Gepik Training 2012

Gepik Training 2012.

The first time I heard there would be a three day GEPIK teacher's orientation, I had four main questions:

1) Would I learn anything useful?
2) Why were they training me two months after I started teaching?
3) Would this be an opportunity to meet people? 
4) Would the food be good?

I was pleasantly surprised by the answers.

Our GEPIK training group (B3)

An Overview

Orientation was three days and two nights.  It consisted of 10 mandatory sessions, two optional sessions, and open evenings.  For some of the sessions we were in large auditoriums with the entire group of GEPIK elementary teachers, and for some of the sessions we were split into smaller regional groups (of about 20). 

Did I learn anything useful?

Yes.  There were sessions covering classroom management, team-teaching, material integration, multimedia usage, and more.  There were funny lectures – one speaker told us to invest in a microphone for our classrooms to assert our godhood, informative lectures – I learned some great classroom attention grabbing techniques, and, yes, boring lectures – nobody could figure out why, as Elementary teachers, we needed all the details of the NEAT English test. 

I'm particularly grateful for some of the websites and various classroom game ideas that were shared in the sessions.

The timing of the orientation

Even though I had already been teaching two months, I still learned some useful classroom management stuff, and Korean culture/life information.  I imagine it would have been an overwhelming amount of information if I had received it my first week here.  Doing orientation a bit after my arrival helped me to visualize some of the tips the speakers were giving.  Still, if it had been a little bit sooner, it would probably have been more relevant, as at least 40% of the information was already familiar to me.

Socialization

I was actually surprised at what a diverse group we were.  A multitude of ages, nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds were present, which made for some interesting discussions and well represented the variety of English speakers sprinkled across the globe.  Because our groups were divided by region, we were able to get to know people in our areas a little bit better.  At night, we bonded over belting cheesy noraebong songs (I pretty much filled my lifetime's quota of Bohemian Rhapsody) and playing pool/ping pong/monopoly.     

Meals

The food was pretty decent – everything was buffet style – and three free meals a day (in a non-prison setting) is always a plus.  Our first night was a carb-fest of french fries, spaghetti, and rolls (among other dishes).  Breakfasts were basic, and included options of rice, cereal, and kimchi.  I think all the meals had vegetarian options, but even if those were limited, there was a grocery store at the resort. 

Overall

The GEPIK orientation was an enjoyable three day break from teaching.  It was also a useful one; I've integrated some of the classroom tips and used some of the sites/material that were suggested in different sessions.  I thought the GEPIK coordinators did a great job at preparing lectures that were both broad and specific enough to meet the needs of a diverse group of people.  In one of the sessions, I learned that if you don't swipe your card at the end of a bus ride, the next bus charges you double.  If nothing else, I'm glad I went to the GEPIK orientation for that bit of knowledge – it's saved me around 60,000 won a month.     

Posted in: GEPIK, GEPIK teacher training 2012, GEPIK training review, My Personal Experience