Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tomato]

Whereas:

■ it is impossible to stop Korean teachers from speaking Korean in English class--at least I haven't been able to.

■ it is impossible to enlist the Korean teacher's cooperation in asking the students to speak English instead of Korean--at least I haven't been able to.

■ it is difficult to find a setting in which a foreigner can understand much spoken Korean--at least for me.

■ trying to sharpen one's Korean listening skills is extremely discouraging--at least for me.

■ a foreign teacher feels resentful to Korean teachers for hijacking his classtime and looks for subtle ways of getting even--at least I do.

Be it resolved that we start a game in which we keep count of the Korean words and suffixes which we can identify in one class period.

Identifying two or more lexical units in a row counts extra.

[tomato]

I'll go first.
I started keeping tally today.

The fifth grade teacher allows me free rein for 20 minutes.
Then she takes over for the remaining 20 minutes and forgets that I'm even in the room.

I caught 27 words and suffixes.
They played a game using cards in the back of the book.
I think 칠싶삼 was the page number for the cards which they cut out.
I also caught three words in a row,
and they were--you guessed it: 가위 바위 보.

The fourth grade teacher has been designated as my co-teacher and she thinks she owns me.
As far as she is concerned, I should be seen and not heard and I should only speak when spoken to.
I caught 42 words in her class.
The longest string I caught this time was 나는 할 수 없다.
One girl raised her hand and said something about 남자 and 여자.
I think she was complaining that only boys were being chosen, and not girls.
The teacher complied with her request.

Then they played another game.
This was a telephone game in which I caught the words 다른 사람 and 앞에 사람.

That may be pitiful for a person who has been in Korea for 10 years, but it is better than I thought I would do.

[Xuanzang]

Listening to the vice principal mumble in Korean is also an enjoyable experience. Telling me to come here, learn Korean quickly and other garbage. Does he think him speaking to me will magically bestow Korean abilities? 이디와 and 한국말 발이발이 really make me want to study Korean intensively.

English words to Korean tally: 2 (good morning)-5 million

[richardlang]

Something is wrong here. You should be given more than 20% teacher talk time.

I believe the guidelines for GEPIK and other similar programs called for 80% NET and 20% KT talk time. In my high school class, I speak 100% of the time. I write and plan my own lessons, prepare my PPTs, make worksheets, and have free reign over the classroom.

I don't believe in the necessity of having a KT in the classroom. It only complicates things. Although the guidelines call require a KT present because we're not nationally certified teachers, I don't think they should be there. However, per the KT requirement, the KT should be comfortable using English language that 5th graders understand. If he or she can't speak English at 5th grade level, he or she shouldn't be teaching. Korea needs to get this tidied up.

The NET should teach the full 100 yards in English, using graded language and demonstrating vocabulary and target grammar structures. Before one's lesson, a NT should also prepare for any possible problems (an odd grammar point or Korean translation for a hard to explain tense/object) before actually teaching the lesson.

There's no requirement a KT be present during a NT's lesson in a hagwon. The same should follow in a public school classroom.

[tomato]

I agree with you perfectly.

[The Gipkik]

[Draz]

This is why I'm not bothering with Korean self-study. tomato has been studying (alone) for how many years and seems to understand about as much spoken Korean as I do.

[Julius]

You can't really expect the K-teacher to do nothing all lesson: i wouldn't want to either. Most of them get bored and resentful: they want to teach, thats why they're there.
I teach 25mins of the class and leave them 15 mins. For the first part they are my back up, then the role changes. I think its a fair and healthy arrangement.
If you try to take away all their power and functions then they will make you pay later. it shouldn't be a competition.

But it took months of battling for me to arrive at this happy equilibrium. At the start they would butt in and try to dominate then wield the passive aggression if I didn't comply. Basically you have to learn the art of asserting your rights in a calm and diplomatic way. Don't let things build up or get angry. Express yourself politely, when you are alone, and discuss it in a civilised manner. Always offer a better alternative rather than simply criticising. Develop a good personal relationship and you'll find the working relationship follows in the same vein. Its possible to develop a very good and productive co-teaching partnership.

[cpolian]

[mulligc3]

No, it is not possible to stop them talking in korean and butting on on my time.
I have discussed numerous times and they say they will not interupt but they can't help it.
Now I just bite my tongue as I know there is no point in bringing it up again.
I feel bad for the class (not that they seem to care) that their English classes aren't the best they can be and for myself that I can't try out new things and try to run the entire class in English and my way but maybe it's a lesson in controlling and suppressing my negative emotions that will be useful in Life.
How much can I take without freaking???

[tomato]

Hello, Draz!

What do you suggest, then?
Of the communities I've lived in, only one was large enough to have an English class for wegukins.
It's listening practice which I need the most, and the teacher in that class spoke English the whole time, just like Korean English teachers speak Korean the whole time.
Like I always said, don't go in the water if you don't know how to swim.

If you have access to a Korean class where the teacher speaks to the class in Korean, more power to you.

Hello, Richard Lang!

I wish I was in GEPIK, then.

There is one school which I visit only on Friday.

The sixth grade teacher there was appointed as my co-teacher, so he treats me like a helpless imbecile. Except for him, I was given free rein in all the classes. I thought I died and went to heaven.

But one week before the exams, trouble started. The idiot principal noticed that the third and fourth grades were three chapters behind and the fifth and sixth grades were six chapters behind, and he is blaming it all on me. It didn't occur to him that it might have something to do with the fact that there was a workshop, a field day, and a holiday on Friday.

So he told me that I should--get this,l now--work together with the homeroom teachers. You may as well ask oil and water to mix.

Now the fifth grade teacher isn't so bad, but the third and fourth grade teachers are taking over.

Now I think I died and went to hell.

Hello, Gipkik!

Last Friday, the third grade teacher thought it was absolutely essential that the class play the game at the end of the previous chapter. So the children chatter chatter chattered while they cut the cards out of their books. Then the teacher chatter chatter chattered on the rules of the game. Then the teacher AND the children chatter chatter chattered while playing the game.

When I was finally given the floor, they tried to continue their chatter chatter chattering. But I firmly said, "No, hangukmalling time is over."

Hello, mullingc3!

You say how much can you take without freaking?
I started to wonder the same thing.
That's one reason I invented this defense mechanism.
I thought there might be others in the same boat.
That's one reason I'm inviting the rest of you.

[Demophobe]

[son of coco]

This is a great idea! I'll try to pick up some words next class.

My principal actually does the complete opposite and sometimes does the whole assembly in English. You can hear the groans fill the auditorium as soon as he starts. It's supposed to motivate the students to learn English, but he usually uses such flowery, poetic language that I struggle to understand what the hell he's on about.

It's funny to watch though.

[The Gipkik]

[T-J]