Social Justice Scribe

My Contributions to KOTESOL’s Scribes Square

I’ve been writing over at Scribes Square, KOTESOL’s online hub for reflective and practical writing by English educators in Korea. It’s a space where members share lesson ideas, blog-style reflections, critical takes, and classroom innovations.

Here are my recent posts:

These pieces reflect my ongoing curiosity about language, identity, policy, and longevity in our profession. Would love to hear your thoughts if you give them a read.

✦ Coming Soon on Scribe Square

Stay tuned for these upcoming posts where I dive deep into the lived realities, challenges, and creativity of ELT work in Korea.

📅 September

EFL Teachers as Bricoleurs: Freelancing in a Fractured Field

Subtitle: Bricoleurs of English: Teaching, Freelancing, and the Politics of Survival

“The bricoleur, in contrast to the engineer, makes do with whatever is at hand.”
—Claude Lévi-Strauss

What does it mean to be an English teacher in Korea when the landscape of work is unstable, unpredictable, and ever-shifting? This post explores how many of us are stitching together multiple roles—educator, editor, content creator, community builder—and surviving through skillful bricolage.

📅 December

From Learners to Creators: Empowering Korean Students to Tell Korea’s Stories in English

🖋️ By Maria Lisak

As 2025 comes to a close, I reflect on one of the most meaningful shifts in language teaching: empowering students not just to learn English, but to create with it. Through digital storytelling and culturally grounded projects, students can become authors of Korea’s narratives—told in their own voices, for a global audience.

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