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emilylovesyou
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Location: here
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 Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:38 pm Post subject: Tough time with high schoolers |
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So I just started working at a girls' vocational high school (privately funded but government owned), teaching 14 classes of the 'lowest level' students. So far the co-teachers and students like me and my lessons, but the English proficiency of most of the students really took me by surprise.
My first classes I started out having them speak and follow simple directions in English and asking questions to each other, and then to write 10 sentences describing a person and making up a story to judge their speaking, listening, and writing abilities.
I've been told these girls have had English instruction since the 3rd grade, but it sure doesn't seem so! It seems they can't put together a coherent sentence either speaking or reading ("My favorite food dduk boki!" and "Her is brown hair."). It's like they know what they want to say, but nobody properly taught them how to do it. I want to teach them past tense and question words and he/her/she/his, basically the fundamentals of English sentences, but my position is conversation. How can I effectively teach them that it is "My favorite food IS dduk boki" and "SHE HAS brown hair" without taking the place of the teacher, and without spending lesson after lesson re-teaching them stuff they probably already have been taught?
Am I being too hard and expecting too much from these girls? |
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IncognitoHFX
Joined: 06 May 2007
Location: Yeongtong, Suwon
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:58 pm Post subject: Re: Tough time with high schoolers |
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| emilylovesyou wrote: |
Am I being too hard and expecting too much from these girls? |
You say you're teaching 14 classes a week? What are the class sizes like?
If you're only doing each class once a week then it might be a bit difficult to make any real progress with them.
I'm kind of in the same situation. My beginner's classes are unbelievable. I finally found out why. Apparently, my school has two branches. The first is university preparation for the "advanced students". Those classes are pretty good at English, and I can have regular conversations with a few.
The next branch is the remedial classes. Those are my beginner's classes. I didn't know I was even teaching remedial kids until the other day when my co-teacher told me about it. I had asked why their level was so terribly low a hundred times and I didn't get an answer until recently. I guess these kids wanted to go to Technical Schools but they didn't make the cut, so they were put in the remedial program at my school.
Anyway, best advice I can give you is to just focus on teaching the basics. Try to make it fun. Screw conversation, the teachers should understand that you're trying to head in that direction anyway. Have them try practicing making sentences in fun ways. Help them put sentences together. Do all of the appropriate things you need to do to get them making the most basic sentences and start building your way up from there. Stress the importance to them of answering and speaking in full sentences instead of just yelling single Konglishee words at full volume. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:43 pm Post subject: Re: Tough time with high schoolers |
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| emilylovesyou wrote: |
How can I effectively teach them that it is "My favorite food IS dduk boki" and "SHE HAS brown hair" without taking the place of the teacher, and without spending lesson after lesson re-teaching them stuff they probably already have been taught?
Am I being too hard and expecting too much from these girls? |
After nearly two years at a vocational high school (which I have been told by many has the lowest level of academics in the country), the answer to your question is "Yes."
The fact that they can communicate to you that their favorite food is deok-bokki is something to be thankful for. Never mind the fact that they omit something as trivial as the "be" verb!
The challenge is to re-teach them what they have already been taught (and have already forgotten) without making your classes repetitive. Be sure to incorporate vocabulary from previous lessons into your classes. Most of my lessons focus on subject/verb agreement, i.e. "His name is Ned." or "They're nice guys." We focus on the difference between is and are every single lesson because they always make that mistake. But the focus is always different--this week we're talking about the family ("His brother's name is Joker") Next week we're looking at jobs ("My father is a taxi driver.") then maybe the next week look at feelings ("I'm happy."). So I'm teaching the same basic structures but changing the vocab around.
The fact is, most of the students I teach (and likely, those you teach) will never use English once they graduate. They have such lucrative career choices as taxi driver, restaurant ajumma, cashier, factory worker, and maybe a few will be lucky enough to get an office job at a low-end company which in no way caters to English-speaking clientele.
So don't stress too much about making a difference where you are. Just do your best to teach them some vocabulary and leave a good impression of foreigners in their minds. That's about the best you can realistically hope for with students like these.
But then, I've turned into quite the pessimist lately. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:00 am Post subject: Re: Tough time with high schoolers |
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| emilylovesyou wrote: |
| How can I effectively teach them that it is "My favorite food IS dduk boki" and "SHE HAS brown hair" without taking the place of the teacher, and without spending lesson after lesson re-teaching them stuff they probably already have been taught? |
You can't. You have to teach and review some basic grammar to be able to teach speaking and listening to false beginners.
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| Am I being too hard and expecting too much from these girls? |
Yes. Wait til the novelty of having a new teacher wears off and most of them completely give up on anything that looks 'dippicultuh'. What I've found with my vocational classes (and thankfully I only have two of them) is that spending about 20 minutes doing 'punny' things like bingo, pop songs, and puzzles and 30 minutes doing things directed at real communicative English works a lot better. If it gives most of them a more positive attitude about your lesson you'll get more out of 30 minutes than you will out of trying to push more serious stuff on them for 50 minutes with most of them hating it. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| PS, if it's any consolation there's probably an academic HS nearby with plenty of motivated students with lots of aptitude and no native speaking teacher. |
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emilylovesyou
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Location: here
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:32 am Post subject: |
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| You say you're teaching 14 classes a week? What are the class sizes like? |
My classes are between 20-35 students. I guess I painted a pretty bleak picture, but there are a few students in my classes who are pretty good and creative. They tend to help the other students who really struggle, and I encourage peer teaching. Who better to learn from, especially at high school age, then your friend? When I was in high school I'd certainly listen to a friend rather than the teacher!
| Quote: |
| PS, if it's any consolation there's probably an academic HS nearby with plenty of motivated students with lots of aptitude and no native speaking teacher. |
Actually there is another high school on our campus, academic, and the English proficiency between the two is miles apart! So I haven't lost hope completely haha 
Thanks for the help and advice  I'll try things out and hopefully they work! |
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TheChickenLover
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Location: The Chicken Coop
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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The girls in these schools are your future cashiers, brothel workers and coffee girls. The very lucky ones may get a low-skilled job in a company as a receptionist. Many will work as those adjumma's in restaurants cleaning dishes and doing waitress work.
In short, you are asking too much from them. Society doesn't have very high expectations of these people and they know it. Your work would be better suited to those who may actually benefit from your work than just to be in a classroom 'looking like you're working when you're not' to make the school look good.
Chicken |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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I taught in almost the same situation as you for over 2 years in Bundang. All-girls' high school. Huge difference in ability.
Best job I ever had, though!
Stick to topics Korean girls of that age enjoy -- boy celebrities, beauty stuff, movie stars, etc. Have them fill in the blanks on an English song that's popular. Have a discussion about handphones. Start giving some of the girls nicknames, and use their names in the hallways. This goes a LONG way once class time comes around. Try to become friends with your co-teacher (doesn't work with every teacher, of course). Show some interest in a club or two that the students are involved in.
My first class of girls are now in their final year or two of university, and some of them still call me or e-mail to say hi. I get a random call or two from the USA when they need someone to talk to, or need advice (studying overseas). Several of them came to my wedding.
One of the girls sent me her cyworld page from the US, and I'm worried. She looks like she got in with the wrong crowd, and has gone from innocent straight-A student to Cali rap girl hoe.  |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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| The girls in these schools are your future cashiers, brothel workers and coffee girls. The very lucky ones may get a low-skilled job in a company as a receptionist. Many will work as those adjumma's in restaurants cleaning dishes and doing waitress work. |
Chicken Lover,
You might consider yourself a "realist" and pat yourself on the back in the thought that society runs along smoothly and each has their "place".
However I consider such an attitude (and by default you and your posting) a relic and intellectually and experientially "empty". You are a dinosaur. Your attitude doesn't befit a teacher and is more like the SS standing and barking "left" / "right".
Everyone can learn and has the capacity to learn a language. It is not beyond anyone. Nor in this day and age are people confined to a set social strata - no matter their country/condition. Yes, it is more difficult in many places but it is at all times the job of the teacher to teach STUDENTS before teaching the subject.... You've already given the students marks before teaching them.
The shadows in your cave are not "real".
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The girls in these schools are your future cashiers, brothel workers and coffee girls. The very lucky ones may get a low-skilled job in a company as a receptionist. Many will work as those adjumma's in restaurants cleaning dishes and doing waitress work. |
Chicken Lover,
You might consider yourself a "realist" and pat yourself on the back in the thought that society runs along smoothly and each has their "place".
However I consider such an attitude (and by default you and your posting) a relic and intellectually and experientially "empty". |
You're right, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't looked around a class of vocational students and thought, Family Mart, hwajangsil, rooms salon, admin. office, Family Mart, hwajangsil, rooms salon, admin. office. To be sure, there are some of them who try and want to succeed at getting a decent job, but for the most part it helps just to deal with the cards you're delt and just use anything that can possibly keep their interest and be easy enough for them to follow. |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Go back to basics. Just try to make it fun. Dont use American Headway or those conversation books. |
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emilylovesyou
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Location: here
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| ddeubel wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The girls in these schools are your future cashiers, brothel workers and coffee girls. The very lucky ones may get a low-skilled job in a company as a receptionist. Many will work as those adjumma's in restaurants cleaning dishes and doing waitress work. |
Chicken Lover,
You might consider yourself a "realist" and pat yourself on the back in the thought that society runs along smoothly and each has their "place".
However I consider such an attitude (and by default you and your posting) a relic and intellectually and experientially "empty". |
You're right, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't looked around a class of vocational students and thought, Family Mart, hwajangsil, rooms salon, admin. office, Family Mart, hwajangsil, rooms salon, admin. office. To be sure, there are some of them who try and want to succeed at getting a decent job, but for the most part it helps just to deal with the cards you're delt and just use anything that can possibly keep their interest and be easy enough for them to follow. |
Although yes these girls may never amount to much beyond high school or university, I am still their teacher and they are still here to learn from me. Their English may be rudimentary but that does not mean I have to dumb down my lessons and go easier on them. Of course I won't make my lessons impossible, but at the same time I won't make them all fun and games. There is a fine line that I have to find between making my lessons simple for them to understand, but still educational enough so they leave with more knowledge then when they came. That's my problem there. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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| "Dumbing down" the material is the name of the game. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The girls in these schools are your future cashiers, brothel workers and coffee girls. The very lucky ones may get a low-skilled job in a company as a receptionist. Many will work as those adjumma's in restaurants cleaning dishes and doing waitress work. |
Chicken Lover,
You might consider yourself a "realist" and pat yourself on the back in the thought that society runs along smoothly and each has their "place".
However I consider such an attitude (and by default you and your posting) a relic and intellectually and experientially "empty". You are a dinosaur. Your attitude doesn't befit a teacher and is more like the SS standing and barking "left" / "right".
Everyone can learn and has the capacity to learn a language. It is not beyond anyone. Nor in this day and age are people confined to a set social strata - no matter their country/condition. Yes, it is more difficult in many places but it is at all times the job of the teacher to teach STUDENTS before teaching the subject.... You've already given the students marks before teaching them.
The shadows in your cave are not "real".
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
To the OP I think you will benifit from using the materials on this site.
You will have to really search the site for something that is at their level.
The students really enjoy the novelty of high tech game show style classes.
Headrick Von Pizza Head |
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Rteacher
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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I'm at a basically technical high school, and I've found that elementary level resources with multi-media are pretty effective for most students.
www.wearebusybeavers.com is worth checking out.
Also, High School Musical (1 and 2) dvds have attractive, widely popular song and dance numbers along with high school themes.
Oddly enough, I've found that candy still works as a motivator in high school classes (and probably at the university and adult level as well...) |
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