Korean Job Discussion Forums

[travelingfool]

I flew in one night and was told to report bright and early the next morning to teach. I said, "teach what?" to which my handler replied "English!" My recruiter and the school said they had an extensive resource library and comprehensive training which turned out to be false. I have done two TEFL programs and have experience but designing a curriculum from scratch is definitely over my head. These were adult students and it was impossible to get any kind of consensus about which direction the class should take. The students were also very picky and fickle. Some wanted serious topics while others wanted light ones. Some wanted to do presentations, others wanted to have debates. Some students would flat out say that the class was boring. Some of the ajosshis tried to hijack the class. Everyone says how hard working Koreans are but every time I would review previous material nobody had a clue. They wanted to be entertained and learn English with no effort on their part. Some of the students bordered on belligerent and many had big chips on their shoulders. I am pretty easy going and let a lot things go by that would offend other people. However, many students seemed like they were testing my limits. I had that happen with kids but these were adults! I never encountered this while teaching in China. I am a pretty animated person. I used to give insurance seminars and could keep those crowds entertained.

How common is it for foreign teachers to be dumped into a classroom like that? If you have experienced this how did you deal with it? Do you think many Koreans, especially people middle aged and older, resent having to learn English? Finally, how do you keep your cool when dealing with difficult adult students? For me, it's really hard to be inspired and want to help people if they are being dickish.

Your insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Sir John Hawkins]