Korean Job Discussion Forums

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

I have a free-talking class with about 3 adult men (though usually only 1 or 2 comes at a time). Their level is pretty advanced so I use a guided-free-talking book "Express Yourself". Now we have a new student, a university girl who can barely put 2 workds together. She came today and none of the men showed up, so I was able to talk with her in simple simple English, but we quickly ran out of things to say and just played a card game.

Next week I'll surely get the guys and the girl in the same class at the same time at least one of the days. It is an 80 minute class. How can I construct a class that all can benefit from? The girl is amazingly attractive and she pays in cash, so neither I nor my boss will turn her away from our school.

denverdeath · Joined: 21 May 2005 Location: Boo-sahn

I'm not really sure what kind of place you work at, but the boss/administration/whomever shouldn't be placing students with big differences in abilities in the same class. Are you talking low-beginner and upper-advanced or something? If so, you're going to have big trouble with that class. If the girl is as low as you say, she'll probably end up being too intimidated by the other students' high level and will quit. She, and the others, may also complain about the class dynamics and/or blame things on you. You can take your basic conversation topics and try to make things as easy as possible for her while challenging the others. You might be able to play some games and music on some days and work on some writing topics on others and all of the students should benefit, but you won't be able to do those kinds of things everyday. I guess you'll have to wait until you have the three of them together. You never know, they may enjoy each other's company and things might work out. Best of luck.

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

She is a girl in a class full of Ajosshi's.

She'll sit there and be silent and waste her money. Confused

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

The only thing I can think of is to take your normal discussion lessons and make sure to ask her the fact questions and save the discussion questions for the advanced students. If she's as pretty as you say, the ajossis won't mind her being there.

deessell · Joined: 08 Jun 2005

It's simple, she's in the wrong class. It will be a waste of everyone's time, why not offer to have a 1-1 lesson with her or put her into another class. Am I missing something here?

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

Korean logic

Student: I want to go to English classes

Hogwan: What time do you want to come?

Student: I can come from 7-8 o'clock

Hogwan: Okay we have a class at that time, give us your money, thank you.

Student arrives at hogwan enters the class and finds out it is either way too advanced for them(in which case they sit there for a month or two because they are too embarrassed to say anything) or it is too basic for them and they show off their English skills to the lower level students.

Unfortuenately hogwans dont classify people as to skill level, they are simply placed in classes depending on the time they can attend.

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

I think it's the other way around. The hagwon would like to have two separate classes, but they don't want to pay *me* overtime. I'm going to suggest that the girl take a private lesson with me (maybe right here at my swank bachelor pad, hehe...) but she may not want to pay for it. I agree she'll probably drop out if I can't find something to do with her.

manlyboy · Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:42 pm Post subject:

Freezer Burn · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Location: Busan

This sounds an awful lot like a business paractise to me, you mean we're not education providers.
I love the way directors listen to one student "oh the class is boring" (aka I dont understand anything the teacher is trying to tell me because its an advanced class not a basics class), then turn around and tell the teacher to change their lessons because one student threatens to pull out.
I get sick in the stomach at how much money I am making for this man, looking around my class of 10-12 students all paying at least 30,00-40,00 a lesson and I get paid 17,000-20,000, and they still have the nerve to say the school doesnt make much money.

denverdeath · Joined: 21 May 2005 Location: Boo-sahn

denverdeath · Joined: 21 May 2005 Location: Boo-sahn

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

I guess you got to mix it up a bit. Ask the higher level students more difficult questions, and the lower easier ones? Anyway, at least the higher level ones can translate for the lower. As for using the same material for them all, I guess that would be quite hard to do. Maybe a bunch of pictures?

Dispatched · Joined: 08 May 2004

An 80 minute class?? Yikes!

On the odd occasion I've had a large difference in ability within the class I offer to teach the lower lever people 30 minutes extra before class then when the 'real' class starts I teach so that the higher level people get something out of it. But my classes are only 50-60 minutes and not 80.

deessell · Joined: 08 Jun 2005

This is always going to be a problem, different levels. The only thing you can do is aim at the middle of the class.

Flossie · Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:52 pm Post subject:

I have a similar problem at my school although it is not as difficult as yours. I have three friends who have studied together for many years and want to study business English. Two want to study hard and the other just wants to take me out to dinner all the time.

I solved it by 1) setting homework for the advanced guys 2) providing written material for preparation where I had found and explained all the difficult stuff to the lower student and got the advanced guys to find it for themselves 3) ask the lower guy the easier questions and get the advanced guys to do the 'offer an opinion and justify it' stuff 3) instead of going on a '1:1' dinner date with the student I organized it so everyone went and he had to pay for all of us (he hasn't offered to take me out again since that^^) and 4) found a nice single lady student from another class, told her that her English was much higher than the class she had been in, switched her to this class and organized a date between her and the dinner date student.

All in all a very satisfactory result for a blimmin annoying class. Now all is sweet in the land of 'biz/conversation/i don't want to learn, just date the teacher/my inguhlishee no good' evening classes at my hagwon. ^^