Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Seabass]

I am in the same boat as the OP. I have been here only 2 months and my Director called me in yesterday and told me many students and parents are complaining about my classes and that I have a negative attitude. Plus my classes are too boring and I cannot get their attention. However, the Director does not allow games in the classroom so I have trouble keeping their attention for the full 50 minute class.

My question is what can I do to make my classes more interesting? I teach classes ranging in age from 6 to 16, and every class is so different. I want to be a good teacher and maybe I reflect a negative attitude when I get frustrated. But how do you stay positive when the kids are not listening and don't even want to be there? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Grotto]

A good key to keep your classes from being boring is to switch things up every 8-10 minutes. Review what you covered last class, introduce new vocab, spell vocab, use vocab in sentence, focus on improving pronunciation(tongue twisters....etc).

Split class into two or more groups have them write down as many sentences as they can using the vocab of the day.

Work on penmanship, pronunciation, have them take turns reading from the textbook or an English story book.

Tell your director you would like to use some games in to re-enforce the lessons of the day...5 minutes at the end of the class if everyone has their work done.

Pace your lesson......Hell I have trouble focusing on one thing for an entire 50 minutes and most of the people we deal with are kids!

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[babtangee]

No games. Ha ha ha. Why doesn't he just say, "No English." Ridiculous.

[simone]

It sucks to get criticism. I didn't get much in my first year, but I certainly deserved plenty. I played "pronunciation bingo" everyday for my first three months. "Sink or Swim" feels like drowning sometimes.

Training is great. Read books on teaching. Play ESL games. Spend time on the internet looking up ideas.

CELTA is a great course. Looking back, being taught how to teach made my day to day life HEAPS easier. I'd recommend it to anyone not because of any increase in salary, (wasn't) but how much it makes day to day life worth living as a teacher. I'm not a real teacher, didn't particularly like it while I was doing it, but I know that I'm competent should I choose to teach again in the future.

But when you're stressing out about what to do with your students, there's not a moment's real peace, inside or outside of the classroom. I can't believe I ever lay awake at night worrying about what I'd do the next morning. At the time, though, the hell was real.

Good luck.

[Hyeon Een]

He says no games? Well don't call them games, call them "reinforcement activities".

-HE

[captain kirk]

It's your first time and I was crap my first year. Teaching had nothing to do with my job in the west and I was uptight.

But what folks are saying about Koreans bearing down on one is right on. You gotta toughen up because you're a minority as well as being a splendid bird. What I mean by minority. You're an oddball for being white. What I mean by splendid bird. Like a Macaw, some strange, beautiful, spectacular, exotic parrot of some kind from another land. Now rented and moving about the hagwon halls.

Sounds funny, that.

It's tough living here when you're uptight. The management pushes hard. I think that's Korean style. I mean I met a young woman who works as a clerk at that electronics store, Himart. She works 12 hours a day with six days off a month. Because management knows they can get somebody else. She's Korean.

But you're not a Korean and managment needs to adjust their management style to suit you. You won't be responding as the Korean teachers do. Don't bark or freak out but let them catch up to the reality you have backbone. You have to. You're a minority.

For example, when I first got to this haggie they wanted me to work on Saturday. Since my hobbies are riding motorbikes and hiking what do I want to come in for only three hours on Saturday for? I came to Korea for adventure and to explore.

The managment said it I agree it would have to be all year. Working saturdays all year. Pressure and no negotiation (and a crappy overtime saturday rate). I tried reasoning but it was like talking to a stone. So just said no. Like no, no, no, and no(no).

Meanwhile the Korean teachers just say yes to saturday work.

The managment will always be trying to make you feel inadequate, subordinate, and bla bla bla. It's their strategy. Like they 'own you' or something. It's better or worse other places.

Like the Frank Sinatra song, you gotta do it 'your way'. It's tough living here uptight. So bust stress.

[jajdude]