MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

ABSTRACT: I have composed a guide containing information that will spark interest in prospective students or help prepare recent college graduates to teach English abroad through an international exchange gap year program in one of three East Asian Countries: China, South Korean, and Japan. The guide is presented in chronological order and presents the information almost like a timeline that increases in specificity the deeper you delve into the content. The introduction explains the benefits of the teaching abroad experience and background information about the three programs I am focusing on: Teach for China, EPIK (English Program in Korea), and The JET Program (Japan Exchange Teaching Program). The following section breaks down the application process, provides a checklist of necessary materials for living abroad, and discusses cultural assimilation. The bulk of the material will be concentrated in the last few sections of the guide where I talk about the psychology in the classroom, the effect of student motivation on performance, and the understanding of the linguistic concepts that account for the difficulty of the mastering of English by non-native speakers. At the end, I incorporate lessons and activities to help overcome these obstacles. The resources are compiled from a number of sources, most importantly, current or past teaching assistants who have participated in these programs. After reading this guide, I hope the reader will either become interested in applying to one of these programs or, if already accepted into one, feel more confident and prepared to live abroad and teach successfully.

READER’S PROFILE: A recent or soon-to-graduate university student majoring in primary or secondary education who has a good amount of teaching experience either in the U.S, abroad, or both.

READER’S RESPONSE: You have a lot of good examples, but teaching abroad is usually at minimum a year-long commitment. It sounds like for the students to succeed, every class needs to be fun yet convey the material seriously at the same time. How many unique and engaging activities could you possibly come up with? I have dealt with many students before and even if the activities are interesting, there will always be some who perform poorly, don’t care, or don’t absorb the material as well as you would expect. However, I guess that is part of the learning process of being a teacher: getting to know your class on a personal level and coming up with lesson plans yourself. Why else would foreign countries be hiring us?

L -- I am so glad that this document helps you and others prepare for this important work. Real documents helping real people -- my favorite projects of all time, truly.