Korean Job Discussion Forums

[grunden]

I 'must' teach this stupid class for kids that cannot even harldy walk, while these mothers sit and hold them, and they have no idea what the stupid cards (written in english) say, and I am supposed to keep holding up these cards and repeat like 10 times CAR.....CAR.....CAR.....CAR.....CAR.....CAR... wtf?????
So while I do this the babies are lfighting and one of them is crying his eyes out and another keeps circling me trying to hit the card out of my hand, this is pure insanity! for a WHOLE hour, not 50 minutes, a whole hour, and the moms sit and repeat everything

[Otherside]

ROFL, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

[afsjesse]

Edutainment at its best!

[Goku]

hahaha

The parents are going for an early langauge exposure. Seems like they are waaaayyyy too young.

Oh I feel for your situation... How did you ever get cursed with that gig?

I feel sorry for your situation sir,

truly I do....

[eperdue4ad]

That sounds terrible. Do you have to use the cards? Who is making you do this?

Scrap the cards and see if they'll provide you normal toys. Ask the moms to bring toys from home. Then if you still have to do this, just talk to the kids while they're playing. Repeat simple commands and words for their play. I suppose try to work one-on-one, since a big group of babies can't possibly focus on a "lesson" for an hour.

That age has no attention span for cards, especially written ones! What a foolish technique they have developed for you. The moms if anyone should know better

[eperdue4ad]

That sounds terrible. Do you have to use the cards? Who is making you do this?

Scrap the cards and see if they'll provide you normal toys. Ask the moms to bring toys from home. Then if you still have to do this, just talk to the kids while they're playing. Repeat simple commands and words for their play. I suppose try to work one-on-one, since a big group of toddlers can't possibly focus on a "lesson" for an hour.

That age has no attention span for cards, especially written ones! What a foolish technique they have developed for you. The moms if anyone should know better

[crossmr]

[gojulie]

Is there any way you can play music for them, or play stupidly simple gams like rolling a ball or blowing bubbles? Would probably pass the time.

My school did kind of the same thing with me..promised me 3-4 year olds when I signed up and gave me 18 month - 2 year olds. We mostly sing songs, but I occasionally give them a crayon and construction paper and watch them scribble. I could probaby do the cards for 5 minutes before I lose all attention.

Real toys really help, keeps them interested.

[Robot_Teacher]

Definitely play some classical music at a low volume such as Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven while you're at it and just relax and go through the motions. That's my advice with 1 to 3 year babies.

[Sleepy in Seoul]

Why should I help these out-of-control babies?

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

I have a class with some pretty young kids in it as well... but after doing some reading on the Internet, I realized that you really can't expect very much out of them. Their mothers probably don't expect much either.

If you're creative and aren't one of those 'this is all so beneath me' kind of teachers, you'll be able to come up with stuff. The best part about kids that age is that they're easily entertained... the problem is that holding up a flashcard and repeating it over and over isn't the slightest bit interesting. But if you put it in a bag and pretend you're fighting a wild animal or something before you get it out, they'll think it's wonderful... and they won't get bored, which is what's important.

Kids that age also like things like dressing up and play acting and such. Give them a chance to pretend they're doctors or pilots or animals or what-have-you. Get everyone to pretend they're in a car and it's going faster and faster and faster... or that you're zooming around in space fighting aliens or something. Maybe it sounds stupid to you but if you're trying to reach young children and you can't communicate with them this kind of stuff is very important. And most important of all, if they don't get it, don't worry about it, just move on and assume they're 'processing'. Kids that age don't learn like we do, there's a lot of subconscious processing going on, so even if they don't seem to be reacting, they are picking up on things. They're just not physically capable of processing huge amounts of new data... and considering everything is basically a new experience for them, you can't fault them if they need to be cut a little slack.

It's already been said, but you should also do lots of singing and read to them. It doesn't matter if you sing the same song every day, or read the same book over and over. Sometimes you can sing two or three songs a day.... just don't do it back to back.

Find a short book with lots of colorful pictures and as long as you read it with lots of energy they should be able to sit through it at least once in a lesson.

Kids that age also like dancing... I know some people are opposed to doing 'kiddie stuff' like this (people who hate children/are boring/insecure/ have no imaginations, I suppose), but keep in mind that in my class this only involves them holding your hand and then jumping up and down while they all sing to the music. I play the same song to signal the start of every class, then follow it with a 'down' activity like reading or teaching something really basic like 'the letter A', then maybe a play-acting thing... I do races sometimes, but I make sure that everyone 'wins', so no one gets upset. The point is fun, not winning. But I always act like it's a lot of fun so they always have fun.

To teach young children you need lots of materials-- and your hagwon director should pay for them. Not just crayons and book, I mean things like pipe cleaners and blocks and a bowling set... also, a 'red light green light' sign is often good for a lot of different activities. There are heaps of activities for ESL preschoolers online, and they take more time but they're usually more worth it because the little ones aren't all whiny about things like the upper grades.

Also, I would ask your director to consider shortening the class-- unless they're willing to help you come up with ways to fill the time. A full hour is way too long for kids that small... I can do 40 minutes, but there's a lot of time where nothing much is happening and I'm basically just playing with them, or trying not to get dong-chimmed. I'd also be 100 percent lost with the Korean teacher who helps me... if you don't have a co-teacher, see if you can get one of the mothers to be the group leader or something.

You have to prepare a lot more for these classes because the kids won't be into one thing for much longer than 5 minutes, though some activities can be stretched to 10... if they're really into it.

When I started with the little ones I was pretty put off as well, but now they're my absolute favorites... it was just a matter of getting over myself and figuring out how to reach them.

Good luck!

[grunden]

thanks for the advice, I don't have a class until Monday, I just felt like getting drunk all afternoon, it is really a mess, but after a few beers tonight I got my courage up and if things dont go well next week I am just going to tell her I can't do it. it is my boss, she has a school in her house, but at least I got a new apartment now.

[betchay]

make them watch Barney... babies love Barney!

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

^^^To tell the truth, showing a video for the last 20 minutes of every class isn't such a bad idea... it will help them to calm down, and give you a rest. You can find heaps of Sesame Street on Youtube.

I often have trouble filling up 40 minutes-- I can't imagine 60. Then again, at other times I go over 50 (like when we're doing arts and crafts or something-- it's at the end of the day, so nobody seems to mind).

[Xuanzang]

Baby Einstein?