Korean Job Discussion Forums

[poeticjustice]

My school is building a new English lab/classroom that I'll be using for the time that I'm here. Its a public High School at the academic level.

I'm getting a lot of money to fill the classroom with English materials. I don't want to say how much, but I guess I could say its about half of what I make in a year.

Anyway, any ideas?

So far I'm thinking of some board games, some Side-by-Sides (for the lowest level students), dictionaries and so on. Does anyone know any good publishers/books that would be great for a High School students, ranging from Low Beginner level English to High Intermediate level?

Thanks!

[oldtactics]

Think about the books and novels that you read in elementary and middle school, and try to get some of those!

Also, classroom supplies like markers, colourful pens, scissors, glue, etc etc etc.

[poeticjustice]

[loyfriend]

I teach at a public high school myself. I do use the Side by Side books as they are pretty good. The other books I use are "What A World."

I am in the country so my kids are not the smartest in Korea.

I got my school to purchase "Flamereader" software at www.flamereader.com. It works great for students if they have a computer in the class. Sometimes it helps the coteachers even more.

My school does not have an English lab. They thought building a 2nd dorm was more important.

But here is an idea, why not some kids news paper or magazines from the USA.? They should be cheap and at the high school level they are into many singers and movie starst from the usa or other parts of the world. That way you have something new coming in all the time.

[Easter Clark]

[teachergirltoo]

I use SPEAKING FOR EVERYDAY LIFE because it is written for students intending to go to university. I teach high school and the boys find it really interesting because they will be heading that way and want to be prepared to have conversations. It is also an excellent series because it is written specifically for Korean students with the intention of rooting KONGLISH out of their speaking patterns.

[iggyb]

[Chambertin]

Games that are engaging, and very easy to grasp.
Flexible tools, like dice, spinners (think Wheel of Fortune wheel), and other things you can recycle per the porpose of the game.
Card games, flash cards, and other tools that are straight forward, repeatable and can be rearanged to make them look fresh.
Like a Kitchen the flexibility of the tool is much more inportant than how fancy and specific it is. I want something I use every day rather than that sexy Pampered Chef tool they just cant talking about that sits in the pantry for years.

Esentially think about the stuff you will wish you had a few months after you sent the proposal in. Go back over all your teaching days and think of the most obscure thing you always wish you had, and just gave up on as you forgot, couldnt find it.

On a different note, get a hangman game. Teach them that hangman isnt about who can scream out the word first based on the number of letters, but on if you can figure out the word before the dude dies.

I also reccomend the Time For Kids series.
I have no idea the cost as it is a subscription but it comes with a plethora of materiels for many ages. It is current and the workbooks are not just well made but they make sense.

[iggyb]

You might check on multi-media items too --- DVD TESOL material and if the school has computer labs (which I'm taking it most Korean public schools don't) look at the computer programs that have games and built in lessons.

--- I'd also buy 50 ping pong balls -- and number them.

They can be useful in dealing with a large class where some students will forever be too shy to speak up. When you are asking questions or wanting a student to give some kind of verbal response, and you don't want to call on the same people all the time, you can use the ping pong balls as a lottery: randomly pull one out of a box and the student who matches the number has to answer the question or whatever (of course you'd have to number the students first).

Ping pong balls can also be used like bingo in something like a review exercise before a test: You draw the ball out and the student who is that number has to answer the question or whatever. If he gets it correct, then his seat is Xed like in bingo.

Whenever you reach a point where an entire row (either up-and-down or side-to-side) is Xed, each person in that row gets a prize -- candy, school supply item like a highlighter, or a couple of bonus points on the next test or homework assignment turned in.

-- Using the ping pong balls makes it more interesting for the students and helps you pick on people who normally don't participate. Students also get into the activity and fail to notice they are drilling vocabulary or grammar points and the like which they normally find very boring.