Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

I've got a private class with a five year old Korean boy. I've been using esl-kids.com and tlsbooks.com I would spent time on a Q and A for vocab, reading (phonics HOP), and use tlsbooks for Maths and Thinking skills.

So I did
Jobs
Foods
Clothes
Colors
Weather
Toys
Actions
Transport
Playground
Adjectives
Feeling

I thought I was doing pretty well, worksheets, games, etc. The kids got rejected from all the schools to start 1st grade because he's too young. Now the mom wants a curriculum to the end of the year. She says what I've been doing has no structure. I've given her my plans, but becuase she's a Korean mother, her son is her life.

And ideas about what to do?

[Sleepwalker]

Just a thought - when I've had to 'construct' a syllabus, I use an existing tried and tested format.

Why don't you look at the Pitman syllabus? It goes from Basic to Advanced. They have a YESOL certificate and you can give the little prince some past papers for practice (and make up your own later)

www.cityandguilds.gr/data/files/Practice%20Papers%20booklet%20-%20YESOL.pdf -

Hope this helps

[naturegirl321]

Thanks a lot

[Glenski]

Are you trying to teach English or a bunch of subjects (e.g., math)? If your goal is only to teach English, focus on that.

Structure. For a 5 year old, this seems somewhat ridiculous to me, but having taught in Japan, I guess I could see the similarity in what a Korean parent would expect. To me, structure means a repetitive series of activities so the kid knows what to expect every lesson. If she wants the kid to be prepared for elementary school, I suppose structure also means knowing what you are going to do in those activities, geared towards certain goals.

So what are the goals? The kid is only 5 years old.

Plus, just how often do you teach the kid, and is he expected (by you or Mom) to do any homework?

Repetitive activities, in my mind, include things like:
1. open the class with 2-3 minutes of chat, focusing on last lesson's topics, as a review of vocabulary and language structure (whatever is possible for a 5-year-old)

2. spend the rest of the lesson with the same order of activities every time. Things such as 1st - showing pictures and giving vocab/pronunciation, 2nd - match cards to see if he remembers any of them, 3rd - singing a song that uses some of the vocabulary, 4th - children's introductory grammar point, 5th - board game with some questions that force him to answer with the grammar point, 6th - cool down with review of vocabulary. (I don't teach kids that young, so this is just a model.)

3. homework? even pronunciation practice.

As for a syllabus, if Mom wants something built that will do the job in just 4-5 months (that's the end of the 2008 year), she's dreaming. But, you would need to show something like this:

A. list of vocabulary (broken into categories that seem useful for his immediate future classroom, which should appease Mom, but how you know what words he needs are beyond me)

B. list of grammar points (sigh, whatever his classroom is expected to know)

C. reading skills (perhaps more along the lines of reading speed, but since you mentioned thinking skills, then you might want to include things like predicting, summarizing, etc. )

D. general conversation abilities (greetings, polite questions, responses)

I suppose she wants all this "structure" yesterday. Good luck.

[keitepai]

Hello,

I have experience teaching children of this age, including some Korean. As my school has a curriculum in place I worked with them using this - found it great and very age appropriate. The ESL specialist teacher at the school assessed them and said they were progressing well and did not need extra help from her. If you are interested in the curriculum outline, assessment/planning I can email you some info.

The best way for this age to learn in my opinion is to provide many tactile activities to help the child learn language, some structure and documentation is required to reassure parents that their child is making progress. Your topics look fine but I think the key is presenting it in a way to the parents to show them exactly what he is learning ie; learning objectives and then outcomes from your assessment. Also to show depth of learning and comprehension not just a broad overview of many different topics.

I found Korean parents very positive once they understood what I was teaching and that we weren't just playing with playdough all day.

Another factor is what type of school will he attend next year? You could check with the school's curriculum advisor and ask for a checklist of skills (much as I hate them!) so that he doesn't get too ahead of his peers and that parents can see he is achieving.

The child could attend an English language preschool (if available) to give him more opportunities to learn language alongside others as well as the private lessons? There is nothing better than the motivation to be able to communicate with peers for kids of this age.
Good luck

[Kootvela]

When a person tells me that what I'm doing has no structure, I ask this person to show his/her diploma in philology that has to be a PhD (to beat my Masters). Then they always shut up. There are many private students and I don't bother with smart a$$es or their parents. Why don't you do the same? Maybe I'm too easy to be insulted and I take things too personally but it's me who's doing the main job so I think I have a right to choose my methods.

[keitepai]

I guess I don't really take it as an insult but more that parents sometimes don't understand what is best for their child so they show this by challenging teachers and questioning methods. If I approached this with an attitude that was defensive or aggressive they generally will shut down with their communication. I am confident that my teaching gets results but see it as part of my job to educate parents as well.

I like to use an approach that builds a positive relationship with the parent, the theory being that if they feel valued and listened too then in turn they will reciprocate with respect. This way they become a willing partner in their child's education and are more open to understanding effective teaching methods.
Parents are always looking for the best for their child really so it is usually easy to get them working with you rather than against you! When teachers and parents have good communication and rapport the child sees this and is more positive about learning.

Just like having a bad neighbour you can fight with them or bake them muffins and be their friend. SO much less drama

[Kootvela]

I'm just sick and tired of having to defend my job. I mean, few people question surgeons about the details of operation because they trust that doctors know what they do. Few people question lawyers as well. But everybody can teach!

[keitepai]

Maybe so, hope you find a way to get around the problem more easily. Feeling frustrated about your work is not good for your health surely. Maybe others here have some good strategies to try with this!

[Kootvela]

I guess it's a side effect of the profession

[MO39]

[johnslat]

Dear MO39,

"It depends on your level and needs; basically, whatever works,"

Exactly - and what a great tutor you must be. It's amazing (and saddening) how many tutors try to fit each and every student upon the Procrustean bed
of their one and only preferred method.

Regards,
John

[MO39]

[Kootvela]

[Justin Trullinger]

I understand feeling frustrated, koot. It's true that not everybody can teach, yet many seem to think that they should tell teachers how to do their jobs.

But I see my job, in Ecuador at least, as being much deeper than just teaching English. Many students who come to me with a very basic level have had more than a decade of English instruction. THey have very clear ideas about what an English classroom should be like, yet, demonstrably, it doesn't work.

Whether they're parents, or adult students, I believe strongly that the way to "win" is to help them to see the reasons that their previously learning hasn't been successful, and to look into experiencing, then evaluating, other methods to see if they're more successful.

So I guess, while I get sick and tired of having my knowledge of the field questioned, I don't hold with the "I'm an expert so trust me and ask me no questions" attitude either. I'm an expert, and willing to share and learn. I know that to be successful, my students can't just "do what I say." They need to believe that it will work. I think this can be accomplished by showing them why I do what I do, and helping them to develop concrete criteria to evaluate the results.

I think I'd be less successful if I played "my degree is bigger than yours, so shut up." Doesn't make any difference if you do have a doctorate- if my methods work, they work. And by the way, I'm training a teacher this month with a PhD in Philology. Most philology degrees are study of language, not language teaching...


Best,
Justin