TaLK
Programs and Reviews
The Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK) Program invites young, adventurous college students and recent graduates to teach English to elementary school students living in the rural areas of South Korea. Funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the TaLK Program aims to cultivate a strong desire to learn English through the use of innovative and engaging classroom teaching methods designed by the our own program's participants. While teaching, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the many facets of Korean culture and find time to travel to distinct regions of the Korean peninsula. TaLK is the perfect program for those who aspire to be global leaders, who seek to gain personal and professional enrichment through teaching, and who are highly adaptable to new environments.
Programs Abroad
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Reviews
100%Overall
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100%Overall
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South Korea is an amazing country in itself. The culture is rich and the people are respectful. I had a wonderful time there.
The Teach and Learn in Korea Program offers a month of training to prepare you for what you will encounter in the school. They work hard to make sure that training is fun and relevant.
If you are the first to teach at your school, you will receive assistance in finding an apartment and money to furnish it. If you are not the first person, then you will have to just settle with what the person before you purchased.
We received three large books filled with teaching materials. It helped a lot. The activities are placed in subject order. It would be more helpful if the materials were separated into grade level sections.
My school was really kind to me. We had staff dinners and even a weekend trip to the mountains. I had loads of fun.
The TaLK program has so many benefits. The pay is very generous seeing as though your only real expense is food. In the program you only work 15 hours a week. This gives you a lot of free time. Explore the country.
I plan to go back to S. Korea. It was truly amazing.
100%Overall
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This program is safe, fun, and exciting. The programs orientation provides wonderful information and intro to south Korean teaching. The schools are small with kind kids wanting to learn. Best place to make friends all over the world
80%Overall
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I was lucky, I had a great school with really nice teachers and facilities but one down side was I had no textbook to teach with so I had to make my own materials from scratch and that was really difficult.
The lack of co-teacher was another troubling point. There was only 1 co-teacher in my province but we had 3 TaLK scholars. There was a university 30 mins away from my school so I don't see why they couldn't have gotten someone from there to help out. It was really difficult trying to control the students when they didn't speak good English.
I found you get a lot of support during Orientation, but after that it's really just you on your own. The TaLK office has nothing to do with you after you go to your province.
The other foreign English teachers I met were really nice people and we made a network together. So overall it was ok.
90%Overall
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I have nothing but great things to say about the Teach and Learn in Korea program. The gist of the program is to place native speakers into rural Korean after-school public classrooms and help foster a love of the English language in elementary EFL learners. The wage is not as much as EPIK teachers, but you also only work 3 hours a day. Flight is paid, housing is paid. As a "scholar" even get culture money to fund your own adventures and are provided with Korean classes.
The truth: The TaLK program changed my life. I am now in school to get my MA in TESOL and plan on going back to Korea for curriculum development. There is a one-month training session in which you learn how to teach and make tons of new friends. Korean food is some of the most delicious in the world. I had several mishaps while in Korea and the support staff was always timely in their replies. I never once fely unsafe. My school was rural, as stated in description of the program, but I felt completely welcomed and honored to teach there. Ample supplies, technologies and assistance were available in my classroom.
Downsides: Communication with your school can be difficult. Expectations are not clearly stated and miscommunications can be common and relentlessly frustrating. It's important to keep in mind that you are teaching a voluntary after-school class and that attendance is optional so you have to be fun and flexible in the classroom. Some people had bad experiences, but I also faced many challenges with my school. It is important to remember to always keep a positive attitude towards any dealings with your school or the Office of Education.
In summation: you're paid 1,500 a month to work 3 hours a day and teach adorable Korean school children and have a fantastic experience learning about Korean culture.
If you have two years of college under your belt and are looking for a life-changing experience, I have only one question-- Why haven't you already applied?!
Alumni Interviews
Staff Interview
Go Overseas recently caught up with Stella Cho, PR Coordinator for TaLK.
GO: Tell us a little about the TaLK program.
Stella: Our program is sponsored by the Korean government (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology) and it is managed by a government organization in charge of training and cultivating international human resources and providing scholarships for exchange students (National Institute for International Education. The government's priority is to maintain quality education for future generations. The Korean government understands the value of providing immersion education that is authentic; so while keeping a national curriculum, they support this with a program such as TaLK.
GO: How many interns has the TaLK program had?
Stella: The TaLK program trains successful program applicants twice a year (once in February, once in August) and generally accepts about 250 new participants every time [500/year]. We have over 1,200 TaLK scholars who have successfully completed their service in Korea and have returned home with a Korean government scholarship certificate.
GO: What growth have you seen in the need for and recruitment of English-speaking volunteers in Korea?
Stella: TaLK has become more competitive since 2008 and this is evident in the rising number of applicants that we have every semester (and the high retention rate of our current participants who want to hold on to their positions at their designated elementary schools).
This was an amazing program. I was so happy to have been part of TaLK. They really took care of me and I was able to experience Korea! It was a great to teach elementary students and really help them with their future. I made connections all over Korea and even made friends from all over the world.
The 3 week orientation is great too! I would have to say that the organized field trips and scavenger hunts were my favorite part of the orientation. The reason for this is because it gave the TaLK scholars opportunities to work with and get to know one another in an enjoyable setting. They were also structured enough to keep the groups busy, but casual enough to still have freedom to explore and experience Korea.
Most of the lectures from orientation are very applicable to what I will be doing in my assigned school. I can see the depth and detail the TaLK Program must have gone through to put together such an organized and diverse lecture load. Since I am fairly well accustomed to the Korean culture, I was able to reap the most benefits from the lectures involving teaching techniques.