Korean Job Discussion Forums

[koala5]

I am about to hand in my resignation to the prinipal with my Korean co-teacher. I feel a little sad of the progress I have made with the students at my Elementary School. I have tried to work hard as much as I can to control students and try to set up interesting things to do for my students. I have been at this school for nearly a year and a half. My biggest problem so far has been controlling activities every day for 40 students.
I just wonder those "high level" teachers out there or even those just normal teachers go through the process everyday of doing pretty much the same thing. Sorry I forgot to mention I have been part of the GEPIK program too.

thanks

[rothkowitz]

I don't find it overly different in middle or high school.

You can only do so much.The students have to meet you somewhere along the line,ie,accept some measure of responsibility,or,failing that keep quiet.

Actually these days,the teacher (in High School)will tell me just to finish the class early.If I've gone over the material they're happy.If the students simply don't care,then,just leave it at that.

I know where you're coming from for sure.It can get rather disheartening.

Perhaps think of it as some football coaches might.You can only take them so far.

[Wrench]

Really I love my elementary stuff. I usually don't have enough time. I have a blast with most of my classes. Ofcourse I have a curriculum and I more or less control every aspect of my classroom. I even doll out the punishment. (It usually involves singing and dancing)

I found that not overly carring about the kids progress is the key I care about my performance but do I care about every single kid in class. HELL NO

[poet13]

Most of the insolence I get from my middle school kids stems from (I think) being at a lower english level than their classmates. Today I ahd a boy use banmal with me. He is the lowest level speaker in that class. He hadn't done any of the exercise everbody else was doing, so I think he hid behind insolence as a front for maybe embarassment. I got down beside him and we went through the first part of the exercise together. It took maybe five minutes. The rest of the class continued with their exercise. I think he was kind of shocked that I took the time to help him instead of punishing him for his insolence. After the class, he caught up with me in the hall and apologized complete with a low bow. I would be very surprised if he ever used ban mal with me again. I also think he will walk a little taller, cause when we did the exercise together, he realized that he actually COULD do it..... made my day.

[Yesterday]

[koala5]

That is really impressive you have been able to teach them to say I can fly and I can play basketball and have fun doing it. I wish people don't make assumptions about certain things that go on that they know or don't know that happen. I am very impressed that for 6 years you could have the same enthusiasm for the same job every day. Of course your class was always perfect every day and always listened to you so well because your such a fun teacher all the time. These kids never think English is boring of course. I wonder how many people out there can say that. Sure some days were great for me and I had a blast and I really made a difference to the program me being there. Maybe I am wrong but I gather we all have different situations we have had to deal with. I have learnt a lot from this process that I believe will hold me in good fortune for the future. This is my first Public school job. So I will notch it down to experience and move along and be stronger for it.

So please get off your high horse and write a message that actually makes any sense. We all want to perfect teachers like you.

[Satin]

"My biggest problem so far has been controlling activities every day for 40 students."

You've been doing this for 18 months and now want to resign? You must be doing some things right or the school wouldn't keep you.

Step back and sit down. Make a list first of the positive things you have accomplished. Include everything - even if was just a thank you from a student or staff member. Now ask yourself why these things happened. Build from these positive experiences.

Now make a list of what you would like to happen. Jot down a few ideas of how you would approach making it happen. If you get stuck, ask other teachers on the forums what they do.

Instead of resigning, talk to the principal (through an interpreter if necessary), and explain your feelings and ask for their input. As much as "SOME" teachers think they are perfect, they aren't.

Most teachers go through what you are going through, at some point. Yes, controlling 40 students can be demanding, but put it in perspective. Do you think your professors in college worried about your behavior in a lecture with 500 students? There is a point at which the student has to assume responsibility for the learning process.

Also, you can ask your Korean teacher for input and help in the classroom. If it were "just your classroom," the Korean teacher wouldn't be there.

[ddeubel]

Good reply Satin.....constructive.

I could say a lot but don't have the time, maybe later. What I'd like to say quickly is that you are probably an example of the 'holes" in the system. Meaning, you were put into a teaching "situation" and just expected to make the best of it. You weren't set up for success......

I hope school boards get proactive about training English teachers, especially those foreigners without much experience. Training them quickly with the fundamentals they can fall back on, to keep the class learning and growing along the English language learning curve. Easy activities, basics of classroom set up and management and simple materials that are easily adaptable - not the convoluted text as is....

I think they will realize that by not training teachers, incoming and Korean, they will lose much in the way of their investment - when the teachers fail to do the job or more to the point, don't stay teaching successfully and flee...

DD

[bosintang]

[bosintang]

More to the point.

Imagine if Canada had no Asian community.

Now imagine this Canada decreed Chinese as the next global language and decided to import a Chinese teacher for every Canadian public school with little mandate beyond "help improve communication in Chinese".

In a big hurry to hire native Chinese speakers, the people hiring don't know what they want and the Chinese speakers don't really know what they're supposed to provide other than to "teach Chinese".

Imagine, for whatever reason, there was a shortage of available Chinese teachers (perhaps the airfare was too expensive) and the system was forced to take whatever they could get. There are not enough English Chinese speakers around to interpret and check information; so asking for resumes, certificates, etc. from the imported Chinese speakers are just formalities and are pretty well meaningless.

A small but significant population of these Chinese teachers are slipping in with very questionable backgrounds that range from substance abusers to criminals to just people with weird and very unusual behaviour. Beyond this group, a larger group of these teachers really want to be engineers or businessmen and are just waiting for their work visas, or they want travel the Americas, or they're just using Canada as a vehicle to get into the States where conventional wisdom says the money and overall conditions are better. Whatever their motives, they certainly won't be sticking around Pickering, Ont. or New Waterford, NS for any considerable length of time.

Now imagine the few sincere Chinese teachers left remaining are thrown into a Canadian public junior high school. Because Chinese teachers are rare, they double up classes and have 40 students per class only once a week. The students don't speak any Chinese beyond a few memorised and regurgitated phrases their Canadian Chinese teacher (who doesn't speak Chinese and learned from a textbook) taught them. The Chinese teacher, sincere but unexperienced and untrained, and who cannot really communicate with any of their Canadian co-workers looks for support for what to do with the students. However the Canadian teachers look at the Chinese teacher like *they're* the expert, after all, the Chinese teacher is the one who can speak Chinese.

Now change everything here from Canada to Korea. Does this sound like a system for success?

[ddeubel]

Bosintang,

You draw the correct picture and if only it puts the problem into clear focus, it helps. You might also be right about things not changing but I work in the system and think small things might get done. Yes, turning this whale over onto her belly and sliding her into the water - is another matter....

But I did some experimenting last year and had a lot of success using CALL, setting up a language lab. I could work with 2/3 students , in conversation, reviewing material while the rest of the 35+ students worked on the language lab, on the computer. I could monitor what they were doing from my computer , and especially afterwards.

What I witnessed were very actively engaged students, getting immediate feedback, adjusting and taking control of their own learning. The last 15 min. of class, they could visit an array of different sites, some with games.

The korean teacher walked around monitoring, while I worked with kids. Ideal situation and no behaviour problems. A model for the future and especially if you use a language lab where the kids are learning exciting things (complimenting their own Korean curriculum) and getting motivated by having feedback - instantly.

And that is the BIGGEST problem in language teaching or teaching in general. Why their is a malaise in many classrooms the world over. Kids don't see the goal, kids don't get gratification or see VALUE. School to them is doing useless things and they see no progress in their learning at all.....so they make trouble, get bored, turn off......I've never had that problem with a soccer ball!!!! Why? instant gratification. Their is action, reaction and continual adjustment. They see development of the ball on the field and then even goals, great plays.

We have to have good teachers in the classrooms that know how to provide kids with this success, give them the environment that will challenge and provide them with feedback, so they can continually control and adjust their learning.

Anyways, the wave of the future will be some form of the above - unless you are correct and it is still the token foreigner and nobody really successfully learning even a modicum of English...

DD

[Kimchieluver]

I don't know. I have seen a lot of progress in the students I have taught here. That is, the ones that actually put in an effort. I have lived in the same place for 4 and 1/2 years and have seen the ability in students really improve. If the public schools didn't make learning English mandatory, you would have far more productive and competitive students. I get really worn out sometimes trying to motivate these 10 - 35% matric students.

Imagine if Canada did away with the French lessons. The school system would save a bundle and to be honest not that many people ever get to the fluency level needed to work in a job that requires French without going through immersion.

[JeJuJitsu]

Things getting stale? Teach 'em movie quotes, and if you have access, use YouTube to play the actual movie line. Today we are learning one phrase for our 5-minute warm-up lesson, from the movie Stripes: "That's the fact, Jack!"

Actually, this semester we are focusing only on Bill Murray movies.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Wrench]

I gave up on the system there is no point in screaming at top of your lungs why this system needs to be changed. Even having an inteligent conversation is fruitless. Its an imperfect system so I find my self not trying to change the system but rather not making the system suck any more then it has to.

I give 100% every day I make my classes fun and educational, my kids are very good at retaining the knowledge I teach them. In 40 minutes once a week they learn more from me then kids that spend 4 hours at a haqwon. I try to make the kids feel comfortable and relaxed and they really open up and then real teaching can occur.

I make my kids laugh a lot. I act, I mime, I give physical and visual hints as well as auditory. Heck even the teachers that sit in my classes crack up and laugh. The kids have a good time so do I and too boot they learn.