[KS] study options - ETA program

[Horace H. Underwood]

Dear KS colleagues:

Ms. Morgan Pitelka asked if there were opportunities for recent college
graduates to study or work in Korea.  I think this is a good time to mention
to the list the existence of the Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistant)
program to Korea.  The ETA program takes American recent college graduates
and brings them to Korea to teach English in Korean middle and high schools
outside of Seoul.  They come in July for six weeks of language survival
training, teacher survival training, and cultural adaptation in Chunchon;
then they work as the only native speaker of English in their schools for a
year as they teach with Korean co-teachers and live in a Korean homestay.
The program requires no prior knowledge of Korea or the Korean language and
no prior teaching experience, but the ETAs never get Korea out of their
system - one of the 1994 ETAs is returning this fall, in fact, as a regular
graduate student Fulbrighter doing dissertation research in Korean studies.
We have 50+ ETAs this year and hope for more next year.  Application is
through the campus Fulbright Coordinator and IIE and the deadline is in
October, but we have been publicizing the program on American university
campuses this spring through a brochure.  The text of that brochure is
pasted below Ms. Pitelka's message.  If you know of recent college
graduates - or someone who will be a college senior this fall - who might
like to come to Korea for a year, please ask them to apply or ask us if they
have questions - or at least look the websites, including our own:
www.fulbright.or.kr

Horace H. Underwood
Executive Director (Fulbright)
Korean-American Educational Commission
168-15 Yomni-dong, Mapo-gu
Seoul 121-874, South Korea
Ph:+82-2-3275-4000; fax:+82-2-3275-4028
hhu at fulbright.or.kr
www.fulbright.or.kr

---------------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: Koreanstudies-admin at koreaweb.ws
[mailto:Koreanstudies-admin at koreaweb.ws]On Behalf Of Morgan Pitelka
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2002 3:09 AM
To: Korean Studies List
Subject: [KS] study options

Dear All,

Can anyone recommend opportunities for recent college graduates to
study or work in Korea? Are there specific grants from private
institutions or the Korean government for study? Or specific teaching
or working programs? I know there are many opportunities in terms of
teaching English privately, but I'm interested in larger, more
focused programs for my students.

Thanks,
*****************
Morgan Pitelka
Asian Studies Department
Occidental College
1600 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA 90041
1-323-259-1421
mailto:mpitelka at oxy.edu
*****************

-------------------------------------------------------------

FULBRIGHT
ENGLISH TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP
KOREA

"The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more
reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby to
increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and
friendship."

- J. William Fulbright


FULBRIGHT ENGLISH TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP
*Open to all graduating seniors
*No Korean language skills necessary
*No prior teaching experience necessary

The Fulbright English Assistantship (ETA) Program places young Americans as
English conversation teachers in Korean secondary schools outside of Seoul.
Though called "English Teaching Assistants," most ETAs, like "graduate
assistants" in American universities, have full responsibility for
developing lesson plans and teaching English conversation to their classes.
This fellowship is unique: it is almost the only Fulbright grant in the
world that is open to generalists with no prior knowledge of the country.
No teaching or language credentials are required.  What you will need as an
ETA is a great deal of enthusiasm for an intense year of immersion into a
Korean school and homestay environment.  While the individual experiences of
ETAs differ considerably, all have found that, as one said, "you never get
Korea out of you."

BACKGROUND AND AIMS OF THE PROGRAM
The ETA Program began with eight grantees in 1992 and now brings as many as
55 Americans to Korea each year.  The Korean-American Educational Commission
(Fulbright Commission), the Korean Ministry of Education, and the U.S.
Institute of International Education (IIE) are the agencies that organize,
select, and develop the guidelines for the program.
The ETA Program in Korea has the following major goals:
1. To give American college graduates a cultural immersion experience in
Korea.
2. To give Korean secondary students exposure to a native speaker of English
and to American culture.
3. To allow the ETA an opportunity to evaluate career objectives.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please visit our website at www.fulbright.or.kr or the
IIE website at www.iie.org/fulbright/us


THE "FULBRIGHT EXPERIENCE"
The primary focus of the ETA Program is teaching.  ETAs are committed to
teach for 20 hours per week, (which typically involves around 30 work hours
at school).  That said, attaining a well-rounded "Fulbright experience" is
also an important aspect of the program.  During their 13-month grant
period, which runs from early July to late July of the following year, ETAs
are encouraged to absorb as much of Korea as possible.  Most ETAs find that
a 30-hour work schedule leaves them time to pursue other interests, such as
traveling with other ETAs or taking lessons in taekwondo, Korean
calligraphy, daegeum (Korean flute), or changgo (Korean drums).   Living
with a homestay (a requirement of the ETA Program) also provides a unique
opportunity to absorb Korean culture on a daily basis.  ETAs are encouraged
to write of their cultural experiences for possible inclusion in Fulbright
publications or English language newspapers.

APPLICATION AND
TRAINING PROCEDURES
Eligibility: We are seeking well-rounded, articulate graduating seniors or
recent graduates, unmarried, without dependents and under 30 years of age,
with the initiative to teach conversational English to Korean secondary
school students.  Flexible and non-dogmatic people will readily adapt.
Applying:  Applications are available on-line at the IIE website.  The
deadline for applications to be submitted to the New York office of IIE is
October 25, 2002.  Campus deadlines are usually in early October.
Orientation and Training:  An orientation program is held at Kangwon
University (northeast of Seoul) for the first six weeks of the grant period.
During this time, ETAs will be engaged primarily in intensive language study
(5 hours per day), but some training is included in EFL techniques and
cultural orientation.   ETAs are encouraged to use this period to get to
know each other and create a support network that will be available to them
throughout the year to supplement the support that Fulbright offers.
ETAs will also reunite in the fall and spring for two workshops.
Officially, the workshops are forums to share teaching ideas, but they also
provide excellent opportunities for socializing, asking cultural questions,
and problem solving.

REFLECTIONS OF PREVIOUS
ETAs
"Through the ETA Program, Americans like me have the opportunity to immerse
ourselves in the glories of Korean rural life, broaden our narrow
America-focused minds, and take back a little of what we have learned to our
friends and families at home."   Cindy Chae (2000-01)
"Being an American in Korea offers something rare in today's world: a true
multitude of roles in a world that is often far too specialized.  During the
year you will be a tourist, scholar, teacher, and ambassador.  On other days
you can (and will) be an unwilling participant or a fool.  Prepare for
everything because that is exactly what will happen.  How many opportunities
in life can truly make that claim?"   Jesse Capps (2000-01)
"Can it be possible that throughout an experience laden with continual
reminders of the vast differences between our cultures, I am reaffirming
daily that simple truth that there are great universalities in life which
supersede cultural barriers?"   Lisa Nance (1999-00)
"When I go back to the States and people ask me, 'What do you miss most
about Korea?'  I will reply, 'My students,' without hesitation.  They will
always be a part of me, no matter where I go or what I do from here."   Beth
Seigley (2000-01)