tahn

My English skills are at native level under 11 years of enrolling in international school starting from second grade at elementary school to Year 4 high school graduation, along with satisfying four years of curriculum at City University of Hong Kong. A total of 15 years of international experience has allowed be to develop high interpersonal skills capable of being able to communicate with wide variety of people regardless of their nationality or gender. My leadership skills have been developed over many years being a high school class representative under student council society in high school and a Applied Biology Year 2014 BSc JSSCC Student Representative in City University of Hong Kong. Both positions required me to listen to fellow student’s problems and actively raise them for other members of the committee and school staffs to work together and solve them.

I have gone to Hong Kong alone and lived there for 4 years, leaving my family behind in Korea. This experience helped me to develop independence and problem solving skills, allowing me to analyze problems I face while leaving alone. Furthermore, I have developed good time management skills as I had to do housework while doing school works.

The following are highlights of my skills and accomplishments:
– responsible, trustworthy, keen to learn new things
– possess deep and adequate subject knowledge which can cover the SAT standards
– possess an ability to communicate complex information in an understandable way students can easily comprehend
– besides a textbook, create own activities or worksheets that would supplement the curriculum standards
– prior experience of adopting diverse teaching methodologies, motivating slow learners, and mentoring troubled students

Dear Human Resources Manager:

I am applying for an international teacher’s position at your school. As demonstrated in my resume, I have great qualifications for the teaching position – I have native English proficiency and familiarity with the western education systems. In addition, as I have been teaching courses on English and psychology and advising students about college application at private education institutions in China, I have proven experience and skills to become an outstanding instructor at your international school.

Early Life
I moved to New Zealand with my family when I was nine years old, acquired New Zealand citizenship, and went through all levels of education in the country. I played basketball in a school team from primary to high school. I was a member of a top basketball team during high school and pursued entering a college as a student athlete only to not succeed. Upon my parents’ suggestion, I entered college to study physiotherapy but did not find much interest in my major. I wanted to leave college and become a golfer, to which my parents strongly opposed. Even though I stayed in college to respect their wishes, I paid little attention to my college education as I vigorously practiced golf and worked fulltime to pay for my training.

After five years of trying to become a professional golfer, I became interested in sports psychology. I naturally obtained first-hand experience and in-depth understanding of the topic as psychology plays a significant part in golf. To further develop this interest, I changed my major to psychology at the university I was enrolled in. Since I had found a new passion in psychology I was exceptionally motivated to work hard. Finding a topic of my interest improved everything in my life: I felt a great sense of attainment as I learned about psychology and got back on good terms with my parents. As I focused on golf for an extended time, going back to college education was challenging. I had to put much more effort to catch up with my studies but much enjoyed overcoming such difficulties. I also embarked on new adventures, one of which was obtaining an English teaching qualification: a certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). At that time I did not realize the certificate would shape my entire career.

Professional Career as an English and Psychology Instructor
I began my professional career as an English instructor rather unexpectedly. I accepted a suggestion from a friend to teach English in China in hopes of traveling around the world. I joined the native English-speaking faculty at T&T Elite English in Guiyang, China. To my surprise, I immensely enjoyed teaching students once I started it. I spent many hours preparing for class so that I would be able to offer better learning experience to my students. I even practiced jokes to tell in class to better help students.

My outstanding performance at T&T was recognized when my contract was renewed for a second year. I did enjoy teaching English there and seriously considered developing my career as an instructor. I looked for a job in teaching English at more advanced levels and joined Peking Coryo Education to teach courses for preparing students for college entrance examinations. As I was recognized for my familiarity with foreign education systems, I assumed a more extensive role at the institute and have been advising students for a wide range of topics related to college application. In particular, I have been helping students in selecting colleges and preparing application documents. Upon completion of my contract with this institute, I was privileged to be offered an opportunity and become an employee at a local public high school. This is when I took a more responsible position in intensively training international students to prepare for their exams such as TOEFL, SAT, and AP as well as providing assistance to the university consultant in our department. Furthermore, throughout the years, I have been taking an online master’s program in education from a U.S. university, which will allow me to have a solid background in education, improve my pedagogical skills, and ultimately better help students.

Reasons for Applying
I am applying to fully utilize my skills and experience while seeking further professional development. I have been teaching Korean students at the Peking Coryo Education in Beijing and that made me think about broadening the scope to a global level. Also, I have proven my skills to deliver classes under an “English-only” environment with Chinese students at Niulanshan high school, which will allow me to become an outstanding instructor as well as a reliable consultant wherever I happen to be. Also, I have practiced under a foreign expert certificate with a proper working visa throughout my time in China which makes me a legitimate candidate and I am confident that my lifestyle will definitely set out a good example for my future students.

As you can see, I am a late bloomer. I found the career that I later became devoted to only after I had tried a few other paths. Although I am still early in my career, I am committed to advancing this career in teaching students more than anyone. Since I embarked on this job, I have been developing every single day as I have a great passion about this job. I have a right combination of English language proficiency, global experience, and teaching skills. I hope that I will be given an opportunity to contribute to your continued success by better helping your students. I look forward to discussing my qualifications in person with you.

Sincerely,

Mu Chi “Raphael” Kim