Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alyallen]

When did I get the hang of it? To be honest, I'm not sure. My first job was ok I thought I had the hang of it but ended up getting fired after 4 months. My next job was great. I stayed the year and I can honestly say that I felt comfortable teaching there. My current school has been quite alright. There have been some highs and lows but overall I have felt fairly comfortable in all my jobs except the first. And all the jobs were the same age range: elementary school age.

Here's a question for you, OP. When you wake up and prepare to go to work, how do you feel? Do you have a pit in your stomach or feel a sense of impending doom? That's how I felt with my first job from day 1 up until I was fired. I never had that feeling after I left. So perhaps if you feel that way, maybe it's a sign to switch schools? Especially since this is your first time teaching, you don't want this experience to color your perception of teaching that age group.

[Snowkr]

To Tomato

The hogwan is in Wonju.
The kids are mostly rich kids and probably very spoiled but they never got away with much at the school. The parents were behind the policy 100%. The director was all about teaching and English immersion. He taught as well.

When he interviewed me and told me the kids spoke English in the school all day, I didn't believe it either. Then I saw it with my own eyes. At first I thought it as a bit cruel... especially for the really little ones.
Still Korean was only used in real emergencies. I always had mixed feelings about it as it is THEIR country.

I remember going to Outback Steakhouse to celebrate one child's bday during a school day and the kids went balistic when the waitresses started speaking Korean. They shouted "No Korean... only English!!"

Good school. A bit strict. The program was full on. The children were bilingual after 24 months. I've not seen anything like it anywhere else.

[IncognitoHFX]

[Atavistic]

When they do NOOOOOOOOOOOOO TEEEAAAAACCHHHHHHHAAAAA you switch to having them WRITE to learn vocab.

A day of that and they want to play games again.

The Bomb Game and Connect Four are both great and you need very little material. Have THEM make Go Fish cards and play Go Fish. A pair of matching cards is great for memory or Go Fish or any other number of card games.

And yeah, classes can shift when new kids get added--sit on the new kids until they know what YOU expect.

I have had hellish students, students I had no idea how to work with, students who called my a white wh*re or brought knives to school. But most bad students just need a heavy hand WITH a big heart.

[Alyallen]

My first job only had 2 foreign teachers: myself and the other who happened to be one of my 2 bosses. Give your one month's notice and you can leave without leaving anyone in the lurch. I remained friends with Korean teacher at my school despite my firing and am good friends who the woman who replaced me.

I respect your decision but in this situation, I think it's best to look out for yourself first before worrying about other who obviously don't respect you (the students) or are too what timid, indifferent, noplussed to tell you something was wrong sooner...

Good luck!

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Something I used for teaching vocab to little ones was this:

Draw some funny picture on the board next to each word you're teaching--try to make it represent the word you're teaching (scales for justice or whatever). Then go through the list and have the class repeat after you the first time through. Then have them read the word without any help from you. Erase the last letter from each word and go through them again. Then erase another letter, then another. You can then start to mix up the order in which you point to the words. Finally all that's left is the pictures. Then erase the pictures and point to the places on the board where they were.
for example (and this is only for one word--I would do at least 6):

Happy

Happ

Hap

Ha

H



___

This seems to grab their attention and they don't really know that they're playing a memory game.

[tomato]

[IncognitoHFX]

Holy crap guys... I don't know what it is, but this morning as I was on Dave's I decided that I was really going to up the ante in my classes. I didn't have a concrete idea of how, but I knew it would involve a lot more intensity from me and a lot more disciplinary actions as well (realistic, concrete ones that were easy for the kids to understand). I felt like I simply had to get this control problem dealt with, once and for all.

I did three things: I made homework sheets, so if they don't do their homework then they get and X. If they get three Xs, then there is a call home. If they get five checks, then there is a reward (ice cream, et cetera).

I also made a "BAD STUDENTS" sheet. It has the picture of the monkey from Family Guy on it (pointing monkey), and below the picture it says: "If your name is on the sheet, we will call your parents".

At the beginning of each class I explained these sheets. It only took a few minutes to explain, even to the youngest classes, and it helped. Majorly.

The third thing that helped a lot was completely dominating them for the first part of class. I thought this would take way too much energy on my part (I thought I would have to be that intense/loud all class), but once I did it for the first ten minutes or so, the class became easier, they behaved better and I found I could sail through the rest of the class.

I also prepared really well. I put up the facade of being really prepared, and made sure I didn't mope or meander in class. The act seemed to make an impression.

Normally Fridays are terrible and nothing gets accomplished because I have five bad classes that day. However, today, my worst classes were acting better than my best classes were every other day! I know what I did today was the right thing to do. After a lot of stress, I finally have a concrete way to control my classes.

I have to think of more game ideas and things like that, but the fact that I actually taught stuff all day long (in every class) without being majorly interrupted (as I said, I completely dominated them to the point where they wouldn't talk to each other, just to me), is amazing. The only time I had to take real disciplinary action was when a kid took his homework to the window and opened it five minutes after I told him never to touch the window. I wrote his name on the "BAD STUDENT" page and he became very upset.

I told him I would erase it at the end of class, only if he was good for the duration. What'ya know, he was.

Oh man, I'm so happy. I feel like I just took a major step closer towards my goal here. Today was the best series of classes I've had in about two months, and back then they were only good because many parents were called. They were good this time for me and me alone.

[Atavistic]

[Atavistic]

[Atavistic]

One more thing.

I know this will sound funny, but I think a lot of times teachers try to let the good kids do special things. Sometimes, get the bad kid to do it.

Minsu is pinching his neighbor. Instead of scolding Minsu, say, "Minsu!" to get his attention. Then redirect him, "Can you open the blinds for me?" (Sharpen these pencils, hold this book, dance with me, hand out these worksheets, whatever.)

He will be so shocked that you aren't screaming at him that he'll stare at you. Just pretend that you didn't see him pinching and nicely ask him, again, to do whatever you want.

If he refuses to do it, choose another student and then reward them with a sticker, candy, letting them leave early, whatever. MAKE sure Minsu KNOWS that that student is rewarded but DON'T rub it in. (DO not reward Minsu if he does it in the first place. Your goal is just to redirect him. You are rewarding the second student, in essence, for not letting Minsu rub off on them.)

You would think this rewards them, but you don't always do this. Just enough to redirect them sometimes.

Teaching is odd...kids NEED a routine, but YOU should not be a routine teacher.

If you sometimes randomly wipe out all of the bad points every student has earned ("because you've all been so good lately") or if you randomly reward students when they don't expect it, it tends to keep them all a little more aware.

Hope that makes sense.

[Mr Freeze]

Let's face it Incognito, if you can't teach these little brats, you never will be able to to. I had the same problem. It doesn't make you a bad teacher... a bad babysitter maybe, but not a bad teacher. These dumb games and disciplinary tactics don't work.

The best thing you can do is suck it up and finish your contract. Then, next time, avoid any job where you have to teach those little brats.

I think the best response was given by Ya Bum Suk. Go with that one.