Professional Pathways

Prof Dev 4 EFL: Tools, Reflections & Wisdom in English Language Teaching

Welcome to Prof Dev 4 EFL — a collection of tools, reflections, and hard-won wisdom from years in the classroom. Whether you're just getting started or you've been teaching EFL for a while, this space is for you. It’s not a top-down how-to manual. It’s a woven guide—part reminder, part provocation, part encouragement—gathered from conversations with colleagues, failed lesson plans, aha moments, and what’s actually helped me (and others) teach and grow. This isn’t about being the “best” teacher in the room. It’s about showing up with intention, building your craft, and remembering you’re not alone. 🧭 Let this series support you in finding your own rhythm, your own voice, and your own joy in the work.

Introduction

Finding Your Community

Writing Your Mission Statement

Part I Get it together in class has four units:

Part II Get it together Online

Part III Get it together Research

Part IV Get it together Life Leadership

In a world filled with educational resources, "Prof Dev 4 EFL" is my bit of success and I want to share the art of English language teaching with others. This series is not just about the nuts and bolts of teaching; it's a holistic approach that goes into classroom dynamics, online teaching strategies, research methodologies, and life leadership skills.

About the author:

Maria Lisak has lived most of her adult life in South Korea. Arriving for a six month working vacation, she fell in love with Korea and stayed for three and a half years initially. After a four year stint back in the US, she returned to Korea in 2003, this time to Gwangju and Jeolla. While her initial 'honeymoon' in Seoul was wonderful, she has found that her commitment to her new hometown, Gwangju, has been an investment in an environment with people who respect learning, a playground of evershifting paradigms of knowledge, and great food to boot!

Maria Lisak has been tutoring others in business and reading since the early 1990s and teaching English as a nonnative language since 1996. With certificates and degrees in philosophy, economics, computer technology, English language teaching, business administration, education, instructional design, Swedish massage, Reiki, meditation and reflexology, she prides herself as being a life-long learner. Maria teaches at Chosun University in the Administration Welfare Department and volunteers at several Korean non-profit organizations.

Acknowledgements

I'm very grateful to Chosun University for giving me a job.

I'm grateful to KOTESOL for letting me learn about educational leadership in a trial by fire.

My students. Oh my god, my students. I don't have kids and don't want them. But you, YOU, my students. Thank you. Thank you for all your candor, cleverness, and cupidity of Moon Pies. You have been and will always be my teacher. My door is always open to you.

To my colleagues, thank you for sharing your gifts, talents, time, ideas, thoughts, and complaints. I heart u!

And to a life coach, that should have pointed me towards therapy, but instead continued to take my money. This book would still be languishing on my computer and in notebooks and binders without their "support". Thank you so much for helping me see that sometimes people really aren't built to help but to extract. I'm grateful I never sold any issues of this in its first iteration in 2014. I'm happy to now release this chi to the universe without hope of fruition!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Portfolio for Maria Lisak, EdD

Welcome Maria H. Lisak, EdD's Portfolio -  Rooted in teaching, shaped by design, and guided by culture, my work bridges disciplines and invites deep connection. I design for transformation through authenticity, risk-taking, and reflection. I build frameworks that thrive in uncertainty and evolve with context. I create space for quiet thinkers, bold collaborators, and reluctant risk-takers to grow together. I cultivate learner ownership through guided freedom, shared goals, and mutual accountability. I bring structure and soul to suboptimal environments, using design as advocacy. I nurture learning as a meditative, collaborative, and cathartic adventure. I honor lived knowledge, emergent insight, and systems thinking as cornerstones of meaningful education. In my early years teaching English for Specific Purposes in South Korea, I walked into a classroom with no Wi-Fi, outdated textbooks, and learners who had been told they weren’t “language people.” Rather than accept the constrain...
Read more

Week 1: Thresholds + Intuition

Image
Week 1: Thresholds + Intuition Introduction This first week begins at the doorway — the space between what has been and what is coming. We enter not by force or intention, but by noticing. Thresholds are tender crossings: a pause, a flicker of light, the tremor before movement. You are invited to begin by lighting a candle and softening your gaze. Let your senses lead you — the scent of wax, the warmth of flame, the rhythm of your own breath. This week, we honor the wisdom that lives beneath words. Intuition is not a message to decode but a quiet current to lean toward. Each practice — candle gazing, body scanning, scent journaling — returns you to your inner compass. The affirmation, “I honor where I’ve been. I open to where I’m going,” anchors your awareness in both gratitude and possibility. Let this be a week of listening below the surface, of trusting what stirs gently in the half-light. Week 1 Practices  Candle Meditation Candle Video   Candle Gazing Worksheet Body scan...
Read more

Gaps and Opportunities in the South Korean Digital Content Creation Landscape

Gaps and Opportunities in the South Korean Digital Content Creation Landscape As the digital content creation industry in South Korea continues to expand—with the market projected to reach $2.69 billion by 2030 and growing at 15.9% annually—both the saturation of popular niches and the surging global demand for Korean cultural content create unprecedented opportunities for educators, students, and content creators alike. While many established South Korean content creators focus on language learning, travel, beauty, and lifestyle, significant gaps remain that present valuable opportunities for educational innovation and cultural bridge-building. This analysis explores seven notable gaps in the current South Korean digital content landscape, identifying areas where educators can develop innovative curricula, students can pursue meaningful research projects, and content creators can contribute to cross-cultural understanding. From interactive language learning that integrates cultural co...
Read more