Korean Job Discussion Forums

[postfundie]

My dear Korean Coteacher.

I am sometimes happy to join with you today in our blessed contract with the Hagwon. About 1 score years ago, English teachers flooded this 대 한민국 so that Koreans would learn English. But sadly many a student still lives on a lonely little English island with few words that they can use all the while aloof from the vast ocean of phrasal verbs that me and my fellow English teachers use and the tons of vocab coming from Movies and dramas which are never understood apart from the 영어자막.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my coteacher - so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in actually getting the kids to learn something practical.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We don't want to waste the kids time and the parents precious money." or maybe better 'oh 필승 Koreaahh"

I have a dream that one day from the red bridge of Jirisan Mountain to the waters of Mokpo to beaches teeming with fully clothed bathers that one day the sons of ajossis and ajumas will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood and have a normal conversation in English.

I have a dream that one day even the province of Jeolla-do, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be brought up to economic speed with Gyeongsang-do but with many Korean English speakers everywhere. That they would follow the pather of the Northern Europeans.

I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the amount of fill in the blank answers they have completed. Nor will they be judged by their ability to choose and guess at the correct preposition in the dang sentence nor their ability to draw lines from one side of the quiz paper to the other matching words they will probably never say with their definitons.

I have a dream my KoreanCoteacher that you would actually work on building Vocab with the students. That instead of complaining about how hard English is and speaking with them in Korean and spending hours on a lesson plan that involves cut-outs and things that you have colored, that those young students would actually speak at length about something they are interested in.

I saw a glimpse of my dream today as one poor, down trodden preteen actually responded to my questions. Questions not about the lesson from the book he had not interest in. But Questions about the characters of "D Gray Man"(not from jamaica as I first thought) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.Gray-man . Tears almost rolled down my cheeks as I heard of how Dr. Millenium had killed Allen walker's best friend.

Oh yes Korean Coteacher. Let freedom ring. Let "육하원칙으로 대답해주세요" be written on every dry easer board, every bathroom stall, tatoos on the arms of all front desk staff, killing off Konglish or stupid YMB sayings like "let's speaking"...... No, No, NO! Let the 5W's and 1H speed up the day when the kids will give detailed answers. Let them say in English, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Dream on. For a start see about changing the uni entrance exam. Until this changes hardly anything else will.

[postfundie]

then I will dream of changing the university entrance exam

[cruisemonkey]

I have a dream...

In the dream, my co-teacher can speak English. It's surreal!

[cisco kid]

[it's full of stars]

I have a dream, and it involves about one pound of high explosive and a certain persons automobile.

[Cerriowen]

Can I get another AMEN!?!?!?!















I would also settle for a co-worker who doesn't teach the children to dutifully repeat "The cooker goes to the chicken!" (The oven goes in the kitchen)

But seriously... Korea has been studying English for 10-20 years? How long has India been learning English? Their noble efforts have produced the thousands of technical support reps, and warentee officers that all of us enjoy speaking with. "A as in Abguja, L as in Lahmadu..."

[beast]

When you re-sign or if you re-sign, tell the boss you want to teach your classes by yourself. I did that a few years ago and he agreed. The results have been awesome.

[joshuahirtle27]

In my dream, oh Korean co-Teacher, you would do some work. You would not complain that I seem to be doing something else than that which you think I should when I have 40 minutes to prep for 8 classes today.
I am free, in my dream, to meet deadlines that are weeks ahead when they arrive and not worry about appeasing you. I dream that you do not think you are my boss and I dream that you would not criticize my work when I have to undo things you do in class.
Sometimes I even dream that you will not do what I have planned for my class. Suddenly my life is easier because I don't have to unteach your mistakes and re-teach ENGLISH. Those are nights where my alarm goes unnoticed when it is time to wake up.
I would love it if when I tell you I'm going to do something, show you the book and then do it that you would not, the next week, tell me that what I am doing is not right. I would prefer it to your current "I have a TOSEL course therefore I'm better" because you have a degree in "English Lit" that you got from a Korean University and was done in Korean.

[joshuahirtle27]