2014-02-22 English Matching: The Yeon Mi Park Show!

My colleague Lee Eunkoo and I started the English Matching Project in March 2013. Thankfully, it was all volunteer, because if we had been working with a company, we would have gotten fired. Now? The program is running really smoothly. Some of the highlights from yesterday.

* The Collector: Yeon Mi Park!!! She has been to a few sessions now. Yesterday, she swooped in and claimed four of the teachers! She is the kind of student that teachers love. She is so motivated to learn. She appreciates when someone teaches her something. She already had four teachers, then at round 2, one of the teachers taught her something, she then reserved him to be her teacher after one of the short-term teachers leaves!!!^^

* Clear goal: There is an old saying: "The threat of execution sharpens the mind." Yeon Mi's speech at the March 15 event has also given her a clear goal. The same with Mi Yeon! She is studying so hard now to get ready for the March 15 event. When I first asked Mi Yeon to speak at that event, I assumed she would speak in Korean. But she let me know that she wanted to try to give a speech in English. So be sure to cheer her on!^^

https://www.facebook.com/events/398517193617811/

* Referrals: Whereas we initially had to recruit and search for refugees, they are now falling into our laps. For the last few sessions, they have all been referrals. At first, nobody was recommending nobody to us!

* Academic Adviser: One sad thing is that Joo Yeon Cho will be stepping down as the Academic Adviser. She assures me that I wasn't overworking her and didn't do anything else to cause this to happen. Some great things have happened in her work life, so she can't devote the same amount of time. As I say, she came into my life in late September. I immediately knew that something great had happened, but I also knew I should be thankful for every moment she was helping, cuz it couldn't last! Of all the wonderful things she did, I must single out the way she took on Chanyang JU, helping her boost up her English and get her ready for the speech she gave in India. I have so much to say, but I realize that even if I want to say it all, not everyone wants to read it all. I feel I can never thank Joo Yeon enough for that or to praise Chanyang enough for how much she improved in such a short time.

* Always concerned: This program is not as rigid as others. So as I keep telling the volunteers, it can only be as good as they are. I discourage socializing, but people are people. I hope they can take it seriously for at least three months, then after that they can choose to renew, start socializing or end the matches. But I guess if the NK refugees can get at least three months of serious study that it can encourage them and also give them a foundation to build upon, but it still feels like some volunteers are ready to take us down a dead-end street. We do need people to resist the temptation because, as with most people learning: some of our NK refugees in the project may be more interested in goofing off when they realize it will still be tough to improve their English despite having native and fluent speakers helping them.

* Resumes/CVs: I will be updating the FAQ to add a note about resumes. Several of the refugees printed out the resumes of the teachers! (We edit the resumes to only include first names and delete contact info, Eunkoo puts them into one document to make it easier for the refugees to review them in advance).

* Flukes yesterday:

--Three North Korean refugees canceled yesterday. Incredible, considering that we only had two cases in the last year that I can recall, as compared to 80 matches we made.

--At most matching sessions, the volunteers are women. Yesterday: 9 men, 1 woman.

--Three of the teachers hail from London/UK. That is definitely a fluke I want to stop in its tracks! But my colleague Eunkoo loved it, she studied in the UK and always welcomes such folks.

* Special thanks to all of the volunteers who have agreed to teach for at least three months (except in two cases approved in advance): Lolu Ayo, Simon Mundy, Marco Pina, David Emanuel Clej, Cari Ferguson, Mark Fagundes, Aaron Grommesh, Roderico Atienza, Albert Han and Robin Shaw.

* Now, comes the main part: Teaching and learning...

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2020-04-26 "May I choose more teachers?" TNKR Matching session #102

2020-04-26, TNKR Matching session #102 The Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) humbly began in March 2013 with 5 tutors and 5 NK refugees being matched together. We held that first session at a TOZ business center in Gangnam. Seven years later, TNKR has now matched 455 North Korean refugees with 1,027 tutors, coaches, and mentors. Today we held our 102nd Language Matching session at our slightly expanded office near the Sangsu Subway Station. Instead of just being something that Casey and Eunkoo did short-term, TNKR is now an official organization in both South Korea and the USA, we have been featured in media and by other organizations (just yesterday, we were featured by KOTESOL), and we have fans and donors from around the world.

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"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...

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