Korean Job Discussion Forums

Toby · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Wedded Bliss

Used to have 25 elementary kids in Jongro M School - part of the YBM group. Babysitting. Not teaching. Luckily only once a week.

sadsac · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Gwangwang

The local Board of Education. All hogwans, irrespective of type or size must be registered and licenced by the board.
i wouldnt know who to report him to anyways unless it's the labor board, who enforces the 12 max rule. I heard of this rule before but i dont think hogwans follow them, my boss doesnt pay tax either and i know he hasnt reported to the government that he has foreign teachers.

For you to have an E2, he must have registerd. As I stated very few owners will be consistent, if it is in their interest to increase your class sizes they will. It as with so much, only blatant disregard for the law will bring any level of enforcement. I do not envy your predicament.

VanIslander · Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 1:32 am Post subject:

Regardless of the law, I had a class of 15 students in our hagwon last week because my director went on his honeymoon and he didn't try to find a replacement until the last moment, and couldn't.

It was so much harder to teach, and several students didn't get the one-on-one interaction I usually have with each of them.

I appreciate small classes even more now, and wish to always have only 6 to 10 students per class.

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

1 class of 6 students
3 classes of 5 students
1 class of 4 students
2 classes of 3 students
1 class of 2 students

sistersarah · Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Location: hiding out

to the OP. you have to put a stop to it....my director keeps putting new kids in my classes daily. all of my classes are at a maximun and occassionally 15 or more show up for class, the most i've had is 17....i go to her and explain that when the class size gets over 12, it's a lot more difficult for them to give me their undivided attention and also, it's impossible for me to help the slower ones. then she says, but sally and johnny can only come for this class...bla bla bla, and i say, it's not my problem. it's unacceptable. she gets the picture, but i occassionally have to remind her of the 12 rule.

Eazy_E · Joined: 30 Oct 2003 Location: British Columbia, Canada

I have classes of 5-11 kids. I find that even 11 is big for a hagwon class. Hard to run any games or activities to keep them all on task.

Crois · Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 3:38 am Post subject:

my flatmate teaches 45 kids of 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades of Elementary School 3 times a week

just because · Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Location: Changwon - 4964

I have an average of 7 a class I'd say.
A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 14.

Badmojo · Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 3:46 pm Post subject:

I never heard that before. A maximum of 12 students in 1 class at a hagwon? Is that a hagwon that only teaches English? Or one that teaches all the subjects?

When I first started here, I had 16, 18, 22, some classes even 25 students. It was garbage. Nowadays, I have 12 students in my 4 classes. I thought I was doing much better than most of you. But now, I see 4 students, 6 students, 3 students, - how lucky you are!

As someone else mentioned, 12 is too many, for any class really, but especially children.

Sucker · Joined: 11 Feb 2003

My smallest class has 17 students (night class - really dedicated and motivated class, they all have crappy jobs to pay for college - I have a coffee shop girl, a motorbike delivery driver, a nailartist, a mobile kareoke guy, etc)

My largest class has 57 students.

Most of my classes are between 40 and 50 students.

I teach at a college - just on the wdge of Seoul

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

57???

Dawn · Joined: 06 Mar 2004

Smallest is 12; largest is 16. But, the kids (1) want to be there, (2) want to learn, and (3) are grouped by ability. Those three factors make all the difference in the world.

Blue Meanie · Joined: 03 Dec 2003

I teach 20 kids in one class 4-6 times a day, and my boyfriend does 40+ 4-6 times a day..we work for a private school in Pohang..

We thought it was going to be a nightmare, but turned out to be o.k! we were used to the average hagwon size of 4-10 students so were dreading it, makes it harder to remember anyone's names..but also is good as i only teach the same kids once a fortnight so it's great!

And, it's GREAT benfits at the school...so the class sizes are not too much of a problem.

qt_pi · Joined: 28 Mar 2004

Okies new to this but i teach :
1 class of 13
1 class of 8
2 classes of 6
and one clas of 5

Sucker · Joined: 11 Feb 2003

I looked exactly like that Shocked

when I walked in on that class and saw 57 kids sitting there.

It was my first day - had signed on to work at a college and then taken a vacation back home in Australia. Because they were slow on getting the visa, I (and a few other new teachers) could not come in for orientation or for the first week of classes (we were paid for them anyway).

So, first day of work turn up to the school at 9 a.m. with no idea of when my classes were scheduled. No one was at the school and all of the offices were locked. The English department secretary comes at around 9:30 and I find out that my first class is scheduled for 7 pm and that the tetbooks for the class should arrive tomorrow.

So I hang around around all day, just checking out the campus and meeting other teachers. Speak to the others to find out what the teaching is like - they say no problem, its first week, just do introductions.

So 6:30 comes and I walk into this classroom expecting it to be empty (30 min till class begins) - but almost all the chairs are already taken and 57 pairsof eyes are looking at me. Shocked

ugh .... so this is English "conversation" right...... Rolling Eyes

Anyway, since then I have read a few books on teaching larger classes and on classroom management. Things go pretty smoothly these days. I try to break the classes up (generally 2 hour long classes). Lecture - pariwork - lecture - writting - groupwork.