Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Privateer]

A lot of us teachers spend a good part of one lesson or even a whole lesson with a new group teaching useful phrases like "What did you say?", "What does that mean?", "How do you spell that?" and so on. Half the textbooks you see nowadays contain sections on these things too. We generally follow up by reminding them to use these phrases in subsequent lessons, writing them on the board, perhaps sticking posters up around the room, giving them handouts, doing review activities, and so on.

Yet 10 weeks down the line you often find yourself confronted with a student who clearly has no idea how to deal with the fact that they didn't get what you said. Beads of sweat appear, they stammer in Korean, look to their neighbours for help, and eventually after much struggle come out with something like "Teacher...one more time...please" ("please" if you're lucky).

I'm talking about lower levels of course. But how can we help students get from low levels to higher levels? You give them the words, you give them the practice, you try to be encouraging, then go to a live test situation and they crash and burn. What more can you do? Is it just as simple as there isn't anything, it's up to the student? Or is there some way to get through to them?

[Dome Vans]

Hope we get some interesting replies, because most of my students get stuck at "How's it going?" when I meet them in the hallway. I get the look off them that suggests that my head's just fallen off. "Come on, this is every week for the last year"

[cruisemonkey]

What's even worse is when you have communicated understanding, your students 'get it' and can 'use it'. That is, until a TV crew unexpectedly walks in and every student magically transforms into a wide-eyed mute!

[Easter Clark]

OP, I honestly don't know. As per your question about communicating understanding, my students are so low that that is a pipe dream. I have posters all around the classroom and have tried my best to get them to do this but have been unsuccessful. The best I have managed to get out of my kids is "One more time please!" which I guess is better than nothing. I am also in the habit of asking "Is this easy, difficult, or so-so-?" And they seem comfortable enough to say one or the other.

On the topic of classroom English, I have been drilling "May I borrow a pen?" into every class every week for the past year and I almost always get "Teacher, pen-euh please-uh." I have the poster on the bulletin board, and I always make them ask for it in English. Occasionally I'll get a boy who will say "Gib-euh me pen," and when I point to the sign he'll laugh and say "No-no!" and put his head down. The same goes for "Teachuh, hwah jahng shil!" Then when I point to the sign: "May-uh...Aiiee goeuh...to dah... resteu....room peu-leaje-uh?"

The first and second class, we went over basic classroom phrases, like "Open your book," "Get out your notebook" "Copy this in your notebook," "Stand up," etc. I have used these phrases every single class, being careful not to change the wording. Now maybe 60% of the students pick up on what I want them to do the first time I say it. 20% more the second time, and the other 20% wait to see what everyone else is doing before they move a muscle.

I think part of the problem is only seeing them once a week. They're also trained to forget everything they learned the minute they walk out of the classroom, relying on the "hints" their teachers will give them before test time. Having a Korean co-teacher in the room who will translate your instructions can be a time-saver but is also detrimental to the students' learning of classroom commands / vocabulary.

[Cerriowen]

Problem 1 - You are competing with a culture of Konglish
Problem 2 - You get 45 minutes, once a week
Problem 3 - Repeating something over and over in class, and then not actually doing it in the real world, doesn't lead to proficiency
Problem 4 - They think it should, and blame the teacher for their inablity to speak english properly.
Problem 5 - They don't really study or practice what you teach them anyway.

[ricky_lamour]

1) What has the culture of Konglish got to do with it? As far as I can see the everyday abuse of English on the streets of Korea is more to do with status and fashion than anything else.
2) 45 minutes to teach, 45 minutes to practice in context, infinite number of opportunities to use it. Thats more than enough.
3) repeating something IN CONTEXT is how you learn language.
4) what?
5) That's the real issue. 90% or more of the students don't give a flying toss about learning English. Why should they? Lets not forget this used to be known as the Hermit Kingdom. How many average Koreans can afford to go on holiday to an English speaking country? No tourists will ever come here so that reason to learn is wiped out. Its the same thing as when universities in England used to have a Latin test in their entrance exams. Completely useless for everyone except to get into the "boys club" and to show off in front of your dinner party guests. Likewise English is completely useless for most people here. Its not the kids fault. Who makes them study English? This system and the society it embodies stinks of $hit.

On a side note, at least I have a guaranteed, easy job for a couple of years. HAHAHAHAHA! Fools.