that provides the students the opportunity to actively engage and wonder by focusing on the past, the present, and the future. My generation and moving forward will face unforeseeable and formidable challenges, and to overcome them we must understand not only our collective responsibility but also our collective power together. In order to build and practice these qualities, learning the language, culture, and the history can help us embrace and understand which can promote peace. With that in mind, I hope to secure a teaching position in Korea to work with students to better engage with the diverse and beautiful world. I believe that with my previous experiences working with a diverse body of people, I will be able to be contribute to the team of educators who fosters students the ability to give voice to their dreams through the various experiences they gain. Professionally, I believe that teaching in Korea will provide a great opportunity to practice and refine my teaching philosophies in making a difference with every action in our students’ lives that we impact. Just like the old saying about how it takes a whole village to raise a child, fostering students to build a community in the classroom has allowed me to refine my teaching goals and skills when working with a diverse student body. It is my goal to help create and foster a future where all children have a safe and caring community that they can build, taking advantage of the globalization and building strong cultural ties in developing their identity and dreams.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Alicia Chong