Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bodid]

What's the deal with big conversation classes? How do you teach them? What is the role of the teacher? I have taught conversation classes in the past using North Star Speaking and Listening. Are Korean students generally able and willing to absorb directions and then discuss (in small groups) prepared topics (or role-play) in an orderly way with a teacher walking around and monitoring? Or is the set-up totally different?

[kangnamdragon]

I don't believe I have heard of a discussion class that large in Korea. Are you being offered a job like that? Generally, Koreans would not want to be broken into groups. They are there to talk to you, not other students.

[Kristsoy]

I teach kids classes that size everyday it sucks

[coulter]

If you break that many kids up into groups to discuss things, they will most likely speak in Korean-not English. It would be very hard to control and they wouldn't learn anything. For a conversation class-smaller is better.

[Bodid]

Well, If I had a 60 minute class of 30 students, each student could talk to me for 2 minutes... So Korean adult students won't work in groups or pairs? In that case a conversation class of 30 students really isn't possible, it it?

[kangnamdragon]

[Ya-ta Boy]

It is not optimal, but it is doable if the students are adults. It's noisy, but they are talking. Pair work and small group discussions are the 'only' way to go.

[peppermint]

Pair work/ small group work is the only practical way to go, and have them learn. Unfortunately it is difficult to mesh with the Korean ideas of how someone learns- direct contact with the teacher. Lots of icebreakers early on, and careful division of groups will be vital.

[mindmetoo]

About the pair work thing. You will find if they're kids they might not talk to each other, even if given direct pair work instructions. Well, not right away. You've got a huge amount of ice to break. Not only is there the shyness, or worse "I have to talk to a girl/boy? I don't go to school with girls/boys!", but there's the loss of face between the pairs. "Oh god, you're going to judge my poor English ability!"

One thing I found is it helps to initially bring them along with some canned answers. If they're stunned, they can at least just read a sample answer. "What did you do on your holiday?" 1) I slept in. 2) I went to the PC Bang. 3) I visited my grandmother.

Korean kids are highly competitive. If you can turn speaking lessons into competitions that works well. For some basic level students I use flash cards at the start. It attenuates their attention forward and gets their little competitive blood pumping, trying to be the first to shout out the answer.

I go to www.clipart.com and screen cap pictures ("car", "train", "candle"). I then print them out and cut them out into little cue cards. I bring one student in front of the class, show him the picture, and then get him to try and describe what he's looking at. The rest of the class has to guess what he's trying to describe. You have to make sure you instruct them a) no Korean! ("Kokiri!") b) you just can't name the item ("Dudes, I'm looking at an elephant.")

Whoever guesses right gets to describe the next picture. It's critical to high five him when he comes up.

[phaedrus]

[Son Deureo!]

[Derrek]

I start my lessons out with a warm-up -- reading tongue-twisters or practicing key pronounciation issues (like "L" and "R" words, etc.). I then introduce an exercise and they break into groups to do it after we all do one practice together.

It's important to keep them busy and moving on to a new thing.

[igotthisguitar]