Great program to get your feet wet before potentially immersing yourself in teaching English

TaLK was the first program I joined to experience (and get paid for) teaching English. For the most part, it was great. I made some good friends and I definitely had a chance to get my feet wet prior to joining EPIK (the big brother version of TaLK). I only worked 15 hours a week and classes were no bigger than 20 students where I lived in Gangwon-do.

However, I would be lying if I said it didn't have room to improve since at least in my area, I had a boss who was reluctant to help secure any funds for the classroom. I had a lot of six and seven-year-olds who could barely speak any English and for most of my time there at the school, I was expected to teach these classes alone. Therefore the occasional artsy and crafty classes were necessary. We couldn't just play with paper and crayons for entire semesters because it would be the same group of kids three to five times a week. But, my co-teacher/boss simply said that there wasn't enough money to go around. In other words, I was on my own and many times I had to purchase classroom materials with my own money. Keep in mind we only get paid to barely eat and survive. I understand that TaLK is a national program that is broken down into several divisions so I can only speak for my town at the time in Wonju-si, Gangwon-do but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Apart from my school overall the provincial office of education in Gangwon was generally friendly and helpful. During my time there we always had helpful TaLK coordinators at the province and local city level. I could always talk to them with ease about anything concerning work. But in the end the people you will be working with the most will be your school and that's the risk you take when you apply to this program. You literally can get anything, work with anyone, and end up anywhere. For example, even though I was placed in Gangwon-do--a place Seoullites usually refer to using only two descriptions: mountains and no people--I was placed in the largest city there whereas some of my friends were placed not too far from the North Korean border.

So if there is any advice I can offer, just be prepared for anything, anyone, and anywhere in South Korea. If you can do that, you will find a way to make it the best experience you can.