21 Dec 2019 · 13 min
Josh interviews Gina Oh, a TOEIC speaking instructor and working mother, about her teaching philosophy, balancing work and motherhood, and how to prepare for the TOEIC speaking exam. The conversation is in English and Korean.
Okay. Hello and welcome to the Splash English Podcast. My name is Josh. I'm the host of this podcast. In Splash English Podcast, not only do I teach useful English words and phrases, but I also interview experts and distill their wisdom and best practices. So today's special guest is Gina oh. How are you today?
Hi everyone.
Gina oh is the head instructor at U Yongaman Speaking and she was formerly a star instructor at Pagoda Language Institute. Gina, tell us a little bit about your background. Where are you from? What's your favorite food? What's your bank account and PIN number?
Bank account and PIN number that you want to know? Well, my name is Jaina oh. My Korean name is oh Chin Ah. When I migrated to Australia when I was five, I just used my English name as Gina because they sound similar. I had all my education in Sydney, Australia. I went to kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and university in Melbourne. And then I came to Korea and then I started teaching English at Bakudao Gwan in Gangnam and I've worked there for 13 years. And then, yeah, long time. And then now I'm working@Yongaman company.
So Gina, you grew up in Australia and you moved to Korea. I have some expat friends who are married to a Korean, so they've been living here for a long time. And sometimes they tell me that they feel like their English is getting worse because they, they're not using English so much and they don't get to engage in conversations on serious topics. So it's been a while since you left Australia. How do you maintain your English?
I think teaching English helps me a lot. I do teach and I did teach screen English, which means that I get to watch and teach a lot of media based content like talk shows, movies from around the world, like Britain or Australia, America, you know, blah blah, blah. And it keeps me updated with some of the expressions, you know, it's amazing how you know what now 15 years can do to your language. Yeah, there are some times where I listen to an American, I don't know, like TV programming. It's like, yeah, I could have used that expression. And I've never used that for some time because like nobody's used it or you know, I've never had the opportunity to use it because it's only when times like this where I speak to a native English speaker that I can, you know, express everything I want to say in English.
Right. And with the, all the technology and Internet. Right. And in 10 years is a lot of things happen and people just invent New words and phrases.
Yep, yep, yep. And you know, I also have a sister that's living in Australia and she's married. Australian. Australian guy. So you know, I speak to her on FaceTime and sometimes she uses like new, new words. It's like Jenny, what's that? Or she tells me, gina, you know, currently everybody's watching, blah, blah, blah, blah. Not that that's old, you're out of trend. And like she keeps me up to date.
It's good to have a family who can keep you updated. So how old is your daughter, Gina?
My daughter is exactly one year and a few days now. About three days old now. One year and three days.
So you just had the first year anniversary? First year birthday?
Yep. It was a big ceremony. For who? I'm not sure. Some people say it's for the child and the mother, but I don't agree.
It's for your parents and your parents friends.
Oh, totally.
Okay, so you're a working mother. So. And you're a lecturer. Instructor. And I know I'm also an instructor too. It's. It's very draining. You use a lot of energy speaking for many hours. So how do you manage your time and energy as a mom and also as a teacher?
Actually I'm very privileged in that I have my mother in law and my mother who the baby sits chiwani when I have to go to work. And it's one of the reasons why I left Pagoda, because at Pagoda I had to work long hours. And it was. I get pretty much tied up at work. But working with Yungaman Co. I'm more of a. My working hours are more flexible which means that I can look after and raise and spend time with Jiwoni. And also some people say that it's very. It takes up a lot of your energy like lecturing. But actually I, for some odd reason, I think in Korean they say it's a cheonjik, which means that you were born to become that profession. I think lecturing is like that because when I get on stage or when I'm in front of a camera, I don't feel ill at all. I'm coughing and I'm like, you know, about to drop dead. But like right when I start lecturing, I'm fine. It's like I've never had the cold before or you know, it just snap out of it. So it's something that I feel very, very passionate about. I love teaching and you know, it's not energy draining at all. Like actually when I'm teaching, I Think I gain more energy. Babysitting is totally different. I feel for all those working mothers because I know what a. Oh, how hard, difficult it is to manage the two things. Because sometimes when I work I'm with my daughter until like 10pm until she's. She goes to bed and like that's when I have my own free time. So I start working at 10pm and I work till I know 2am, 3am.
You got to do lesson planning right at those hours.
Yep. So I'm up until 2, 3. And then she only wakes up for. Because she's very young at the moment. So she wakes up at about 6ish. I only sleep three hours straight, I think maximum.
Wow. I just wanted to touch on what you said about getting more energy as you're lecturing. I think that's your super ability. Because I want to share how we first met. I audited one of your classes many years ago and I was very amazed by how you were able to switch back and forth between Korean and English very quickly and also very accurately. And I saw that and I said, I want to be able to speak like that. I want to be able to give a lecture like that. And that is part of the reason why I started my YouTube channel so that I can practice lecturing in Korean. Because at the time my employers didn't let me lecture in Korean because I'm a native speaker. But I also always had this ambition to improve my Korean. So I just wanted to say and let the audience know that, Gina, you're an amazing teacher.
Thank you very much.
Which brings me to the next question. You're teaching TOEIC speaking right now. What is the number one tip you have for students who are preparing for TOEIC speaking?
TOEIC speaking. I really, I really don't want to say that I was anti exam English speaking exams, not not speaking exams. I was anti like speaking content at all. Like toeic, toefl. I thought it was all rubbish. But reality is in Korea, you need those paper documented schools to get a promotion or get a job or get anywhere. And for them to get a good TOE experience, exam school was going to take too long. So I became one of those teachers where I gave templates and I gave them and they had to memorize paragraphs and sentences which enabled them to get the school they wanted within two to four weeks. Because I always tell them, you know, Exam English. The maximum time you spend on Exam English is maximum, maximum two months, no more. Especially in TOEIC or TOEIC speaking or opic. If you spend more than two months, you're just wasting your time and money and energy. Right. If you are in that situation, I recommend you to, you know, watch splash English or splash English or, you know, watch movies or, you know, learn grammar or conversation or like, do English in another fun way, then go back to exam English because if you spend six months doing that, the same thing, you're not going anywhere. So my key point in getting a good TOEIC exam score is focus. Two to four weeks maximum. And if you don't get the score that you want in that time, you know, quit, do some worthy and entertaining to learn English and then come back to it.
I love that approach. Right. You know, TOEIC speaking is not something you do for the lifetime. So, yeah, if you're gonna do it, you know, do a focused, concentrated studies, you know, like you said, a maximum two months. I love that approach. Right. But if you value something else, if you want to be able to speak more naturally, if you want to be conversationally fluent in English, then use different methods and stick with that.
Even as a fluent speaker. Some of these questions, they just blow your mind because they throw random questions. So if you don't know what the exam is about, it's like you're pretty much screwed in a way because they give you no preparation time. It's like, you know, when was the last time you went to a furniture store?
And it's like, if I'm a university student, like, I never went to furniture store as a university student. Number one, I don't have the money. Number two, I go to bars and parties. I don't go to furniture stores.
Yeah. So, you know, that's why you need to take like, probably, if you're a fluent speaker, maybe a week of TOEIC speaking, like, classes to just know what to expect. Please don't spend a lot of time or energy in these exam speaking because I don't think it's worth like six months. One year. You're just wasting time.
Says the teacher who makes money from teaching TOEIC speaking.
But that's what I say in my lectures. You know, if you're taking my class for like more than two months, you're either an idiot because I gave you the templates that I told you to memorize and you're not using them, you know, or you're not studying.
I love the brutal honesty and the people need to hear that, right?
Yeah, I think so. Because, you know, I don't want to be making money from that one person for a year, you know?
Yeah, of course. We want students to, you know, get better at English, improve, and go on and do the next thing, whatever that may be.
Yeah. My, my. Exactly my point. I think that's why you and I have kept in touch, because, you know, our core value in education is exactly the same. You know, we don't want our students to love us forever. You know, you can love us forever, but don't take my class forever. You know, take my class for the time needed and then move on, you know, Totally. That's what I want my students to do.
Okay, Gina, thank you for that advice. Now, lastly, what is the best way for students to reach you if they are interested in your class? If they wanted to get to know you better, how can they find you online?
Probably the best way to easiest way to contact me is on my blog page. It is www.gina5.com. It is G I n a number5.com my blog page. And if you go into my blog page, it also has my Instagram account there. So you can also, you know, take a peek view at my personal life as well.
Well, Gina, thank you so much for being with us today. And thank you for your wonderful Australian accent, which I cannot imitate.
Okay, Josh, have a good day.
You too. Have a good day.
Bye. Thank.
You.