Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jgrant85]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for my first few days of teaching in Korea? I figured it'd take a few days to accurately assess the proficiency of the students, so I was trying to think of some activities to do that will both teach, entertain, and help me figure out how good the English of my students is. Also, are there any websites out there that have some sort of standardized test (for free) that can test English proficiency in some or all areas (written, speaking, reading, comprehension, etc)?

[dean_burrito]

Offer up some more info if you can. If you are at public school your classes may already be grouped by level but most likely you'll have quite a range of levels in one class. So you should try to teach something that can be manipulated to meet all the students needs. Not an easy task.
If you're at a hagwon your classes will definitely be split up according to skill level and you likely won't have the choice of picking out materials. Not untill they trust you anyways.
Also what age?
My advice though is bring pictures of yourself. Everyone will want to see them and you can ask many open ended questions. The studetns that give the most details have the highest level. Also this way the students get to know you a little better.
I couldn't imagine walking in on day one with a standardized test. Certainly the students would dread returning for day two.
Anyways good luck and have some fun.

[Straphanger]

The last thing you want to do when you first walk in the door is give a test.

The first thing you want to do - PLAY A GAME!!! Assah!! New teacher wants to play a game! Here's how the game works:

You write their names down the left hand side of the paper (or better, get them to write their own, depending on the class).

Then you line them up in that order (helps you learn their names).

Each row of the table you just made is a metric. Here are some examples:

1. Round 1: Hakwon English
a. What's your name?
b. How are you?
c. What day is it?

Each person gets three questions, and a check next to their name is if they get it right.

2. Round 2: Vocabulary
Show enough flashcards with enough ticks that you're satisfied that they know dog, cat, fish.

3. Round 3: Spelling
Spell FISH. You should not be hearing ep-puh, eye, s-uh, aich-ee.
Spell simple words, one to a customer, three times through the rotation.

4. Round 4: Storytelling
Show pictures. What is the man wearing?
What is the woman doing?
What is mom cooking?
What is in the barn?

In the end, you tally up the points and give the winners CANDY!!! Yes, GAMES AND CANDY!!! On your first day!! O-MA!! We lub new waegook teechuh!! And you walk out with a handful of baseline metrics that you can use to tailor your lessons to each class.

[jgrant85]

[losing_touch]

Of course it all depends! Usually, I start out new classes with an introduction. I introduce myself and basic information. I then open the floor for questions they might have about me. This can be funny sometimes. In order to get to know the students, I have them work on question formation. They unscramble about 10 sentences. Following that, they use those questions to interview each other. For higher level students, they summarize this into a paragraph. Either way, they report back the details which lets me get to know the students.

[Johnny_Bravo]

first class = intro class.

they will probably be very curious about you, your life, where you come from, your home/family, etc etc.

if you can scan pics of home, family, pets, car, etc show them.

It's a good way to establish a rapport with your students, get them to like you and you can gauge their English levels by the questions they ask you?

ask them to ask you questions in english... help them if they stumble (as they inevitably will)

[summer33ny]

The first few days are the most valuable because the students will be the most motivated to talk to you. Take advantage of this!

You should introduce yourself, show on the map where you're from (or have students try to guess) show picture of your family, your home... anything really. Even the things that you don't think are interesting, are new to them and they will hang onto every word you say.

When the student's interest in you starts to fade, then you should begin teaching.. the first class or two should just be about getting to know you and them. And taking full advantage of the student's motivation to try and talk to you and impress you...because this interest will wane amazingly quickly.

I recommend doing a class about cultural differences and trying to make it interesting even for the low level students (lots of pictures). But I also think you should have students do some sort of actual work from day 1... you don't want to set the tone that your class is all just fun and games.

[NightSky]

I've done the following many times and it's almost always been successful:

walk in, introduce yourself, get/assign names if you need to take attendance. (this is if the class seems well behaved and controlled). If you walk in and they are all screaming and too excited at the site of a white face to listen, skip the attendance part and go right to this:

go to the white board. draw three or four circles. draw a smiley face, a frown, a sad face, an angry face. ask "what's this"? depending on your answers you will very quickly find out what the overall level of the class is. beginners will say "smile". more advanced kids will quickly shout "happy! sad!" etc. Write these words under the pictures. add more. Ask "what are some OTHER words for these faces?" if you start getting "wonderful", "sick", "terrific" etc. you're on the right track. you should be able to elicit at least four feelings for each pic. Then ask each kid how they're feeling today. the more advanced ones will give you more to go with like "I'm sad because new teacher." or "i'm tired because too much homework". keep on in this vein and it will be pretty easy to see where they are in terms of level. make notes if you need to.

you can have them write this all down in their books or not, depending on their level/attention span/time you need to fill.

do this with each class no matter age or level, just modify your tone/approach so it's not too babyish for, say, the teenagers.

this is fun for the kids, but do NOT play games on the first day, then you will have them begging/screaming for games every day thereafter.

set the standard. be friendly and polite but firm.

[NightSky]

ok, I just read the part where you're teaching middle to high schoolers...so you're not going to have to worry about screaming and crowd control, much, you will just have to work a bit harder at eliciting answers. and they will be all rolling their eyes, like, oh please teacher, I've been going to hagwon for a while, I know what a frickin smile is, but don't worry, once you have their bored "happy", "sad", "angry" answers and you push them for harder stuff, make them realize that there are many adjectives in English and they are not going to get away with answering "fine" every time you ask them how they're doing, it will go better.

make sure their answers are full sentences. No "I'm tired." Make them say "I'm tired today because I had too much homework last night". Or "I'm hungry today because I didn't have time to eat lunch." That sort of thing.

[Straphanger]

Yes, my game works for the younglings. I don't play games with the older kids.

Every day is a game. Every game is a test. I don't always tell you all the rules. Sometimes when you win, you really lose. Sometimes when you lose, you win. The way to win the game is to do what I want you to do, not what I tell you to do. Sometimes you're right all the time, sometimes you are never right.

I tell that to every class. Eventually they get it.

"Don't play a game on the first day because they'll keep wanting it." Yeah, that's kinda what I thought at first when I was an intern back home, but they always want it, whether you do it or not. Once you've got a few years under your belt, you learn that these hard and fast rules have a little flexibility.

[NightSky]

how many years do you have under your belt?

my kids don't beg for games, they've been taught not to. of course they still want to, and now and again they sigh "oh I wish we could play a game today". so I do throw a game in there now and again when they don't expect it.

guaranteed having a game on the first day is a bad idea.

moreover...

[Straphanger]

[soviet_man]

If you are working @ at haggie, the usual tradition is to arrive on a plane and then be expected to teach the following day, or if you are really lucky, on the same day.

You will be so trashy that neither you, nor the children, will remember a thing, so don't worry too much about it.

It is also possible, again with luck, that you may be able to observe a few classes before kicking off and get the low down from the guy who you are replacing.

[Demophobe]

[Yu_Bum_suk]