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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:28 pm Post subject: evolving teaching style |
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On Friday morning I walked into the Starbucks under Pagoda near Shinchon station. Dressed as pandhandler, as I usually am during holidays, I kind of stood out among the well-dressed teachers who were sitting at a bunch of different tables with a bunch of different groups of students (I'm guessing it was an end of the month thing).
I cocked an ear an listened to the different conversations and thought back to my first couple of years in Korea and how much I've changed my teaching outlook and style.
The biggest change is that when I first came I did most of the talking and asking questions and I felt that conversation classes were useful. Now I feel guilty if I talk more than 25% of the time and usually shoot for about 10%. I also make myself as inconspicous as I can be during activities.
I also believe that conversation classes are as useless as a nun who can have multiple orgasms and I view my classes as a small component of the learners' English acquistion process.
I've changed in other ways as well, but those are the biggest. How have you changed? |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:51 pm Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| the_beaver wrote: |
| I *beep* an ear an listened to the different conversations... |
Did you cock an ear or *beep* an ear?
My style has changed a lot over the past couple of years due to teaching in different atmospheres, but the overall style is still there. I still uselessly try to get students to talk (re: think) about the current material and try to review a lot. I'm slower than other teachers and don't like to let a lesson go if they don't understand it, but I've been in so many different situations and, even at my current school, am in so many different situations, that I've learned to be pretty versatile.
I also still learn a lot from hearing stories from one-year teachers here. The Pagoda guys have probably just found their routine and settled into it, and I doubt it's very similar to your own teaching situation. |
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phaedrus
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Location: I'm comin' to get ya.
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:04 am Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| Zyzyfer wrote: |
| The Pagoda guys have probably just found their routine and settled into it, and I doubt it's very similar to your own teaching situation. |
If money is at stake often the "preferred" teacher type/style is the loud and sociable teacher, the type that likes telling their story and who likes the sound of their own voice.
A lot of students think they are learning if they are enjoying themselves, but their enjoyment is mostly from the fact they don't have to think or put in an effort, just listen to the funny person. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 3:14 am Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| the_beaver wrote: |
| The biggest change is that when I first came I did most of the talking and asking questions and I felt that conversation classes were useful. Now I feel guilty if I talk more than 25% of the time and usually shoot for about 10%. I also make myself as inconspicous as I can be during activities. |
Same here.. during my first year, I would always be the center of attention trying to entertain the entire classroom. It was exhausting as well.
Once I learned how to teach more, I put them into pairwork and had them practicing their English and their exercises with less focus on me and more focus on them.
I also learned how to cut off long-winded talkers. When I first began, I would let some guys ramble on for way longer than I should while trying to be polite. |
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Corporal
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 4:16 am Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| the_beaver wrote: |
| are as useless as a nun who can have multiple orgasms |
Um, a nun who can have multiple orgasms is useless only to YOU. Or are you saying that nuns shouldn't be able to have multiple orgasms at all? |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 4:54 am Post subject: |
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My style's changed a lot too. I now try to focus on only one or two concepts in a lesson and get them to practice it over and over again, assuming they're patient enough. I've also gotten some sort of air of authority and won't teach unless everybody's listening.
I also know a lot more material now and if I have one of those classes where I can choose my own curriculum there's no end to the interesting sheets and whatnot I pull out.
Pretty much the same as everyone else I suppose - I do a lot less work than before and the classes flow much better. I only teach about an hour or two a day now though; the rest is office work (I'm not allowed to be a teacher). |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:08 am Post subject: |
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I think the way my teaching style has changed is that I'm more flexible. I was fresh out of varsity when I landed here, so I was all theory and little practice. So my teaching style was more scientific, for want of a better word.
Now I'm a lot more flexible. In my big classes I have to be charasmatic and loud to keep my students attention. In smaller settings I've learnt to back off a lot more. Also where as I used ot be a real nazi on no korean in class I've found that my kids are productive if they are talking in korean as long as they are on task. |
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phaedrus
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Location: I'm comin' to get ya.
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:10 am Post subject: |
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This never happened.
Double post....
Last edited by phaedrus on Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:12 am; edited 2 times in total |
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phaedrus
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Location: I'm comin' to get ya.
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:11 am Post subject: |
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| mithridates wrote: |
| I now try to focus on only one or two concepts in a lesson and get them to practice it over and over again, assuming they're patient enough. |
This is very important, especially for kids. Then people can feel they learned something, and parents see that their kids learned something. One thing today, one tomorrow, if continued, equals hundreds per year. |
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bosintang
Joined: 01 Dec 2003
Location: In the pot with the rest of the mutts
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:17 am Post subject: |
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| crazylemongirl wrote: |
Now I'm a lot more flexible. In my big classes I have to be charasmatic and loud to keep my students attention. In smaller settings I've learnt to back off a lot more. Also where as I used ot be a real nazi on no korean in class I've found that my kids are productive if they are talking in korean as long as they are on task. |
I teach children, and only have been teaching children since I have been overseas. The two biggest changes I have found in myself are 1) When I first started teaching I faked my confidence, now I teach with real confidence, and 2) I'm not an English-only nazi anymore either, but rather now I'm more interested in that they listen to me and like crazyLemonGirl said, keep on task.
Last edited by bosintang on Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:27 am; edited 1 time in total |
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bosintang
Joined: 01 Dec 2003
Location: In the pot with the rest of the mutts
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:26 am Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| the_beaver wrote: |
I also believe that conversation classes are as useless as a nun who can have multiple orgasms and I view my classes as a small component of the learners' English acquistion process.
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This is an interesting perspective. Teaching children, I'm happy as long as my students are talking in English. I'll talk with them rather than do the actual lesson if that's what they want to do, because I believe, ultimately, the best thing I have to offer them is the chance to talk and gain confidence in speaking to a real live native speaker.
Adults are obviously different, but if conversation classes are useless, ultimately what do you offer your students as a native speaker? Just curious... |
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The Man known as The Man
Joined: 29 Mar 2003
Location: 3 cheers for Ted Haggard oh yeah!
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| Corporal wrote: |
| the_beaver wrote: |
| are as useless as a nun who can have multiple orgasms |
Um, a nun who can have multiple orgasms is useless only to YOU. Or are you saying that nuns shouldn't be able to have multiple orgasms at all? |
Corporal, you are wrong. Nuns and RC priests have taken a righteous vow of celibacy, and all of them hold to it the rest of thier lives, never descending into eperimentation, let alone pedo degeneracy.
HTH |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: evolving teaching style |
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| bosintang wrote: |
| Adults are obviously different, but if conversation classes are useless, ultimately what do you offer your students as a native speaker? Just curious... |
As a teacher I teach pronunciation, learning strategies, grammar and vocabulary as it applies to a specific topic, build motivation and build confidence.
Not saying conversation isn't part of my classes because it's an important part and it's necessary for whatever I taught to sink in and students talking with each otehr takes up the majority of class time.
To answer your question: ultimately I don't feel that I offer overly much as a native speaker. I do feel, however, that as a teacher I offer a lot. |
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