Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bixlerscott]

I find that my 2 youngest kindy classes are always unruly, disobediant, screaming, and running around in circles while other kindy classes are a charm. I have had Korean teachers and the vice-director speak to them on several occasions with no results after they leave and I have lectured the kids many times in a regular, but serious voice on the rules of the classroom. (no running, no screaming, no speaking while I am speaking, open your book when told to do, and participate in class)

And 5 new kindy classes are coming in next week.

Being that many Korean children disobey foreign teachers on purpose(frustrating), how might I achieve effective classroom management to conduct a class? These kids are so unruly they wont' hardly play a game either.

Should I worry that the Koreans will see me as incompetent and worthless if I continue to not get results through classroom management without asking for Korean help in ensuring the kids have a solid understanding of what is expected of them?

[white tiger]

In two words...
Stickers.
Candy.

[ilovebdt]

On their first day get a Korean teacher to explain the rules of the classroom to them. Depending on your level you can also explain them in English too.

Have a predetermined punishment for those who break the rules.

A tried and tested method is "time out". They sit on a chair away from the other students for a specific amount of time.

E.g one minute for each year of their age.

ilovebdt

[bosintang]

Forget punishments. Forget candy.

Go to Bandi's & Lunis and pick up a copy of Teaching English to Children in Asia by David Paul. Make the classes fun, and draw the children in that way.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[grainger]

Try to lighten up. There just kids. There not doing anything to purposefully frustrate you. They just want to have fun. Try playing with them a little bit. Between classes be friendly and playful and during classes don't jump on them for acting like...well kids.

An example of what I mean by playing with them in class is when one of my kids is squirming around in his seat and practically laying on the desk in front of him I'll come up behind him and try to pat his bottom three times while I say the Korean word for bottom (Un-dung-ee). Everyone gets a giggle out of me trying to use Korean, I don't hit hard enough to cause even the slightest discomfort, and they know I'm doing it because their butt's in the air. It becomes an instant game of - can the kid get their butt out of the air fast enough so that the teacher has to look disappointed at not getting in her three whacks. Some kids will immediately stick their butts back up in the air to try a second round. But all I say then is "sit down please" and they know I'll only play once.

Try to let them know that you like them and they'll like you. Once you've established that they'll do almost anything for you. One thing I do is I line them up at the end of class to make sure no one's leaving their desk a mess then one by one I put my hands up in the air and say "high, lower, lower, lower..." as I lower my hands until they yell stop and jump to try to give me the highest high ten they can manage. They love it and it makes class fun.

I always make sure I leave the fun stuff till the end of class to so that they know they have something to look forward to. First phonics, then writing, then GAME! If they know it's comming they'll work for you because if they don't finish they don't play.

Try to have fun with them. Kindergarten can really be a great time as long as you don't expect them to sit still for too long. Give them chances to stand up and point to answers on posters, write things on the board, tidy up their own messes, etc. I think the number of minutes a child can sit still for any given time is almost directly tied to their age. Five years old =five minutes. Some days they're just going to need to run around accept it and things will go much easier for you. When my kids are like that I play a game that involves them having to race to find a number or letter I call out from among a bunch of card I've scattered face down on the floor. It's great for number or letter recognition because a lot of kids can count and sing the alphabet but hold up the number six and ask them what it is and they'll have no idea.

It's amazing what you can turn into a game. I have my six year olds begging me to play the "Spelling Game". They love it because I've set up a reward system. Every word they get right earns them a star and whenever they get ten stars they can trade them in for a chance to rumage through my "Prize Box". Which is just a bunch of erasers, marbles, and other little toys I pick up at stationary stores, nothing over a dollar. They love the excitement of chosing their own reward. I love it because everybody watches everyone else spell so they're all studying no matter who's spelling.

Okay, well this has turned into a much longer post then I intended but just try to keep an open mind because kindy can be a blast.

[Fresh Prince]

I second the other poster: Stickers and Candy

[tomato]

Hello, Bixler Scott!

If this is your first kindergarten teaching experience, you're off to a better start than I was.
ALL of my kindergarten classes were like that.

If you are like I was, you have trouble even getting the class started.
But then I learned a good trick:
If you can only get 2 children to come to you, try positive reinforcement.
Pay attention to those 2 who came to you, and ignore the 20 who are running around, killing each other.
But make plenty of noise while you do that.
A suggestion is to slap you knees while shouting "Hello, Kathy, K-A-T-H-Y!" "Hello, Bobby, B-O-B-B-Y!"
The screaming hellions will see that Kathy and Bobby are getting your attention and they will want attention too.
Once they come to the circle, add their names to the ritual.
I wouldn't be surprised if you can get all the kids into the circle without a single interruption.

Once you got their attention, keeping their attention is easier.
I didn't say "easy," now; I said "easiER."
The trick is to balance individual attention with group attention.
Call on volunteers to draw pictures, to arrange alphabet blocks in the correct order, to play musical instruments, or any other activity you can think of.
I promise you the children will throw their hands in the air and yell, "저요! 저요!"
Call on only those who are behaving, and most of them will behave.
There is just one down side to this, though: the longer you pay attention only to individuals, the more everyone else will fidget.
You can alleviate this problem by repeating a ritual after each child volunteers. I slap my knees and rhythmically say, "Thank you, Matthew! Thank you, Matthew!"

If you still have problems reducing the noise level, resist the shout above the noise. That is like fighting for peace.

Also, try not interrupt the lesson in order to deal with the disturbances.
The children might not see the goal which you have in mind, which is to operate a smooth and productive class.

Rather, you could:

▶ Whisper. The children will have to reduce the noise level in order to hear you. You can whisper names of offending individuals. ("Angela, are you ready to listen?")

I realize you're tempted to yell at the offending students, but don't.

▶ Ask content-related questions to offending individuals. ("Jason, what color is this?")

▶ Redirect the behavior of offending individuals. ("Mickey, I would like for you to sing Old MacDonald with us.")

▶ Communicate non-verbally. Tag the offending students, look their way and shake your head, or just give them a dirty look.

▶ Continue to reinforce the students who are behaving. I often look around the room and enumerate the students whom I could hear singing or reciting. "Thank you, Laura. Thank you, Kevin." Nine times out of ten, I am able to pick up a few more names on the next round.


If the wisdom in this thread isn't enough for you,
try the wisdom in the last 23 kindergarten threads:

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19
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15
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The next time someone asks, this will become thread number 24!

[oneofthesarahs]

Candy cures all ills. Definitely.

[Kimchieluver]

With so many job vacancies, I wonder why people take jobs with kindy.

[poet13]

Peel all the skin off of one of their heads from the neck up. Put it back on inside-out. I'm fairly confident the others will behave.

[Rteacher]

Have them do a lot of drawings and bring in stuff they're interested in like toy dinosaurs ...

Balloons are good for alphabet games - they have to keep it from touching the floor while calling out the next letter each time they hit it ...

If possible, video classes are nice - like "Timothy Goes to School" ...

I think that parents main concern for their youngest kids in hagwons is that the native English teachers are "gentle" and patient ...

[Toast and Kimchee]

If you give out candy, make sure they are not jolly ranchers! I used to give these out as a reward at the end of class until one of my third graders choked on it and, apparently, they had to give her the heimlick.

Needless to say I was given a written warning by my principal not to give out any candy.

[tomato]

I wish to go on record for opposing candy as a reward.
There are many individual privileges you can award which will motivate the children just as strongly.

Besides, I have been having considerable dental problems because I did not take care of my teeth as I should have.
I would not want any of you to play a role in declaring the same fate on any of these children.

[oneofthesarahs]

I have sort of a weird suggestion for calming down your crazy kid. Bear with me.

Put your hand on his head when he starts getting riled up. It sounds silly, I know. But lay your hand on top of his head lightly but firmly. It has a really strange calming effect on a couple of my unruly kindy kids.