11 Oct
The Big Move
Initial training is often the part every English instructor dreads the most. Looking back, this was probably my most stressful experience being here in Korea. Not because of the workload, but because of the nerves that came with moving to a foreign country. I was worried about taking the wrong bus/subway, getting lost, and oversleeping because of jet lag. Thankfully, everything worked out just fine for me & I was able to create some great friendships from this week alone.
Asking For Help!
My training center was located in Dongjak-Gu, which was about a 30-minute commute from my airbnb. My first day of training I managed to hop on three wrong buses. I think I could’ve prevented this, but I am so stubborn when it comes to asking for help. If there is anything you get from this post, it’s that you should ask for help if you are unsure about anything. I eventually made my way to the training center where I met other fellow trainees and our instructor.
Schedule
Training was from 10 am to 5 pm. From 10am-12pm, we were given lessons on how to teach the course materials. The lessons consisted of reading comprehension, listening, and student management. All three subjects play a vital role in my current lessons, so shout out to Charles Hong for being a great patient instructor.
Golden Hour
Lunch was from 12pm-1pm. These breaks allowed us trainees to bond, share information, encourage one another, and talk about our new experiences here in South Korea. It was comforting to know that everyone was just as nervous, scared, and excited as me. We instantly clicked with one another and exchanged socials. We were from all different backgrounds, but the fact that we shared the same dreams and goals in that moment made the moment all the more special.
Mock Training
From 1pm-5pm, trainees utilized this time to practice mocks. Mocks are basically practice runs. They allow us to pretend that we are teaching a classroom full of students. We ran through the lessons just as we were taught and gave each other feedback on how we performed. In all honesty, it was a bit intimidating to mock in front of one another. But, with each run it became easier. We would perform our mocks the following day in front of our instructor Charles. He graded our level of confidence, our ability to comprehend instructions, our ability to keep conversations flowing, our student management skills, etc.. Most of us improved day by day.
Ready to Rock and Roll!
The fifth day was our final mock day. This is where we performed our mocks one last time and were given the green or red flag to proceed with our position at Creverse. Everyone in my group, including myself, passed. In a nutshell, training week will be a very overwhelming week. But, if I did it, so can you. Best of luck!
Amber Ochoa is from Los Angeles, USA, and just recently moved to South Korea in May. She studied Biochemistry as an undergraduate. After graduation, she began venturing out and embracing her love for adventure. She finds that “nothing holds greater power in our life than the unknown.” One night while applying to random jobs on Indeed, she came across an English teaching position in Seoul, Korea. Flash forward, she is now teaching at CDI, Mokdong branch. She claims that Creverse found her and ended up becoming a blessing in disguise. Amber says giving knowledge to students & inspiring them for higher achievements in life is one of the greatest feelings in the world.