10 August 2006
Monash students have become the first group of foreign student teachers to work in South Korea. The 11 final-year students left Melbourne in mid-June to spend three weeks in the South Korean town of Jeon-ju.
Their supervisor, Dr Jill Brown of the Monash Education faculty, said the students made such a good impression that representatives from the South Korean Department of Education have visited Monash to meet with the Dean, Professor Sue Willis, to ensure that the program will continue.
"Our students really impressed their South Korean supervising teachers -- they loved the cultural experience, and the families they stayed with made them so welcome," Dr Brown said.
The students were billeted with families while they worked in secondary schools with Korean teachers of English language.
For third-year student Ms Julia Lippold, the trip to South Korea provided valuable professional insights.
"I will be working with many students from Asia when I teach English as a second language," she said. "So the practicum gave me an insight into the South Korean way of life and their education system, home life and cultural background."
Since 1997, Faculty of Education students have undertaken their in-service fieldwork placements in the Cook Islands, and 30 students completed a practicum in Raratonga during June and July this year.
But the program has now expanded, with students undertaking their in-class training in Asia and Europe.
Eight Monash students spent first semester teaching English in vocational schools in Hungary as part of a joint Hungary--Australia initiative supported by the Federal Department of Education, Science and Training.
For more information contact Ms Robyn Anns, Media Communications, on +61 3 9905 9317 or 0417 568 781.
| 
