Korean Job Discussion Forums

[schwa]

My 'training' was observing a Korean teacher teach a couple classes of tykes. (I still remember the lesson, it was about Peter & the Oolf!)

It was actually quite valuable & I gleaned some useful ideas about 'presence' in the classroom. She spoke in a big clear voice & her manner was firm but friendly (she was clearly fond of the kids, & they of her). Her classes were fast-paced -- lots of different activities & none dragged on overlong. She was physically active in the classroom, always on her feet & moving around. She was cheerful.

I made a lot of mistakes in my first few weeks teaching but hagwon classes are a great training ground -- you soon learn what works for you.

One tip I'd offer a new teacher: start out reasonably strict with all your classes, not just the unruly ones. Some classes I had to lay down the law from the beginning, & they turned into really nice groups. Some other classes seemed smart & well-behaved & I let down my guard -- over time they started to take advantage & they became much harder to rein in.

[Corporal]

My training involved sitting in on another foreign teacher's class (while the kids all stared at me for the entire lesson because they had been told I was to be their new teacher) for the day. Actually it was more helpful than not, because she gave me some ideas for ice-breakers and ways to get the kids talking. It was nowhere near being as detailed "training" as I'd been led to believe they were going to give me, but yeah. Better than nothing.

[Zenpickle]

My training, I'd follow the guy they hired temporarily, whom I'd be replacing, while he'd sit in class nursing a hangover. He didn't teach at all while he "trained" me.

[jajdude]

My first year I was totally awful. Now I've improved to just lousy.

[ghostshadow]

My first place as at a small hagwon and they made me just teach, in fact they just told me to teach with this book... It's like trying to ride a bike with no one's help. It wasn't too bad once I got things going, but man those first days were bad, I didn't even see how the other teachers there did it.

[captain kirk]

Timing and delivery are crucial. If I'm off-balance and not plugging the leaks and avoiding mayhem in class, constantly, like managing a phone switchboard, all hell breaks loose. Then I writhe like an angry shark and bellow like a walrus. Joking all the while.
First day of the first job the boss handed me the books and said, 'go teach'. Like a fuedal lord handing me some lead and saying, 'make me gold'.

[ulsanchris]

I arrived in Ulsan at around ten in the morning. I hadn't slept at all during the flight over and was worn out. I was given a choice go to the school that day and have my training or rest and start teaching the next day with no training. I decided to go to the school that day and get my training, which consisted of following around the teacher i was to replace. I didn't learn much but it helped. By the end of the evening I was so tired I was nearly falling asleep.

[lookingtoteach]

I arrived on Friday night, driven by my recruiter straight to the school to go over the curriculum (after travelling for two days and being so tired I was nauseous), then out with the supervisor and another Korean teacher to buy groceries, then back to my "apartment". On Monday, I had to rely on another one of the foreign teachers (who thankfully lived beside me) to get me to school because I had no idea where it was (turned out to be about a 15 minute walk away taking about three shortcuts). When I arrived she gave me about five minutes of "This is what the other teacher was doing, these are your books and this is your desk" before I had to teach the 11 worst children in the world. I'm still convinced they were all spawned by Satan. The first week was hell, then I had to do report cards. But to be fair, take my experiences with a grain of salt because the supervisor hated me, was always telling me what a bad teacher I was, telling me how I didn't discipline effectively (which was true because I had two classes that everyone in the school hated and listened to no one, even her), changing his mind on what he wanted out of my classes and I had the two most advanced classes in the school. In the end I lasted four months before I did a runner (which I regret now). But I've known at least two of the other teachers there who had similar beginnings and stayed the year.

One suggestion I have that made teaching a lot easier for me is to have your own supplements for the class. For most of our classes, the Korean teachers made up the lesson plans and we had the curriculum that we were to be using, but that ususally wasn't enough to get through the class. I brought a cr_ap load of ESL teaching books with me and ordered more when I was there. Trust me, if you're using Tiny Talk, Domino, Wake Up, or New Parade, you'll need them.

Another suggestion I have is to get on the good side of your Korean teachers. One guy got fired at my school because one of the mouthy Korean teachers didn't like him.

But have fun. I really do miss Korea now that I'm home.

[cypher]

I was basically thrown first thing into a classroom of kinders (which I thought I'd hate but have grown to love-beware!) and expected to teach. There was another teacher who popped in every once in a while on the first day to see how I was managing. After that I was on my own. I had a tefl cert but that's pretty useless in the real world, at least the hogwan world. I don't really have a lot of advice, look at the text books, if they have teacher's books, look at those, read the various teaching advice on the boards, talk to the other teachers, if there are any.

You'll probably feel overwhelmed until you get your bearings but if you survive the first day, you can make it through the next day, if you make it through that, you can make it through the first week, then through the first month.....and so on. Good luck!