Korean Job Discussion Forums

[spyro25]

hi, i got a uni position in march and i was wondering about good ice breaker lessons that would work for students regardless of ability.

also, does anyone have a copy of their (homemade) syllabus they would like to post them on here or PM me, as they said there isnt really a syllabus at the uni so i'd like to see what kind of lessons other newbie uni teachers did when they started until i find my feet. i havent really taught adults very much in my experience so far except for one business class for an hour in the mornings so that might be an issue. i think the focus would be on conversation rather than anything else in the beginning.

any tips or advice anyone can give for a newbie uni teacher would be greatly appreciated! perhaps a couple of book recommendations?

[Sina qua non]

Introductions are the way to go on the first (and possibly second, as well) class meetings. I introduce myself (the EP version of my introduction); it lasts around 20-30 minutes or so (this also includes an introduction to the class--what is studied, books, tests, yada, yada).

Next comes the students introducing themselves. They should take a minute or so each to intoduce themselves (name, major, hometown, favorite food, favorite color, shoe size, etc.).

As for a syllabus, if you are teaching a conversation textbook (like New Interchange, or whatever), just divide the textbook (what you are required to teach during the semester) into about 15-16 equal sections, and this gives you a weekly breakdown of the in-class activities/lectures (less any of the special topics you bring to the class).

I hope it goes well for you. Don't cut the students much slack regarding their ability to use/understand English. They know a lot, so keep reasonably high expectations of them.

[indytrucks]

[spyro25]

my big worry is that my contract at my hagwon finishes on the 28th of february, and the uni position starts on the first. does anyone know if lessons usually start on the 1st of march, or is there some kind of orientation day where the students dont have any classes on that day? i'd be happy if there were no lessons that first day so i got time to familiarize myself with the coursebooks, office, materials etc.

[indytrucks]

[schwa]

March 1 is a holiday.

[spyro25]

thanks schwa thats good to know.

[Sina qua non]

[The Chewbacca Defense]

I hope this helps..... but a couple of the unis that I know are starting their semester on the 5th of March.

Insofar as ice breakers, I like to play a game called 'Snowball'.

I get the students to write down their name, hometown, age, hobbies, family members etc. on a piece of paper and then I get them to scrunch the paper up. I divide the class into 2 and the stand on two sides of the room. On the count of three they throw their paper across the other side of the room. Each person picks up a piece of paper and sits back down. Then we go around the class and the each student reads the information on the paper. The person whose name is on the paper has to stand up while the information is being read. This helps the students to get to know one another and helps me to remember their names.

Good luck.

[JeJuJitsu]

[angelgirl]

My experience is that the students can change classes during the first three weeks, the first class being a shortist intriduction to your course. A syllabus contains, what you intend to teach, the source of the materials, the course objectives, and how you will assess them.

[noguri]

I'm just finishing my first semester in a Korean university, too.

Well, it is true that students change classes during the first two weeks so it doesn't hurt to play icebreaker games and do other things to get the students used to your style and also to your expectations.

Personally, I found the textbook I selected was totally below the level of the students. The students were quite nonnative fluent. My syllabus went out the window because the students were more advanced than what I had first realized.

I nevertheless needed the text for certain days when I didn't have a lesson plan in hand.

The syllabus can arbitrarily divide the textbook into units according to time. I did that because until I actually taught the course, I didn't know what I would really cover. Once the course got going, I departed from the syllabus and used materials I designed myself or else dug up on the internet.

What is absolutely critical about the syllabus is your grading scheme. You cannot change the way you'll grade in the middle of the semester or it will confuse students. The students need this as a firm guidepost so they can know what you expect and they can guage their own performance. Divide it by components that you will weight. For example, attendance 10%, participation 20%, assignments, exams, etcetera. Don't change the weighting after you hand out the syllabus to the students.

Every TESOL textbook says that there are different ways to design a syllabus according to the way you want the course to progress. For example, you may want to organize it by "structual" units of grammar that you'll teach in a certain progression. Or, you may want to organize it by the topical content. Many of the ESL textbooks are organized that way, covering introductions, hobbies, social life, dating, job hunting, etc. in more or less that order. I prefer to take a single topical theme and develop it during the semester instead of jumping around from one bland thing to another.

Try to vary the activities. One day emphasize listening. Show a TV program and provide a transcript of the dialogue so they can follow along. Next lesson, analyze the grammar in the transcript and familiarize students with the idioms. Another day make them perform some dialogues they have written, modeled on the ones they saw on the program. Students quickly pick up idioms and new vocabulary this way, and they get very creative with their dialogues.

Well, the hard part is grading. Make certain that whenever they perform dialogues in the classroom that you write adequate notes so that you can assign a grade that reflects differences in oral performance. That's what I haven't quite got the hang of, and it'll take me awhile.