Korean Job Discussion Forums

[AsiaESLbound]

I have a new public school co-teacher asking me to create curriculum for splitting the classes into low and high level groups. She will teach national curriculum during the periods she is alone with our students. She agreed to support me in my request for materials, but I need to decide what needs to be bought. We don't have a book store, but they can be ordered from Seoul. Problem is I don't know where to start on finding something for conversation practice and need it by next week. Preferably, I need something that is on CD to display material on a monitor since each of the 300 students are not going to have their own book.

I'm not too fond of being asked to create curriculum. Is this an unreasonable request? She was a bit confrontational and rude from the get go while talking to me so I feel a bit disappointed in my new co-teacher's personality and working style. Even tried to tell me today at the beginning of this conversation I wasn't a good teacher and look like a machine as weird as that one is, but I refuted that . She's only been with us for 2 days and we only taught one class together so far which went very awkward. I guess it's a good thing she wants to split the classes where we both teach alone instead of co-teaching, because it's obvious she can't work with others due to feeling insecure. I have a real gut feeling anything I do will not be appreciated and only result in conflict. Her argument is rational in that high level students who attend hagwons already know the easy national curriculum, but but her attitude is irrational.

How would you handle this situation? How might I find some materials to do conversation classes? Whatthebook.com doesn't seem to have much listed under education on their site. Where do you find the books I'm looking for?

[Fishead soup]

Insist on going to a big bookstore in Seoul like Kyobo or Youngpoon. If they are going to spend lots of money on these books it's so much better if you go together. Since your Co-teacher has the National curriculum in mind you'll find books that satisfy both the National curriculum and a Comunicative class objection if you are able to see the books first hand and discuss. Simply buying them off the net is like buying lottery tickets.

No matter how good a text is the KET will ignore it if it doesn't satisfy the curriculum and you'll be on your own teaching lessons that both your KET teacher and your students consider a joke.

[whiteshoes]

OP, how high are your top students? Is there a huge gap between abilities?

If the gap isn't that wide, I'd suggest making level differentiated material from the national curriculum. It might sound like more work, but it's really easy. It will only take you an extra 10 minutes a day, compared to creating an entire new curriculum. Just take the current material your co-teacher has and give it all four language skills, and always focus on creating more authentic language.

[AsiaESLbound]

My co-teacher will teach national curriculum during the class times she has alone with students. She provided me a catalog which lists books by level and topic such as speaking or grammar. These speaking focused books are unfamiliar titles like, "Can Do," and, "Welcome to America," which she ordered so I can review later this week when they arrive. In December, we are going to pick out a new set of books for next years curriculum as public schools are giving up the horrible national curriculum to choose what they teach. I found out there is no new national curriculum in development so book choice will be up to each school with my school planning to decide in December on what to purchase. This is when they are going to spend a lot of money on stacks of books so each student has a copy. For this semester, they won't have their own books other than the national curriculum books so I won't be going to a bookstore yet.

Since I only see these students once a week and it's only going to be for 20 minutes for each group, I'm going to take a speaking/conversation approach to it which includes talking, singing, games, and exercises out of a speaking focused book. While this really isn't adequate contact time for students to learn and improve on English, it'll be good not working aside my new co-teacher.