Korean Job Discussion Forums

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I'm having trouble with some of my middle school classes at my Hagwon. Alot of them just sit there like a sack of spuds and seem bored off their tree in the class. Some are alright, and I get a fair amount of reaction and conversation going with them, but others are just a disaster. I love my younger classes, doing storybooks with them and the like, and they geniunely seem to be progressing. However, some of the older one's, I seem to have hit a brick wall with them, no matter how much I try to make them fun, they are such hard going, and I dread them. It's not like the classes are rowdy, just really quiet and dull. I've tried playing games with them, but to no avail. Any advice?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Have you tried English pop songs?

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No, but sounds like a good idea. Problem Is, I'm at a franchise hagwon, and I have very little autonomy with whats being taught. It's all 'finish the book, finish the book, finish the book' and then move on to the next book, repeat ad nauseum.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Yeah, that can be a real problem, especially when their books really suck. Teen mags are another way to generate interest. The kids find them absolutely fascinating, and they're great for doing descriptions of people.

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Yeah, often the books I work from are dross, and not very relevant with what the kids need to learn.I actually just had a chat with my director about this. He's given me the green light to have a bit more say in what I teach. Especially as Im often finished my section of the book a couple of classes before the Korean co-teachers have finished the grammar sections with the same students. My Mom, who is a teacher back home gave me few cool word games to play with them, so that should help a bit.

Anyone else have any other suggestions with how to spice things up?

[Cerriowen]

When I was teaching that age group in a hakwon, I told them that we had (x number of pages... keep it small!) that we had to cover that day. They can choose how quickly we get through it. If we finish in 10 minutes... they can play games and have competitions for the rest of the time. If they are lazy... we can spend 45 minutes staring at the same page.

Set the goal small... Bare-minimum you have to cover. You'll be surprised how quickly they can blow through their work when they've a mind to.

make sure you don't push them afterwards. Do fun things. Games. Etc.