Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cornfed]

I want to teach authentic English conversations and prose, rather than the lame and contrived stuff in the textbooks, but when I try this the students and co-teachers complain that the (usually simple) material is too hard, they don't understand the vocabulary and so on. I figure that they don't have to understand everything and if they are exposed to authentic English then they will eventually get the gist of it, but it is hard to do without their co-operation. Is there a way more experienced teachers go about doing this?

[Easter Clark]

What exactly do you mean by "authentic" English? Are you talking about using authentic sources, like newspapers and CNN? Or are you just talking about spoken English vs. Konglish?

It is possible to teach authentic English even while being forced to use a "lame" textbook. Of course try to tailor the lesson to your students' abilities--if they're low-level you could focus on reduced / connected speech. Upper levels may be able to grasp authentic reading or listening activities.

At any rate, don't attempt to make the activity too difficult (nor assume that through simply exposing them to it they will grasp it through osmosis), or it will demotivate your students!

[Cornfed]

[Juregen]

I try that often myself.

Some are receptive, but a lot are not.

Keep to your philosophy and let them complain. You are the teacher, what matters is the effect it has, not whether its "enjoyable".

Motivation matters of course, and boring classes can hamper that. In the end, what matters is how you "build up" the actual class.