Statement of Grant Purpose

Through my background in developmental psychology, early childhood education, and extensive ESL teaching, I have a robust understanding of children's psychological and linguistic development which enables me to tailor my teaching methods based on my students’ strengths and weaknesses.

I will immerse my students in English, but can apply my skills as an advanced Korean speaker to help clarify in their native language when needed. I will use these skills to anticipate common English lexical mistakes like the use of particles such as ‘the’ and ‘a,’ which can be complicated for Korean speakers. While living in India for two years, I volunteered regularly with Teach India and Blind School, where I created original curriculum and worked one-on-one with young, underprivileged students to help them develop their spelling, grammar, and reading skills. I learned how to communicate new vocabulary and complicated concepts, using images and adding simple synonyms, such as “It is tricky (hard) to leap (jump) onto a table.” I like to “rephrase, rework, and readdress:” rephrase with familiar and simple synonyms, readjust my approach for communicating a concept as needed, and return to the subject later in class in order to solidify the students’ understanding. This is a successful method of helping students understand confusing topics while maintaining their immersion in the target language.

There are four primary methods of language acquisition: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Listening and reading are the best ways to absorb a language, i.e. work on recognition and interpretation of vocabulary and grammar structures while writing and speaking are the best ways of applying said vocabulary and structures. My experience in English teaching environments over the past eight years has shown that a combination of both methods works best, and I intend on separating my curriculum into “absorption days” and “application days.” On absorption days, for example, we will read stories about visiting the zoo, study vocabulary for types of animals, watch videos about elephants in the wild, and learn facts about bald eagles and their symbolic importance in the US. On application days, however, my students will write stories about what animal they would want to be, create dialogues for visiting a pet store, and build social/collaboration skills through conversation practice about their favorite pet. This absorption/application method will ensure that my students will both learn new content while also expressing themselves on known topics in English.

While working with elementary students as an ETA, I will most likely encounter students who have difficulty following instructions. Drawing my students’ attention through English phrases such as “All eyes on me” and chanting together “Feet still, ears listening!” I can more easily redirect students to the task at hand, manage student behaviors, and gain control of my classroom. Calling out alternative, desirable behavior encourages my students to follow instructions while thinking in English, creating an orderly, comfortable learning environment.

As an ETA and teacher of the next generation, I know I hold extraordinary power, and do not intend to wield it lightly. In addition to teaching English, I am creating a space of international collaboration, and I intend to incorporate new concepts of American culture and diversity into my lessons. Knowing my students live in a relatively ethnically homogeneous country, I will bring children’s books from the US that feature people of color and other cultures to expose my students to global diversity while building their reading comprehension in an enjoyable way. Through early exposure to the concepts of international collaboration and understanding, I am empowering students to go forth and make compassionate, educated choices in the future.