Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Enigma]

I've just started a new job teaching primarily adults, after a couple of years of teaching mostly kids.
One of my classes is quite advanced, and I'm having difficulty continually coming up with new ideas to keep them interested. I'd appreciate any advice you can offer. I teach them 4 days a week, for 55 minutes each class. There are usually 5 or 6 students in the class, 4 of whom are young guys in their early 20s.
I've asked them several times what they'd like to do, and I always get, "You know what's best - we'll be happy with whatever you suggest," which is BS and just makes it more difficult to find things to keep them interested.
They don't want to use a textbook, so I'm finding it really hard to find new things for each class.
The oldest person in the class is a woman, and when she gets talking, she keeps going and going, and I guess because of the whole Confucian thing, the other students basically just stop talking, so she ends up dominating the classes. Because of this, I usually get them working together in pairs or groups of three, but as I said, I could use some tips on any activities that they might enjoy.

Thanks a lot

[NightSky]

Hi,
when my adults objected to a textbook (as in a traditional textbook with grammar-based activities, role play, and fill in the blank type of stuff) I switched to a questions-only book. This is better because you can skip any questions that don't work (too easy or too difficult) and it often is just enough to get them going about stuff more personal or more interesting without them feeling like they are being too book-led.

if they don't want ANY kind of book at all, I would suggest this site:

http://bogglesworldesl.com/question_prompts.htm. lots of material there even for the higher levels.

as for the woman who talks more, that's hard. you really have to be prepared to jump right in there as soon as she takes a breath and direct the question to the next student. interrupt her if need be.

[Johnny_Bravo]

if they're advanced and adults, as far as conversation, the world is your oyster.

you can constantly discuss the current events and social issues that they''ll be interested in etc.

re grammar/structure, I would think adults unlike kids would prefer and be more comfortable with a structured class, and fairly straightforward stuff.

just cut the adjumma off when you feel she's hogging the time and redirect questions and comments towards others.

[Easter Clark]

Try bringing in an English copy of Korea Times or any English version of Korean news, and pick an article to read, go over any difficult vocab, and discuss.

Recommend that the old woman try to involve the other students more often by asking questions like "What do you think?" "How about you?" etc.

[winterfall]

What kind of orientation is the class's objective? Academic, business, casual? You could arrange the class into discussion based. Assign a book as a reading and have discussions on it. And throw in writing assignments for good measure.

If they're the academic crowd then you can read Anderson's Imagined Communities with them (Revised Edition). If they're heading to grad school in any area in the social sciences. There's a very good chance they're gonna have to read that book anyway. It's very interesting and its grammar is not too challenging. Though it is very theoretical. Assigning that as a reading and having discussions about it can last you a very long time depending on your pace.

Or you can read Cosmopolitanism by Kwame (2006). It proposes a variation of an ethical theory for the globalized world. Cosmopolitanism is very complicated but Kwame's book is very well written and easy to read.

[Fat_Elvis]

www.breakingnewsenglish.com

http://www.headsupenglish.com/

These sites have pre-prepared news lessons, as well as conversation questions.

As for the older woman, you'll just have to cut her off and get answers from other students. You should do a lot of pairwork anyway to maximise speaking time, so try pairing her with another outspoken student or someone close in age.

[michaelambling]

Two ideas:

1. Make themed classes with a debate and Q&A portion. So, one week you could talk about Darfur, another week you could talk about GM crops...print out articles, have them read them before class, then go over vocab, verbal phrases, etc., then ask the students to voice their opinions.

2. Literature. Find a good, short novel and have them read, then discuss the book in class. Something like The Great Gatsby should give you material for at least a month, and will keep the students' attention (especially if you talk about the Roaring 20s, Fitzgerald and Americans in Paris, etc.)

One more thing: any English teacher in Korea has an ethical obligation to teach things such as empirical reasoning, Utilitarian morality, human rights, etc. If your students are advanced enough, you can easily print out some articles about, say, the Korean actress who got sued for getting beaten up, or the countless instances of English teachers being harassed for not being Korean, and have them discuss these matters. You can also have classes on world cultures and what makes one culture "better" than another (answer: nothing). Good luck.

[Enigma]

Thank you very much for all of your ideas. I've taken a look at those websites, and there's a lot of stuff that I can incorporate into my classes. You've certainly given me a lot to think about, and I'll discuss some of these ideas with my students tonight, and see what appeals to them.

[Enigma]

[asylum seeker]

[Juregen]

[winterfall]

[Demophobe]

[Fishead soup]

I use this stuff

http://iteslj.org/t/tmm/i/026t.jpg

Its very easy to use. Simply paste the main page on the blackboard and have students re-write it using peer dictation. I've used it with advanced level teenagers and it worked really well. Try some other materials by Andrew Finch.

[spyro25]

teach them phrasal verbs, collocations and idioms. cambridge have three good books for this, and you can guarantee it is something they don't know.