Korean Job Discussion Forums

sweetsun · Joined: 25 Jul 2006

i'm moving to Seoul at the end of August. I will be teaching a class filled with 4 year olds. Any advice? i'm use to working with older children...so this will be my first time working with young children..yet alone children that don't speak english. any suggestions?

poet13 · Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:37 pm Post subject:

cattle prod, oven mitts, and duct tape

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

They may be 2-3 in western years. The only advice I can offer is not to get on that plane.

jacl · Joined: 31 Oct 2005

I'd teach them. For 100,000 Won/hour. Maybe. Wait. Nah.

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

three words: don't do it

antoniothegreat · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Location: Yangpyeong

are you a teacher or a baby sitter? do you like cleaning dirty diapers?
like someone else said, if their korean age is four, they are 2 and 3 in western age... wow...

tomato · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:50 am Post subject:

robyn1882 · Joined: 19 May 2006

I teach 4 years olds and was told on the phone before taking the job that they were 4. I think alot of the time Koreans know their age system is different then ours and when they say four they mean four in western age. At least that has been the case for me and a few other people I know. I like teaching "the babies". There is no marking, and barley any prep work involved so it doesn't cut into "my" time. I was very suprised by how much English they could speak. I came here thinking that I was going to be the one teaching them EVERYTHING, and wondering how I was going to do this. But my kids speak at the same level as a four year old Western child would. Some days I find if very frustrating because they are 4..you can't really teach them much, other then the basics. We color alot and sing, and I teach them how to read and write. It is alot less stressful then the higher ages, at least for me. And the schedule is usually better because they are young. I work 10-5 but have an hour lunch break, and one hour worth of 10-20 minute breaks. Talk to people at the school and see what level the kids are at with English. Also, I have never changed one diaper. My kids don't even wear them, not even the two three year olds I sometimes teach.

chilgok007 · Joined: 28 May 2006 Location: Chilgok

I am currently working with Korean-age 4 and 5 year olds and I can say its not quite as bad as you'd expect. The first 2 months with them were absolutly hell. They wouldn't be quiet, wouldn't sit in their chairs, and wouldn't maintain any sense of order. After a while, they gradually started calming down and now, almost 6 months into it, they sit still, are mostly quiet and are able to put together the most rudimentry of sentances (For example if Daniel hits Brian, I usually get a teary-eyed: "Daniel, Brian Hit!," usually accompanied by a head slapping gesture). The trick is to basically do the EXACT same thing day in and day out: same songs, same class structure, same game (making only slight adjustments to fit the days lesson). The little ones seem to like familiarity and they do pick up on the your expectations of them.

Positive reinforcement works really well. Better, in my opinion, than negative reinforcement. For example, if everyone is running around except for little Minsu, instead of punishing the others, give Minsu a sticker or some candy and then tell the class something along the lines of: "Everybody, look at how well Minsu is sitting and look out how quiet he is! Good job Minsu, here's a sticker!" Even though they won't understand your words, they'll get the message and will quickly sit down. If some kids still refuse to sit down, repeat the excersize with all the kids who are sitting and being quiet, and if some kids STILL refuse to behave, then its time to punish them. Send them into the hallway, take them to a K-teacher or put them in another teacher's class for a few minutes. That will usually do the trick. Another thing I do is reward all the students who are sitting down when I enter the room. After a few days of this, you won't have to waste 15 minutes of class time getting them all into their seats. Be sure and crack down on any bad behavior as soon as it appears. Korean kids are like lemmings, and when they see one kid doing something out of line they tend to think it's hilarious and will follow suite. Before you know it, your whole class will be out of control.

Another tip is to move really quickly between activities (no more than 5 to 7 minutes per). Watch some TV shows targeted at preschoolers like "Sesame Street" and notice how quickly they flip between different segments and get the kids attention through a variety of different of means.

Start each class of with the same exact song (someone described it to me as a theme song), and incorporate at least two or three more songs into a one hour class. Plan at least one or two "physical" activites, and of course, the kids love to color (although at my school, the boss discourages any form of creative experssion). Try to bombard as many of their sense as possible. Bring things for them to touch, see, smell, listen to, and taste (if applicable). At first, you'll need to spend alot of time planning everything, but after a few weeks you'll get the hang of it.

Your own personal demeanor and tone of voice should be cheerful and very exuberant. Use lots of hand motions, speak slowly and be very emphatic. If you have no experience teaching kids this young, be sure and make it well known to your co-teachers and your boss. Tell them to be patient with you and don't be afraid to ask them for help.

I hope this helps, if you have any further questions, feel free to contact me.

Junior · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Location: the eye

Hotpants · Joined: 27 Jan 2006

4 year olds are the absolute best age to teach!! (Seriously). At last, they can go to the washroom by themselves. They can comprehend basic instructions, and they have a real enthusiasm for anything you show them. Teaching kindy is physically draining and requires lots of patience, but can be paradoxically more rewarding. I spent 3 years teaching in a kindy. You can read my account of kindy on my link below. Anyone who tells you to run for the hills doesn't know what fun is Wink

- they simply prefer to teach other age groups over kindy. Everyone has their own preferences for teaching age groups.

cosmicgirlie · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Sing and dance, dance and sing....lots of songs.....get a few picture books with lots of actions....they learn through actions. Little ones are also very enthusiastic...unlike their older counterparts. They also don't care if you can't sing on key!

jacl · Joined: 31 Oct 2005

PaperTiger · Joined: 31 May 2005 Location: Ulaanbataar

Make sure you have a helper for that class unless it's totally okay for you to take twenty minutes or longer out of class time to clean a kid what done soiled themself. Also, the wee ones are better comforted in Korean by Koreans unless you're a pro at developing close-knit attachments with toddlers...my kids like me but they still stare at me like with those wide still-introverted small-kid stares. Expect a lot of crying and having to cradle someone who's having a tough day, and if you have a class of six or more you should expect most of them to have several bad weeks until you gain their trust.

Give it some serious thought. If you're not up for a class of kids that will need assistance in the restroom (imagine contact with a lot of fecal matter) and in the lunch room, you should really reconsider. Hopefully you'll be working with some really patient and kind Korean kindy teachers who will make your life a lot easier...sounds simple enough, but if they're horrible and hateful wenches that make the kids cry a lot you got several klicks of bad road ahead. Teaching's the easy part, taking care of them as people...not for everyone.

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

don't do it