Korean Job Discussion Forums

[AbbeFaria]

Me: Like: Something you enjoy or that brings you pleasure. So, who can tell me what like means?

Class:........

Me: Something you enjoy. What do you enjoy? *scan classroom searching for signs of life*

Class:........

Me: Tim, what do you like?

Tim:(age 12) Me???

Me: Yes, what do you like, what do you enjoy?

Tim: *Rubs his eyes, looks at his shoes, looks at his book as it trying to divine the secrets of the universe, looks at his left hand as if it could offer the answer his book couldn't, looks at his right hand after getting no response from his left hand, scratches his elbow as if trying to jog the memory of his left hand, shuffles pencil around the page*

Me, speaking very slowly:Do you understand? Like? Something you enjoy? What do you like to do? What do you enjoy?

Tim:......

etc. etc. ad nausaem, everyone one in the class.

It is literally worse than pulling teeth. With the older kids, half the time I'm teaching the walls, and the walls generally respond better. The wall will atleast bounce the sound of my voice back to me. The kids just absorb it. I can't give them to many examples because they just repeat what I say as if that's there answer. Then, if one kid does answer, the other kids just repeat that answer. One girl finally unstuck her tongue from the top of her mouth and muttered pizza, then I got pizza from three other kids right after her. After the third girl said pizza I asked her what else, and got pizza half a dozen more times from her before giving up.

Why, oh god, why, and what can I do about it? I'm only at the start of my third week. If this goes on for the whole of the coming year, I don't know how long I can smile patiently and take it.

-S-

[forgesteel]

You're new. The kids are nervous. If you calm down, they will calm down. If you act nonchalant, they will gain more confidence that you aren't a scary foreigner. Just try to smile a lot, even if occassionally it's a little forced.

Get some activities, games, and be open to any method you hear about that might work. If you LIKE kids, and you like teaching, this will be apparent, and the kids will relax. If you hate kids, and you hate teaching, you'll be bored very soon, and probably gone soon, back to your home land.

Also, I suggest developing thick skin and an unflappable attitude towards life. These kids are no angels, and can annoy just as well as any Western snot nose. They, with their 'modest' (I call it stubborn and counterproductive to learning) silence, can drain one's energy very quickly. So, meditate or exercise before class at least twice a week in general.

Being well-prepared with detailed lesson plans doesn't hurt.

Did you do any teaching before South Korea?

Cheers,

[ajuma]

You: "What do you like?" (Unless you're teaching the word "enjoy", don't use it!)

Student A whispers "pizza".

You: "GOOD!!" Write "pizza" on the board.

"Student B...what do you like?"

Student B: "Pizza".

You: "No, it's here...What do you like?"

Student B: "Computer games".

You: "YEAH!!!" Write "computer games" on the board.


Keep telling yourself "small steps...small steps..."

[AbbeFaria]

[ajuma]

Buy your own "indoor shoes" to wear inside the school...that should help your feet!

[Ya-ta Boy]

Part of the problem is you are running against the tradition of Korean education where they memorize the 'right' answer. Asking someone for an opinion is a kind of 'foul' because there is no right answer. You are in effect, asking the kids to go out on a limb and say something that the teacher and every kid in a four block radius is going to humiliate them for saying because it wasn't a) in the book or b) the teacher didn't already say it. (I'm slightly exaggerating, but only slightly.) [I've had Ph.D.s who couldn't express an opinion on the weather until the oldest student said something.]

In the example that you used, you could try expressing one of your likes then asking if X likes it, too. Then continuing on with another example of yours saying, Mi-Young likes pizza, I like apples...What do you like Min-Suck?...no answer...Do you like computer games? Good! Min-Suck likes computer games!. Big smile....and on and on.

I agree...scratch 'enjoy' if they are learning 'like'. They aren't likely to know that word.

Another part of the problem is that their vocabulary is really small. Add panic to that and they probably can't think of a single thing they like that they know the word for. Give them things to choose from to activate their memory of some words.

[joe_doufu]

I find it's better if you give them a pattern. Our language inverts question sentences... "What do you like?" is object+"do"+subject+verb, but "I like _____" is subject+verb+object, so it's not as easy for them to respond to your question as you might think.

Therefore instead of banging them over the head with the question too many times, I'd write "I like ____________." on the board. The korean word for "blah blah blah" is "muh muh muh". Say "I like muh-muh-muh" and they should get it.

[AbbeFaria]

[joe_doufu]

[ajuma]

Sure! Bring in whatever shoes you like, and that will keep your feet happy. Call them your "inside shoes". (If they look new, even better!) As long as you change shoes when you get to the school, it shouldn't be a problem. I can go for an hour in the "school sandals", but after that, forget it!!

[Qinella]

Wooh... the ice rooms. I've had a few of those. A real problem class for me when I started was a group of four first-graders. Even when I spoke to them in Korean, they wouldn't say anything. Just staaaaaarrreee aaaattt meeeeee. Oh lord. Time to start the chanting routine to get those vocal cords warmed up.

One approach to teaching foreign language is repitition, with the idea that grammar will be learned intuitively. When confronted with the ice gaze, repitition (in the form Joe Doufu suggested) might be a good way to break the ice. Write on the board and make them repeat, "I like kimchi." Do that a few times, then go around the room to each child and say, "I like ....." and let them fill in the blank. After that, say the full sentence, and make them repeat it.

And you really do need to learn some classroom commands in Korean. The phrase "repeat after me," for example, is invaluable. When I started, my director gave me a paper with about eight commands, which I memorized that night. You need to sit down and memorize these:

Sit down. ������. Anjeu ra
Look. ������. Bo seyo.
Repeat after me. ���� ��. Dara hae.
Listen. ��� ��. Deudgi hae.
Answer me. ��� ��. Daedap hae.
Answer with a sentence. �������� ��� ��. Munjangeuro daedap hae.
Do you understand? ���� ��? Ihae hae?

These are only six simple phrases which you can print out and practice with your Korean co-teachers to get pronunciation down.

Good luck!

Q.


EDIT: I thought of another thing. When you're asking a question they don't seem to understand, it's best not to rephrase it at all. Just keep repeating it. One of my biggest challenges when I speak Korean is asking someone to repeat something and they continually rephrase it. It's just confusing. Stick with one question and repeat it until they get it.

[fidel]

For an unresponsive class use 'close ended questions' forcing them to choose an option.

Start with yes/no questions with a little humor to loosen them up.
You: Do you enjoy eating monkey brains?
S: No!

If no-one knows what enjoy means then expand your synonyms. If they still don't get it tell them.

Break down the sentence into its constituent parts so they know how to construct an answer

Subject + enjpy + gerund (verb+ing)

show them an example

I enjoy eating monkey brains

Next elicit a few common verbs from the class
play
eat
go
do

Ask the students to make sentences using the target grammar and the given verb. If you get no volunteers choose a person. The student who gives a correct answer is allowed to choose the next student to answer and so on

First student
I enjoy playing computer games

Next student
I enjoy eating pizza

Always remember to break down the sentences. The students have to understand how to construct a construct a sentence before they can confidently express themselves.

luck

[some waygug-in]

Write on the board:


I like: going to movies.
eating pizza.
swimming.
playing tennis.
playing computer games.
playing soccer.
playing with friends.
eating ice-cream.


I don't like: eating bbondae ggie.
doing homework.
cleaning my room.
going to the dentist.
going shopping.
studying English.



The idea is give them some options to try and later they can come up with their own ideas. But give them a lot to choose from first.
Probably double what I've written. Eventhough they have studied English for a long time, they will have difficulty remembering the sentence
patterns and probably the vocabulary that they want to use, so you have to present it in a way they can easily access it.

I hope this helps.

I think some of the ideas posted earlier are great as well. Games are always good, but trying to have games that work on a certain grammar point or something is not so easy. Check the threads that talk about favorite classroom games, check the idea cookbook, get a book of puzzles for EFL students and most important,

Get a copy of "Teaching English to Children in Asia" by David Paul.

It has helped me immensely.

Good Luck

[Grimalkin]

Oh my God I so know what you're going thro'!

Maybe try modelling one sentence on the board then get them to write down some more answers and talk about it with a partner before you ask them directly. It'll give them time to gather their wits.

Also check out booglesworld.com for worksheets for conversation practice.
I found it a lifesaver. For some reason you can't access it directly so google "esl teaching" then click on the link that says "ESL Teacher Resources, Job Boards, and Worksheets".

Goodluck.

[AbbeFaria]

I did lots of writing on the board today, I wrote out several of the book excercises actually, and it worked a lot better. I still get blank stares when I ask them directly, but if I point to one of the board examples and give them a minute, they usually put two and two together.

Thanks to everyone for all the help!

-S-