Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BS.Dos.]

I'm nearly at the end of my first contract and will be re-signing in a few days and over the last few days, I've been reflecting on this past year in terms of how much influence I've actually had on those in my charge. Regrettably, I can't say with any degree of certainty just how much difference I've made. I'm sure I have, it's just it's difficult to guage just how much and to how many have realistically benefited from my efforts, especially given that I generally need a cattle-prod to get them to comminucate.

Given this, and in light of there not being any mechanisims in place for feedback, I'd say that I'd probably give myself a score of around 6/10 for my overall teaching skills. I think my biggest weakness is not distributing my time to the lower level students enough. My teaching is also guilty of being generally too teacher centered.

So, how do you rate yourself and what (if any) are your perceived areas of weakness?

[KYC]

depends on the class. Most of my classes..hell I give myself 5/10. Everything started affecting me and I stopped putting effort into my lesson plans.

My advanced class-8/10. Most of them can read now. I'm very satisfied with that. I saw them 2-4 times a week.

[NilesQ]

I would have to say that my biggest weakness is that I'm a perfectionist.

[RyanInKorea]

[aka Dave]

Like everything else, it's a work in progress.

[lastat06513]

The best thing to remember when you are in front of the class is, "What would it be like if I were in the students seat?".....if you put yourself in the students' shoes and realize how difficult it must be for them to understand English, then you can use that as a catalyst for how to prepare for class and how to teach your students.....

I was 23 years old when I started teaching and I can honestly say, I had no idea on how to do it.......I was so stressed to the point that I started to question my own self-worth.........

My best advice- network!

If you have a chance go to the annual KoTESOL conference.....some of the workshops are very useful......and also the monthly meetings could be a worthwild way to find ideas on how to teach........

Also, another awesome way is to go to as many interviews as possible.....many of the big schools like YBM, Pagoda, and even English Channel and Direct English love to boast about their curriculum. You can pick and choose from their methods and add it to your methodology.........

Some of the things that bore students to death is the one-track lessons have......the more variety a student has in their lessons the better......and also mixing it up abit also......one day start with listening comprehension and another day start with pronunciation abd intonation.....one day having an open discussion (AKA- "Free-talking") where the students choose the topics and another day have a guided discussion using materials......


Another tip: Don't use games too much in the lessons......it is a good thing to use sparingly or as a motivation booster when the class becomes "unintersting"...........


As another poster said, teaching ESL/EFL is a work in progress- something that comes from trial and error......

Self-criticism should lead to self-improvement through teaching development that further leads to self-improvement.............at least, thats the way I see it.................................................

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

I think it's pretty easy to teach a good class of motivated, well-behaved students. If you can't teach them well, you're either not putting in enough effort or not geared to teaching.

That said, I think I'm quite good at teaching my current high-level students, a group of ajummas I teach twice weekly, I have a good repoire with them and we cover a wide range of topics and I feel their confidence and ability is increasing. Though, as I said before, it's a teacher's dream to teach an enthusiastic, well-behaved, high-level group of students.

My younger, lower-level students (especially elementary and kindergarten classes) however are, and always have been for me, a mixed bag. I have little trouble getting kids on side as I'm fairly easygoing and like there to be a relatively fun, learning atmosphere. However, some classes take this as a license to fool around and sometimes I'm more successful at reining them in than other times. I have plenty of success stories but also many classes which I walk away from thinking I could have done better, and unfortunately some, where it's uphill climb just getting them to listen.

Enforcing discipline and class rules for the younger students has been my weak point.

All in all, I rate myself quite well for the high level classes, average for the low level ones.

[cj1976]

Sometimes I don't feel like a teacher at all. When I'm teaching grade 6, it's more like being a zoo keeper.

[ddeubel]

lastat,

Nice post and you say a lot with so little. Especially important to always be thinking "inside out" as I put it --- what if I were on the other side?

My teaching varies and depends on my mood/life/condition etc..... One thing I've learned through the years is that teaching is a roller coaster. One day your are up, one week/month you are buoyant and going places. Next, you wonder what it is all about / worth and it feels like "Groundhog day".....

Whatever I feel/am going through - I do my best. That's all I can ask.

David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

[hauwande]

i give myself a 10/10.

i am perfect...

[hauwande]

ok, jokes aside...

who in hell knows what they are worth out of 10 as a teacher in a real professional environment let alone esl in korea...

my take is that we have almost zero influence on our students as teachers of the english language. we may have more influence in other areas like their inpression of the outside world IF we teach the same students for many hours a week and we have the opportunity to ENGAGE them.

dont try to rate yourself as a teacher in this environment; it is NOT a real teaching environment. unless you are a university professor and your job is set up accordingly.

spare your own mental and emotional energy - see it for what it is...

[crusher_of_heads]

Peaks and valleys-I'm a lot better than when I started, most people are.


You have to read your kids well-OP, with more experience, you will have more student-centered lessons-a prof in my Education program for my History teachable told us 1 in 10 should be student centered-kids here expect, and respond better to more.


At the middle school, my 2nd grade class disqualified themselves from student centered lessons-they behave much better now.

[Dome Vans]

Being in a similar situation to the OP, BS.Boss. I've just finished my first year and the past year has been great and the same time very very interesting.

I like to be professional in all that I do. After each lesson I learn a: about my students and b: about how I did. Usually thinking how to include everyone and those slower students, but especially how to improve my style and it has changed significantly since I started a year ago. Having my CELTA to start with was a great help.

Over the last year there has been a few areas that I'm very pleased with. Of the 450 students that I teach, I've got to know each of them and the respect between me and them is now apparent. It takes time but it's nice to know that if I tell them to be quiet then they are, no back chat.

As for noticeable improvement in my students I actually think that their speaking is getting better and has done over the year. So much so that this week my lower level 3 students at one of my middle schools have done a few speaking activities in the past month and they've done so well. Today my Level 1 students did a speaking activity, in the waiting room style (2 rows of 10 chairs facing each other, each student interviews the person opposite then when they've finished one side moves on one seat and then interview the new partner, and so on) Walking up and down and listening they were all doing the work, helping each other, no copying on their sheets and doing the task perfectly. This is happening more frequently. So much so that today I told them as I do after all speaking activities that today, Speaking Practice = Fantastic. I was very impressed. My co-teachers on both instances were surprised as well. They seem to be speaking with confidence and not worried about asking me anything. (side note: I work in small countryside schools, in villages of 500-1000 people, where most of the students don't go Hagwons and have a very low level of English)

I'm gonna have to disagree whole heartedly with the poster (troll) who says that you have zero influence with the students here. If you can make learning fun and interesting and get them to smile and have a class laugh and make them feel as though you're there to help them, then that's a small step to making a difference. Even the slightest encouragement and reward for good work can make a difference. IMO.

So in short after this c*appy piece. I'm taking my small victories to heart which I think is important in PS, and I'm learning from them, my students enjoy my lessons and I enjoy teaching them a lot. As for putting a grade on it in 'real teacher' terms, I don't know.

[mrsquirrel]

I range from a 1/10 - 9/10 all depending on class, co-teachers, time of year, weather etc etc.

In Thailand if a lesson went badly it was purely my fault. I taught alone and had nobody else influencing the outcome of my lesson (except for the kids but they were pretty good 99% of the time)

Here that thing called a co-teacher being included in the lessons makes such a difference that it can be night and day between two classes teaching the same lesson.

I feel bad for the kids in the classes with the poor co-teacher - they get *beep* all out of it. Kids in the classes with the OK and the very good one get so much more.

[Easter Clark]