Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pkang0202]

I know Korean well enough to get by. However, when my school found out that I could pretty much understand about 70% of what was said, they told me to pretend that I don't know any Korean in front of students and teachers.

Well, this was hard to do, since I caught one student say a bad word in Korean and I looked directly at him right after I said it. I think that tipped off the students that I could understand what they were saying.

Anyways, has anyone else encountered this? Has anyone else been told to pretend they can't speak or understand Korean in front of students and parents?

[Homer]

Well..it is stupid to ask you to pretend you do not understand Korean. However, it is often asked that Korea is not used in English class....and that makes some sense when it comes to the learning environment.

But, heck, you can't just pretend...just let your students know you understand some Korean but that no Korean language will be used during class.

[Sine qua non]

[Missile Command Kid]

This is going to sound goofy, but at the beginning of term I had a few classes that absolutely refused to speak. I'm in Daegu, so for some of these kids seeing a foreigner is as shocking as seeing an alien from outer space. I always do my best to work in "sseokso" and "ssaengaer" into my introduction class, if only to give them something to laugh about. After that, nearly all of my classes warmed up to me.

It also gives my director's wife a kick every time I greet her in Korean, or use a few other words. If there's a parent in the room, I say what I've got to say in Korean first and English second - I know how bloody annoying it is for people to speak nothing but Korean in front of me, so I try to give the parents some respect by talking to them in their own language.

[yingwenlaoshi]

Using Korean is good to get the point accross so you're not having to stand on your head to teach. But it must be limited.

A lot of these Korean teachers just go too far with classes being conducted pretty much completely in Korean. It really doesn't do the foreign teacher and students much good when such classes are being taught (foreign teacher and Korean teacher back up classes). Kids walk into your classroom yammering on in Korean. It's really quite unbelievable. Once they get to a certain age, like 6th year elementary or 1st year middle school, it's like they think they have a free pass to speak Korean all the time and you sound like a broken record telling them to use English.

Yes, they'll use Korean if they know you might understand, but I find that pointing how stupid that is gets them on the right track. Make them repeat it in English like 5 times.

[CasperTheFriendlyGhost]

I haven't seen that speaking korean in class is especially useful. To break tension, it's fine once and awhile.

To pretend that you don't know it when you do is dishonest and I would absolutely refuse to do it. Who knows? You might be able to bond with your fellow teachers if they know that thy can relate to you a bit.

[Travelous Maximus]

[tomato]

I told the supervisor that I would like to send out a monthly newsletter to the parents, telling them what we were doing in class.
She told me to write it in English, since Koreans don't expect foreigners to know Korean.
I refused. Why don't the Korean English teachers speak to the parents in English? If she taught Korean to children in the United States, would she speak to the parents in Korean?
She finally gave in.

[gsxr750r]

[falco]

Sorry, but the notion that using L1 somehow impedes learning L2 ine the classroom IS bunk. Pure and simple. I've been arguing this for years.

A). It helps to clarify hard to understand concepts or words, especially with younger students.

B). It helps the foreign teacher bond with the students.

C). It shows the students concerned that the foreign teacher understands at least a little of THEIR language and culture. So its not only them that is learning but the teacher as well.

Obviously the foreign teacher SHOULD keep the use of Korean as limited as possible in the English classroom but only use it with the above concepts in mind.

- falco.

[steroidmaximus]

pretending you don't speak Korean is an invaluable asset: it's amazing what some people will say in front of you if they think you can't understand. Ride this for all its worth, especially in business negotiations. Keeping a straight face is essential.

Most Kteachers always use Korean in class, especially in the school system. Why shouldn't you? See above, and if you do use Korean, then you get the "ooooooooo teacher Korean" followed by a chorus of giggles and retrograde comments.

However, Falco is correct.

[falco]

I once got fired from a kindergarten I worked at for refusing to ONLY use English in the classroom. The principal insisted on this even though there was nothing about this in my contract. She couldnt speak a word of English herself but nonetheless thought herself an expert on how others should teach it. At the time I was teaching 5 to 10 year olds the youngest of which knew very little Korean let alone English. Go figure!

Its this sort of idiocy that still prevails in many Korean schools unfortunately. Even at the current Elementary school I'm in insisted on this when I first started until I put them right. Instead of USING the bi-lingual ability of some foreign teachers to good advantage for the students its instead supressed for purposes which have more to do with Korean teachers controlling their 'elite' status.

I'm NOT an expert teacher by any means but I have been here for a good few years now so I do consider myself a bit more experienced than the average ESL teacher.

- falco.

[butlerian]

[Gwangjuboy]

I use Korean in the class. It is essential for students who have a very poor command of English.

[Neil]

In a public school using Korean is useful due to the size of the class, indeed it might be a good idea for public schools to have a sliding pay scale related to Korean ability (eg pass a basic Korean test get a 100k raise, pass an intermediate one get a 500k raise, pass an advanced one get a 1 mill raise). I've been browsing gaijinpot a bit and most of the jobs there require some Japanese knowledge.

In a hagwon however I think Korean is a no-no. It's a business and if the parents pay for imersion then imersion is what they are going to get.