Every Native-English Public School teacher I have met in South Korea has an abundance of free time. Often the allotted prep-time goes beyond the needs of even the most ambitious among us. There are always exams, class excursions, and classes will often be cancelled due to national test days. This leaves many people at school desk-warming. There are no classes to be taught and a lack of Korean speaking ability makes monitoring classes or doing paper work impossible. But, it is essential that a body is present to occupy the space in your classroom؟
I'm sure that everyone is aware of how easy it is to waste away hours watching mind-numbingly entertaining youtube videos while creeping on facebook and checking your twitter feed. I am not knocking any of these things (they are all pastimes of mine); however, if you are interested in making the most of your paid free time there are many great, free, educational opportunities at your finger tips - and all you need is the time to invest.
Here are 3 websites that provide great ways to maximize your time at school when we are not prepping, teaching, creeping, or getting entranced by cat-friend vs. dog-friend videos:
1. Duolingo
1. Duolingo
I'm interested in brushing up on my French skills. As a Canadian who will eventually return to The Great White North, French is an asset. I actually love the language. Unfortunately, since my middle school days of French immersion, I have had little time or opportunity to practice. Duolingo is a fantastic and relatively new website that teaches a variety of languages in an interactive and engaging way. It's completely free, it's rewarding (part of the study includes translating real documents in an attempt to make English information on the internet available to speakers of other languages), and it's actually really fun to do the exercises. Josh is studying Spanish as I study French. We follow each other on our Duolingo feed which adds an element of friendly competition. The languages that are currently available to study are French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. However, it is the hope of the website to have all languages available at some point.
Free university courses from great schools. It is our hope to one day return to Canada and have our own small business. Neither Josh nor I have studied business. I haven't even taken an intro to business elective. We are currently taking a course called Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses, Part I. We plan on enrolling in the second half of the course which begins April 29. This course is very informative and the lecturer is quite entertaining. Not only are we learning about a subject we know very little about, but we are also having a great time spending our evenings together learning about a something that truly interests us. We read the assigned readings during the day and after dinner we watch a lecture and discuss what we've learned. Josh is currently working on two other courses on music production, and has already completed one on film appreciation. There are many other interesting courses available and we plan on taking as many as we can whenever possible.
I decided to save the best for last. Cooking has been a passion for me since 2006 when I learned the basics at St. Stephen's University. (There is no cafeteria. Students cook delicious and creative meals and eat together in large communal dining room. It's great.) Cooking is a creative outlet for me. I love trying new techniques and new recipes. I also enjoy having a visual aid when I'm learning. That's why I love Chef John so much. He has a great voice, a great sense of humour, and most important, he is a great chef. I have learned so many amazing recipes and techniques from this guy. He is the Julia Child of youtube. He taught me how to roast chicken, make my first risotto, make rum balls (delicious!), and so much more. If you are interested in learning how to cook- check him out. If you simply love drooling over food, it is worth tuning to his videos.
