Korean Job Discussion Forums

[euphony]

So I have an essay writing class that was progressing along well until today all the students didn't do their homework. They said they were too busy with school. However, they are in their third year of middle school and my Korean switch teacher says they are getting ready to graduate. They don't have too much homework they just have a Korean case of senoritis, she said. She told them to stay after class and finish the essay (I assigned it on a Wednesday and was going to collected it Monday so they had 5 days to do it). My boss was supposed to drive them home but evidently they just left without turning in their work so now I am screwed. The Korean switch teacher says that calling their parents is not a good idea because they don't view essay writing as important. She also said that they wouldn't get any more practice writing English essays in their education and that English essay writing is not really important for them to get into a Korean University. So now I am left wondering; am I actually teaching them something useful? I don't know what to do, obviously I am going to lose face if I don't discipline them someway but all I can do is give them a bad score on their monthly test. What should I do?
Why am I even teaching them essay writing if it is not important? (I am a newbie so please be nice, I have only been here 2 months.)

[edwardcatflap]

Teaching writing is just as important as all the other skills. In my experience adult students who need business English after they've graduated from University and started working, often need reading and writing skills more than the others, and the majority tell me they don't actually speak to any foreigners but they write daily emails to foreign companies. So to answer your first question, you are teaching them something useful but it may be too far down the line for them and thier parents to appreciate.

As for the discipline issue, writing classes should ideally be used to teach students how to write and they should put what they've learnt into practice at home. if they aren't doing the homework, and you can't make them with support from parents or co-teachers, I suggest you get them to do the writing during the lesson and halve the preparation material.

[Privateer]

The important thing is getting good grades on the official exams and everything else is secondary, including your class. Don't be too discouraged: they still want to learn essay-writing. Just not if other priorities intervene.

[andrewchon]

OP: It's the last week before two weeks of holiday. They are graduating.
They have three solid years of university-exam studies in front of them.
Kind of thing that gets them going on that situation is mockery.
Show them 'how not to write an essay' and have a laugh with them.

[gay in korea]

As someone else comments, I'm not sure why you're even being asked to do this at this time of the year; especially for graduating students.

As to whether this is important, that is an excellent question. The best answer is probably that 'it ought to be important'. But quite simply, it isn't.

They likely never had a single percentage point of their grade derived from essays, and that's unlikely to change in the future. Depending on their major it may change in university, though.

This is perhaps the biggest deficiency in the Korean ESL system.

Maybe the best answer I can give is that, yes, it IS important, but NO it doesn't matter.

[Sleepy in Seoul]

[euphony]

Senioritis is American slang. It refers to a disease that infects those who are about to graduate from high school. The main symptom is chronic laziness.
Thank you all for your comments. I think I have a better grasp on the situation now.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

In case you're interested, I recommend Oxford Bookworms for essay writing. The basic structure I taught my Grade 6 girls was this:

This is a five paragraph essay.

Paragraph 1 is introduction. Make me care.
Paragraph 2 needs to be an example from the book.
Paragraph 3 needs to be an example that is not from the book.
Paragraph 4 needs to be your own opinion on the topic.
Paragraph 5 must address the future.

We used the text "Disasters" for this exercise. It was a 6-month unit. The books are 5000 each, and the CD is another 5-10 as I recall. This is probably some of the finest work I've ever done as an educator. I was preparing students to study abroad.

The Oxford Bookworms series can't be matched for content and character. It's excellent. I can't say that enough. A+++ would teach again, etc.

[Sleepy in Seoul]