Korean Job Discussion Forums

[meursault]

I just arrived in Busan this morning, thereby missing the EPIK orientation. My luggage was lost and I forgot to change money before I arrived (so I have only 100k won and apparently the banks are closed). I start teaching on Monday and have realized that I have no idea what I'm going to do when I find myself facing a room full of students.

I don't mean to whine or be a pessimist, but I'm overwhelmed at the moment. Does anyone have any advice, particularly for my first day?

[sarbonn]

I can't speak to the luggage being lost and that sort of thing, but 100k won isn't that bad. You'll have more than enough to eat until school starts up. I'd get there a bit early and see if there's someone you're supposed to report to, or some type of curriculum you're supposed to be teaching.

One of the skills of doing well here is to be very flexible. I've had to walk into a classroom that was just given to me a few minutes before I walked in, even though I knew nothing of the subject matter. You just get really good at being able to handle something like that.

It's probably not going to be as bad as you think it is, at least as long as you don't allow it to get to you.

[pidgin]

[Dodgy Al]

1. Draw a big circle on the board.

2. Write a few things about yourself (ie. birthdate, home country, family members, etc)

3. Group the students and get them to form questions (list Q words to help them)

4. Each group asks a question, relating to the words in the circle.

5. Finally, get the students to make their own circles, and ask each other questions.


This is a classic intro class. Hope it works for you. Good luck.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[pidgin]

You could also draw a circle on the wall, pass out markers and ask them to do the same.

[John_ESL_White]

40 minutes will fly by. Introduce yourself (10 minutes) , draw a map of the world and show how far you traveled from your home to the K (ten minutes). Ask about K food (ten minutes). Play dumb. "What's kim Chi?" What does it taste like?" "How do you make it?" "do you eat cows here? We eat cows too!", etc ...

Ask the kids questions (ten minutes). class over.

[Draz]

[blade]

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

[waynehead]

If you show up early to prepare it's very likely no one will be there and you'll just be wasting your time.

[Tobias]

Be a professional and adapt a "can do" attitude.
Surf the net for ideas.
Skip a few meals.
Kick ass.

Class over and done with.

[BS.Dos.]

Sleep on it and don't panic. You're probably still jet lagged and the realisation of what you've signed up for is probably just kicking in, not helped of course, by the fact that your luggage has gone awol.

Get some sleep etc and then get you bearings tomorrow. 100,000 is good for a few days so find a supermarket and pick up whatver you need. Try and pay for whatever you do need with your cards if you can. Only use your cash as a last resort if you have to. My Visa debit cards work in supermarkets out here so maybe one or two of your cards will too. Try and hang on to your cash if you can though, you never know what you may need it for. In any case, you'll more than likely be getting paid around the 17th.

Don't worry about the lessons. Get an intro lesson mapped out in your head. You'll probably be teaching freshmen at some point and it'll be their first week at school too, so you won't be alone. As for the other grades, keep your chin up and your back straight, speak slowly and clearly, smile and roll with it. They'll be trying to get the measure of you, so you need to come across as being super-cofident, regrdless of whether you actually are or not. It's unlikely that they'll give you too many problems in your first week as they'll be too curious to *uck around. You may get a PC etc in which case you want to be getting a few activites together for the latter part of the week. You'll be expected to hit the ground running, so make sure that you do.

Basically, everything will feel strange for a few days. Your perception of your school, CTs, neighbourhood etc will vary over the next week and you may wonder what the *uck you were thinking in deciding to come out here. Relax. It's to be expected. Try and hook up with other FTs this weekend if you can. A few beers and some reassuring words from others will do you the world of good at the end of that ackward first week.

Good luck with it and remember to stay spiky.

[BS.Dos.]

Double yoker.

[T-J]