Korean Job Discussion Forums

[inthewild]

I am having a tough time with my job. I am a new teacher and not an entertainer. There's a lot more prep time required for this than was my original impression, which I can handle. But that means I have to come up with my own stuff.

My classes are boring. Apparently I am not a good teacher, or they all have ADD, or both. Kids will be kids, that's cool cuz I like kids. But their English level is so low it's hard to teach them anything.

Their English level is alot lower than what my employees think it is.

I tried to do songs for half of the class time, but it quickly became apparent that they could not handle a simple song... with lyrics.

I suck at classroom control. They don't want to learn it seems, they just want to run around and make noise.

They're all around 10 but if you ask them something like how to spell some 5 letter word or tell me what something is or looks like, they can't do it.

I guess in the end it is frusterating but I really don't know what to say.

... yes I am whining. But it's odd because I like my job but the kids think I am boring. It will be hard to keep coming up with things to do in class.

So how long do I have before they let me go? If the kids learned 2 things in class today it was a miracle. I think the only way I could not get fired is if I had a whole year's worth of lesson plans. Not gonna happen.

I'd be an ok teacher if the kids were older, didn't have ADD and I actually had most of the lessons laid out for me like I was expecting.

And it's annoying when they just want to play games. Game! Game! they yell... ok I know games can be good lesson tools but they won't even sit down to learn the game. They'd rather be grabbing at each other.

End crying of my river!

[mumblebee]

Wow, sounds pretty tough...

What school are you with? Are they using a leveled series (like Let's Go English or English Smarts; far better ones are available) book as a base for instruction? If not, and you have a free hand with the curriculum, maybe you can take it upon yourself to check out some of these books. Even if you just got a copy for yourself (and the teacher's guide, if available), and used it as a guide to vocabulary and grammar development....that part of your planning would be taken care of, and you could then focus your time on developing activities and the occasional game.

I would resist being "the entertainer" if it doesn't come naturally...you'll burn out and start hating your job pretty fast, I would guess. I am no clown in the classroom, and I try to make sure that we get some learning in every class. Resist the clamouring of the students...having a plan in place will help, since you will have a clear agenda of your own in the classroom. Anyway, in my (somewhat limited) experience, the kids will persist in making demands until they see you are not going to cave in.


How often do you see your classes, and for how long?

[d503]

okay so I have one class of hellish ten year olds, that I think Satan put in Korea because he was so annoyed with them. They sound similar to your kids. Here is my strategy with handling them.

1. Tight reign. I instituted a sticker system. They get to hold on to their sticker cards during class (a visual cue), if they misbehave, the first time I take their sticker card, the second time, I take their chair, the third time they kneel at their desk and write lines, the fourth time they kneel in the hall to write lines. At the end of the week there is a graded prize system, No stickers=no prize, 1 sticker=small prize, 2=better, 3=best. Most days this works at maintaining some order.

2. I change approaches all the time, I try to switch what we are doing every 10 minutes (not topics just activity) like we just did classroom commands. First ten minutes we did acting them out stand up, sit down, open your book, etc. Next repeat them. Next id the words (most of them can't read yet). Next sing the chant (the book I use has a good set of songs and chants to accompany the book so the kids can learn them because they are at a slower pace and they know the words).

3. When I play games now they are team games. One of the class��s favorite is the alphabetize game. I give the kids a list of 10 or fifteen words and they have to put them in alphabetic order. They work in groups of three or four and race to get done first. The first time we did it they didn't get it so I had to re-explain to each group. It's like that for every game in that class. If you talk to them en mass they just tune you out, but knock the numbers down and its better. Also all teams that complete the game get a candy, the winning team gets a better candy.

Also it sounds like you have been a pretty laid back teacher. I was too, let me tell you the shock value of yelling at them in English will at least control them for a class and is a good way to start a new system off.)

[butter808fly]

D503 I like your behavior system. good ideas!

Im not 'the great entertainer' either. Ive noticed though, at least for songs, if you seem into the songs then they will be more into the songs. Especially if you have some tunes ta boot. My kids will be talking a bit but when I put on the music they all suddently be quiet. Its an excellent tool for learning English too. Im not an entertainer, but once you start singing u may just start to like it and get into it.

As for control, yeah my kids I guess arent to bad and some still are out of control. Sometimes if my kids are very hyper to start off class I do a physical activity like 'touch your noce, touch your toes' or something. Just gotta yell at them sometimes too. I think its the Korean way. Get real stern and dont be meek or they will getcha.. try to really see good behavior and reward it when you see it. It encourages more good behavior.

As for being fired, depends where you are. Remember you cost money to get you here so they are leary of firing you as that is a loss of money. I was worried at first too, so I just asked! Ask your head teacher or someone "how am i doing"? They dont seem to come right out and say it.

Dont worry, try your best. I think most of us are probably new at this kinda thing.

[teachingld2004]

Nate. I understand what you are saying, but you have to understand this. And people, please dont yell at me.
Your job sounds like dozens of others. In some schools the supervisors care, in others they do not. In some schools the kids run around like wild who-knows-what, while in other schools they behave.
Lots of kids are put in levels that are too high for them for lots of reasons.
1) that is the only time they can come.
2) their friends are in that class.
3) their MOTHERS want them in a high level.
4) the director decided to put them there because of their age.

I hate it when a child who is 11, who never has had an english lesson, is places in a class of children that same age who have taken English for at least a year or more. Their mothers and the supervisors think they can catch up, but they can't. The teacher gets angry, the kids can't do the work, and everyone suffers.

A 5 letter word may be too much for them to handle. Lots of my kids can't even hear that "bill, bell, bang" do not sound the same. They can't hear that "right" and "light" are not the same. Give them time. It may take 8 months to reach some children. You just have to put down some rules, and stick to them. Some kids like stickers, some do not care. But most do care if the rest of the class plays games and they have to just sit there. Ignore them. Just teach to the ones who care. Some times it is hard to do that. other times it is easy.
Once again, do not get angry please, but you are still new here. And even if you love kids, do you have any teaching experience? Just do your best, that is all.

[JAMZ]

[inthewild]

Thanks to everyone for these excellent responses.

teachingld2004, I am not angry... I am just a bit annoyed but I can keep my job seperate from my true emotions. I am new to teaching. Friends of mine in real life that are teachers say the first year is the hardest... and they've had education for teaching.

mumblebee, we are using books like Let's Go. Maybe it is the way I present it, the kids are bored with it. I do feel they might be getting something education related out of the books... not sure. Some of them anyways. It does help fill up class time but more than 15 minutes is asking too much with the book per class I guess.

I see each class 4 times a week for 60 minutes.

In the end all I will do is give it a go and I'm one of those weird people that thinks everything happens for a reason... as in predestination and all that.

[d503]

This is my contingency plan if and when my stickers fail (I'm hoping the last till February)

It's what my 3rd/4th grade teacher did for our class (it was a combined class but I am planning on just setting all my 10 and 11 year old classes against each other)

You get a jar for each class and label it. Every student gets lets say 5 marbles to lose a class. At the end of the class all marbles that are left are put into the jar, when it gets filled we used to have a party but I think a good sized treat would work. Which ever class fills it first gets the best prize. Also if a kid loses all his marbles (oh yes that was part of the fun telling people they had lost their marbles) you then start to take from the other students--funny how that can make them put pressure on the misbehavers. I am hoping it doesn��t come to that though��I really don��t want to start a marble collection.

[Zyzyfer]

I'd like to reinforce the sentiments about it being a pretty normal-sounding situation. Do you have any coteachers at your school? Talking with them and finding out that they are sharing many of the same experiences as yourself might make you feel more at ease.

Aren't you working somewhere in Bundang? Give a holler if you want to meet some others who I know in a similar situation. And don't beat yourself up too much over it.

[JAMZ]

[schwa]

Nate, I've been following your woes through a number of threads & I gotta say I feel for you & I dont doubt youre feeling some misery at the end of the day.

That said, I dont think youre going to find any quick fix advice on this forum. No books, no training, no support -- go ahead, blame the hagwon. But it also sounds like you have about zero rapport with the kids in your classroom & if the kids say your classes are boring, well, they most likely are. The onus is on you to make it interesting. To be interesting.

The internet is rich with resources. You could visit a bookstore & find an appropriate book or 2 to mine for fun material. You could stop wishing that someone might hand you a magic formula to run a successful class.

Sure, 10-year-olds have a small command of english -- do you address them in slow, clear, simple, repeated instructions so they can understand you?

There have been tons of discussions on classroom management on this forum. Have you looked into them & tried things?

You like kids. Well thats a start. But theyre looking to you for guidance, control, instruction, creativity, inspiration, & more. If hangman & alphabet games are the best you got, maybe you should look into a training program or reconsider your job choice.

[Zyzyfer]

[casey's moon]

Lots of great advice on this thread, and hopefully something will work out for you. If not, do yourself and the kids a favour and try something different at the end of your contract. Teaching is not for everyone. Kudos to you for trying to do better. I'm sure there are plenty more out there who are much more boring than you and simply don't care. Good luck!

I used a similar sticker system, and it worked great. The best thing about it is when the kids realize they also have a better time when everyone behaves.

[fondasoape]

Another book which changed my teaching:

How to Teach English
by Jeremy Harmer
Longman, ISBN: 0582297966


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0582297966/qid=1102429795/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-9466294-4955868?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[teachingld2004]

I have been teaching for almost 4 years here, and for 6 years in America. What works with one class does not work with another. One thing Nate, u said u are teaching a 60 minute class. That is way too long. Do u give them a break half way thru ? Even a 5 minute break is a good one. You can try different things. Have you tried "Teacher of the day?" Well, not a whole day, but for 15 minutes or so. There are many ways to see who goes first. Take a deck of cards, mix them well, fan them out, and let th kids each pick one. Highest or lowest number goes first. When 2 or more students pick the same card let them do "rock. scissors, paper". They do that all the time. Tell them they have to present a lesson to the class from the book, the lesson you planed for the day, or any topic. Give them a choice of the topic. One way is to write the things you have taught and have them each choose one, their choice. Tell them when they are the teacher, you will be the student. And really be the student. Do the work they give out.
Write things on the board with mistakes and offer points or candy or stickers, or what ever when they tell u of a mistake. Tell them for every 10 minutes of listening to you they can have 2 minutes of a game. Add up the minutes for a day, 2 days, a week, what ever. I have taught "Let;s go". You can build on any of the topics. You can make any lesson (or almost any lesson) into a game. Play "hot and cold". My kids love that and their vocabularies have improved. There are many things you can do. It is all trial and error. I know even regular teachers have trouble. We all are human. Change the seating every few days. Some days will be better then others for you, but do not be hard on yourself. Most of these kids are in English class because they have to be there. But a few love it. Try and help them love it. If you have any questions I will be happy to help u if I can. Just don't ask me to spell, my spelling and typing stinks.