Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kapshida]

I don't know why I am thinking about this over vacation, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to have a thread devoted to giving new teachers useful classroom advice.

Here's mine:

1. SPEAK SLOWLY with your low level kids. They don't have any idea what you are saying most of the time. Keep that in mind. I have known so many teachers that speak too quickly and not clearly enough, and then get frustrated when kids don't understand them. Slow it down! The kids will decide they don't want to learn from you if they can never understand you.

2. If you give them homework, and not a single student does it correctly, don't get mad. It is your fault, not theirs. Spend as much time as you need in class explaining the homework. Homework is where a lot of the learning happens. If it isn't useful, it is a waste of their time.

3. Don't show preferential treatment. Even if a kid who is usually good misbehaves, give him or her hell. It is hard not to let the better students get away with more, but if you want to keep the crap students in line, you gotta go hard on the good students when they are bad too.

[plus99]

thats a little bit too wholesome for my tastes.

[Julius]

[Joe Boxer]

[Corky]

You left one or two things out.

[air76]

Why are some of you giving the OP such a hard time about trying to put some helpful information on here?

Yes, I agree that the advice may not be very in depth or useful for many people but it certainly discourages people from trying to give insight into how this job might be easier when whatever tips you post are at the mercy of being thrown at the wolves for critique.

To add to the list of tips for newbie teachers:

1. With the younger kids it is important to change activities often, if you try to do the same thing for more than 10 minutes you are likely to lose them

2. Try to minimize the amount of time that you, the teacher, is talking...the more activities that allow the students to speak will both keep them more interested and keep you from getting tired. I won't get into too detail here, but do some research on Task Based lessons

3. Plan but don't overplan...most hagwan teachers have 6-7 classes per day, so it may seem impossible to plan without working all day for free, but the secret is to come up with 1 lesson plan and then to modify it for each of your classes depending on the level/material...some planning time will definitely be worth your while and make your job more fun and less tiring...my first year teaching I didn't plan worth a crap, but now I realize that this is one of the main reaons that I struggled when I first started into this line of work

4. Review, review, review....save your old class material and review old vocab, grammar, idioms, etc from old lessons....first off this is very important for the students if they are to internalize what you're teaching them, secondly it cuts back on your planning time, and thirdly the kids gain confidence in re-working material that they are already familiar with.....this was a second mistake of mine in the past....I did almost no review

5. Can the whole listen-repeat methodology.....yes, it may have it's time and place but the Koreans get so much of this already that you're highly unlikely to get them interested in a listen-repeat lesson...if this is the entirety of your repetoire then you need to do some research online about different types of lessons you can use

6. Add activities to your classes that get the kids out of their desks, moving around, interviewing other students, using physical motions, etc....most teachers only let the little kids get up and move around but the older kids are SOOO tired that they probably need the adrenaline more than the kindies

7. Personally I wouldn't recommend homework for hagwan classes...it is a waste of your time and the kids have so much homework as it is that at best 50% of the class will do it....instead use that time to prepare more dynamic classes

8. Learn to use the same material in many different ways...I remember when I first arrived I was like "What the F***? How can I teach for 40 minutes with 4 F****** words?"....now I could use 4 words for 2 hours...here is an example lesson plan for let's say, the seasons:

a. Print out 20 pictures, 5 that relate to each season...at the start of class put the kids into 4 groups...give them each a pile of the pictures....give them each 5 minutes to write down what the pictures are, what they have in common, how they make them feel, etc etc..collect the pictures

b. Then, each group reports to the class about what their pictures were and whatever info their group came up with...this will take another 10 minutes

c. Hopefully at least 1 or 2 of the groups would have used some of the target language in their presentation to segway into presenting all four seasons to the class....then, divide the board into 4 parts, write the name of each season at the top and give pens to each group...assign them a different season than they started with and have them either write words or draw pictures that relate to those seasons that weren't in the original pictures...this will take 10 minutes as well

d. Now...write the name of one season in each corner of the room. Move the desks against the walls and put the students in the middle. You name something that corresponds with a particular season and the kids must run to that corner. If you run to the wrong corner you are out...play a couple rounds and then have students calling out the words instead of you

[blocparty1]

[Mi Yum mi]

Hey OP...who are you and how long have you been teaching? N00bs teaching n00bs is like the blind leading the blind.

[Rae]

[Biblethumper]

Kapshida gives excellent advice here.

Homework is necessary.

1. The children will retain very little if they only come to English class a few times a week.

2. Class time should be speaking time. The children should be given many opportunities to speak and listen in class. Writing is a waste of class time. But homework is an excellent way to practice their writing.

3. Their parents love homework. They can see what their children are actually learning. If you give memorization homework, especially of dialogues which the children can practice with their parents, then the parents can hear their chidl speak English at home. Many children are reluctant to speak English outside of the class room, but if it is homework, then the obligation makes practice, practice makes habit, and habit overcomes shyness.

4. Their parents are Korean. They expect homework. Homework is one of the distinctions of a good teacher in their eyes.

5. I have also found in every case that the good students enjoy good homework: their parents have instilled in them a good work ethic, a sense of pride in accomplishment and a respect for good teaching. In fact, if there are enough good students in your class, the other students will start to learn some of these virtues. Who wants to be the village idiot every day?


However, homework must be useful.

1. It must be appropriate to the level. No diaries and essays about summer vacation for low level classes.

2. It must be enough to practice, but not so much that the students are overwhelmed. This depends on the level of the students.

3. It should practice the points the students are struggling with. A good form of homework is memorizing songs and dialogues. Another is writing answers in sentences to questions:not fill in the blanks, but not short essays either. (Of course the high level students must write essays, but they need sentence practice too.)

4. Prepare the homework well in class by talking through it with them. Ask them all the questions orally, ask them similar questions, explain it, repeat it. The same with songs and dialogues to memorize.

5. If your class is small enough, quickly check each students' writing homework when they hand it in. Show them any egregious errors. Then correct the homework carefully outside of class time. When you hand it back to the students, have them copy it once into their notebook at home.

I suppose that is enough for now.

[Sapa]

good idea for a thread. it doesn't matter if you are noob or an old timer its still useful info for some people . Just because some of you old timers don't find it useful there is no need to try and sabotage the thread. It amazes me the amount of bitter losers on this board who try and derail every thread. I guess there is just alot of people with nothing better to do with there time.

[Ya-ta Boy]

It isn't enough to speak slowly. Also:

a) skip the university-level vocabulary and jargon. Your students won't understand it. Avoid idioms like the plague. Do your best to use the vocabulary from the current and past lessons, in all their forms, so the students hear them often.

When you do teach an idiom, make sure you demonstrate it in context. Then begin to use it in your conversation with students.

b) Start speaking in short, simple sentences and questions. Only use more complex grammar after it has been taught.

The best way I know of to gauge if students are understanding you is to watch their eyes. If you speak too fast, or use vocabulary, idioms or grammar they don't understand, their eyes change.

NEVER ask, "Do you understand?" They don't know if they do or not. Give them a question where they have to use the vocab/grammar correctly. Then you'll know for sure if they understand.

Develop a battery of short routine-breakers and time-fillers:
a. Use minimal pairs l/r; b/v; f/v etc
b. Start to draw something (funny is good) on the whiteboard then stop and ask, "What am I drawing?" They have to answer, "Are you drawing a giraffe wearing a swim suit?"
c. Give one student a vocabulary word to spell. Then ask another student to spell a word that starts with the last letter. Continue around the group. I often have teams race to the board to do it. It gets them out of their seat and active for a couple of minutes.
d. Koreans have trouble with our math system. Have teams do math problems on the board. Play guessing games with number answers. (Teach them how to play Hi-Lo)

[Easter Clark]

Great ideas folks! I'd like to add:

It's better to start too easy than too hard. In a basic / beginner class, I'd start by introducing no more than 8 words (presuming they already know a couple of them), followed by drilling that vocab, then pictures to elicit the grammar you're teaching, introduce the target language, practice as a class, have them practice in pairs, and repeat as needed!

I have to stress that lessons do need variety in terms of how the material is presented, but if you are only meeting once a week, a familiar format will help them to remain focused and give them confidence.

I agree with the poster who said to REVIEW every time you meet! Not only does this help them to retain the material, but it also creates a sense of cohesion between your lessons, making you look like a better teacher!

If you have to explain a grammar rule try to do it by example rather than by using grammatical terms, e.g.: Don't say "We conjugate the verb depending on whether it's 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person;" rather, "I go...He goes...She ??"

If you're working with older kids in a public school and have some control over what you teach, be sure to tailor your lessons to their interests. Most teenagers aren't interested in being able to say "The table is next to the sofa" etc. Some good books for high school students and uni students are New Interchange and Touchstone.

If you have access to a projector, use it! Students respond better to graphics and sounds, and it makes the material more accessible. This is just another tool in your toolbox--PowerPoint, karaoke, and YouTube are all great ways to add variety to your lessons. Here are some great videos to use in the classroom!

Always try to have at least one listening activity in your classes. I think many public school teachers forget to do this! The listening exercises they get in their Korean English classes are less-than authentic. Invest 100,000 won in some books and buy the class CDs. When you're stuck for a lesson idea, use the listening material and try to create a lesson around the dialogue. ESL Lab is also a good source of listening exercises, for all levels, and sorted by topic.

Above all, remember that you're teaching students first and English second!

[ddeubel]

Many good points given. The thing is, always keep thinking. Everything is constantly moving underfoot when teaching.....different class, different approach.

Here is a presentation I made for exposing new teachers to some reflection prior to getting started teaching.

http://eflclassroom.com/ppt/effectiveeflteacher.swf

Come join us on EFL Classroom 2.0 and get lots of teacher training videos, ppts and discussion on methods for new and old teachers. Thousands of EFL teachers from around the globe and most importantly thousands of resources. Feb. is open house month so no sign in needed. http://eflclassroom.ning.com

DD

[BS.Dos.]