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If I try so hard why am I still boring
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OiGirl



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun

PostPosted: Sun Mar 16, 2003 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

canukteacher wrote:
...challenge him. Tell him to come in and observe your classes. Tell him you want to know EXACTLY what the students are saying. Invite him to a class, and tell him you want to discuss what he tells you directly with the students. He will not like this direct approach, and good chance it will stop him in his tracks.


I really like this idea which has been proposed by several posters...to challenge them to account for these supposed criticisms. Has anyone tried presenting a director who says you are "boring" or "ineffective" with a nice intimidating professional evaluation instrument like http://www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/pdf/foda.pdf, for example, to see if they'll back off?
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Zyzyfer



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?

PostPosted: Sun Mar 16, 2003 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my personal experience, I had some complaints from the director at one point last year, and I offered the chance for my director to observe the classes. It was soon swept under the rug...
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Keepongoing



Joined: 13 Feb 2003
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2003 1:49 pm    Post subject: I will just do my best Reply with quote

I am committed to being a student and for that reason I believe I will be a better and better teacher. Fortunately I have had many, in varied situations, affirm me as a teacher. Also, I love teaching. I have lived in Asia for 18 years, not 10. I have an MA TESOL but am considering doing a month course in Thailand. It is called CPE's, Continued Professional Education. There seem to be many who cheer us on in our endeavors, but there are also those who wish to scorn us. In the end we must decide who we listen to.
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GRK



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2003 3:02 pm    Post subject: If I try so hard why am I still boring Reply with quote

This response is not limited to 'inside' Korea. With older students I try to avoid this situation at the beginning with reference to various learner/teacher styles and place the the responsibility for learning (learner autonomy) on the student I acknowledge that this way of learning is significantly different from the way in which some Asian students learn due to the education system in their home country, but that our aim as ESL techers, is to show them a different way and offer them new challenges and opportunities to learn. I sometimes then go into the work culture and the need for individual autonomy in that setting (if they hope to work for a foreign company etc), connecting what we as ESL teachers are doing with the 'big picture'. In the end I imply/say that boredom is evidence of limited mental activity- a brain that hasn't become used to taking responsibility and working for itself....or words to that effect. I'm sure you know this, but have just mentioned it as it is an issue we all face. Its often an excuse for inadequate learning strategies and/or failed expectations on the part of the learner. Depending on the teaching situation, I usually find it better to get to the issue before they do.
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Canadian Teacher



Joined: 22 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2003 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Speaking as someone who has been here years, I would not put too much stock in the old "boring" mantra. The boring complaint inevitably comes from a student with no motivation who rarely attends. When he does not understand anything that is going on, the teacher is "boring."

You could have 200 hundred students who love you but if your boss hears one complaint it will get straight back to you. I always threw the ball back immediately: "You tell me exactly what you want and you will get it." that would shut him up quickly.
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marsha marsha marsha



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: At the base of a very big pyramid

PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 3:44 pm    Post subject: Not meaning you exactly... Reply with quote

The absolutely worst teacher I have ever worked with had all the qualifications. She was the most qualified in our school and was the only one that this school had ever fired. She was horrible! Too much reading, too little relating.
Relationships and respect go much further than those extra degrees.
I don't mean you exactly but don't stress the qualifications so much. How do you feel about the students? Do you like them? Do you enjoy teaching? That sort of thing is more important in my humble opinion.
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Keepongoing



Joined: 13 Feb 2003
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 1:27 am    Post subject: Me Again Reply with quote

I have been teaching adults in Korea for 9 months and it has been hit and miss. I

Last edited by Keepongoing on Fri Jan 23, 2004 3:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
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indiercj



Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have some questions.

Where did you teach before Korea?

Is it from university students or older adults that you get these complaints?

Are they in advanced class?

Just curious.
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jajdude



Joined: 18 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well Ive always gotten complaints too but I can only do what I can and I know I do a competent job. But it's an easy job to criticize. It's like a politician. Everyone can say he's lousy but put them in office and see how we they do. Or like a baseball umpire. Anyway the kids and classes that are trying to learn and are attentive enough do learn. The others don't listen and moan about how frustrating English is, and blame the teacher for not being Jay Leno. And some of the parents... well why bother commenting on them. Send Mrs. Kim to Saudi Arabia to teach Korean to inattentive brats and see how well she likes it!
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Keepongoing



Joined: 13 Feb 2003
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 12:50 pm    Post subject: Hi Reply with quote

Most of the complaints I have received in the past 9 months have been from middle aged Korean businessmen. All but one have been in advanced classes and more recently the student was in a basic class. He was angry because I did not pair him up with another student. My fault, I had an odd number and was not attentive to the student. I was trying to stay awake as I have been teaching 46 hours a week, 7 days a week as requested by the school. I tend to get extreme reactions from students?

This is my first "real" teaching assignment since having received my MA TESOL. I did teach in the States, but that was student teaching.

Part of the problem is that there is not enough time to do prep work. Anyway, I hope I can find a good situation and get the wind back in my sails. Right now I am just real tired and stressed. I guess I need to go to some tropical beach for 2 weeks, rest, and then try again somewhere.
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The Lemon



Joined: 11 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Most of the complaints I have received in the past 9 months have been from middle aged Korean businessmen.

Middle-aged Korean businessmen have no right to call *anyone* boring. Look up "boring" in the dictionary and there'll be a picture of a middle-aged Korean salarydrone.
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tomato



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: I get so little foreign language experience, I must be in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello, MASH4077!

I agree with the contributors who say that you don't have anything to worry about. I've passed the half-century mark too, and I've never been unemployed for very long.

My first employer didn't hire me for a second year because of a feeble excuse. The real reason was that he was replacing another teacher with a guy who refused to work at a place which would not also hire his girlfriend.

My second employer fired me because I allegedly did the same activity every day, even though I had more ideas than all her kissass Korean teachers put together. I later realized that she needed to replace me with a person who would teach both adults and kids, whereas I had it written into my contract that I would only teach kids.

For a while, I got the same line from my third employer. I knew the kids were enjoying my activities, I knew they were learning from my activities, so I didn't change a thing. I am still here, working my second contract.

If the employer is ditching you because of something lying under the surface (as in my cases #1 and #2), there is nothing you can do and there is no reason for you to take it personally.

If, as Lemon says, the employer is merely trying to make your life interesting (as in my case #3), just keep him reminded about how boring more Korean foreign language teachers are.
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tomato



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: I get so little foreign language experience, I must be in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2003 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I took another look at Canadian Teacher's message and it inspired me to make one more comment: I once worked as a newspaper reporter in a small town in Tennessee. The mayor was up for reelection and he was running scared. Several people complained about the downtown parking meters, so he planned to remove them. However, I took a street survey and found that the majority favored the parking meters. That changed the mayor's mind, and the parking meters stayed. (He lost the election anyway.)

For the benefit of younger readers, Nixon called upon the "silent majority" who favored the war in Vietnam. History repeats itself!
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Pets wonderland



Joined: 09 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2003 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello there. I only teach adults, and middle-aged Korean businessmens too. So far I've enjoyed it a lot and find it easier than teaching kids.

But that being said, I tend to treat them a little bit like kids at times. They love variety. I play games with them, teach them some songs, listen to different kinds of music, watch videos, read newspaper articles together and socialize with them. I show them photos from home, read storybooks with them. From my hagwon days I stole a few sets of cards and game books and I try to be creative with the materials by inventing new games or roleplays. I give them tests now and then so they can at least have a goal to achieve, and I joke with them a lot. Most of all, I try to make sure none of them feel left out by distributing equal amounts of time to all students and asking about individual students' wellfare. So far the reaction from them is more than I hoped for, and they have told me they've never enjoyed English classes as much as they do now. I used to put in a lot of work into all this, but now that I have some groundwork already done, I hardly prepare for classes any more.

The No 1. complaint I hear about teachers is that they always use textbooks like it's a bible. Another complaint I hear is that they expect students to obey them without any questions. Also, although teachers shouldn't go overboard, if you have high energy level and enthusiasm, students really respond to that. unfortunately, you do have to put on a show for them, be a clown now and then, but afterwards, they'll like you more. Koreans need to feel some sort of emotional connection to a 'teacher' figure, and if you can fulfil this need, it's a good start.

I don't think the complaints are anything to worry about, if the students don't have the desire to learn English in the first place, then no matter what you do, they'll still complain. How well the classes run doesn't just depend on the teacher, it also depends on the students. You alone are not to blame. As somebody mentioned on this board, Koreans like to criticize and as a teacher, you'll always be under the microscope. Forget that you're a teacher, and maybe try to think of yourself as their friend if possible. Just have fun. I imagine it must be difficult to even think about the word 'fun' when you're working 7 days a week, hopefully your next position will have less teaching hours.
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Len8



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Location: Kyungju

PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2003 7:39 pm    Post subject: If I try so hard why am I still boring Reply with quote

Seems like you are working a lot of hours there. Are all the teachers working the same number of hour? Most institutes only require you to work 30hours on average. I've taught buisness classes too, and all they wanted to do was talk about any thing or any topic anyone brought up. Some complained about my accent, because I am Australian, but fortunately they moved them to another class
My classes were never more than 20 students, but they were pretty much all at the same level. If you have mixed level classes you are going to have a harder time keeping them all to-gether. Could be your problem.
A lot of students bring their emotional baggage to classes with them, and for many of them going to an institute is a way to cope with loneliness. Some of them could in fact be on work assignments seperated from their families. Others are chronic low achievers, and don't ever open a book once they leave their classes. You might notice this from the snide looks from the more motivated students in your class. Others try their hearts out, but you know they will only be only so so as English speakers. There are still others who only come to look for a girlfriend, a wife or a husband.
Anyway thats my two cents worth. Sometimes we gotta be a bit sensitive to other things in our students lives besides their wanting to learn English.
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