Korean Job Discussion Forums

[blunder1983]

Hi guys,

I've just arrived in Korea and am at my school. I'm in the EPIK program and when I asked my co-teachers what is expected of me, they don't seem too sure. They teach from a book (it seems to be called Middle School English) but its all over the place in terms of topics. Basically I have a couple of co-teachers and am spread out taking about 16 separate classes in the week.

I've taught briefly for 2 weeks in London after completing my course but am a bit flumoxxed as to what to do here. Should I loosely base my classes around the text? (hard when the topics are on things like sea turtles ) or make my own sort of syllabus thing? Is there any online guides for teaching elementary level english?

As I have each class only once a week is it reasonable to prepare a class for each "level" (i have 8 grade 1 and 9 grade 2) and repeat the class? Or is that a cop out?

I'm feeling a bit thrown in the deep end at the moment and I don't really know what to do. I asked the recruiter before I left if I should bring any books and she told me that there would be loads from the school. :S

On the plus side, everyone here seems really friendly and have gone out of their way to welcome me, I'm in a girls middle school and just saying hello makes them dissolve into fits of laughter, so I don't think I'll have many problems with my class.

If anyone could offer some guidance as to where I can find a good outline for topics etc, or what they do in EPIK role I'd be really grateful.

Thanks y'all

Chris

[Derrek]

I'd base it around the text and modify it with more difficult material for the higher classes (did you mean they are all using the same book??).

The school probably hasn't figured out what to do with their new teacher yet. Try to find out, as you have, but also talk to the co-teachers and get their input.

If it's like my girls HS, they don't want to upset the lower-level girls by teaching a lower-level book. They want the same book taught to everyone of the same age.

[blunder1983]

I'm teaching first year and second year classes. The first year all use one book (middle school english 1) and the second year go on to use the second book (middle school english 2). Unfortunately the teachers teach extra classes of English when I'm with other students so I don't think I can cover stuff in the book as they will have already done it.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said they don't know what to do with me. I think they thought I would come in and tell them what I'm doing. Ho hum I'm sure I'll be able to work something out. This week is consisting of me entering a classroom and answering their questions in between their screams. Its nice that they are so enthusiastic!

[Grotto]

Here is some things that some people I know in the EPIK program and what they told me.

Teacher #1 basically went from class to class with his guitar and taught them a song a month.

Teacher #2 taught them a short role play, one day to rehearse and practice and the next to present.

Teacher #3 tried for a few months and after that basically went in turned on the tape and answered any questions he was asked.

Teacher #4 Tried to teach a set curriculum and was told by the principal that it was too difficult for the students and he should stop.

Teacher #5 uses alot of downloades clips from the internet and shows them to the students and then talks to them about it.

It varies widely from school to school from what I have gathered from people working in EPIK.

[Derrek]

Sounds like the book idea is pretty much toast then...

Will the school let your order another book for your classes? If not, do you have a computer with a scanner/projector? You could scan parts of a book, like the SideBySide series, and have them answer/ask questions from the pictures. That could take up a good 15 to 20 minutes of your class right there.

Until you figure it out, put up some photos of Korean TV stars and ask the kids to describe their features: He has a big nose. He has brown eyes. ETC... They love that.

[FUBAR]

[xtchr]

Hi Blunder, I'm just curious, how come you are starting on Epik now? I thought Epik teachers only started in September. Did you have to do the orientation?
Sorry, can't really help you with what you are actually wanting to know, but if the kids are being nice to you, make the most it - it may not last.

[schwa]

Sounds like youve been hired to be a supplementary conversation teacher which likely means youve got free rein in choosing your materials. I sometimes glance at the text to see what theyre up to but mostly I choose themes & activities at my own whim that strike me as useful & fun.

If you can keep the girls enthusiastic about english class, I doubt anyone is going to second-guess your methods.

You can ask about a book budget. Dont get your hopes too high but you might get lucky. They wont buy books for each student but you can get a lot of mileage out of a few selected activity books & the photocopier. A small assortment of books is worth the investment even if its on your dime. There should be an office assistant who will happily run off hundreds of copies of any page you give them (with a day or two notice) -- not a problem.

Tons of free materials on the internet too.

BY ALL MEANS recycle your lessons. Its the done thing. It makes your job far easier when all your classes are doing identical material. You'll otherwise quickly go nuts trying to keep track of what youve taught to which class.

One more key thing to keep in mind. Keep your activities & speaking dead simple. Their conversational ability is nowhere near the level of the stuff in their textbook. If youre patient & friendly (humor helps too) you can keep the honeymoon going for a good while.

Best luck & have fun!

[Ya-ta Boy]

[blunder1983]

Wow thanks for all your replies.

AFAIK re: starting epik at this time of year was because they REALLY want teachers. I arrived fridays and had a two day orientation, that consisted of them buying me loads of meals out and moving me into my apartment. It was pretty cool and put me a bit at ease with the whole change thing.

Next week I think I'm going to talk about my home town etc. I think Ya-ta is right I can't be expected to TEACH them anything so I think reinforcing their learning with games is the only way forward. That or taking my own topics, which is a bit TOO much freedom in my book (I'd prefer a syllabus to work from).

I've got this whole week off pretty much as I'm with a new class each day. I will have a discuss with the teachers and try and thrash something out.

I'll be bending many people's ears over the next few weeks, I really appreciate all the help you've offered.

N.b I've been thinking of offering a general discussion Q&A sort of session in the lunch break as I've got more time than I know what to do with. Anyone do this sort of thing? How well does it go down?

[denverdeath]

Blunder,

Not sure if this is much help or not, but here goes. I'm teaching at a girls' middle school, too. I'm with EPIK as well and only started in mid-April. I'm pretty sure that the books I'm using are the same as yours. I'm teaching eighth and ninth graders. I also have a morning "conversation" class, a TOEIC Bridge(beginner's TOEIC) class, and a teacher's workshop(conversation class), but that's besides the point. The lady who hired me at my school seems like she may be a bit more on the ball than the people you work with, yet I might be wrong. The way things are structured at my school is that I do the introductory, listening, and conversation sections(usually the first six pages) of each lesson while the Korean teacher does the other parts in her own class. The Korean teacher is apparently in each of my classes to keep things civil, but I get each of them to participate in the listening section and explain any difficult concepts. You can use the CD if there are computers and TVs/monitors in the classroom, but I prefer to act things out a bit. The tapescripts are at the back of the book; just make sure that the students don't turn to those pages. You can also do "close"/fill-in-the-blank activities from the last conversation in the "Let's Listen" section. I was told that one lesson should take two weeks to complete. Usually there is some extra time leftover to do an activity at the end of the second class. You can find all kinds of level- and age-appropriate activities right here on Dave's in the "Teacher's Resources" section. Anyway, I'm just letting you know about my situation and hope it helps you a bit...

[Thomas]

(Something I posted earlier that may be of help)
I was in EPIK for four years. It was pretty difficult at first to prepare for classes because of the following reasons:

1. Often my schedule fluctuated weekly or daily... sometimes I would travel to various schools throughout the week and may or may not be informed of the level/size of the group would be.

2. Cancellations and changes happened often even if I had been informed of who I would be teaching.

3. Lack of a clearly defined curriculum for any level (and usually no guidance teacher you are visiting... often they just say "Free conversation")

4. At first, I really had no idea what I was doing. I was a certified teacher (New York State Social Studies 7-12) but didn't know how to really teach English or much about korean education system. And, there wasn't anyone to help me... don't rely on EPIK to help you, orientation will teach you nothing useful and you may have no other EPIK contacts near you.

5. Yes, you are supposed to have a co-teacher. Normally they will fob all of the lesson planning off to you and they will try to avoid doing anything. Are they lazy? NO. They don't want to lose face in front of their students AND they want to learn how other teachers really teach. This is a good thing.. as soon as you are able, do your own planning... that way, you can avoid dumb, useless lessons and take responsibility for your own work.

MY ADVICE:

1. Set up a generic set of lessons that link together and can be spiralled out for difficulty. For example, in my traveling lesson folder, I had 9 lessons ranging from topics of "Me", "My family", "My Hometown", "My Hobby", etc which were each designed to expand in difficulty depending on the level of students. I could teach the same topics for vocabulary (lower level), cultural exchange and basic questions models (middle school), or creative writing/speaking (high school). kids loved them, the teachers liked them, we all looked good, and everyone was happy. From there I added more lessons on the same design.

2. For teacher training... don't harp on grammar a lot. They want to learn from you what they can't get from Koreans: slang is good, real usage is good. Cutural differences. I made up a bunch of dialogs based o practical situations (At the post office/In the supermarket/At the travel agent). In the dialogs I used REAL English, with shortened words/slang/idioms and such. Teachers loved this (I had a related word vocabulary bank at the bottom). My most popular class was held once a semester and we did swear words... they learned how to really use them...

3. Be very open and patient. Try to make things usable across several levels. Save everything and try to recycle them.

In closing, it took me the whole first year to develop enough good material to use. Over the next 3 years, I expanded and improved upon those while adding more.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?p=473945&highlight=EPIK+curriculum+conversation+through+writing#473945