Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ohme_ohmy]

What is your favorite age group to teach?

Originally, I wanted to work with the kindergartners because that's the age I have the most experience working with. However, a friend of mine in Korea says teaching them is hell on earth because of the language barrier, and she prefers the middle school age group because they can communicate.

I'm just curious....and having a hard time deciding on which age group/times I'd prefer to teach.

Some background - I have many years of childcare experience and have worked with kindergartners before, but have never formally taught in front of a classroom on my own.

Is there anyone here who enjoys teaching kindergartners in Korea that maybe has never taught before? Or if you have, explain the challenges, differences etc. in working with that age group in Korea?

Any other advice or insight is very appreciated. Thanks!

[bassexpander]

Kindy gets a bit old after a few months. I had a 6-month contract at a kindy about 6 years ago. It was fun, but became very, very boring.

[ohme_ohmy]

Thanks for the response bassexpander.

Would you mind elaborating a bit? How did it get boring? From my experience, the kids that age that I've worked with in the States were little balls of energy.

[busanliving]

I prefer elementary, they are still fun but can usually grasp enough basics quickly so that you can at least keep them in line. I hate middle school, by the time they get to my class they are burnt out from endless study and just want to sleep. They also have all the hormone issues going on too.

[timmayyyyy]

Amen busanliving...middle school hakwons, at least in big classes, are the pits.

[saw6436]

Elementary grades 3-5. Hate middle-schoolers for the reasons mentined above. High School age is good. Most Uni students are rocks. Adults can be hit or miss.

[Oreovictim]

If you want to know what it feels like to be a comedian bombing onstage, then by all means, teach middle school.

My favorite age group is about 1st grade - 4th grade. I actually don't mind kindergarten that much. They're eager to learn, they laugh easily and they make you laugh. But if you're not the goofy type, I don't recommend the kindy tykes.

[iggyb]

My experience with kids in Korea is in hakwons - not public schools - which means my class size was always manageable. It makes a difference in preference.

I probably preferred lower than middle school age in the hakwons. They could be more fun and would follow directions (in a small class). Middle school was OK, but the higher the age I taught, the less energy they had. High school students especially were going from hakwon to hakwon to hakwon all afternoon and well into the night - day after day after day. Most often, they were just going through the motions in my classes. You had to work harder to make things more fun or engaged.

I think the best time teaching in Korea I had was the first year teaching adults. First year teachers teaching adults get to learn a lot about the society and culture that way. You don't end up actually "teaching" but you do spend all your time engaging with people who will show you a lot about Korea.

[iggyb]

I second what Oreovictim said in this part: if you are the type of person that can easily joke and clown around and use it to help you be effective in motivating the class, kids are great. But, that can also wear you down, and in Korea, unlike in public schools back home, you have longer vacations that split the school years up that let you recharge your batteries. In Korea, the grind is more consistent. I honestly couldn't picture myself teaching kids in Korea for more than 2 or 3 years without starting to burn out and needing a change of pace for awhile...

[jahson4]

I only have experience teaching at a hawkwon, so my class sizes are smaller in comparison to public schools.

I second the comments about middle school kids. It's tough to imagine them having any desire to learn after the amount of information plugged into their brains, not to mention the ridiculous amount of vocabulary they have to memorize.

In general, elementary kids follow orders better, but there's always exceptions.

What it comes down to is their English competency for me. The better their speaking skills, the better the class goes. They understand me better, are able to complete most assignments, and are able to discuss topics more freely.

I much prefer open discussion, because it's kind of my knack.

Though, some elementary kids are immensely adorable, despite their fits.

[wakingup]

It really depends on their level.

The highest level kids I've taught here have been Kindy and 3rd grade, so those have been my favorite grades. I love teaching kids who I can actually teach - reading skills, writing skills, etc, not just basic English.

Back home, I liked high school students best, but I feel like it's harder to find a school with high level high school students here. At that age, English has become rote and distant for all but a select few. Kindy is great because they're so immersed they can learn a lot - especially the 2nd year of Kindy/Pre, because you get them at a much higher level when they've already been trained. Elementary is good because they are still close enough to Kindy (if they went) to have a good fluency level.

[Chambertin]

Avoid kindergarten. It can teach you how to hate children when you honestly like them.

In the end though it really depends on what group you get along with. Not the age, the group. Some of my best classes come from the exact same age group of my worst. People are people so good and bad abound in any age group social class or country.

Kindergarten isn�t about teaching it is babysitting with an expectation for learning. If you think you can babysit, motivate, and meet performance quotas then by all means go for it. Just remember you can not bargain with the kids effectively without Korean until they reach about 4th grade. That�s dependant on the fact you make a simple bargain and they paid attention in class and hagwon until then.

Bottom line: remember that this is not going to be home country or language and you have a step up in the decision.

EDIT: I like my middle school kids. They are harder to get moving but like inertia once you spark them into motion it is hard to stop them. Keep a dictionary in the classroom and when they use it always remember to check the work they look up. 30+ seconds or incisive giggling and its something they shouldn�t be looking for
Let them be silly, just keep it clean. You will be surprised by how fun they can be once the ball is rolling.

[bassexpander]

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

SLP have some 2 hour classes........

[bixlerscott]

I found grades 4 and 5 in PS to be golden, but kindy hagwon to be exhausting burnout. I was teaching kindy 3 hours in the morning and then rotten middle schoolers 3 or 4 hours in the afternoon. Sometimes also had a preschool class that was supposed to be storytelling, but was uncontrollable in my opinion where they just went running wild, hiding under desks, screaming, and one urinating on the floor. Also had a night time high school class some months, but they wouldn't talk and just appeared wore out past the point of burn out.

Honestly though, I think I'd get job satisfaction teaching business and science material to professional minded adults though I haven't taught uni or adult hagwon. After a few years of teaching young children, I'm wanting to move onto a professional career track geared towards something that interests me more so, but the market is looking ice cold these days. Well, I simply didn't major in early childhood education, because I didn't have an interest to make a career in it. I just did it as an entry to do something I always wanted to do out of Nintendo influence. Go work in Asia and gain insight about these faraway lands with very odd food and customs from a Western perspective. I was hoping to do it via an American company as some sort of outsourcing import/export agent making short business trips instead of 1+ year trips, but the job market proved nill.