Korean Job Discussion Forums

[myenglishisno]

I've been teaching for quite awhile but this is the first time I've had to follow a relatively strict curriculum.

I'm free to approach the textbooks any way that I want but I have a time limit for how long I'm supposed to spend on the material and my co-teachers usually want the kids to answer the question pages of the textbooks in class. The questions are usually pretty concise and draw on vocabulary, grammar and ideas directly from the reading passages.

This is all fine and good however all classes use the same material regardless of their level. It's all one stream.

This is a problem I've been having since I've been in Korea. In my first month teaching here, my hagwon owner approached me and told me that the kid's mothers wanted me to teach them a Shakespeare sonnet. Problem was, the kids were second graders (in Elementary) and their level reflected that (before the Shakespeare sonnets I had been working on simple verbs and the past tense).

Why do so many parents want to teach materials that are so much over the kid's heads? Don't they realize that it's better to find material for the students level? Sometimes, the material would be too difficult for kids the same age in our home countries.

I saw the same thing in public school too. I saw what some of the other teachers were teaching and I wondered what the F they were trying to do considering the kids were still having a lot of difficulty forming basic sentences (ie: "Seongsangnim, me toilet is go, okay?!")

It just doesn't make sense to me. Then again, a lot of the Korean education system doesn't make sense to me. Does anyone know why this is and also, how do you deal with it? This is the first time I've really been forced to teach a specific way so any coping mechanisms would be great. The kids seem to be overwhelmed by the material and many of them are tuning out regardless of how much I dumb it down (and it's hard to dumb it down too much given the time constraints and requirements).

[tatertot]

I can't offer any suggestions, but I can commiserate with you. I often ponder this very thing. The only thing I can think of is that Korean culture somehow enables an ability to kind of "buy-in" to (what I, at least, consider to be) obviously false delusions.

The parents somehow believe that if their children take more difficult classes then they will learn more. In actuality, students will learn optimally by being placed at the appropriate level. I can't understand what the parents are thinking. I want to go on one of those variety/talk shows and tell all the parents that their kids will learn better if they just go to an appropriately difficult class and put effort into learning.

The Korean "brute force" approach to learning isn't very effective or efficient.

[The Cosmic Hum]

[some waygug-in]

who's on the desk?

Shakespeare's on it.


That's lesson 1.


Lesson 2:

Who's on the sofa?


Shakespeare's on it.


Lesson 3:

Who's on crack?

The mother who requested this must be on it.


Best to agree with them, but then do what you think is best.

Korean parents never change.

[SeoulNate]

I had this problem at a former school I worked at where I wasn't allowed to choose my own books and material.

The best solution that I could come up with was to briefly cover the topic in the book for the day by doing simple conversation or writing exercises, then giving the students the answer sheets for the books to do for homework and then teaching whatever level appropriate material that I wanted.

This seemed to satisfy the other teachers and parents who just wanted to see that little Seok-ho had finished all of his work but actually came away with advanced English ability.

[WadRUG'naDoo]

[myenglishisno]

[soupsandwich]

[soupsandwich]

Ok kids, today we are going to learn about.....iambic pentameters!!!!!!



Hip Hip...Hor.............ray?




soupsandwich

[Fishead soup]

Don't teach it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have to master situational English conversation. Shakespear is something that University students have problems with.
Even in University I used Coles Notes.
It sounds like you need an intervention with a Kyopo(Korean who lived most of their life abroad)

You're employer lives in an Ivory Tower and needs to be told that he/she does.

[nathanrutledge]

What's it mean "to teach?" You want the kids to learn the meaning of the sonnet and be able to explain it in detail? Or do you just want them to memorize it and be able to recite it? Plenty of kids back home learn a famous quote or passage or speech when they are young and say it from memory at a school event.

I'd say don't take it so seriously and do it. Make it fun by having the kids put a lot of emotion into parts. They'll probably get a kick out of it, if you do it right (big hand gestures, loud voice/soft voice, etc).

Now, if you're talking about getting them to be able to understand it and explain it and doing this with many difficult texts - no, big waste of time. But if you're only talking 1 piece 1 time, make it into a couple of lessons. First lesson, introduce it and practice getting them to read/say the words. Get them to memorize the parts. Second lesson, actually talk about the meaning. Sure, not going to be useful for much other than making mom happy, but it's not impossible.

[meangradin]

[Geumchondave]

[Juregen]

[winterfall]

Welcome to Korea

On a more serious note, Korean perception is that they already know all the "Easy" words like "Car, tree, house, weekends" That this isn't something that should be taught. Because they already "Know" it. If any of us talked to them we both know they don't know it.

Its a cultural thing. And chances are their parents also learned this way, obscure very high level situationally specific vocabulary like "Excrement" but they usually bypass the ability to use it right. Like "I toilet excrement" Who in the world says that whenever they've got to douche????