Unlearning Intuition: Speaking to Students in South Korea
I arrived at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea with no knowledge of Korean and even less about how to run a classroom. My students represented a range of backgrounds, from ages eighteen to forty-five, hailing from as close as across the street or as far away as Dili, East Timor. Initially, the absence of project supervision intimidated me; I believed myself unable to communicate fully with my students, much less teach them effectively. Over the course of eight weeks, however, I found myself diversifying my teaching methods to suit the needs of individual students, and speaking to a spectrum of proficiency levels in group settings. My engagement increased alongside that of my students, who, in my final month, helped transform the two courses into experiential explorations of Seoul’s history, society, and politics. Through their eyes—and superior subway navigation skills—I gained a deep appreciation of contemporary Korean culture. In turn, this “field school” approach allowed students to take on roles as “experts,” giving them the confidence needed to succeed in an English language context. In rethinking what I had held to be a standard set of pedagogical practices, my students and I created courses from which we all could learn.
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