Korean Job Discussion Forums

[discostu333]

I've been working at a public middle school for boys since March, and I still haven't worked out just what will interest / motivate the 70% of my classes who speak little / no English.

I have 1 great co-teacher who is young, enthusiastic and speaks English really well due to time spent abroad. The others range from apathetic to just plain might as well not be in the room.

I don't have a school textbook to go on, the K-teachers teach the school textbook on their own in a different class. My classes are basically conversation practice, although what I can't understand is that the school has said they don't want me teaching cross-over classes with the curriculum material. My lessons must be separate and unrelated to the curriculum material.

I've tried using material from books recommended on here. Side by Side, Interchange and Top Notch specifically.

Top Notch Fundamentals (the lowest level) was great for 1st great, until the school tells my it was too grammar intensive. Top Notch level 1 was too hard for 2nd grade. Side by Side went down like a sinking ship and Interchange was basically the same as Top Notch.

I basically find it easier to make my own activities, dialogues, games etc, but what works with one co-teacher completely fails with another. As I only speak a bit of Korean (and 9 times out of 10 the kids ignore me anyway when I speak Korean) I'm completely reliant on my co-teachers to ensure the kids are following. I know they understand the phrase 'do you understand?'. But when I ask them do they understand, they don't reply and the K-teacher says quite aggressively "They do understand, why do you keep asking if they do?" to which 5 minutes later I find out they genuinely don't understand, its super frustrating. Talk about banging one's head against a brick wall.

I heard the last foreign teacher had a very hard time here, and used to break down crying in class often. With 4 months to go on this contract, history will definitely not repeat itself but I would like to leave this school with the sense that at least some kids enjoyed my lessons.

Anyone else in / been in a similar situation? I would love to know what strategies / lesson ideas etc engaged the kids.

[Fishead soup]

Use the Eminem the Song "I'm not afraid", If you join the website
EFL classroom you can get a great Kareoke version you can show

I use the website EFL Classroom made by David Duebels It's awesome
When one teaches Two learn is there motto.

[nomad-ish]

yeah, i would try some song lessons. there are lots of activities you can do with them: musical bingo, fill-in-the-blank listening exercises, correct the lyric mistakes, golden bell with questions from the song. have the students in groups try to interpret the lyrics by themselves after they've completed the worksheets, then have them write their guesses on the board. you can then watch the music video and see which group's prediction was the closest (give some prizes to the winners). and of course, try to get them to sing along afterwards.

i've also found it useful to do jeopardy review games the week before their tests to review your lessons (whether they're tested on them or not, it can't hurt and the kids enjoy it).

maybe try some lessons about western holidays (christmas, thanksgiving, halloween). christmas and halloween are always easy to plan for; there are loads of games/activities/ppts online.

anyways, good luck! you've only got 4 months of regular class left

[jvalmer]

I'd say aside from elementary and boys in technical schools, an all boys middle school are the 3rd hardest group you can teach. You have got to be an absolute dictator. Not much else I can help you with other than that.

You probably already know that your K-english teacher is probably the biggest factor in the behavior of your classes. I remember one of my ct's was an old frail 55 year old lady, and she had absolute control of the 2 classes I was with her.

It's probably going to be difficult to turn around your current group of kids. You'll have to bring down the hammer on any slight misdeed. But if you stick around for next year you'll know what to do with the new kids.

[discostu333]

[mmstyle]

I teach at an all boys middle school as well, but I think I may be a bit better off with the understanding level of my students. I sometimes take a barely related theme from the book and expound on it.

I have 1 good CT who helps and wants to students to learn from my class, and uses my materials on the tests, one who is nice, but is clueless, and bad at discipline, but also uses my material, and one who sort of has it in for me, does no discipline, and never uses my material.

Here's what I do: in order to know what they know, I have to teach it to them (like you, my CTs save the book all for themselves). So, I have a vocabulary day, where I give them words related to say, travel. Then, I have an activity day to reinforce to vocabulary, then I have a game day, again, using the vocabulary I gave them. I may have 2 or 4 lessons on a topic, depending on how much I can come up with (it's hard because I have to switch rooms for every class, so I can't set up games or activities that use the environment).

I keep it deliberately simple, aimed at the middle of the class level, because I think that a lot of the book goes over their heads...it's all about memorizing, and they are given entire sentences (that they could never construct on their own) to copy, or to recognize where 1 or 2 words go. Since it is not aimed over their heads, the higher level students can help the low level ones. I have a few classes with high level kids, and I often get them to translate. My reasoning (if I had to explain this to a CT, but I do not) would be that having kids help each other helps the "teaching" student to understand, and builds confidence. Try telling your Ct that you know they understand, but if s/he helps them in Korean, then it will build their confidence that they DO understand (it doesn't have to be true, just something they can't really argue with).

Remember, some CTs see us as a resource, some see us as overly entitled folk who couldn't cut it back home.

Other things I do: I review stuff they should know and add to it. Make it competitive, but in a kind way. Check out eat your kimchi...they a great lesson idea for chain bingo.

Activities: pass the parcel, pair pair or group dictation, get 5 kids in line and get them to act out a vocabulary word without talking (somehow this turns into something sexual half the time, but they laugh and really love it), surveys, bingo, etc.

In my most recent class (recipes, taken from the grade 2 book...barely) I made a ppt (yes, I make a lot of materials, but my job isn't tough) with pictures my husband took while I made nachos (not the lame snack kind here, substantial nachos) and took them through the steps. I added words for putting things in order (transitional words) BECAUSE they know them, talk about it, and see them in use.

I did a fashion ppt (grade 1 and 3), next week, they are changing before class, and we will have a fashion show! (review clothing terms, toss in some western style names, they love the pictures when I get to punk, goth, emo, they relate to preppy really well). I am going to make a video with it (with help at school) to show them after finals.

Okay, enough rambling...back to making lessons (finding music videos to use!)

[mmstyle]

Discipline for me constitutes missing lunch and coming to my office to write "until your hand feels like it is going to fall off."

And BTW, they do know what yellow and red cards mean.

[oldfatfarang]

[Tigerstyleone]

Middle School boys, hmmm, let me guess. Before class they are very talkative and active and then when class starts they just stare down at there desk and scribble and if they do talk its only in Korea to each other about how bored they are with this class and take the occasional racists punches at you.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[winterfall]

[son of coco]

I had a similar mix of co-teachers last year:
- One very good, and it was no surprise that kids from her classes were the best to teach. We had a lot of fun.

- 1 that was average, but used to interrupt class in an attempt to make everyone aware he was god's gift to teaching. Unfortunately he was my main co-teacher. Things did improve by the end of the year though.

- 2 that would only come occasionally, their classes were the worst.

Overcame the last problem by sending the whole class out on a couple of occasions when they were just being stupid. Cue the teacher appearing and apologising profusely before giving the kids a stern dressing down.

Funnily enough, the average co-teacher had told me not to send anyone outside early on in the year, but by year's end had actually sent a whole class of girls out 2 mins into class when I thought they weren't behaving that badly.

[sojusucks]