Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RLib]

I started work this week at a hagwon in Asan City. I have one class of middle school students that's already turning into a complete nightmare... and I've only had them three times so far.

It's only 8 students, but they are blatantly disrespectful and it's a nightmare trying to get them to quiet down and follow along in the book as I go over a lesson, and having them actually pick up a pencil and do work is damn near impossible-- those who are actually listening just absently nod their heads then continue on with chaos . There's a lot of yelling, a lot of talking, a lot of throwing things at each other, a lot of getting up out of their seats and horsing around. Even doing basic repetitions is almost impossible.

They're also far below the level of where they should be for their age. My other class of middle school students understand basic grammar and can write coherent sentences. This class, on the other hand...

They like simple games, and it's probably the only time when I have most of their attention. They still lack common sense and patience even then, though- with hangman, for example, if there is a 'c' in the middle of the sentence, the students will start shouting out whatever words they know that start with 'c', even though logic would tell you that that can't be correct. My beginner elementary students rarely even do this.

I figure trying to control them is going to be impossible and will only serve to make my time miserable, so instead I'm trying to come up with lesson plans and games that are more engaging and which the students would be eager to do. Unfortunately, my school lacks a lot of resources (which I'm not too sure is normal for a hagwon?). They have tons of picture books and teaching guides, but they don't even have extra paper and crayons/markers, let alone projectors or TVs. So it's literally just me with a whiteboard, course books, and a CD player.

Any suggestions? I don't mind using my own personal laptop when needed (and when I can get the students to corral around it).

[YTMND]

Koreans usually do hangman with the first letter showing. That's why they were calling out words with the first letter you showed.

The computer should only be used as a treat. If they do well, they can use the computer near the end of the class period. Do the hangman stuff but don't make the words so "difficult", put more than 60% of the letters there. Instead of spelling the word, which they should already know, make them say a sentence with that word. If they can't, jumble a sentence with that word in your head and write the sentence with words in the wrong order.

Say the words and have them write them on the board, then after practicing do hangman as usual with only one letter. If it is a behavioral thing, then you should talk with the school and see what they say. At my first hagwon, the owner would come in unannounced and get them to quiet down. I was unaware they were too loud at the time, but it did help me finish classes. Perhaps a Korean at your school can come in around halfway point to settle them down in Korean. It's not easy for them to devote English only time when they want to play and be with other Koreans speaking Korean.

After that, find other games, and eventually try to avoid hangman altogether.

[iggyb]

I wouldn't go heavily into games right at this point. It sets a bad precedent if you cave into disruptive classes.

It's still early. That's a good thing. 3 or 4 weeks into it with them, and turning the tide is much, much harder.

They are testing you. Crack the whip. You can loosen up as time passes. It doesn't work the other way around.

All kids - especially early teens - test you at the start to see what they can get away with. Google for classroom managment strategies to get some practical advice. Like -

Use seating charts with assigned seats. Allow them to pick their own after the have shown they will let you control the class. In a small hakwon class, it isn't as easy, but you can still asign seats.

Move the biggest trouble makers around - put their chair in a corner. If you have room, spread the seating around so students are sitting less close to each other. Sit the most disruptive students in the hall for 5 minutes.

Keep all their names on a clipboard - and mark them as the class progresses - a check is good - an x is bad. At the end of the class or week or every two weeks, give rewards of candy or sticker sheets or school supplies to the top or top few students.

The clipboard might look old fashioned, but I've used it for good effect. Once they get used to the system, just picking up the board as if you are about to mark something gets noticed and quiets things down.

Get a game board with dice. You can invent all kinds of games using basic vocabulary and a game board with dice.

If you start getting control of the class, try more group and pair work.

Small groups are a good TESOL tool anyway. They learn better working together - but you need a minimum amount of good behavior so you can move around the room pushing them to use as much English as possible and follow the directions for the activity. This doesn't work in classes that are too rowdy.

But, don't give up on communicative small group activities after just 1 or 2 attempts: Students will resist things they aren't familiar with, but if you give it enough time, they'll adjust (usually).

And you can google "communicative activities" and ESL to find teachers sharing things that have worked for them.

[luckylady]

well don't think for a moment your director isn't aware of just how badly behaved this class is.

since it's a new job and as you obviously want to do well, discuss this with your director and ask him/her if he/she would mind speaking to the class and encouraging their cooperation. the class sounds like it's just out to push your buttons and will run rampant over your efforts as long as they can get away with it.

if the director won't assist, then it's going to be up to you to either crack down - hard - and get them in line or simply learn how to endure the best you can. there isn't going to be much middle ground.

as for games, while they certainly do have their place in teaching, a class does need to be working together somewhat coherently in order for games to be productive learning tools. in this regard, the class needs to learn that games are part of the instruction and they need to behave appropriately or no games, period.

if space allows, try separating the students from each other, a chair/desk in between or whatever you can manage. definitely separate the ones that pal together. when they complain - and they WILL complain - tell them it's just for now and if they learn to quiet down and listen, you'll consider moving them back. then try and re-arrange once every few weeks or so, just to keep them from stagnating in the same place and re-creating the same issues as originally.

it's hard to actually dish out punishment since that's not really your job, which is why the first attempt should be to discuss this class with your director. you might also have to explain that you do not wish to be hard on the students, that you want their respect but not their fear. be diplomatic, explain you don't want them to dislike the "foreign teacher" and you understand how much they probably already "fear English" and you want them to like you.

if you're up to it, you can always break out the markers and start writing on the board, actually teaching them basic vocabulary, whatever, and have them write words, phrases, sentences etc. Keep them busy at writing until they are exhausted and learn to be quiet. set up a routine so they write some, read aloud some, and if cooperative, you can have a game at the end of class. explain this routine to them and how it's going to work, each time if necessary, since if they are a low-level class at middle school they probably aren't really good students and need the repetition and emphasis.

over time you can inquire as to what they like subject-wise and try and incorporate those themes into your teaching which can help their attention, i.e., if this is a class of video-game addicts, use a video game theme in your lesson to teach them English.

in other words, work with what you have and don't worry about what you don't.

planning your vacation in moments of solitude will help get you through this

[Times30]

It's about enviroment.

If you create a very strict atmosphere or a test like situation, children respond. Most children have pavloian responses like all humans and they need enviromental cues to help them behave a certain way. Korean student do too, if they were trained right. The issue is, you have to know what they are. I've found phrases like "Ya" most of the time work if you use it with a downward commanding tonality and EXTREMELY LOUD AND CUTTING.

Of course, we don't do this, but there needs to be a tone and atomosphere to be set.

For example, one thing I do is make sure all the desks are straight, everything is perfectly straight, and everying clean. If there is a single book that isn't at a right angle... I fix it. EVERYING IS AT 90 DEGREE right angles in my classroom. Every paper on their desk, pencil case, EVERYTHING is at a right angle. I treat my students like Marines in training.

I look like an OCD psycho but the kids get the point and eventually all of them have realized that if a desk is out of place, they have to fix it or else I'll come over, bother them and force them to fix it. But more importantly it also creates an enviroment where they know I mean business.

I take a billion little steps to ensure this. Another example is that I ignore derailers. For example, one kid used to ask me inane questions like "Teacher, do you know, Dokdo?" Like in the middle of class. I take 1 second pause, and go right back to the lecture. The other kids laugh at him (which is also lowering his status) and it shows I don't care and WILL NOT be derailed. If a kid continues derailing with more than 2 questions. I say to him "_______ stop asking these questions, they have nothing to do with class, this is your first warning, if you ask another meaningless (sometimes I say useless, stupid, or pointless) question, I will kick you out of class. Also important (and I make this mistake all the time) we the teachers, also have to be non-ADD. We have to focus on lecture and not be sidetracked, but I do tanget a lot, and it has a very serious negative effect.

IF kids talk, you send them out. And it has to be INSTANTANEOUS. You cannot let a little talking slide, because it's like allowing a match to fall onto a trail of gunpowder leading to a keg of TNT. A little whisper leads to a conversation, into an entire a class telling you to take your papers and shove it.

And most most most most importantly. Do not joke too much with your kids. A lot of teacher say humor is the way to win the hearts of students. But it's not. Empirical evidence and LONG personal observation. If you joke with students they will not take you seriously period. I repeat, do not joke too much with your students. You will be associated with a clown, and they will treat you like one.

I keep jokes to an absolute minnium.

Oh also, I should just say I have excellent classes because of this. You can ask my boss. One of my kids used to put his feet on the desk when he came in. COMPLAINED all the time, interrupted and didn't do work. I trained that little punk to respond to commands on the dot and he's now a champ (still terrible at essays though) but he's come a long way and is respectful now.

EDIT: one more thing, if the tone has already been set. It's EXTREMELY hard to change it. Sounds like the 8 kids already mess around. There has to be a set cirriculum and it has to be repeated constantly if they are to follow it. If things are too free and unstructured kids are not going to listen because they have built a premise that "rules can be broken" or that "there are not rules nor consequences".

[luckylady]

[YTMND]

[luckylady]

[YTMND]

[luckylady]

[RLib]

Thank you for all of the feedback, I appreciate it.

The school director, Korean teachers, and the previous Foreign teacher (in the notes he left for me), all told me that this class was difficult b/c of the students' behavior. To make matters worse, I started at the school the day after I arrived to Korea, and was literally just thrown into the classrooms with less than 20 minutes prep. It was literally, "Here is your schedule, here are the class books, here is your first class. Teach!" I knew this was a possibility, and had researched a bunch of educational games to play on the first day, which worked fine with the majority of the other classes-- I didn't lose control of them. But I was caught off guard with just how limited this class's English was and with their behavior, and the games I had used with the other classes didn't really work with them (ergo, resorting to hangman and pictionary...).

I'll separate the students and give assigned seating, as well as immediately discipline misbehaving students and make well structured lesson plans for each session. And I'll talk to the director and Korean english teach as well.

A few questions:

1. Would a U-shaped classroom arrangement work for a class like this?

2. Is it realistic to tell students they are not allowed to use Korean in the classroom?

3. Are there are any good assessment tests any of you would suggest? I think their current course books are too difficult for them, which leads to them not paying attention/not caring during the lesson. I'm allowed to change their books if needed, but I would like to get a better sense of their current level before doing so.

[iggyb]

Don't try to make beginners speak only in English. It isn't practicle. Over time, you'll get a better sense of when they are talking to ignore what you are teaching or when they are following along with you and helping each other undestand. You'll have a better sense of when to tell them to be quiet and when to let them go.

Everybody recommends a communicative classroom approach to language learning. Students need to interact. If you try to force beginners to only use English, you'll shut down more practice than increase.

A U shape can work. Try different styles and see what happens.

Experiment.

This is one of the few perks a hakwon has over many public school jobs. You aren't sharing the classroom with another teacher who is monitering you in some way no matter what. You don't have to stick to the textbook page by page, activity by activity. You are in control.

It is daunting - especially in a low level class - but I very much believe you'll learn more about teaching and teaching language in a sink-or-swim environment.

Experiment with whatever you can think of. This will disrupt consistency which doesn't help classroom managment, but you'll find activities and methods that work for you. You'll build up a repertoire.

Teaching low level classes will also force you to learn to lower your material - to target it. You'll learn how to adapt material to the needs of the students ---- something in my experience teachers in the US, and Korean teachers, who share a L1 with the students don't pick up or develop more slowly than teachers who can't use the L1 as a crutch.

In some ways, low level classes are easier, because there is so much useful material they don't know.

I like to concentrate on verbs and simple tenses - starting with the most common irregular verbs students can relate to because they are everyday words. These are words and sentences they can imagine coming in handy most any day.

I like to teach them by having the students prepare short skits to act out. The work in pairs or small groups to write then perform them.

Even if you never get a firm hold on this class, they are giving you a very good opportunity to develop yourself as a teacher.

Experimenting a lot in class has a downside in terms of classroom managment, because it lacks consistency which the students can adapt to. Ontheotherhand, it does tend to keep the class fresh for them - instead of the same old boring thing which they have been resisting anyway...

But as a new teacher, experimenting will help you out in the long run and your students.

[YTMND]

[transmogrifier]

While I think Times30 may be going overboard in a couple of areas, he/she is correct in the general sense - if the class is genuinely badly behaved, the best solution is a near-zero tolerance attitude to misbehaviour. You've got to set the boundaries of what is acceptable in class or not, and there has to be clear consequences if these rules aren't followed.

One thing to make sure of, however, is don't rely on "easy" monotonous tasks that are easy to police (e.g. transcribing from a book) just because they are naughty. Design lively, interesting lessons as best you can, and exclude the troublemakers from them if they disrupt the class (THEY can transcribe from the book if they don't want to participate in the lesson proper).

Games can be useful as a reward for consistent good behaviour - they should NEVER be used on a class of persistent unruly students in the hope that it will turn them into angels - that rarely works. Games need to only be part of the fun if they are well-behaved. You can even have a little tally on the whiteboard showing how close the class is getting to playing a game (one tick for 20 minutes of great work, or something; 10 ticks = game, or whatever)

Also, I always give a new class a couple of chances to show me what they are like - I don't like being a drill sergeant the first time I see them, as I think it sends the message that you already think they are little devils, and you may get a lot of resentment from the good students in the class if you treat them like they are bad before they have even done anything. Sure, if you let bad behaviour go on for weeks, it will be tough to correct it, but one or two classes will not hurt.

Anyway, use a seating plan that separates those who clown around together, keep a scorecard of the best students and periodically give them a reward for doing well, have some writing paper available for students to use to copy straight out of the book if they are being naughty (again, this only works if the original lesson is designed to be interesting)....

Also, a routine is good: a starter activity, followed by demonstration/explanation (with lots of questions and answers with the students), followed by a traditional form of activity using the target language (cloze, writing, pair discussions, gap fill etc to give the students something concrete to grasp and practice with) , followed by an activity where the students have to use the target language in new ways (processing). Have a specific routine for the ending, even if it is something like a learning diary where in the last 5 minutes, they have to finish the sentence "Today I learned how to......" either in writing or verbally.

By all means experiment with different activities, but try to at least have a routine for how you start and end the class.

[Times30]