Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hunter Ess]

I've been speaking Korean for years and I am nearly fluent; at first I thought this would be a huge asset in Korea, but the more I talk to people, the more I hear that Koreans dislike it. Why? Because it allows kids to communicate via Korean instead of English. Have you ever noticed anything like that?

Should I keep my fluency on the down low or tell potential employers about it?

[ippy]

use english in class. If your kids dont understand it look to the coteacher for another way to explain it, if you draw a blank or time is an issue, then use some korean. But listening is a valuable skill, the activities arent the money shot.

This lesson was brought to me by a girl who was fluent in japanese and NEVER ONCE used japanese in her class but taught her kids better than any other foreign teacher i met.

Outside of class its a different matter. Try using english as much as possible, but the level is low, so if you need korean prompts to get some english, then why not?

[ThingsComeAround]

Helpful for teaching adults, and 1-1 classes.

They will really appreciate your efforts.

[broken76]

Agree with ThingsComeAround that it's helpful for adults and 1 : 1 classes but in larger classes it can be a hindrance. There are definitely times when just letting a student know the translation is a godsend but it becomes an issue for students. If they know that you speak Korean they will spend a lot more time speaking Korean instead of trying to use English to communicate. So overall I think it's best not to speak Korean to your students but if you can understand what they are having issues with as they speak with each other you can pinpoint the problems much faster than non-Korean speaking teachers.

[lovebug]

keep in mind that the ultimate goal for learning a language is to be able to communicate successfully without any use of one's L1 (native language). many teachers (native and co-teachers alike) forget that giving directions for a game or giving a definition for an L2 word in their L2 is actually part of the critical thinking processes that are necessary for language acquisition and effective usage.

if you're in a train station in a foreign country, trying to make sense of a schedule and asking a ticketperson questions, you don't have the luxury of a translator - you have to figure everything out yourself. speaking korean in english class will not develop the skills students need to do this.

it takes a bit more work and energy, but virtually all grammer points and activity directions can be explained using realia, ppt animation, pantomiming, pictures, color-coded boardwork, and modeling examples. on rare occasion, we'll use korean with a super-lost kid, but otherwise, it's banned in our classroom! good luck!

[tomato]

I once started a thread entitled "Why should a foreign teacher study Korean?"
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=13860&highlight=

[Michelle]

[bbonthec]

I use English as much as humanly possible. But if there's some word that the kids don't understand, and I can't teach it quickly by explanation, pantomime, or drawing, I just say the Korean word. Better to just teach the new word quickly and move on than waste 10 minutes on one word. For example, trying to teach the word "information" could be quite time consuming, but just if you just say "information: jeong-bo. Understand?" it takes but a few seconds.

Just make it clear to the students that THEY can't speak Korean in class. Also make it clear that you only use Korean to clear up misunderstandings and to teach difficult vocabulary. I also sometimes blurt out a few funny Korean words in the class, to lighten up the atmosphere. Kids get a real kick out of seeing foreigners use their language.

[Juregen]

[tomato]

[whome?]

it can be a help in the classroom with phonetics. Which is the only real time I use it, other than calling for kai, bai, bo and a few other little things.

If employers know you speak/understand they will stop/not have conversations infront of you about important things.... If they think you don't understand they often discuss all kinds of juicy little bits of info that you would never hear otherwise.

[Netz]