Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sallymonster]

[Steelrails]

I like large After School classes rather than small ones- Makes activities a lot easier and the classroom a lot more "vibrant". Plus nothing says success like having your classes always full.

[brento1138]

This method works to get students in-line. But it requires you work outside of your paid hours (a little, but it's worth it, trust me!!!)

So. Firstly, when teaching students of any age, it is better not to yell, scream, lose your temper, etc., because they actually find it entertaining. It gives them a way to break their boredom. Or with other students, they will basically hate you and it will always be a battle (you vs. them) where they want to "win." So, avoid that at all costs.

Rather, do this. Be very calm and collected in class. Be fair. If students are being disruptive, select them and explain to them (with the Korean teacher if need be) that you will "interview" them outside of regular class time. After school, you sit down with them in a room with your Korean teacher. You look at them very seriously, keeping enough eye contact so that they feel you are in control, but not so much as to make them feel totally uncomfortable. Also, remember "All kids are smart" --> They just PLAY dumb. They're not actually dumb. Some of you might say "No, but my student REALLY is dumb." No, he isn't. He or she just wants you to think that. In that way, they "win" if you believe it.

On to the after-class / after-school interview.

You will want to "level" with them here. Basically, you ask them these questions, with the help of your Korean co-teacher:

"Do you know why I asked you to see me?"
A: if they answer yes, and explain why, then great! it's easy. from there, shouldn't be a big problem. get them to promise to be better next class. if they break their promise, it's on them.
B: but if they don't know, then there is much more work to do... prepare to spend a lot of time with them, as they are being uncooperative.

"I think this class has a problem. Would you help me to fix this problem?"
A: OK, this is what I can do. --> getting somewhere
B: No, I have no idea (playing dumb)--> More time needed, keep talking.


"Do you think you are helping the other students in the class? Do you think you are creating some problems for them?
A: I understand my behavior is wrong --> getting somewhere
B: No--> More time needed

"What can you do to help me fix this class?"
A: I should study harder and stop chatting, being disriptive --> that's a good response
B: Nothing --> He is a true problem. Almost time to call up the parents.

You can think of other questions. Notice they are pro-active questions, not negative punishing questions?

Basically, the longer a student "goes against you" the longer they stay in the after-school "interview." It is important to get them to PROMISE to be better. Be kind, be respectful towards them (respect goes both ways here), and warn them. Always get them to make the promise, that is important. But basically, you don't want to make the student feel they are "in trouble" yet. Stay cool, stay collected, but don't smile. Be serious. Very very serious. Look as if the survival of the WORLD is at stake here. But don't appear angry. Appear upset, but not enraged. Remember: don't act like you are punishing them, don't act like you hate them, in fact, throw in comments like "I like you" or "I think you have such potential to be a great student" and other things.

After they bow, say sorry, and exit, that's when you think "OK, let's wait until next time."

Next class comes. If the behavior is better, then great. Remind him/her in class about another interview if he/she messes up. But it's just a reminder. Always be fair, and give warnings first. If they don't heed the warnings, it means another "interview." On the third interview, it is time to get the parents involved. If your school or parents do not help you at this point, then it is OK to refuse teaching the child by simply not allowing him to enter the class (as he is now a problem for other students). That is the worst case scenario, which has luckily never happened to me, and should never really happen unless your school boss, co-teacher, or their parents are dead beats (more on that later).

***Think from the child's perspective: The key here is that students don't want to spend any more time than they need to at school or with you. The only thing on their mind is "I want to play and have fun, get on my computer, etc." and if you stop them from that possibility due to them not listening to you / being a good student, naturally it is in their basic survival instinct to start being better whether they want to or not. So, if being bad = spending that after school interview time with you, then they will likely stop being bad. They want those 20 precious minutes! Or 10 minutes. Or 5 minutes! ***

Some of you might be defeatists, thinking "Oh, I cannot see them after school because they say they have to go to another school, their parents are waiting for them, etc." Nope, not acceptable excuses there. You can see them in the morning, another time, between class, make them be late for their other school (this gets the parents interested/concerned possibly too, which is good!). Oh, and if you work at a hakwon where they don't want the parents to be informed about their children due to reasons of "profit" then quit immediately. You are not being supported in your work, and get the hell out of there or just slack off and not care about your job whatsoever. Your boss/co-teacher doesn't care about the students? Chances are they will care. But if they are absolute deadbeats, just either leave (dignity at stake here) or tell them that "if you don't care, neither shall I."

Or some of you might think "Oh, but I'm not getting paid extra for this." Actually, you are incredibly wrong. Maybe you don't get paid with money, but your life will be a whole lot better once your classes improve and believe me, that is a huge payoff.

Hope that advice is useful.

[lorenchristopher]

I work at a hagwon. I cringed when I read the OP's post. My first year I had two classes that made my life a living hell. One sixth grade class, they were totally apathetic....did not open there books, if two boys were fighting they would refuse to change seats when I asked, even yelled. I would try yelling and they would shrug their shoulders and say "I don't care." I turned around in the middle of explaining something to find a girl in that classes with earbuds in just listening to music. I crazily motioned for her to pull them out, and she did. I was like, "Why do you think that's okay?!?" She shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

They drove me crazy. Luckily, when they got really bad I only had about 2 more months of teaching them before they went on to another level and I would never have to see them again. The Korean teacher who taught the class most of the time told me, "I've given up on them. There is nothing I can do. Just don't care about them, they will be gone in a couple months." Looking back now that I'm on my fourth year, I would have handled things much differently.

The other class that rings a bell was a big class of 7 and 8 year olds which, as you described, would be rolling around on the floor, screaming, drawing on the board, running around, etc as soon as I walked into the classroom. I think each class I got about 2 minutes total of complete focus from them. I tried so many different things, nothing worked. I "gave up" and printed a wordsearch puzzle (something I had vowed I would never do), and went in and shouted enthusiastically with a big smile "We have a puzzle today, yaaaay!!!!! First student to finish it gets CHOCOLATE!!!!"

They went straight to their seats, I handed out the puzzle as quickly as possible and they started doing the wordsearch immediately. I sat down at the teachers' desk and almost cried because the silence was unbelievable. It got their attention, it got them to be quiet, to sit down....I was able to teach the class much better after they finished the puzzle.

I've learned a few techniques that work well for me, perhaps not other teachers style.

For a loud crazy class of young students who cannot sit still, be quiet, or pay attention:
I have something engaging and fun prepared when I walk through the door. Sometimes it's a small maze, sometimes is a wordsearch, a word scramble, sometimes it's a 4 minute video....I mix up puzzles and videos so they never get bored. And they never last more than 5-8 minutes. Sometimes you'll need to monitor the REALLY hyper kids. This has worked for me to get them to sit down and be quiet and restore order very quickly. Be careful and make sure you stay in "preventative mode" after the initial activity. If one kid steps out of his seat it's minus points, or the entire class has to write a sentence (keep a tally on the board, each time one child gets out of their seat or yells, it's another copy of the sentence).

I don't use the sentence copying thing often, but it definitely is not fun for them and stops the behavior. One time a kid absolutely didn't care, kept getting out of his seat and speaking Korean. He racked up 13 sentences that the entire class had to copy. When they all finished, I sent the kid outside and talked to the rest of the students. I said something along the lines of, "If you don't want to write sentences, you need to tell Timmy to stop. If you want to be angry, be angry at Timmy. If you want to complain, complain to your parents and tell them to request that Timmy be removed from the class." (obviously said in simpler language) I kept that system up for about four class meetings, after that they were all much more focused and enjoyable.

Also, kids love to see you get angry. DON'T do it. I only show my angry face and tone about two or three times a year....and it is really scary and fixes the problem immediately because they've never seen me angry.

I just explain the rules from day one, enforce them in a "matter-of-fact" way with very very little sympathy. If one kid is being rude I pull him in front of class and speak to him very softly and slowly and ask him why he is being a bad student, wait for him to answer...even if it takes two minutes, just keep asking....it makes him/her feel very awkward and half the time they will start to cry. I have all my students' parents phone numbers, a few times I've stopped what I'm doing....and I slowly write that kids' mom's number on the board, very slowly....one digit at a time. When I've finished I turn around and stare at that student, the pick up my cell phone and start dialing. I hold the phone up with my finger over the "send" button and just give them the stare. Only done that a couple times but it definitely worked, lol.

These are what I consider "drastic measures" though....90% of the time my kids are fine and we all have fun together, a key point is that I never show anger and never show them I am upset. But of course you will have students or even classes that are out of control. Drastic misbehavior calls for drastic action. Hopefully one of my techniques appeals to you and can be of help....just remember that when you enforce it, be very "matter-of-fact", almost with a smile on your face. When they complain about a punishment I smile and say, "Hey, you know my rules. I asked you 10 times to sit down, you still didn't sit down, so now we are doing this punishment!" Big smile!

[Fishead soup]

If you're with a program like GEPIK EPIK or SMOE. The amount of respect
you get from the students is strongly influenced by the way the Korean staff feel about you. This is a bitter pill to swollow but it's true. On one hand they tell you to play games and have fun with the students in reality most K teachers think that kind of stuff is just killing time. You need to mix fun stuff with more difficult academic stuff. Don't be afraid to use kill and drill too it really works and it's great for taking back control of the class.