Korean Job Discussion Forums

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Don't get down on yourself. Rather, relate to the big cheese how much you think the split shift stinks. I did. After six months I think it was. Getting up not long after the local rooster to be 'bright eyed and bushy tailed' for the 'early bird' engineers from the local power plant at a 7AM morning class. This meant, being a night person, I didn't get any REM/deep sleep and my muscles were cramping up as the situation became chronic, and me chronically pissed off. The boss introduced the split shift when I arrived as a 'please do this for me to help the cause' situation, and just getting there I was eager to please.
And adult classes aren't easy, at least for me. In my last encounter with 'the adult class' I can count a few neurotics, and it's like they're there for stroking, consolation, something to do to fill their empty lives, or assuage their (neurotic) worries that 'the company English test will kill my job'. One 'student', an architect, lives with her mother at forty something. She takes swimming lessons, as well, 'so that she can make use of the hotel swimming pools as she travels on vacation'. I see adult classes as kind of a 'society' or 'vanity club'. There's no way you can 'say the wrong thing' and affront what's acceptable, normal behavior or belief in Korean society and how is one to know, or care 'devoutly' what that is. When I taught adults it was with relief after having 'battled' kids for five and a half hours already.
And in that condition the student worried about the company English test said, first class, point blank, hyper-nerdishly I thought, 'how do you propose to improve our English over the next two or three months'. With the adults they want results. But, as you said, their English is 'perfect' compared to kids or the majority of Koreans, anyway. They're fussing or there for companionship since they're slightly 'weird', or something. But still normal in that lock down tightly dictated herd mentality fairly prevalent in Korea.
They seem to be judgemental and want to fill in the blanks if what you say is suspect to them, that is 'unKorean' (and again, lordy, how is one to know how to be that 'square' and uptight in some ways Laughing

). They want results when they're already there enough to be ahead, very customer service oriented (notice how in Korean society anyone in customer service defers and bows and prostrates themselves all over the place as a matter of course Laughing

). It's kind of an English club more than a class. One very successful teacher with the adults, who could NOT teacher kids, often 'held class' at a restaurant or hoff just walking the class out the haggie door with the nod from the wonjon. He seemed to be a master bafflegabber, proud, pufffed up, floating on uptides of fantastic ego creating a kind of affluent aura.
I'd renegotiate. If the boss really wants the morning class then ask for more money for your trouble aka grief.

igotthisguitar · thing 6:30-9:30 am/pm

johnriley007 · Joined: 25 Jun 2004

"Or if they are younger advanced adults, print off a script of a Friends or Sex and the City episode and teach them the contemporary english that the characters are using. I have some advanced classes and they are eating that stuff up."

yeah, i even show a 10-20 minute clip, and discuss the story using new vocabulary. they seem to really like creating, and it gets them talking at length and not just short sentences or phrases. they really love 'friends' and action shows.