Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yu_Bum_suk]

really just useless and unnecessary?

I usually have co-teachers for my 7 middle school classes, and the one for my 1st-year classes almost always turns up, if late. Today she didn't come at all, and the class was so good. I had a bit of trouble defining 'zone', I had to start the excercise on adverbs and adjectives first before explaining what they were, and we ran out of time to finish my last activity, but they seemed so much more enthusiastic and fun. It seems when the co-teacher is there she's more of a nuissance and distraction than anything else. Maybe it's just a really good class, maybe they were just really good today, it probably helped that I had them sitting in rows ... but it just seemed so much better. Easy to control, no yelling, no big stick, no bribing with candy, most of them paying attention most of the time, 28 happy students, lots of fun going back and forth with me doing Q&A, and no distracting co-teacher with the students not knowing whom to give their attention to. I had another first-year class in the morning where she came and by the end it was just becoming a mess (which may have been down to seating plan, I don't know). At first I thought having a Korean teacher in the classroom would make everything go much more smoothly, but apart from my two high school vocational classes (I tactfully managed to get the co-teachers out of most of my other high school classes) it seems to be having the opposite effect.

So those of you who feel you have 'effective' co-teachers, what do you do with them? How do you train them? How do you get them out of annoying habits like giving out one-word answers? Or is it best just to try to get them out of the classroom altogether?

[thursdays child]

My teaching relationship with my 5 co-teachers is now very good (at vocational high school) but is was appalling - over translation or 0 input.... But somehow... right about the time I gave up caring about trying to work together... it clicked.

The Kteachers do very little in my class, just disciplining at the start of the class to get girls into seats and out of bathrooms etc... As far as teaching, I ask them for particular help during class eg "������ can you explain that expression in Korean for me?" or "������ can you help this group please".... we almost role play instructions to each other. The students keep their attention on me and if they want further clarification they join in the role play too ask me if ������ can help them.

My co-teachers all say that class is much better this way for them, the students and me. The students are much more focused and relaxed, now that there are clear teaching roles.

[manlyboy]

Sure, try to make them more effective. You know how Koreans just looooove to change the way they do things. Especially when it's at the behest of a foreigner.

Seriously, in my experience with co-teachers, if they're not receptive to your ideas from the get-go, things will only get worse until you distance yourself from them. If they're willing to compromise and consider what you have to offer, things can only get better.

[SPINOZA]

I've done quite a few lessons with no co-teacher and - if I recall - they all went well. I do enjoy it when I'm told I'm gonna be on my own today. I've pretty much spelt out what I want from mine and generally they're all really good. Basically, I want them to speak to the kids in English and push them a bit and help with discipline where necessary. I've also tried to encourage the belief that I'm a native speaker, speak English excellently and am the best judge of what's appropriate material and what's sh1te. This means usually dispensing with 'the book'. Kids shouldn't be reading articles about cloning or gender bias in language when they can't even conjugate the verb 'to be' correctly or even use it at all or basically say anything other than "Hi", "fine thank you" and "handsome guy".
Problems arise when CT is hopeless at discipline and is happy to let kids fall asleep, not pay attention, be rowdy, or too disciplinarian whereby 5 minutes will be spent yelling at some kids in Korean, or when CT does absolutely nothing. I think class sizes of at least 35 are a bit much for just me and I consider classes by myself the occasional luxury to learn some Korean, talk about more taboo issues, fool around a bit and have a laugh.

[butter808fly]

Both my co-teachers are 'hopeless' at discipline AND they think they want to run the English show. When I speak, the students don't always give me their full attention unless the co-teacher is in the back of the classroom out of sight. (I think this has to do with the hierarchy of the culture. Only a guess.) Then the students are usually totally quiet! Unlike how they act with my co-teachers. How can someone continue to talk when the students are chattering away!

My one *awful* co-teacher was absent last Tuesday so I taught with a substitute who was GREAT at discipline and AWFUL at English. Perfect. She just helped me control the students and then let me work! It was the best day so far after 3 months of work here. The students were respectful, well behaved, and learned something! Plus, I got to know then a lot better on these terms.

Co-teaching isnt as easy or wonderful, in terms of help, as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I downright hate it.

[EFLtrainer]

As indicated by some of the posts, it is basically necessary to negotiate the responsibilities. If both are actually teaching, I don't see how you could do anything else. And, if you are both teaching and it is cooperative, you will probably find you need to be fairly detailed in choreographing things. I'd be very surprised if things didn't go awry very quickly if you are not detailing who is going to do what, when and how. May need to develop a set of signals for various common or uncommon occurances. For example, signals for cutting something short; they get it, let's move on; Save me!; please staple that child in their seat.... whatever.

If your co is simply the disciplinarian, I would still think discussing the least disruptive/most effective way to go about it would be useful to you both.

[ilovebdt]

The majority of my co teachers are fine. We can work well together, but there is one who either tries to monopolise my class and talk in Korea all the time or do nothing and just go around chatting to the students as she did today. I know there are some weaker students in my class who would find today's task a bit difficult , so at the beginning of the class I went to help them. She on the other hand just went round chatting to the students and only started chivvying them along when I came round to see where everyone was at. She then proceeded to write a comment in our lesson planner which quite frankly isn't true and has really got my goat.

Next lesson I think I am going to tell her exactly what I want her to do at the start of the lesson.

[crazylemongirl]

I've got a mixed bag. I find the more you communicate with your co-teachers about what you are up to helps a whole heap.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

The part that really sucks is that I'm sure they're not trying to be annoying and just have no idea. I teach most of my middle school classes today. Three were with my really good co-teacher who turned up for about 2 1/2 of them. They were great. Some co-teachers seem to know exactly what to do and what not to do - in this case stand at the back and help with the odd translation. The other was with my annoying co-teacher who arrived on time, unfortunately, and the class slowly degenerated over 45 minutes again. It was with her homeroom class, as well. After the lesson I told her 'it's funny how _________[yesterday's good class she missed] is so much better than __________[your homeroom class]'. She seemed to find this perfectly agreeable. Then in the staffroom I made a point of complimenting the Dam-eam of the better class on his homeroom. She still didn't get the point that I was trying to say 'maybe you suck a bit and could do a bit more to improve your class'.

[EFLtrainer]

[tomato]

Every morning for two hours, I teach a class of four 4-year-olds.
The teaching assistant does all the cooking and cleaning work very dutifully and treats the children very lovingly, but she doesn't know English and doesn't understand foreign language education very well.

But I really would like to run a true English immersion program.

I made a list of Korean words which I've heard her use most often and asked her to learn the English equivalents. She is trying to get into the habit of speaking to the kids in English, but it is taking her awhile. Today, she often said "��������--sit down" or "�̸� ��--come here."

She contended that she doesn't attend an English class with an English teacher and a textbook. That told me that she subscribed to the common Korean notion that all learning has to be formal and has to take place in a classroom.

I would offer to tutor her at a set time, but I can't fit that into my schedule. So I'm trying something: whereas I haven't used any textbook series before, I'll have a daily session of the Let's Go Starter book. Each day I will give the co-teacher a note explaining all the grammatical points which are covered in that session.

That way, I will hopefully teach the co-teacher and the kids simultaneously on two different levels.

I'll keep you posted on whether it works or not.