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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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| Stay until the end of my contract? |
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| No |
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| Total Votes : 15 |
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| Author |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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 Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:41 am Post subject: |
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| ghostrider wrote: |
| It's sounds like you're being too hard on yourself. You're dealing with burnt out students who study all day and a language barrier. I've found it best to go with the flow in Korea. Try to build some rapport with the bad students. Also try to coax a few English sentences out of each student during the class. Ask them questions. Obviously, telling the kids not to speak Korean over and over again is counterproductive as you've already discovered. If your director is really concerned about misbehaving students he could probably do a lot more to help you out. Showing respect for older people and people in positions of authority is part of Korean culture. However, the students may view you as someone who is outside of their culture so they may feel no need to respect or obey you. |
I think ghostrider's advice is spot on. I had a similar situation when I first got here. They probably have a textbook, which is boring as hell. Supplement it with some English speaking games. If they have a hard time tell them you'll help them. Do a sticker start chart for good behavior and hand out rewards at the end of the month. Even if you get a few of them to go along with the program it will help you with the others. |
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Stain
Joined: 08 Jan 2014
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:31 am Post subject: |
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| Milwaukiedave wrote: |
| ghostrider wrote: |
| It's sounds like you're being too hard on yourself. You're dealing with burnt out students who study all day and a language barrier. I've found it best to go with the flow in Korea. Try to build some rapport with the bad students. Also try to coax a few English sentences out of each student during the class. Ask them questions. Obviously, telling the kids not to speak Korean over and over again is counterproductive as you've already discovered. If your director is really concerned about misbehaving students he could probably do a lot more to help you out. Showing respect for older people and people in positions of authority is part of Korean culture. However, the students may view you as someone who is outside of their culture so they may feel no need to respect or obey you. |
I think ghostrider's advice is spot on. I had a similar situation when I first got here. They probably have a textbook, which is boring as hell. Supplement it with some English speaking games. If they have a hard time tell them you'll help them. Do a sticker start chart for good behavior and hand out rewards at the end of the month. Even if you get a few of them to go along with the program it will help you with the others. |
Yes, and remember that learning English is not the goal here. The goal is are they having a good time learning English. What mothers want to hear is that their child is happy with being out of the house while they spend money shopping. The irony is they get together with other mothers who brag about their children. So, now pride kicks in, and their kid gets shuffled around from hagwon to hagwon based on their friends' recommendations. I'm not saying that they don't care about their children. They do. But it takes a backseat when their friend's child scores 100 on an English test. And yet English is still unattainable by kids who have not learned English beyond the border. |
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wanderkind
Joined: 01 Jan 2012
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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OP, where do you live?
If there are other foreigners/teachers in your town, have you chatted them up?
If yes, and still haven't found it helpful, perhaps you could consider trying to attend an open class, or if possible, get permission for a couple people to watch your class (evening shift if you're on days, or vice versa) to get a more concrete sense of what other people do, or get some direct feedback on your particular classroom situation.
Also, if you work with a Korean co-teacher, having them chat with the parents to get some information about / PUT SOME FEAR IN ( ) the misbehaving kids could be useful. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 3:52 am Post subject: |
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| mattyskier wrote: |
| Jodami wrote: |
Frankly speaking  it's good that you care.
However, most Korean hagwons, Korean students and parents don't give a damn about learning English. Accept the facts, which are;
You're a paid white esl monkey, who's job it is to be:
(a) "A paid face" on the door. (make sure you throw in as many "good job" as possible, when the boss/parents are around.)
(b) A stand up comedian in class (any good at making funny white monkey faces?)
(c) A relatively well paid babysitter so dad can make money, go boozing with the boss, and hit up room salons, etc. Meanwhile mom continues to be a lazy mom/wife, who's favorite past time, is to open up secret bank accounts.
Learn the culture asap. Korean culture is based around being fake. Students are overall extremely lazy, irresponsible and lie a lot. You pretend to teach, they pretend to learn. Job done.
Finally to relieve your stress, take my advice - transform yourself into clown mode (buy a green wig and red nose for full effectiveness) have a good time, save enough $$$$$$, and when you've had enough of a, b, c (above) - move onwards and sidewways to pastures new. |
I'm starting to realize a lot of what you have said. I think I might have been trying too hard to make sure the kids were learning, but I think from now on I'm just going to make sure they are having fun and try to get them to speak as much English as I can each class.
I still have my "Speak English" box on the board (even though at this point it's a fake box anyways), but I have been avoiding writing names on it this week and the students have been a lot happier and enjoying their time a lot more. |
If you are starting to realize that what Jodami has said is right or true, you have other issues!!!
you got tons of better advice before his post, follow it!
It is normal to have bad classes, all teachers have them. It is normal to have bad days at work too. This will be especially true if you came into this job with little or no prior teaching experience and little or no related training /education in the field of teaching.
That will mean you have a steep learning curve and that means bumps on the road.
the biggest challenge I noticed with people who started teaching abroad and had little experience and next to no training is trouble with class management. Again, this is normal and expected but it can be hard for a new teacher. Class management techniques are one of the foundations of a good class-lesson. Lesson planning and design is another foundation of effective teaching. These two things can be learned on the job but that can be hard. These days, with the treasure trove of online resources, teachers can find literature on classroom management, tutorials online, resources like learning activities. That is what I suggest you do: do some research and start reading. then apply what you find to be relevant to your classes.
Assuming you work with other more experienced FTs or have a decent relationship with the Korean teachers at your work, talk to them. They certainly can help.
Ghostrider provided excellent advice by the way.
One thing is for sure: if you choose to take your job as a joke and to behave like a clown, well, don't be surprised if you are treated like a doormat by your students....
Think of yourself as a "paid white monkey" and again, that is exactly what you will be perceived at and looked at as.
There are far better ways out there to get better and gain more from your work than adopting some sarcastic clown attidude.
Good luck! |
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mattyskier
Joined: 21 Aug 2013
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| Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 10:28 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| mattyskier wrote: |
| Jodami wrote: |
Frankly speaking it's good that you care.
However, most Korean hagwons, Korean students and parents don't give a damn about learning English. Accept the facts, which are;
You're a paid white esl monkey, who's job it is to be:
(a) "A paid face" on the door. (make sure you throw in as many "good job" as possible, when the boss/parents are around.)
(b) A stand up comedian in class (any good at making funny white monkey faces?)
(c) A relatively well paid babysitter so dad can make money, go boozing with the boss, and hit up room salons, etc. Meanwhile mom continues to be a lazy mom/wife, who's favorite past time, is to open up secret bank accounts.
Learn the culture asap. Korean culture is based around being fake. Students are overall extremely lazy, irresponsible and lie a lot. You pretend to teach, they pretend to learn. Job done.
Finally to relieve your stress, take my advice - transform yourself into clown mode (buy a green wig and red nose for full effectiveness) have a good time, save enough $$$$$$, and when you've had enough of a, b, c (above) - move onwards and sidewways to pastures new. |
I'm starting to realize a lot of what you have said. I think I might have been trying too hard to make sure the kids were learning, but I think from now on I'm just going to make sure they are having fun and try to get them to speak as much English as I can each class.
I still have my "Speak English" box on the board (even though at this point it's a fake box anyways), but I have been avoiding writing names on it this week and the students have been a lot happier and enjoying their time a lot more. |
If you are starting to realize that what Jodami has said is right or true, you have other issues!!!
you got tons of better advice before his post, follow it!
It is normal to have bad classes, all teachers have them. It is normal to have bad days at work too. This will be especially true if you came into this job with little or no prior teaching experience and little or no related training /education in the field of teaching.
That will mean you have a steep learning curve and that means bumps on the road.
the biggest challenge I noticed with people who started teaching abroad and had little experience and next to no training is trouble with class management. Again, this is normal and expected but it can be hard for a new teacher. Class management techniques are one of the foundations of a good class-lesson. Lesson planning and design is another foundation of effective teaching. These two things can be learned on the job but that can be hard. These days, with the treasure trove of online resources, teachers can find literature on classroom management, tutorials online, resources like learning activities. That is what I suggest you do: do some research and start reading. then apply what you find to be relevant to your classes.
Assuming you work with other more experienced FTs or have a decent relationship with the Korean teachers at your work, talk to them. They certainly can help.
Ghostrider provided excellent advice by the way.
One thing is for sure: if you choose to take your job as a joke and to behave like a clown, well, don't be surprised if you are treated like a doormat by your students....
Think of yourself as a "paid white monkey" and again, that is exactly what you will be perceived at and looked at as.
There are far better ways out there to get better and gain more from your work than adopting some sarcastic clown attidude.
Good luck! |
You are very right. Thank you for the advice! I have tried to work with my Korean co-workers (I'm the only foreigner) to help me with student behavior, but most of the time they just say something like "oh yeah he's just a bad child." They occasionally step into my class when things are out of control to discipline the kids, but it usually doesn't get that out of hand.
To be honest, I think I have made a mistake by teaching in Korea, and I don't deserve this job. I came here for the sole purpose of travelling and experiencing a culture, but I don't have the qualities of a good teacher. I gave it a shot, and I know that it's not for me. I should probably be a responsible person and let someone else take my job who has more passion in the field. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 4:32 am Post subject: |
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This seems like a rather hard self diagnosis after only 5 months.
5 months is a very short period of time!
Still, this is up to you and you know your situation best but my advice would be to try and do a bit of research to find some teaching resources and see if that improves your classes. If however you are miserable at your work, then, by all means quit and move on to do something else! |
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Jodami
Joined: 08 Feb 2013
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| Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 9:26 am Post subject: |
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Ignore Paddyboy - he really is full of hot air.
Working at a hagwan isn't a real job. My advice stands, take it and you'll be happy.
If you want to do something a little more career-oriented, then hagwan life isn't for you.  |
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