Int'l ESL Gateways
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What others are saying about Int'l ESL Gateway's recruiting services.
I LOVE it here! jinju seems great, from what i've seen of it so far. the academy and director are AWESOME! like i honestly couldn't say it enough! like he'd do anything for us! ummm the other teachers? there's this older guy "mac," maybe in his 40s? what a DUDE...hehe...he's nice, but so funny, kinda think he's a bit OC? LOL...but na, he's alright! :) at least he's nice! :) and really helpful! then there's this other guy, 23 from south africa...sooo shy, but soooo sweet....he's got the south african accent, and so laid back. ya, so it's all good...the atmosphere at school is just so relaxed, not stressful at all...my classes have no more than 6 students! :) it's sweet!
Tamara
We got your email, and i just wanted to let you know that things are going really well here in Jeonju...the Korean people have been so welcoming and kind...the adjustment has gone well...
Daniella
Things are good in Jeonju. We have been able to travel so much since we've been here. It also is really nice to have a bunch of other foriegners to hang out with. This weekend we are going to Daedunsan ( I think that is how it is spelled) so it should be really nice with the fall leaves. Daniella and I both have friends who are living in Seoul, so we both have visited a few times. I love Seoul! We went to Jeju for Chuseok which was incredible... a typhoon had just hit but the weather cleared up to be gorgeous.
Ashley
Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've written you. That really seems like such a long time ago and in another world! I'm doing well thanks. It's a good thing you didn't ask right after I got here though because I had a fight with a toilet with an attitude. I'm sure you know about the fancy toilets/bidets that they have here....
Anyway, yes, I'm more settled in and Korea is amazing. It really is like no other place I've been before. This is what I was looking for, for sure, but it's still very hard to explain life here to people back home. That must definitely be a difficult job for you when prospective teachers ask you what to expect. I've been taking millions of pictures and still trying to explain how I have to shower over my sink. Pictures are worth a thousand words.
I had my first real week on the job and now I've got a week vacation...nice huh? I've been fortunate to meet some really great people. The job's good. A bit rigid in terms of curriculum, but hey, it's better than being too loose, I say. The people here have been really helpful and I've met both Tim (Temujin) and Tahira. They are really cool people and Tahira and I have been hanging out together since we're the new ones on the block. We were both a little freaked out by the living situation, but they are trying to take care of some problems, so the fact that they are working hard to resolve any issues is a big plus. Lots of burned out workers though...I've been told to expect it. Not quite sure what it's about yet though. I guess I'll find out in time. Anyway, it was nice hearing from you. Hope you're all doing well. Please keep me in your prayers. Oh, by the way, I'm now attending Korean Mass. Verrrrry interesting! Haha. But, the Catholic church is the Catholic church everywhere and with the help of veiled old ladies, I'm following right along. Maybe I'll learn some Korean that way!
God bless,
Cristina
Good to hear from you! Things are going really well here. Topia really has everything set up so that its an easy transition. They have great apartments, and I lucked out and got one of the best. Their curriculum is very well layed out and complete, which is great unless someone is an expereinced teacher used to making up their own classroom plans. With so many other foreigners its easy to always have people to hang out with. I'm at the building across from where manson is so I rarely see him. The floor i'm on only has 5 foreigners so its smaller but also not as crazy and my supervisor doesn't have to deal with other stuff, just us. They're great about getting internet/cable hooked up if its not already in the apartment from the last person, and are just really prepared for new teachers. In the future, i'd definitely recommend this place, especially if someone is new at teaching esl.
Ashlei
English Camps
I thought in the adventure program Airi, just 11-year-old girl could have more fun in such a program done in the nature than just at English schools. it was a perfect program. Actually there we could meet Taiwanese, Korean and Canadian children and Airi could make friends with them easily and I could see how they are learing English in Canada while I was watching Airi having a lot of fun.
When we arrived there at the end of March, it sometimes snowed and one wild deer welcomed us in front of at the main lodge of the ranch. I thought it was a very good start.
Every day’s schedule is like this written in this hand-out. These schedules are very flexible for example according to the weather, and the participants’ likes, they said to me .
Airi had some 90- minutes English lessons in the morning.
During the kids’ study time in the morning , I enjoyed the beautiful scenery around there or watching many kinds of DVDs with some Taiwanese , Korean teenager students living in Canada and playing with Julie's daughter. At night I often asked Julie and her husband Doug about the words I could not understand when I was watching English movies and also had some pronunciation lessons. They say adults can make a request about their own English lessons, I mean. they are quite flexible to the need of each person. I also had a lot of time to talk with Julie, Doug and their neighbors, so I think I had a lot of conversation classes.
In the afternoon we did many kinds of activities. Some were outdoor activities, and some were indoor activities. We went to some beautiful lakes by car and found some fossils there.
Home Stay
Studying abroad is a great experience. I have been here for 1 1/2 years. My homestay has 3 children. My homestay father has a great sense of humour. My homestay mom is very kind and sweet person. Their kids are very lovely and they like to play tricks on me. Moreover I think learning English is not only from the school, but the homestay is very important also. It is the best place to practise what you are learning.
- Amily Tsai, Taiwan
