Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BS.Dos.]

I'm re-posting this in here as it sank almost immediately in one of the other forums.

I've noticed in a few posts/thread of people making reference to items they'd wish they brought with them from home, photos etc as the learners apparently go ape for that kind of thing. I've also noticed in the for sale forum a lot of people selling toddler books etc.

Is this kind of stuff really useful out there? Could anyone recommend or suggest items of realia to bring out. I'm thinking about leaflets of local attractions around my area, that sort of thing. Would you suggest picking up 'My First...' or 'A B C' type of books, story/spoken word type stuff?

Many thanks.

[polonius]

Askyour school what they have as far as extra materials. I wouldn't worry about wasting your precious packing space on school supplies. Many of those can be bought in Korea. There are many large book stores that have ESL sections. Also, there are some bookstores that focus solely on ESL materials. Depending on where you live, I can give you a list of place to go. PM me if you need to know. But I certainly wouldn't bring over any books.

[swetepete]

I think bringing over some lightweight trinkets, periodicals and tourist information (like postcards and calendars and what have you) is a very good idea. My students are often quite interested in other parts of the world, and I've always got good value from bringing little pieces of home to show them.
Books are good too, if you have the space, and don't mind doing a lot of photocopying.

[BS.Dos.]

@polonius
...but I certainly wouldn't bring over any books.

I was planning on airmailing my EFL books (grammar, teaching activities etc) but are you suggesting that I needn't bother?


@swetepete
...bringing over some lightweight trinkets, periodicals and tourist information (like postcards and calendars and what have you) is a very good idea

Nice one. Thanks

[Natalia]

I think it depends greatly on the school you are going to.

I got a lot organised to take to Korea, and then when I got here I discovered my school had everything I needed and more. They had a very specific curriculum with everything down to a rigid sticker and reward system already in place. I wish I'd used the space for more things for myself.

[saybanana]

As far as books, I only bought over a few books. I had a scanner back at home and scanned a lot books onto .PDF sheet and saved it on a CD. I have a lot of pictures on my computer of things back home as well. Hopefully your school has the resources to present them (a computer with a large TV connected).

I didn't bring a lot of CDs or DVDs. Next time I go home, I want to find those short cartoons old fun cartoons to show my students (voltron, smurfs, he-man, animaiacs, chip and dales rescue rangers, so on. Also I want to find a lot more kiddie songs, with video, (like karoke watch and sing-a-long). Many students get bored of the songs in the textbooks. I say bring songs that every native speaker is familiar with, but have videos that show the meaning of the songs.

You can find a lot of materials on the internet. Some free some you pay. I would find photo copy coloring books on holidays or stuff like that. You can scan it and save it. Also getting those INDEX cards are great to use when making flashcards. I cant find them in Korea, not that I tried. Get those color index cards big and small sizes.

As for REALIA, just get them here. If you cant find them here, oh well, huh.