Kinsey, Teaching Position in Seoul, South Korea

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Kinsey Jenkins, and I'm writing you today to express my excited interest in applying for a position as an English teacher at a hagwon in Seoul, South Korea. I have always held a deep love for teaching, especially to young students, as I remember how vital my teachers were in my life as a young girl. English is a bridge that connects people around the world to each other – you can make new life-long friends, start a new career, or just have an adventure, and I want to be able to provide that opportunity to my students. I have had a passion for Korean culture and history for a very long time; I love the historical and contemporary fashion, textiles, art, modern and traditional customs, and language.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Commercial Illustration and Design in 2014, and after working as a professional concept artist in the film industry, I moved in to teaching art. I taught students of all ages, but my average students were 12-14 years old. In September 2017 I began my TEFL certification course at the International TEFL Academy.

Combining my experience as a teacher of the arts and my practicum in my TEFL course helped me immensely in honing my skills to be a successful teacher. I developed the techniques necessary to relate the material and lessons to the students' everyday lives, which makes them keener on learning. I practiced lesson flow and time management, performed comprehension tests to make sure they are retaining the material, and properly managed both large and small classes of all ages, especially children. Children have much shorter attention spans, and using my experience with visual art helps stimulate their minds to improve knowledge retention and makes them genuinely excited to learn English.

Coming from an artistic background allows me to connect with younger students who are naturally visual learners, and develop lessons that help them make physical connections to help memory and fluency. I also have a working knowledge of the Korean language as I am taking Korean language classes on my own to understand the thought processes of my students. It will help me see why they may make certain mistakes or use specific grammar, which will allow me to tailor my lessons to help them remember rules and structure.

I am an extremely committed individual, dedicated wholeheartedly to helping my students not only succeed, but also excel in their studies. I adapt quickly and happily to new or different situations that I may not have experienced before with an open and welcoming mind. I love to experience and absorb new cultures and customs. I believe that my students will teach me just as much as I will teach them, and our exchange of knowledge and culture and ideas will help us come together to create a more cohesive and nurturing learning environment.

I am available to start a new position in South Korea as soon as possible. My resume is attached, and I can provide any further materials and answers upon request. I can be reached at any time by email at kinsey.j.jenkins@gmail.com or by phone at (312) 806-0454. Thank you again for your time and consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon.

I graduted with honors from Illinois Institute of Art at Chicago in September 2014 with a degree in Commercial Illustration & Design.

I completed my TEFL certification course in October 2017 with 180 hours of coursework and over 10 hours of practicum.

I was a visual art instructor for young learners, specializing in groups of children aged 5-7 and young teens aged 12-13. My responsibilities included developing my own cirriculum and lesson plans, as well as classroom managagement.

I also was an ESL tutor privately to a Japanese national in the US on a tourist visa. We specialized her tutoring in conversational fluency.