Korean Job Discussion Forums

[EzeWong]

I've relied on rewards trying to get students to speak. Both short and long term (stickers for a prize or just candy)

The kids raise their hands and respond to phrases like "what's up".

I thought it was working but now I see a sudden drop in participation even despite the easier material.

As a PS school teacher my most important goal is to have the students speaking. breaking them up into groups and pairs doesn't seem to work because of discipline problems. Games get mostly out of hand because they scream and yell whatever they know in English or start speaking Korean.

I'm wondering if anyone has any good solutions to my problem. This is under the assumption they are complete monsters and have the attention span of a raisin.

I've contemplated many possible other pairings but I can't think of a good conceivable one without having to experiement extensively...


...
...


...

[Fishead soup]

Lots of people on this board are gonna bite my head off for saying this
because it goes against the current Edutainmenttrend. I think for now you should do lots of drilling(Choral Repetition) in a military kind of way. Also let the kids know that if they misbehave the class is going to be boring. When and if either their behavour or their speaking ability gets better you might try something more creative.

[Juregen]

In a big group it is better to write out some conversations, and let them "parrot" it out loud with the one sitting next to them.

Try to make it funny, and first do it yourself, with another chosen classmate.

Then they have to do them between themselves.

Or you could take a conversation of a movie scene, show the scene, and then let the students re-enact it.

[xCustomx]

You have the same problem as probably 95% of public school teachers. The large class sizes make it difficult, but you should experiment and see what works well for you.


Usually I have to teach the speaking portion of the textbook, but that doesn't help me. What I do is find the topic, theme, or grammar point for that lesson and then develop something on my own. This is my second year at a middle school, and even though I have tons of resources that I've gathered together, I'm always having problems finding new and fun ways to help the students speak more.

Today I had a lesson on directions. We focused on 4 sets of words: Take, transfer, get off, from....to. I explained what the words mean in Korean. Then I wrote a sample dialogue to help them. I showed a picture of the Seoul Subway line. I would pick different subway stations on the map and have students give me the directions on how to get to different places. "How do I get to Gangnam station from Apgujeong?" After several examples, the students began to understand. Then I gave a worksheet that has a map with subway and bus lines. Student A has locations 1,3,5,7...etc marked on their map. Student B has the even numbered locations marked. They are supposed to give directions to each other to be able to locate all the places on the map.
When they finished, I called on students to provide the answers.

This lesson is by no means perfect, but I was happy that 70% of the students completed the activity and as I walked around to help, most of them were speaking in English

If your students aren't speaking, that could be their fault, but I think the teacher is part of the problem as well. The more time you spend in the class, the more you'll start to understand what will and won't work. This will affect the lessons that you make. I try to make my demonstrations and explanations as easy as possible. I don't want to keep rambling, but once you get more experience things will get easier. Good luck

[Easter Clark]

[xCustomx]

[Easter Clark]

[ddeubel]

[EzeWong]

This self study thing intrigues me,

If i have all students talking at the same time, someones is definately dicking around
Dialogue pairs don't work: dicking around
row groups don't work: kids in the back row usually don't do anything
Grouped games don't work: only some kids participate.


Korean students are TOO shy... I'm frustrated but I think I can do this.
There has to be some sort of activity or game that will have even the most tame student talking.

I really don't wnat to pick on kids. I hated that when I was in school and that never worked for me.

As for Staff Sargeant, I want them to be interested in the topic, I could drill it into their head, but I want them to have fun... "that's what foreign teachers class is for... fun" as one student told me (lol little scamp I was gonna break his arm hahaha)

[ddeubel]

Eze wong,

You might try this zip zap game that I modified for EFL. Have the students instead of just vocab words, use sentences.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ymw2zmjyjzy/Zip zap.doc

You might also try a talking stick in their groups/pairs. You have to hold the stick to speak. Cuts down on the chatter and provides some structure.

Simple flashcard games work to help with production and so do simple stand up / walkarounds. Students on a slip of paper write some vocab word as directed by the teacher (ex. month of their birthday, job they want to do when they grow up, favorite X) . They then walk around asking each other (model the correct question ex. When is your birthday?). If they find a match, they lock arms and continue to find all the students who match up. .... Largest group/smallest group can win. you set the criteria... Once they know the walkaround procedure, it works with all topics...

Getting real speaking production takes a lot of teacher skill I believe. You really have to create the proper classroom dynamics and environment...not easy but if a teacher wants ... they can succeed in doing so.

DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

[Tobias]

The problem simplified:

1. They enjoy a certain level of esteem (i.e. FACE).

2. They speak and are exposed as not knowing as much as their colleagues believed or their level of esteem warrants.

3. They lose face.

4. They don't speak again.

Want to REALLY piss off a Korean?

A. Pair a PhD with a 7-year old whose English ability smokes the ability of the PhD.

B. Watch PhD disappear from your classes, never to return.

[Fishead soup]

[Easter Clark]

If I have to choose between a highly structured activity in which 90% of the class participates (reading dialogs or choral drilling) or a loosely structured activity designed to encourage language production using the students' own experiences and interests in which maybe 20% of the class participates...well, I do want to maximize the time spent speaking English...

Fact is, for low-level students who have no interest in learning the language, there is safety in numbers and choral drills afford those numbers. And to the comment about the FTs class being there so the students can "have fun"...I thought the FT's class was for learning and practicing English. You can't please all the people all the time. Sure, try to plan to their interests and do your best to build up their self esteem. But when many of the students decide it's more rewarding for them to sleep or talk to their friends (or, in many cases, face punishment) than participate in your class, try asking yourself what went wrong--and try finding an acceptable answer to that question. Teacher's fault? Maybe. But what can be done? It's so easy to criticize without offering a course of action.

And ddeubel--I have always appreciated your advice and experience. However, I must say that many of your materials aren't geared toward any one level. The range of abilities is all over the place, which makes it too time consuming to modify them or use them in class.

[Fishead soup]

[D.D.]