Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Artris]

So I'm getting my visa this next Wednesday and they want me to fly out Thursday since summer camp starts the following Monday. I was also informed that there are no lesson plans for summer camp and that I will have to provide my own. This is at a public school in a rural area (Similar in size to some smaller towns outside the smallter Gwanju, an hour southeast of Seoul). I hadn't expected to leave quite this soon and certainly assumed I'd start with a lesson plan.

I have read a lot on davesesl and have seen some good links but was looking for suggestions on how to start the class etc. I was thinking I could bring some pictures of my family to pass around and have them all ask at least one question so I can get a measure of what level they are at. These are middle schoolers, and unfortunately I didn't (but should have) ask what size the classes will be.

Maybe I should extend the pictures to pictures of my town etc? I had heard that this is a good way to start since the students will be curious about me. My follow up lesson could be for them to bring in pictures and describe their summer or something along those lines.

Anyways, any help is appreciated. I'm sure many of you started out in similar circumstances: no teaching experience and thrown to the wolves.

On a lighter note, any recommendations of a quick book to read about child discipline as it applies to the classroom? Someone recommended a book "1 2 3 - Magic" to me that I will search out tomorrow. My greatest concern is controlling the classroom if I end up with an apathetic co-teacher. I really just want to read as much as I can in the next week or so in order to have a strong start.

[I'm no Picasso]

This actually isn't a bad way to start out, despite the panic you may be feeling walking into it. If you're at a public school in a rural area, that means more than likely your class will not exceed 10 students. In fact, I'd be shocked if you had more than five. I'm at a public middle school with 1,700 students, and my camps usually have two classes of about 7 or 8. That's a lot less intimidating than starting your first day fresh off a plane facing five classes of 40 each.

Also, I'm completely jealous that you'll be a brand new foreign teacher during your camp. They're going to be angels. Don't expect this to last back in regular classes, though.

Usually when I start any regular special class, I give a worksheet with basic questions the students can answer about themselves, so that I can 1. get to know them a little bit before we start and 2. gauge the overall English ability of the class members. Depending on how long it takes them to answer a few questions about themselves, and how much they struggle with it, you could have them introduce themselves to you as well. Definitely give them time to ask you questions, as they will have loads.

The only downside I see to this is that the kids might sort of freeze up at first if left alone with a brand new foreigner. You may have to work a little harder at first to convince them that you're not going to eat them for making English grammar mistakes or anything, and that you can understand them when they speak English, etc. etc. In a small class, they will either be more comfortable and speak more freely or they will completely clam up at first. It depends on the personality of the class. Just do everything you can to make them comfortable and, trust me, by late in day two at the latest, they'll be chatting away.

Good luck.

[summer33ny]

Instead of pictures to pass around...make a PowerPoint. Most classrooms are state of the are (even rural ones).

My first day, I made a Powerpoint showing the world and where I am from and showing pictures of my family, friends, neighborhood, places I have travelled, my first few days in Korea. The kids will be amazed by everything you show them. It will shock you actually... so have lots of pictures. It is great ice-breaker. You can even have them place a guessing game about where you are from.

You will get the most work out of them these first few days because they want to impress you. So it is a good way to assess their skills.

I find it impossible to make a lesson plan without knowing the level of the students first.

[Countrygirl]

What I always do on the first day is make the students make a name page.

Have the students write out their name in English in big letters and then make them write things about themselves...ie. I have one brother, a mother, and a father. I play nintendo games. I like kimchi. Since you have middleschoolers you can make it more advanced by having them write down what music they like and who is their best friend or even why they want to learn English.

I always make a sample page with my own name and the students often will copy what I do. The students get to decorate it how they like and then we put them on the wall. This is now their sticker page.

It helps me encourage participation and to arrive on time (get a sticker), to maintain discipline (lose a sticker) and to remember their names.

The student at the end of the camp with the most stickers gets a small prize like a chocolate bar. I usually give two students a prize because there is always someone who is very close to winning and it's a nice surprise for them.

It's not a lesson plan but it is an icebreaker and maybe it will give you enough time to prep something and to get to know their level.

[D.D.]

If you have facebook you can just click on the pics on your main page. Get your friends and family to put some interesting pics on there. That saves lugging around pictures.

[Artris]

Thanks! These are all great suggestions. I really like the name page, and can actually do both. I will start the class by passing out photos and letting the students ask questions, or even using the overhead projector if they have one (great idea there) or even facebook. Though that does mean cleaning out my facebook page: I was in a frat, and some of the brothers photos may be rather... suggestive.

I can then do the name page part for the last half of the class, or the following class if I run out of time. Is homework generally a bad idea? I want them to learn, but I also understand that odds are this isn't a graded class so they may feel little incentive to do homework. That combined with the fact that I'm teaching *conversational* English, would I be expected to hand out homework?

I'm really grateful to find so much -and near instant- support. Thanks again!

[moptop]

If you do bring hard copies of pictures, i would suggest putting them in a plastic sleeve as the photos will often get bent, ripped, and sticky fingered.

i would also suggest choosing a number of topics, especially vocabulary based if they are lower level, like parts of the body, feelings, food, shopping, travel (this is a good one as you can get them to write postcards, pack a suitcase, what 5 things would you bring to a deserted island, countries and where would you go?, make a travel brochure, book a hotel, etc.), restaurants, making a recipe/food. have them do the work by designing a pizza restaurant, or amusement park, or making the perfect sandwich.

try to always give them an example, or a model, because you will likely NOT have a co-teacher to translate/explain.

as for classroom management, there are a lot or good books in seoul to help you with professional development. I know a lot of people don't like to do this, but i give out candy to the group with the most points. but i make it a lottery style, which the students seem to find most fair. i use this in my everyday classes as well as with camps. i divide the students into groups, and they get points for giving answers. the group with the most points gets an extra card (so you need 2 sets of however many groups you have. i usually divide them into 6 groups). this gives them a better chance to win the candy. it has been great motivation in my classes, but to each their own.

In regular class, you should have a co-teacher to take care of classroom management, but it's the luck of the draw. always a good idea to have a few tricks up your sleeve. in your first class i would also tell the students your expectations. things like lateness, talking while you are talking, use of cell phones, food/drink in the class, rude language, fighting, etc.

some things you can do are: have the student stand at their desk (take away their chair, do push ups/jumping jacks/knee ups (my husband works at a boys school and he finds these work well!), hold their hands up in the air, hold a book/chair straight out in front, have students move to the back of the class, have students sing you an english song, have students scrub their desks with a toothbrush. and the top two: threaten to tell their korean teacher, or call their mother!!! you just get their cell phone and ask another student to find the troublemaker's mother's number. good fun!!!!

you will probably be fine in the summer camp by yourself, just try an make as many activities as possible to keep the students focused. you can make word searches and crossword puzzles at www.puzzlemaker.com and www.mes-english.com is great for ideas, flashcards, and activities. do a google search for ESL games/lesson plans/activities and a lot of good sites will pop up. try some easy pop songs with them, too. ask them what kind of english songs they like, look up the lyrics online, make a fill in the blank exercise with the vocabulary listed at the top, then practice singing the song!

if you need any more of an explanation for any of this, just PM me.

hope it helps!

[Morgen]

Definitely let them ask you questions, they'll be dying to. And prepare yourself to answer anything. If they seem shy, get the ball rolling by asking them questions first, and make some of them obvious (Do you like the Simpsons?) or ridiculous (ie, do you like kimchi ice cream? Do you want to eat elephant at lunch? Is anyone's father a Power Ranger?)

You can kill a great deal of time having them make nametags and introduce themselves while you get acclimatized to each other and get an idea of their level. Introduction bingo also works pretty well. If their level is high enough, try Two Truths One Lie, where they say two true things about themselves and one lie, and the other students have to guess which is the lie.

Re controlling the class, they really aren't programmed to respond to English so if you learn some key Korean phrases (even YA!!!! will get you far) you'll make it a lot easier on yourself. Some people will tell you you shouldn't use any Korean in class, but this is nonsense.

[Artris]

For various reasons I asked my recruiter if I could start that Wednesday instead of Monday. Will this put the co-teacher in a hard position?

I've a horrible memory when it comes to birthdays, and it turns out that my mother has been planning a big surprise birthday party for my father on the 19th. That combined with other concerns led me to request it, but I made it clear that it was not a condition. My recruiter seemed very understanding and was said that of course they would prefer I start on the first day of classes but she would explain how important my fathers birthday party is to me (hes turning 50 and a lot of family from out of state will be showing up). Was this a fairly selfish request on my part? I feel sort of bad because I would really like to be there from day one for my students, yet I don't want to regret missing a get together like this by only a day.

Anyways, that's the background for the next question: any ideas what the co-teacher or whoever teaches my class the first two days will be doing? Can I start on the third day with the same lesson plan etc?

[okayden223]

Definitely go with a few powerpoints....also you can find a jeopardy game that's been posted on here before or you can just find the template anywhere online...search "powerpoint jeopardy" and you should find a few templates. It helps to have a theme as well. You might not have as much time to buy supplies b/c it's such short notice but suggest a theme to your co-teacher. We just finished a summer camp at my school doing a pirate theme. You could do Harry Potter (HUGE here) or even something different. Good luck! PM me if you have any questions or if you live near Incheon.

[matthews_world]

Sounds like you are a new teacher and have no clue what to expect. In your shoes I would definitely expect the worst as you are just getting your feet wet in this industry.

Expect to be overwhelmed at first.

I've got a file of about 20 games that a random EPIK teacher sent out.
PM me with your e-mail address.

Cafe user 'ddeubel' has his own resource homepage. Do a search for ESL Classroom.

Warm-up the kids with English songs such as the Hello Song and 'Can Do Kid' which can be found on Youtube.

First thing to do would be to find a theme for your camp.

English village - restaurant, house, supermarket, etc...

Activity style - crafts, games, pop songs, making snacks...

Themed - body parts, clothing, transportation...