Korean Job Discussion Forums

moptop · Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Location: Gangwondo

Being female also doesn't seem to intimidate them much! I kinda get the sense of that me male, you inferior female thing.

I also don't want to blow my voice by yelling. I do appreciate a lot of the suggestions and will surely try a few. The motivation for my class to do any work is small. I can plan all I want but to actually 'make them drink', well........

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Interesting thread, as of course every HS teacher has their "most difficult" class (though I think my "most difficult" is sitll a lot better than most people's, yippee!).

What grade are yours? If they're grade 3, like mine, I wouldn't really care so much if they're just marking time until they graduate. If they're grades one or two, it would be best to start training them now, as you'll have to deal with them for a while.

And I do know of some female teachers who can be very intimidating to any age or gender of student ... though I do find that being male I can put an instant stop to any classroom misbehaviour by a girl by standing over her desk making her feel conspicuous.

BTW, the Halloween lesson with the 30 I'm-just-killing-time-at-school students was a lot of fun - we even went 3 or 4 minutes late. Two more really bright classes and then I'm off for the weekend Smile

baldrick · Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Location: Location, Location

I really don't think n3ptne's advice is very sound. Continually kicking out half a class of rowdy teenage boys takes a very loud voice and relentless energy. If it works for you (i.e. you've had military training) fine. We all know the feeling of trying to get these Korean students to actually do something and it is exhausting. Are there ANY students in the class you can relate to or get on with? I'd make some kind of worksheet and then a huge puzzlegame to keep them occupied. If they do it or not, who cares. I wouldn't even bother wasting my breath at the front of the class. This isn't about being a good teacher or a bad teacher....its about being realistic, you have to accept the situation for what it is - a joke. When they have the material in front of them, maybe you can move around the class and just try and chat as informally as possible - just sit with the differant groups and be YOURSELF, not a teacher trying to teach English - they're not interested in that. They may however be interested in what kind of music you like, how many boyfriends you've had etc etc. This could develop at least SOME kind of relationship and even give you some ideas on how to finally engage this nightmarish class.
Finally if nothing works, get a pair of earplugs, a cup of coffee, and a good book. Wink

CaptainConjunction · Joined: 12 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul

Scrabble scrabble scrabble

n3ptne · Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Location: Poh*A*ng City

No no... listen...

My school paid good money for me to come here and teach, and thats exactly what I aim to do. If there are students who would like to disrupt my methods and deprive other students of such and advantage... send them out! Frankly I don't care what they or other students think, nor do I care what they do once they're out of my class. If need be I'd send out 99% of the class in order to teach to one willing student. Don't take shit from these kids, be a man and kick ass. Let them go do whatever it is they do when they arent in your class and then teach to the ones who are receptive.

hari seldon · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Incheon

@#%!&*?

hari seldon · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Incheon

Kenny Kimchee · Joined: 12 May 2003

With all due respect, I think a lot of you guys are off base regarding suggested lesson content (I��m not touching the discipline issue).

What do we have here? We have a bunch of boys who have basically given up on English. Why have they given up? Their reasons depend on the individual, but a likely common thread is that they have had a teacher-centered, grammar translation approach shoved down their throats all their lives and they��re sick of it. They don��t see English as a means of communication. They��re probably not very skilled in the areas that Korean English education focuses on – reading and writing – yet that��s what a lot of you guys are suggesting. Word searches? Crossword puzzles? Scrabble? They hate that stuff.

You��re probably dealing with learners who have a more tactile/kinesthetic approach to language, so I think that��s what you need to cater your lessons toward. I teach in junior high school in Japan and I��ve got a lot of boys like this. They��re not good with the written word; they couldn��t understand grammar and got tired of translating the textbook and learning this stupid useless grammar that they never actually get to use and they just gave up. Whenever I try to do a lesson that centers on reading or writing it goes over like a lead balloon, but whenever I teach a lesson that actually incorporates speaking and movement some of them get into it.

You��ve got to get creative. Get a video camera and have them make commercials. Divide them into groups of six and assign them a product to sell (e.g. doggy toothpaste, selling the idea of kimchee to foreigners, etc.). Scaffold it for them – show them how to do it. Make a demo commercial and show it to them (bonus points if you do it in Korean and show them that people are capable of speaking another language), then put them into groups and have them write their scripts. Between scripting, rehearsal, taping, and exhibition, you can get about four hours out of this. You could do other stuff, like making a video letter to a Western high school. The last thing these kids want is more of the same, i.e. grammar and vocab.