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driftingfocus
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Location: Boston, MA
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 Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Cracker006 wrote: |
My co-teachers don't presume to tell me what to do because (I'm guessing) they're afraid if they start pointing out my mistakes/errors or making too many suggestions, then I will start pointing out all of their English errors.
Nothing would be more humiliating to a Korean teacher than to have me simply pretend to not be able to understand them in front of a student. The kids frequently ask me if the other teachers can *really* speak english, and if I can *really* understand them.
If I were to show a slight waivering of support in one of their english abilities, the kids would completely lose every shread of respect they have for their korean English teachers. |
Man, my co-teachers actually *argue* with me sometimes, if they think I'm wrong about a phrase, even if theirs totally doesn't exist in English. It's extremely frustrating, and a bit undermining with the kids. |
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it's full of stars
Joined: 26 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| You should try telling them a tomato is a fruit, see what kind of reaction you get. |
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driftingfocus
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Location: Boston, MA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| it's full of stars wrote: |
| You should try telling them a tomato is a fruit, see what kind of reaction you get. |
I teach a teacher's workshop twice a week, and yesterday one of the teachers insisted that "let's make a review" was more correct than "let's review".  |
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branchsnapper
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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"If I were to show a slight waivering of support in one of their english abilities, the kids would completely lose every shread of respect they have for their korean English teachers."
Maybe they are just being nice if they don't pick up on mistakes, because they might be able to spot a few mistakes on your whiteboard here and there.
They don't tell us what they want because nobody knows, or at least everyone has a different opinion. You have to find your own motivation to get something out of it.
Why do we want to teach them anyway, when you think about it? So they can get even better at exporting cheap manufactured goods? That's the ultimate goal most Koreans probably have in mind. |
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driftingfocus
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Location: Boston, MA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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| branchsnapper wrote: |
"If I were to show a slight waivering of support in one of their english abilities, the kids would completely lose every shread of respect they have for their korean English teachers."
Maybe they are just being nice if they don't pick up on mistakes, because they might be able to spot a few mistakes on your whiteboard here and there.
They don't tell us what they want because nobody knows, or at least everyone has a different opinion. You have to find your own motivation to get something out of it.
Why do we want to teach them anyway, when you think about it? So they can get even better at exporting cheap manufactured goods? That's the ultimate goal most Koreans probably have in mind. |
I've had similar thoughts. I once asked one of my co-teachers how many of these kids actually leave the island (I work on an island, but not Jeju), except for the few that go to university...the answer was "very few". Most of them become farmers like their parents, or own small stores, etc. The island has the most foreigners it has ever had right now, for a grand total of 5. For about 90% of these students, there is very little reason or motivation for them to learn English, and the few that do want/need to learn it go to one of the two hagwons.
I mean, I think it's good to learn a foreign language, but in this case, I'm pretty sure their efforts would be better spent in another area, maybe one that would give them more of an edge in getting a mainland job. |
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branchsnapper
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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| You're right, many Koreans don't really need English. That isn't exactly my point though. Why do we care, in the greater scheme of things, if they successfully manage to learn English? Does it benefit us in some way? Is it good for humanity? |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 2:20 am Post subject: |
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branchsnapper wrote:
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| You're right, many Koreans don't really need English. That isn't exactly my point though. Why do we care, in the greater scheme of things, if they successfully manage to learn English? Does it benefit us in some way? Is it good for humanity? |
I've often wondered the same thing, but I believe at least exposing these kids to foreigners is making them better people. It humanizes outsiders and hopefully will make some of them more empathetic and realistic about others around the world. Don't get me wrong, I have no delusions about my grand role, but I represent a different way of thinking and doing things to these kids. Sure right now it's a novelty, but the seed of independent thought has been planted. English will help them communicate with the world, but us just being in that classroom and offering them an alternative to everything else they meet in everyday life might make them better people.
Or not. As long as I get paid.  |
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SirFink
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:28 am Post subject: Re: Why don't they tell us what they want? |
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| pootle wrote: |
| Welcome to the wonderful world of paid work.... |
So true! Can't wait til some of these kids get back to the real world and discover that they'll be working for bosses who are just as obsessed with money and "the customer is always right," working with just as many freaks and weirdos, working longer hours with little or no guidance, being told to do something a certain way one day and then being told "that's completely wrong! WTF?!" the very next day. Welcome to the corporate world, kid. Well, in America at least. In Canada everyone probably just hugs each other and says "soary" a lot. |
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branchsnapper
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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| To be fair, people who have had "real" jobs also complain a lot. The culture clash gets to everyone. (apart from the fact that we all have short memories, and people complain in nearly every job, nearly all the time - especially about petty things like the free cookie and coffee ration being reduced) |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Why don't they tell us what they want? |
I thought this was going to be about women.  |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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| nautilus wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Why don't they tell us what they want? |
I thought this was going to be about women. |
Most of the co-teachers are women. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:59 pm Post subject: Re: Why don't they tell us what they want? |
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| pootle wrote: |
Welcome to the wonderful world of paid work. Sorry to make assumptions about the OP but a lot of what I see on this forum is from just-out-of-university whiners who think that this is a tough deal.
Most employers employ you because they believe you can do the job. So do the job. Do whatever you think is right, and if you didn't get a TEFL or similar qualification before coming here that would go some way towards preparing you for a classroom, well sorry for you.
This job is a piece of piss compared to the 16 hour a day, constantly shat upon life in the real working world. If you can't cope with this then you have a long way to retirement my friend. |
A 16 hour workday is not a reasonable expectation, nor does it convey the "hard boiled, realistic real life tough guy" persona you're going for. BOTH employees AND employers have responsibilities. Sorry to break it to you. |
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Nexus11
Joined: 29 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:36 am Post subject: |
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There are a lot of solid points made in this thread. I can't believe how many complainers there are teaching English. In ten or fifteen years, they'll have some real work experience and look back at the time they were teaching English as the good old days when things were easy.
There are two kinds of jobs in the world: monkey jobs and skilled jobs. At monkey jobs, they'll tell you exactly what to do and how to do it. If you don't follow the mold perfectly, they'll just get rid of you and bring in a new, more obedient monkey.
At skilled jobs, they give a lot more autonomy, but expect you to be able to work without constant direction. You are given responsibilities because you are supposed to know how to do it and think it through on your own.
So many people on here will complain at one time that they are treated like disposable workers. Then later they will complain that they aren't given a complete blueprint of what to do.
Make up your mind. Do you want them to make this a mindless job that any monkey can perform? If so, be prepared to to be treated like an unskilled, easily replaceable worker. Do you want them to give you the work and responsibility of figuring out how to complete the task yourself? If so, then you can demand some of the respect that a valuable team member deserves.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Not in Korea or anywhere else. |
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