Korean Job Discussion Forums

[luckylady]

I was in Korea for over 3 years before I started handing out candy - the game thing came and went depending on the class.

what finally got me to hand out the candy was the overwhelming sympathy I began to feel for Korean students in general as more and more I understood the incredible, relentless pressures they were all under to perform. I knew that a LOT of the times they hated me, their teacher, just for the sole reason that their parents made them come to English class. that it was MY fault because Mom and Dad wanted them to speak English like me.

I simply got tired of it. If candy was what it took to soften the harsh reality of their lives, then by god, let them eat candy.

I don't pay the dentist bills, the kids are happy and I'm happy too.

OP, you let out a lot of steam in that rant of yours. don't take it all so seriously, you'll burn out years ahead of time. focus on the here and now, what you can and cannot accomplish and let the Koreans worry about their education system as a whole - it's their country, after all.

[Modernist]

[soomin]

I think some people are taking their job titles too seriously... there are real teachers out there, but for most of us, all our hagwons want is a body in the room who is fun enough that more moneybags-- I mean, students, attend. I want to teach and make my students learn, but quizzes are "too stressful" and lectures are "too boring" and as the foreign teacher, my job is to be the mascot of the school, not to teach.

One day I asked for a day off work so I could get on an airplane before Christmas day... it was "Christmas party day" so I figured it wouldn't be a problem, but my boss told me that it was my job to take pictures with the students and look pretty so the parents would have faith in the hagwon... This is my job. I make my own lessons and force the students to do quizzes and try to get the basics into their heads, but if there aren't games involved, I'm not doing my job, according to my boss. I've taught at a no-nonsense, no games allowed hagwon and the students were always bored and breaking into fights and blabbing... until the principal made his rounds with the stick. Students kind of learned there, but it was mostly, "do these pages and finish the book in this amount of time, no matter what," so, again, if a student didn't understand by the end of the 40 minutes... too bad for them. Maybe another teacher would explain it to them in their class? Again, not my job.

Even though I am an ESL teacher... I'm not really. In my upper-level classes, sure! I teach a lot and integrate fun without playing games all the time (or ever, for a lot of classes). But with a bunch of kids running around who don't even know basic words like "bathroom" or what the days of the week are... my only job is to not stress them out, and to make them (and thus my hagwon's wallet) happy. This was the job description given to me by my boss and it's what I have to do. If you want to be a real teacher in ESL, I think it would really depend on the hagwon/PS. They're the ones deciding what you have to do, and they're the ones you have to appease.

[blm]

[Old fat expat]

Reinforcement is the most powerful tool in learning. This is a cornerstone of Behaviorism. Before you huff and puff about Chompsky, don�t worry�Behaviorism is alive and well BABY!

I get your point though. A powerful tool used wrongly is destructive indeed. Punishment is a powerful tool too, but the unfortunate truth is those who don�t know how to use reinforcement are also ignorant of how to use punishment. Too bad for the kids.

Still don�t believe me? Reinforcement schedules are what make computer games so compelling. Go to Las Vegas, bet on a game, play Lotto. How popular is Facebook? And man, haven�t you heard of behavioral economics? Cos� you�re living it. It�s all been figured out by your handlers.

HOW the reward is given is really the question you need to understand. This will also require you to understand reinforcer values and inflation. Ohh, I know! You can use candy on the short term and pair it through a better social reinforcer � like � like � encouragement. Have you heard of Pavlov? Pavlov is world famous (for those who have been here a while).

Which will get you to a class where participating is fun, natural and paired to the appropriate social rewards�which is what I believe you want. WITHOUT the use of punishment.

Geez, dude. Don�t you want that? Don�t you want that kind of teacher for your own children? The BEST teacher is the one who makes you enjoy working hard. Enjoyment and hardwork are not exclusive, that would be a silly argument (but talk to someone other than a Calvinest � they are sorta weird).

But you better know what you are doing. Otherwise you might be on the same road as that teacher you used to hate back in highschool because his classes were a real drag man (please replace �a real drag man� with appropriate generational terms, or � whatever � losers � yo?).

[northway]

[YTMND]

[pegasus64128]

[YTMND]

Looks like people are building a precedent for being jerk teachers.

Teachers who are against this candy thing,

Can you come up with other reasons? Let's assume candy were like oranges or apples. Would you still be opposed to the idea of giving out oranges or apples?

You should. After all, in theory, all they would be doing is behaving in a way to get those apples and oranges. English would still have nothing to do with it.

So, whether or not it is a stalk of broccoli, a basket of apples, or a glass of freshly squeezed vitamin C orange juice, your wise old English lesson is not being received.

Address the lesson.

[northway]

[WadRUG'naDoo]

I don't play games, nor do I give out candy or anything else. The kids get stamps or stickers for their performance in class, but I'm not the one dishing those out. They get encouragement from stars by their names (usually given by the co-teacher and once in a while from me). I they get a certain amount of stickers, they can choose toys/prizes that we have on display. This, however, isn't their main goal to have fun in class. I use activities with flashcards and courseware on our interactive whiteboards. We sometimes draw pictures for usage of the unit languages. We sing songs. They go home and come back next week.

I don't do Bingo, Hangman, Snakes and Ladders, and any other such garbage.

[luckylady]

spelling bees are excellent and actually work wonders.

I totally recommend them.

they actually have a history in the U.S. where, as some might be aware of, many immigrants from many different countries settled in the mid-19th century and continued to arrive. many students had difficulty then with English just as today and the spelling bee became a way to encourage correct spelling and to learn vocabulary.

you can even do them in public school classes, which are very large. the kids have fun, get to practice pronunciation and parents like them as well. I've even made certificates for winning students at the end of the year.

btw, spelling is actually a national competition in the U.S. now

and yes, I was an interscholastic speller myself

[Eedoryeong]

MALADJUSTED CHILDREN ARE NOT LINKED TO PLAYING GAMES!!!

Play is the work of children. I don't care you how rationalize whatever you think it is in your mind you need to do in the classroom, if you are not down with this basic of facts, get your corn-fed a*s back to Hicksville, USA.

It's possible that kids may be maladjusted from playing NO games, POINTLESS games, games that DON'T target the curriculum or offer evaluation methods through the objectives of the game's activity.

But you are serious forked in the head dude if you think kids need to stop playing games. Like, Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' style epic proportions of fail as a teacher.

Now, sugar spikes and not having proper breakfasts, that can fog up an attempt at education no question there.

[Squire]

I like this thread. I don't understand why English should be fun when there aren't similar expectations on maths and science. Games (good games) can be useful for reinforcing language, but giving out sweets? I don't remember my best teachers at school giving out sweets. I don't remember playing silly games with them either. They taught their subject competently and didn't goof around

[YTMND]