English Camp, Jeju Island

Teach South Korean Children Next Summer

By Alice Driver

Renee Lamance, a 2003 graduate of Berea College with a bachelor’s degree in education and a minor in Spanish spent two weeks last summer teaching at Island English Camp on Jeju Island, South Korea located 64 kilometers south of the Korean Peninsula. The camp, which has been running for six years, is held twice a year at Cheju Halla College, once in January and again in the summer. It is sponsored by Cheju Halla College, supervised by Emil Education, and managed by the National Institute for International Education Development. During this 4-week camp, participants (ages 10 to 15) and teachers can choose either a 2- or 4-week stay. Teaching applicants should have a degree in English or a related field in the humanities or an ESL certificate. Candidates should also mention any experience in music, art, sports, or camp counseling. Upon acceptance to the program the flight, dormitory, meals, and processing fee of the C-visa are paid for, in addition to a salary of $500 per week. A camp director is selected from among the teachers and receives extra pay.

Lamance and other teachers stayed in the double room dormitories at Cheju Halla College, taught English from 9 a.m. to noon, took a break for lunch, and held group classes and activities or field trips in the afternoon. “There is also one day that is set aside to teach the kids anything you want (first aid, dance, four square, capture the flag, etc.),” says Lamance. Camp size is different by season, and winter camp is generally smaller than summer camp. In the summer of 2006 there were 257 kids participating, and teachers generally work with 10 to 12 kids in a unit. Lamance taught English to a group of basic- to intermediate-level 10- to 11-year-olds. In addition to teaching English, she led activities.

“It is a camp, so it is not meant to be entirely class work,” she says. “They encourage learning through songs and games. I played musical chairs, twister, red light/green light, and tried to teach the electric slide and square dancing during my class.”

Camp courses are set in advance, and all course materials are provided. The camp currently uses the Canadian workbook English Smart in 90 Days. Lamance says that the most challenging aspect of working at the camp was preventing the kids from speaking Korean. “It was supposed to be an English only camp, but most of the time the staff and kids were speaking Korean,” says Lamance. “Some of the kids were very shy about practicing their English.” However, Korean teaching assistants worked with the English teachers to help translate for the kids.

Teachers have off a half day per week and a full day every two weeks. In this time Lamance and fellow instructors went sight seeing, enjoyed the city and night life, and visited local caves, beaches, and Korean saunas.

Alice Driver is taking a year of leave from her graduate program in Hispanic Studies at the Univ. of Kentucky to join her husband, Isaac Bingham, on his Watson Fellowship. Isaac and Alice will travel to Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Tokelau, Peru, and Ecuador this year as Isaac pursues studies in indigenous boatbuilding.