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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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 Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:42 pm Post subject: My ex-high school student will be a TaLK co-teacher |
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I just got an email from a former student of mine, now a second-year uni student. I'm wondering what the hell to tell her that won't come across as overly negative or cynical. I'm tempted to say imagine randomly getting one of these people: http://debatable.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/frat-party-fans.jpg and enjoy spending a year with them, lol.
Here's what she sent me. What would you tell a student like this or would you just tell her run away! Run away!
Dear Mr. ________
Hello, ___________________. How do you do?
Do you stay _________________? I wonder How you are fine.
Do you know TaLK program?
It means Teach and Learning of Korea.
Do you know Epik program? Maybe you joined them.
It similar but TaLK scholars teach elementary school students.
Korean-americans or foreigners will come Korea next month and
they'll work elementary school since september.
They are called TaLK scholars.
And Koreans (university students) will help them one by one.
They are called TaLK volunteers including me.
I am a volunteer of TaLK.
I have to help one TaLK scholar and also I'll teach students with my partner(TaLK scholar).
That is two teachers teach students one lesson, one class. Do you understand?
So I have a asking. If you still stay _______________, Can you help me, please?
Maybe my foreigner partner will confuse living in Korea.
I think you will be a good adviser to him.
Also, you and he may be good friend each other.
Awating the pleasure of your reply.
and Have a nice day. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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I'd tell her that it's her job to help the newcomer, not yours. And that if she is unable to do it, then she shouldn't volunteer. Part of growing up is becoming responsible, after all...
I get the feeling this program is going to be the blind leading the blind. |
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Join Me
Joined: 14 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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| I would give her a talk about the importance of making sure her partner uses a condom. |
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Countrygirl
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Location: in the classroom
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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Why does she write like a Korean ESL student? I expect more from a 2nd year student.(Sorry, tired and cranky)
Don't tell her anything except good-luck. If you tell her bad things, she won't believe it until she experiences it herself.
If she doesn't like it she'll leave or put up with it for a year. Hopefully she will realize how important education is in getting a decent job and she'll be happy to not have a career as a child minder/tape recorder. Just like babysitting is the best birth control, working in not perfect conditions in Korea might be a great life experience for her. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Easter Clark wrote: |
I get the feeling this program is going to be the blind leading the blind. |
No doubt. I really wonder just what kind of co-'scholar' my former student's going to get. She's a lot more mature than most Korean girls her age, but I suspect the youth culture gap between her and most 20-year-old Americans is going to be enormous. |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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| What's a "TALK" monkey? |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:25 pm Post subject: Re: My ex-high school student will be a TaLK co-teacher |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| I just got an email from a former student of mine, now a second-year uni student. I'm wondering what the hell to tell her that won't come across as overly negative or cynical. I'm tempted to say imagine randomly getting one of these people: http://debatable.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/frat-party-fans.jpg and enjoy spending a year with them, lol. |
They look like they know how to work hard. Look at the abs on that one guy!
Your former student sounds like a jerk though. "Do my job for me!" |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Countrygirl wrote: |
| Why does she write like a Korean ESL student? |
Because she is one. I think she's actually a psychology major, or at least was planning ot be when she entered uni. And her English is way better than a certain MS English teacher's (with an MEd in English education) I had to work with, and is roughly on par with her 3rd grade HS English teacher.
Were you as good as your grade 12 teachers in any subjects when you were in the second year of uni? |
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Countrygirl
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Location: in the classroom
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| Countrygirl wrote: |
| Why does she write like a Korean ESL student? |
Because she is one. I think she's actually a psychology major, or at least was planning ot be when she entered uni. And her English is way better than a certain MS English teacher's (with an MEd in English education) I had to work with, and is roughly on par with her 3rd grade HS English teacher.
Were you as good as your grade 12 teachers in any subjects when you were in the second year of uni? |
I never said that I expected perfection. I just said that I expect more. Did you notice that I said I was tired and cranky. I've also read resumes and written work that was horribly written from people who only speak English. I don't know if I expect better written English because it is a side-effect of working in ESL too long or if the standards of written English are going down in Universities. I never claimed to have great English and I'll be the first to say that my spelling will never be perfect.
That said, if she is Korean, she will probably adjust here much better than any of us. Why would you discourage her. I had a Korean friend come back to Korea on a University exchange program and she had a blast. Koreans can understand the cultural issues here that someone like me can't. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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Can't you guys read? She says that she is a volunteer for TALK that helps TALK applicants adjust to Korea. Nothing in the OP says that she is coming back to Korea.
Anyways, just tell her good luck, and hopefully she'll have a good time. From what I hear, most of the TALK teachers are Americans of Korean descent. But, I'm not sure if that will make TALK anymore successful than the other programs. |
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icicle
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:09 am Post subject: |
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| I am going to take a different tack on my response to OP. I would probably tell her the things that you or people you know would really have liked to find out / learn about when you first arrived in the country - just the normal day to day cultural things that can make life easier and make adjusting to things here easier. It is going to be a learning experience both ways for the Korean helpers (like OP's former student) and for the overseas students coming here to teach for a year. I actually think that the OP's student has done a very sensible thing in asking someone who she knows who has done something similar befre ... I would treat the asking as a positive thing ... rather than as trying to get someone to do her job for her ... It seemed like she was asking for advice more than anything |
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Countrygirl
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Location: in the classroom
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 4:00 am Post subject: |
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Sorry, completely misread that. Thought she was a student from back home. I guess in the back of my mind I consider working for 1.6 pretty much a volunteer position. My apologies. Nothing wrong with her English. (I'm off to get some sleep...damn this heat  ) |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:23 pm Post subject: Re: My ex-high school student will be a TaLK co-teacher |
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| icicle wrote: |
| I would treat the asking as a positive thing ... rather than as trying to get someone to do her job for her ... It seemed like she was asking for advice more than anything |
| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
I think you will be a good adviser to him.
Also, you and he may be good friend each other.
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Pooty
Joined: 15 Jun 2008
Location: Ela stin agalia mou
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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I would just ignore the email for a few weeks. Then reply with something like this:
Hi blah blah,
It was nice to hear from you. Yes, I'm really busy these days working hard. I have very little free time. I hope you enjoy your new position as a Talk volunteer, and I wish you the best of luck in the future. Stay positive!
Best Regards,
YBS |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Agree with Pooty. |
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