Korean Job Discussion Forums

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

Sometimes it is impossible.

Especially when you are just starting out and haven't learned how to deal with evil.

I have had other evil students, but never as bad as 5yr olds who are out of control.

Remember if their mom's are doing crap jobs parenting them, a guy like me isn't going to have much luck either unless they are with me everyday for a couple hours.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

I agree with that urban myth, but what if the kids just refuse to do the push ups? I used to enforce all that before at my previous hagwon- I got away with physically wrestling the kids into submission the whole time- twisting arms, whacking them with a ruler etc.
But thats in the past- I don't want to go down the physical road again. you can actually get into trouble laying a finger on the kids at my current hagwon.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Holyjoe · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Location: Away for a cuppa

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

I had a class last year that seemed pretty damned hopeless. I'd tagged it with the nickname "The Class of Doom". These kids were so bad that I swear my English got worse every time I walked into the room. It was like a black hole of English education.

But the Korean co-teacher started giving out stickers with letters of the alphabet that spelled out the name of the school as rewards for good behavior. Every time the spelled out the full name of the school, they got a Hamster Village pencil and eraser. They started working for these stickers like crackheads fiending for the rock. After months and months of punishment and yelling, a few thousand won worth of stickers and pencils turned them around. We also slowed down the workload for them by half, they really weren't very bright and the normal workload was too hard for them. They weren't the best class, but they did make some progress in the end.

I'm not usually a fan of reward systems like this, I'd rather find ways to get them to be motivated by a sense of pride in their accomplishments rather than stickers and pencils, but if you keep trying new approaches you might find something that works.

bjonothan · Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Location: All over the place

Rapier....you have been here a pretty long time haven't you?? Maybe you need a holiday. The school that I teach at has a program with takes a lot of hassle out of it for me. I prepare for an hour a day mark tests e.t.c. When they have tests they usually try harder or they quit before their parents flog them for buggering around. Some of the teaching styles that I have seen are terrible. I never play games. And I am quite popular among the students. The reason being that when they have a proper program to go by, it makes it easier for you and harder for them to stuff around. Sometimes when they ask to play games I just say "do you want to play a game today? Do you want to fail your next test? Which one do you want?"...lol I hate card games and stuff and it suits me well. I would never work for a hagwon that didn't have some kind of structure. Good schools have good working conditions. What is yours???Can you do a year playing card games??

UnJef · Joined: 03 Jun 2003 Location: Seoul

I was actually thinking about starting a thread about this -- I'm glad someone did...

My last class on Monday night I affectionately refer to as my "s**t class." It has about ten middle school students, and they are terrible. They don't want to learn, they just want to sit in class and talk to each other (in Korean) or play a game. I have tried to actually teach them, but I get stared at like a dog that's just been shown a card trick. Last week I gave them candy for responding, and as soon as I stopped giving them candy they stopped responding.

Clown, clown, clown... I'm a clown. You come here thinking you'll actually teach and make a difference, but mostly you just put on a funny wig and a funny nose and dance like a monkey for an hour. Aye... jaded comes quick in Korea.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Bjonathan: yeah, my school is similar in that they have a rigid system of textbooks and syllabus- which is great because it takes a lot of the headache of preparation out of it. I'm happy with the set up generally speaking.
Only this class is older and been in the system longer, so they've gotten bored by the monotony of it all: learning classic sentences, questions and replies, etc, broken up by a brief game every 5 minutes. Its a system that works well on other classes except for this one. It could just be a case of hormones starting to kick in..
Regarding the games & cards suggestions from other posters, i agree they work well but there's no card games allowed at my school. I used to design a full range of card games and puzzles etc at my former workplace, where i had free range over what and how I taught.

Seatangle · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Left of Center

Rapier, I've been there, and back, and I feel for you. A lot of it is the fault of a defective system...but having said that, you can't give up. You (and I) were hired after all to do a job.

I have found that the more animated I am, the more animated/participatory the students are. That is hard for me since I'm not especially animated by nature, but it really does make a difference.

Secondly, the more prepared I am for a lesson, the better it seems to go, especially if I have clear aims for what I hope to accomplish during the lesson.

Third, start with a warmer, a 5-10 minute activity to get the students focused. Ideally, the warmer will segue naturally into the lesson, but it doesn't always have to. (Five Minute Activities by Penny Ur is really good for this. Also see the warmers section of onestopenglish.com. )

Fourth, with older students at least. I find teaching what I call the "meta lesson" helpful. That is, do an activity, then explain why I did the activity, what language point I hope to practice etc. When they feel they understand the purpose of the lesson I find they are more responsive.

Ok well, all that said, there are still some classes I have where nothing seems to work. I haven't given up on them exactly, but I do tend to sort of just get through those and spend a lot more energy on the ones that are more motivated. The teacher does have a great responsability, but as with any class, the studenst ultimately get out of it what they are willing to put into it.

Good luck, and I hope my rambling ideas are helpful.