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myesl
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Posts: 307
Location: Luckily not in China.
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 Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 7:47 pm Post subject: Can I teach kids? (I don't know!) |
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I've taught adults in Korea and Taiwan, middle school in Japan and I'm thinking about returning to Taiwan. Job market being what it is I was thinking about teaching kids. The EFL teachers I knew when I was in Taiwan mostly thought teaching kids was easy and many of them said this was because they had a Taiwanese co-teacher there to keep the kids in line.
I am NOT interested in singing songs and such. There's enough self-ass-making in adult classes, thank you very much. I don't hate kids, just not a kid liking person. Any thoughts on schools that might suit me -- in Taipei, hopefully?
Thanks. |
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markholmes
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Wengehua
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| Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Sorry to ask, but what is TP? |
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wood
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 9:18 pm Post subject: Re: Can I teach kids? (I don't know!) |
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| myesl wrote: |
I've taught adults in Korea and Taiwan, middle school in Japan and I'm thinking about returning to Taiwan. Job market being what it is I was thinking about teaching kids. The EFL teachers I knew when I was in Taiwan mostly thought teaching kids was easy and many of them said this was because they had a Taiwanese co-teacher there to keep the kids in line.
I am NOT interested in singing songs and such. There's enough self-ass-making in adult classes, thank you very much. I don't hate kids, just not a kid liking person. Any thoughts on schools that might suit me -- in Taipei, hopefully?
Thanks. |
There are plenty of schools that don't sing songs or play games. Look around. As for liking or not liking kids, it really isn't that important beyond kindergarten. I don't like kids, either, but I enjoy teaching. That is, as long as it is teaching. Oh, and I've never found it particularly easy. |
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Taylor
Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 384
Location: Texas/Taiwan
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| Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Readers,
The kids I met in Taiwan really were great--for the most part. Their whole lives seem to change upon entering junior high, so I thought it was a great opportunity to teach the elementary kids.
They are very easily excited, so your 'games' do not need to be very elaborate at all. Simple guessing games were always a hit. If you let them use their hands and bodies some, that seems to keep the energy level higher.
If you keep the children busy learning, then they won't feel bored. They may not be having a blast in my classes, but at least none ever fell asleep!
Let us know what you are thinking!!! Best wishes.
Taylor
Kaohsiung 7+ years |
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myesl
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Posts: 307
Location: Luckily not in China.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, folks. I guess I should be more specific and so ask you to be so as well. Teachers I knew teaching kids said that there were schools where you had to sing songs and other weird stuff and where you had to run class yourself. Conversely, they said there were (and they preferred) schools where it wasn't so campy and where you always had a Taiwanese co-teacher to take care of disruptive kids more effectively than the KMT.
I'm interested in knowing about the latter sort of school, so if you would mention any schools that you know to fit that bill, it'd be a start.
Also, don't get offended when I say other teachers told me teaching kids was "easy". They said it, and they just meant that there was less preparation time than for adults (their schools had curriculums and that's what I'm looking for, too) and they didn't have to answer perplexing questions about grammar and usage. |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Posts: 399
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:52 am Post subject: |
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| markholmes wrote: |
| Sorry to ask, but what is TP? |
Toiletten Papier |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Posts: 399
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:56 am Post subject: |
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[]][]
Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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wood
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 4:50 am Post subject: |
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| jason_seeburn wrote: |
They like to play games and they love to sing. That's Taiwanese kids. If you just do sit down grammar and stuff like you would with adults, you'll bore them to tears. Usually you do a lesson, then a game to re-enforce it, then a song if they're little kids (though don't sing if they're over 10, they'll get really quiet and look uncomfortable), then give them a 10 minute break to run around and play, then another lesson, etc. Fairly easy. Just keep them happy. It's like babysitting, but they pay you $40,000 |
I've never worked in a school like that. As long as I've been here, I've been teaching. It's never been even a little bit like babysitting. |
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Waldorf Salad
Joined: 03 Apr 2004
Posts: 56
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| I've never worked in a school like that. As long as I've been here, I've been teaching. It's never been even a little bit like babysitting. |
Are you saying that playing games and singing songs with children is not teaching? Children learn by having fun: by playing games, singing songs, dance, drama, crafts, chants, dialogue, roleplay, etc. If you're not willing to do these things with kids you shouldn't teach them, because they're probably not going to learn very much. |
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wood
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:50 am Post subject: |
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| Bart wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I've never worked in a school like that. As long as I've been here, I've been teaching. It's never been even a little bit like babysitting. |
Are you saying that playing games and singing songs with children is not teaching? Children learn by having fun: by playing games, singing songs, dance, drama, crafts, chants, dialogue, roleplay, etc. If you're not willing to do these things with kids you shouldn't teach them, because they're probably not going to learn very much. |
I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that there is more than JUST singing and games. I agree that singing songs and games are teaching. So are all the other things you mentioned. There are, however, some schools that don't do any of that. Some of them are quite successful. |
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myesl
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Posts: 307
Location: Luckily not in China.
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| wood wrote: |
| Bart wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I've never worked in a school like that. As long as I've been here, I've been teaching. It's never been even a little bit like babysitting. |
Are you saying that playing games and singing songs with children is not teaching? Children learn by having fun: by playing games, singing songs, dance, drama, crafts, chants, dialogue, roleplay, etc. If you're not willing to do these things with kids you shouldn't teach them, because they're probably not going to learn very much. |
I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that there is more than JUST singing and games. I agree that singing songs and games are teaching. So are all the other things you mentioned. There are, however, some schools that don't do any of that. Some of them are quite successful. |
And the names of those schools are?????????????? |
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wood
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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And the names of those schools are??????????????[/quote]
PM me is you want an answer. |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Posts: 399
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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[][
Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:22 am; edited 1 time in total |
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wood
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:53 am Post subject: |
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| jason_seeburn wrote: |
| wood wrote: |
| jason_seeburn wrote: |
They like to play games and they love to sing. That's Taiwanese kids. If you just do sit down grammar and stuff like you would with adults, you'll bore them to tears. Usually you do a lesson, then a game to re-enforce it, then a song if they're little kids (though don't sing if they're over 10, they'll get really quiet and look uncomfortable), then give them a 10 minute break to run around and play, then another lesson, etc. Fairly easy. Just keep them happy. It's like babysitting, but they pay you $40,000 |
I've never worked in a school like that. As long as I've been here, I've been teaching. It's never been even a little bit like babysitting. |
You're probably so brain dead you don't notice. |
And you have worked in every school in Taiwan. *beep*! |
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Waldorf Salad
Joined: 03 Apr 2004
Posts: 56
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
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| Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I agree that singing songs and games are teaching. So are all the other things you mentioned. There are, however, some schools that don't do any of that. Some of them are quite successful. |
Successful in what? Making money maybe... There are probably enough retarded parents in Taiwan who think that having fun while learning will harm their children.
But if the schools you mentioned stick to drills and grammar we can be pretty sure that the kids aren't learning anything. Anyone who has taught kids for more than a day knows that kids will be bored as hell when you do that. There's a lot we don't know about second language acquisition, but one of the things we do know (especially from brain research) is that a state of boredom will cause bad learning results. Fun in the classroom is essential.
Boredom also causes discipline problems. Discipline problems lead to complaining teachers, complaining teachers lead to parents beating the crap out of their kids and parents beating the crap out of their kids result in scared kids. And fear again leads to bad learning results.
Do your students a favor: prepare your classes and make sure it's fun and if you don't want to do that, don't teach kids. |
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