Griffith University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Jeollanamdo International Education Institute (JIEI) and SL Successful Life (SL) to provide professional development opportunities for primary school teachers from the Republic of Korea.
Visiting Griffith’s Gold Coast campus, the President of JIEI, Byeongju Yang, joined Professor Sarah Todd, Griffith University’s Vice President (Global), and SL’s Sarah Lim to sign the MoU.
Teaching English in English (TEE) is an initiative of the Republic of Korea to ensure that primary school teachers gain the skills to teach English as a second language. Participants in the program will undertake short Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) courses at Griffith, together with some targeted English language courses.
The first part of the five-week program is hosted by Griffith English Language Institute on the Gold Coast, followed by week-long placements in Gold Coast schools.
“I’ve really enjoyed the program, and I found that the teaching staff at GELI and at SL are very friendly, and helpful, and answered many of the questions that we had. It was my dream to study abroad,” Yosep Shin, one of the Korean teachers participating in the program, said.
“We have been studying at the beautiful and well-equipped Gold Coast campus. I have improved my English and teaching skills through this opportunity. And I enjoyed the Gold Cost lifestyle very much too!”
For Griffith, the program provides an opportunity to strengthen its long-standing relationship with the Republic of Korea, and contribute to the development of its education system.
“We are delighted to host the teachers on our Gold Coast campus and to be working with local schools in providing professional development opportunities,” Professor Todd said. “This is a great initiative and we are pleased to be a member of the consortium that is putting government policy into practice.”
It is hoped that future developments will include some of the teachers returning to Griffith to undertake formal qualifications in TESOL while there is also the potential for Griffith students to travel to Korea for placements with JIEI.
Sarah Lim, from SL Successful Life and the initiator of the program, noted her pleasure at being able to facilitate the link between JIEI and Griffith, and hopes to see further developments as a result of the collaboration.
Similarly, JIEI President Byeongiu Yang said: “I am very pleased to witness the commitment of Griffith University and JIEI to establish a closer collaboration and ties to leverage on each other’s strengths to spearhead in teaching English as a second language. I believe such collaboration is both timely and relevant.”