TEFL Teacher Profile - Paula Lynch

TEFL Teacher: Paula Lynch
Hometown: Cork
Teaching Location: South Korea

After finishing a 12 month Masters in Drama and Theatre studies at UCC, Paula was ready to set out on a different kind of adventure.

Having previously gone abroad with i-to-i on a six week volunteer placement in costal Sri Lanka, Paula turned back to i-to-i for a longer paid experience, she said.

“With the economy the way it is in Ireland at the moment I don’t think I would have got a decent job in Ireland after my Masters,” Paula said. “This way I (got) to experience a whole new culture, meet new people, travel, have free accommodation and live for way cheaper— it’s a great deal.”

After taking i-to-i’s 100 hour course, Paula headed to South Korea for a 12 month placement and fell into things quickly, she said.

“The people are so friendly and the in country coordinator made me feel really welcome,” Paula said. “He even got me in contact with another English teacher working in the same city in the first few weeks.”

Paula’s normal hours were 12.30 to 6.30 Monday to Friday, living just only a 10 minute walk away, she said. Most days all the teachers would sit down and have lunch together at the school, which gave her the chance to really get to know everyone and feel comfortable.

From going swimming in the gym pool next door, to going out with foreign teachers, shopping and sightseeing, Paula even spent some time skiing with another i-to-i teacher in the area, she said.

“Work was great,” she said. “It’s always best to be thrown into it and the teaching comes really easy! The lessons are all planned out and my title is an English Conversation Instructor so I don’t even have to teach grammar, thank god!”

While Paula is currently finishing up her teaching placement in South Korea, her mind is already wandering to her next possibilities!

“I’d love to go to South America at some stage, but that might be a few years down the line,” she said. “The good thing about English teaching is that you always have it and you can jet off to any country and find a job—unlike in Ireland at the moment!”

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© i-to-i, 2009