Korean Job Discussion Forums

nicholas_chiasson · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Location: Samcheok

-So I want to blow about 500,000 won on ESL books. I'm especially interested in materials that are
1)Easy to get in Korea-In Seoul
2)Suitable for students who seem to huff glue rather than study English(I work in Gangwon-do PS which as far as the level of students' english goes means they don't understand sentences with conjunctions or more than one preposition at the High School Level.)
3)Are designed for middle school/and high school(as I intend to teach high school next year.)
4)And a handful of books in Applied Linguistics or teaching ESL, or just general Foreign Language Teaching that are technical and not full of "everyone is ok education cr**p"
4.a) and don't solve arguments by saying "Chomsky et al"
Suggestions?

tselem · Joined: 24 Apr 2006

Curriculum Books

Boost! Series. I have been really impressed with this series. I am using it as the basis for my core middle school lessons. The lessons are well structured and include activities which can be easily tailored to the classroom environment. The language within the book might be a little advanced for your students though. I would recommend purchasing only the teacher's guides. They include 'copies' of all the pages from the student book, workbook, and photocopiable worksheets. They were ₩10,000 each (Sobics/BooksCan in Yongsan).

Wanna Talk Series. This is published by Pagoda (publishing branch?). The language is fairly easy and focuses more on speaking. The books were ₩12,000 each (Sobics/BooksCan).

Speaking for Everyday Life. I really like the structure and mixture of activities within these books. However, it seems to be geared towards college students, and the language is probably beyond that of your students. Each ₩10,200 (Sobics/BooksCan). (The link is the author's website.)

General EFL Teaching Books

Harmer, Jeremy. The practice of English language teaching.

I can't remember where I picked this text up. Though, I'd suspect you can easily find a copy at Kyobo or Bandi & Luni's (Gwanghwamun / Jonggak stations).

nicholas_chiasson · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Location: Samcheok

-THanks, by the way, why do all serious requests for stuff never get as many hits as "crazy korean ate my kobold baby" threads?

The Hammer · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject:

Here are my suggestions for reference books:

DongtanTony · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Location: Bundang

If you have an afternoon...also open on Saturdays...Suji city...a little outside of town...but completely accessible...has a wholesale English textbook/educational resources store. It's in a section of town dominated by hagwons...I can get the specific directions from my director if you'd like them.

Kyobo doesn't have a fraction of the materials at this place...we're talking not even close...kindy to adults/business courses...TOEFL/TOEIC...you name it...you'll find it here.

Plus...if your kids are "huffers," you'll be able to find something to suit their needs.

You'll need a few hours on a Saturday...plus some time to paw through all of the books this place offers...but you can't compare Kyobo to this place. Kyobo may have those reference books...but for curriculm materials...go to Suji city.

nicholas_chiasson · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Location: Samcheok

So in addition to these directions...how do you guys feel about copyright and xeroxing lots and lots of pages for your students? As the school isn't going to let me buy books for an entire class...what do you do in such cases?

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Why don't you spend your money on resources that can be legally photocopied?

Post-FTA, they are supposed to be cracking down on photocopiers in Korea, but I haven't seen it happening yet.

Cliffhanger · Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Location: Anyang

nobbyken · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Location: Yongin ^^

ddeubel · Joined: 20 Jul 2005

I would add that I hope more teachers buy books/textbooks that are about Korean subjects. So much more effective when you are talking within the students zone of cultural proximity Smile

Andrew Finch started this with Tell Me More (a classic) and his last, a book for Korean Tourism English (I forget the name and I'm not at the office) is great and accessible for high school students. Go to www.finchpark.com/books Really think hard about how valuable it is to provide Korean content to your students. Folk tales work wonders too and there are a few good series.....

Besides a few books mentioned above (Harmer's in particular), Penny Ur's 5 min. activities is a great item for the teacher's shelf/repetoire.

DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

expat2001 · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

expat2001 · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

sorry
I menat to say ,
downloading is the way to go

nicholas_chiasson · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Location: Samcheok

I have yet to download an MP3 let alone books. besides who wants to print hundreds of pages on an ink jet?

expat2001 · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

DongtanTony · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Location: Bundang

I bought a few Side by Side books at WalMart back home before I came to Korea the first time....great series for older middle school and high school kids...really though, it's geared toward adult age groups, it's one downfall.

Nicholas...I'll get that address for ya later today!!