Interesting observation. Well, at least to me.

I have a workshop for Korean English teachers each week. Overall, the level of this group is pretty high, and so I've been able to have some great conversations with them on a pretty wide range of issues. Last week, we started by talking about Bloom's taxonomy and ways they could apply some of the concepts within the confines of the text from which they have to teach (also, it was a good way to review some less-often used verbs).

Anyway, it bled into a conversation about the nature of English education in Korea, and led to a discussion about the relative benefits of having native English speakers in the schools. Essentially, the teachers at my school believe that the people who benefit the most are the teachers, with the students benefiting mostly via the Korean teachers having greater fluency. I was really kind of surprised by this, especially considering the number of people I know who don't teach adult workshops whatsoever, but the teachers mentioned how just having us there to ask questions and talk to on a regular basis can make a huge difference in fluency levels.

This is also colored by the fact that at my main school, I see kids once every two weeks unless a class is pulled, and then it is even less. The teacher from my country school mentioned that his students were lucky because they were able to see me weekly and the student/teacher ratio was so much lower, so they derived more benefit from having me in the school.

Anyway, it was a very different way for me to think of my role here.