Korean Job Discussion Forums

andrew · Joined: 30 Jan 2003

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dulouz · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Uranus

Thats easy. Grow pretty blond hair and nice boobies and the students will be much more enthused about learning.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

People learn as much as they want to ultimately, you cannot force them. your job is to give them the option to learn if they want.
Ultimately, learning here depends on your personality and charisma. Do you have an appeal? otherwise they won't want to learn anything from you- its all about presentation.
you can have a PHd and be a veritable mine of information, but nobody will learn anything from you unless you look like something they want to be, ie, confident, funny, entertaining, whatever.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

Middle schoolers are a tough bunch. If they don't know you, they have nothing vested in you then it's going to be tough you just one of a long line of teachers they see every day. Try to get to know them as people, maybe do some easy going lessons to find out what makes them tick.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

If they're middle schoolers it all depends on the context. Presumably their parents are paying good money for them to get a good education. In any normal country the thing to do would be to talk to their parents with a translator about their goals and expectations, but that seems just too logical for Korea. Are they old enough that they should have the responsibility to learn put on themselves? Should you just take away their handphones and MP3 players and keep them late if they don't do any work (probably what their parents would want)? Sould you find a new personality that magically makes them want to learn English (probably your director's idea)? Should you press a magic button that makes them want to speak English? At any rate, if it's only one class and the rest are OK, you're doing fairly well.

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

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rok_the-boat · Joined: 24 Jan 2004

There is a wise Confucian saying that only 10% of what you learn comes from the teacher and that the other 90% comes from the self.

Now think about that - it is a wise saying.

But, and it is a big but, anyone in the West will say - "Doh! Tell me something new!"

In Asia, it is a wise saying BECAUSE NOBODY UNDERSTANDS IT. "Don't be ridiculous, the teacher has to teach us everything, that's his job!!!"

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

guangho · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:17 am Post subject:

I told two 4th graders that I don't like talking to myself and let them out early. I lied tho--I make a sparkling conversation partner according to my personalities.

Hey listen- these kids are being spoonfed crap fourteen hours a day. You should do the same if all else fails.

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

It's a struggle to make them create anything new with English, all they can do is repeat what they hear. Maybe "mad libs" is a possibility... give them a composition full of holes and let them fill it up. Then after writing, they read what they've written.

Going from
brain --> paper --> eyes --> mouth
seems easier than directly from
brain --> mouth
for my students.

I want to get them interacting with real foreigners who they are interested in, so they'll be compelled to speak on the spot. I'm thinking of a "video pen pal" program but it'll be a lot of trouble and I don't have a video camera! Maybe "video personals" for the teenagers?

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

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Mr. Literal · Joined: 03 Jul 2003 Location: Third rock from the Sun.

Your question was, "Where does student responsibility for learning begin?"

The answer: The instant s/he walks through the classroom door.

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib