Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zackback]

Work at a hagwan now and don't do much but just waste time "teaching", play games etc.
My time is almost up and I have been applying for others jobs (not in Korea) and what causes me serious concern is that they really want me to teach. I mean teach teach. I have become somewhat an expert at killing time and formulating lessons that although they look good in reality they are just pathetic jokes -ultimate time killing/wasting activities.

I know if I pull this crap where I'm going I won't last long.

Now I hope this thread doesn't get sidetracked but I was able to talk a really good game to even have a shot at the jobs I am applying for. It reminds me in a way on how I talk with women. I know a lot of the right things to say to impress them but beneath the surface there isn't much there.

So.....anyone have any advice on how to "really teach"?

Thank you

[edwardcatflap]

Read books on the subject. Take a practical course. Go to conferences and workshops. Observe experienced teachers and allow experienced teachers to observe you and give you feedback. Try new things out in the class room and see if they work. Be prepared to talk about what you learned from all this at interviews and how it made you a better teacher .

[Fishead soup]

Check out The Audio- Lingual approach. I'm sure I'm going to get in trouble from all the dancing monkeys on this site for mentioning the fact that you can teach much more using tranditional listen and repeat drills than playing hangman.
I take a dialogue from Interchange or Side by Side have the students do good old fashioned boring listen and repeat twice then have assigne have the classroom person A and the other side of the classroom person B and have them do the dialogue again. This won't get you any speeches for GEPIK Orientations but it will teach the students.

Now lets see how many monkeys there are out their who say don't use listen and repeat.

[Fox]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

Monkeys can listen and repeat.

I really hope you don't honestly think that the entire scope of all ESL teaching is listen and repeat vs. hangman.

[Fishead soup]

[Fox]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

I guess it's okay for really basic learners who need safety phrases... but I'm not completely convinced that it doesn't encourage kids to turn off their brains off instead of on. But then, I guess it depends on their age, confidence, etc...

For maybe really young learners at a basic level, hangman is probably alright.

[Enrico Palazzo]

Are you being serious? Is this some kind of joke?

At any rate, it's hard to tell you how to teach via a post. However, I prefer using the communicative approach when it comes to teaching. The Audio-Lingual Method is outdated and comes from the U.S. military and based on people simply repeating what they hear. It is not effective.

With the communicative approach, you are not simply lecturing your students. You come up with activities for them today while you monitor what they're saying. You first start your class with an attention catching phrase.

Then, you can think of the vocabular you want to introduce and a them. You could use magnets and post printed pictures connected to what you are trying to say.

Don't talk too long. After showing some of the pictures, and writing sentences on the board connected to the pictures. Have them work in groups discussing what they learned and ask each other questions about it.

Then, continue with building up your them. You could hand out a print out where they are supposed to ask questions and do info-gap activities where you are trying to get them to use certain key vocabulary and grammar.


Occasionally, you can also have them get up and have a check list for example where they are asking a classmate when their birthday is for example:

Qui a son anniveraire en juin _______________ Jack Bernstein

Qui a son anniversaire en juillet ______________Marc Brunet


Then, you should find an interesting way to close the activity.



If you are teaching reading, the key is to get them books that are appropriate level. Don't rush and try to finish a book if the goal is fluency. I would constantly go back and read passages they read before. This increases the reading fluency of the students. Reading out loud works on their pronunciation, but reading silently works on their reading comprehension.

You can look up pre-reading activities, looking at the bold, teaching them skimming and scanning (look that up).

[eamo]

[Enrico Palazzo]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

[TECO]

[Zackback]

How are they different?

[TECO]