Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Times30]

With really low levels I try to make worksheets where they would know about 90% of the words and only introduce 10% new words.

This way they gain confidence first. I mean really easy stuff such as lion, tigers, and bears. And then throw in like Ostrich or Armadillo.

I've done this with kindergarten classes and it seems to work well. When they only have to focus on learning 4-5 new words, and propped with the belief they already know most of the worksheet they don't lose confidence as if you were to present them with worksheet with totally new stuff.

In terms of the setup and activities themselves, I try to intergrate as much two way learning as possible.

An example is, I want to learn some Korean. So I ask them.... what is cloudy in Korean? It takes a while but one student will suddenly figure it out with much sign language towards each other and will tell me it's "Hurrin". Once in a while I will ask the class, "wait what is cloudy in Korean again?" and they will repeat. In effect they are teaching me Korean, but they are actually learning English. It's a two way street method but you don't come off as being the pompous "teacher" and rather you are the student and they are the teacher. It boosts their confidence. I found this to be .... super effective. (Pokemon reference if anyone gets it)

Also, Songs are nice but I find that students do not learn much from it. It DOES however increase their interest in English. Which can be absolutely instrumental if interest is the biggest problem.

[silkhighway]

The best advice I can give over an internet form is try things. If they don't work, ask yourself why they didn't work and try again, or try something else. Reflection is a teacher's greatest strength.

Speak a little slower and clearly enunciate. Choose your words carefully, but don't dumb down your language. Exaggerate your body language. Don't treat the class like a lecture hall, get the students actively engaged, speaking, listening, moving, etc. The more speaking they're doing and the less you're doing, the better.

Spend a few minutes each class assessing the level of the students so that you know their levels of English. You can do this either formally such as giving them a test of some sort (speaking/writing/reading), or informally, such as playing a game. With the younger kids, it could be as simple as playing a game like "Simon Says" or "charades". Even simpler, have students parrot sentences after you and then build in different things like accompanying actions, passing an object around the room "this is a pen", splitting off into pairs and repeating "What is this? / This is a pen."). Choose the language targets so that the students are somewhat challenged by them but not overwhelmed, so if you have no idea what the level the students are at, make sure you pick the easiest language possible. If the activities you find are working, build on them.

Once you know where the students abilities are, you need to determine how you get them from there to whatever level you're supposed to be teaching, presumably the level of the class textbook. You need to set up your activities and lessons so that the students can do whatever is required, but not enough that you are doing it for them. This is called "scaffolding".

Students need routine, particularly the younger ones. Once you get a few activities and things that are working under your belt, re-use them by building on them. That will save you work too from constantly re-inventing the wheel. Review and reinforce frequently. (This is where a worksheet or pair/small group activity is appropriate).

Lastly, look up and learn the different multiple intelligences. Students learn differently and so you should be teaching differently. At a minimum, you should be incorporating visual, oral, kinesthetic, and musical in your ESL lessons. That doesn't necessarily mean you do it all the time in every class, but if you're not having success reaching a class or a group of students, consider mixing it up.

[silkhighway]

[bobbybigfoot]

Unfortunately, "how to teach" is not something that can be typed up in one paragraph.

This is why teaching is considered a valid career. It takes study and practice and time.

[silkhighway]