Chopsticks and French Fries: How and Why to Teach English in South Korea (Paperback)

~ (Author) "IT WAS A LITTLE OF NOTHING and a whole lot of everything that brought me to Korea..." (more)
Key Phrases: South Korea, The Cultural Divide, Employer-Employee Relationships (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"insightful information on what to eat, how to cope with the culture clash and how to handle your won ." -- Charlie Rogers in The Daily, University of Washington in Seattle.

Product Description

If you're thinking of joining the thousands of English-speaking teachers in Korea, this is the book for you. Samantha Amara guides you through the maze of contract and cultural issues that confront the first time teacher. She offers a checklist of things to ask for and to avoid. And she gives you realistic expectations of life halfway around the world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 50 pages
• Publisher: Good Cheer Pub. (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0968144438
• ISBN-13: 978-0968144435
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #480,810 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #11 in	Books > Travel > Asia > South Korea
  #48 in	Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > English as a Foreign Language > Business English

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite four stars, but a few jewels may make it worth more than three., December 12, 2005

By	J. Manly "healthychoices" (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When this arrived, I couldn't believe it qualified as a book, so I checked out the product pages. Yup, there it was--50 pages. IMHO, that's a fat pamphlet, and at $7.95, somewhat overpriced.

Nonetheless this book contains some practical knowledge. For example, a list of things that aren't readily available, and therefore worth taking; other items that are available, but a lot more expensive. But most important, though no one expects to need it, she includes a list on phone numbers. You can find numbers for embassies easily enough elsewhere, but the true gem is an assortment of phone numbers for Korean government agencies that deal with foreign English language teachers.

So, okay, maybe a lot of the rest of this book could have been found on the internet. Here it's gathered in one place.

Overall, it's worth at least a read at the library even if you have to request an interlibrary loan, if it's not in the bookstore--because it's so short, it won't take long! And if you're short on cash, copy out those phone numbers for the Korean agencies involved with foreign language teachers.

Another book to consider: Korea Calling: The essential handbook for teaching English and living in South Korea. At 173 pages, it has more than triple the coverage of what are mostly the same topics. At $14.95, that's the better value--except for thost phone numbers...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but very short., November 13, 2004

By	Shawn M. Matthews "Korea Life Blog Author" (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is only 50 pages and it was written years ago. It's not a very helpful guide. I have been living and teaching in Korea for the past 4 years, so I know what I'm talking about. Just do a web search for Korea blogs or Korea teaching memoir and get all the information you need.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a good first start..., July 19, 2004

By	Nathan R Bauman (Port Coquitlam, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...both for the author and the reader. This little book was my first guide to teaching English in South Korea (not including a full and witty 70 page document prepared by my recruiting agency). This book is short (but see below), attractively presented, and inexpensive. The author adopts a frank, reasonable, informal voice, and is quite likeable. As a foreign-English-teacher-to-be (I'll be leaving for Seoul next month), I'm glad to have read the book. The book contains a number of nuggets which should help to minimize culture shock.

There is a welcome warning about the Korean preference for rote memorization. Apart from this, however, and one page of suggested teaching activities, there is actually nothing on teaching methodology, no small disappointment to me. Korean language aquisition is completely overlooked. There is absolutely no bibliography, a serious defect which will hopefully be remedied in future editions. Any book of this nature should include at least one or two annotated entries on each of the following:
-general guides to traveling South Korea (travel guides often include cultural orientation in addition to travel information)
-general guides to teaching English in S.K. or in the far East
-introductory and intermediate Korean-language resources

Despite the author's respectably-sized database of interviews, there are no percentages or figures of people quoted on any subject.

In short, the book only lived up to half its subtitle (which probably should have been "...Cautions in Culture-Shock"). The price means you can't go wrong buying it; the ommissions mean you'll need to shell out more elsewhere (after having researched the titles you'll need to purchase).