Korean Job Discussion Forums

[iggyb]

This is a whine. So, for those who don't like them, stop reading.

For those who can handle a whine and want to get a partial idea of what teaching adults in Korea is like, read on.

The Short Version:

I required my teacher-students to turn in a project they were supposed to be working on for the past 4 weeks. I did not allow a few of them to get away with doing nothing most of the class.

The result: All instructors (like me) now have to turn in weekly lesson plans the Friday before we teach...

The Long Version:

The latest twist where I work: all instructors now have to turn in a week's worth of lesson plans the Friday before.

This likely came about due to complaints from a small number of students who finally clued in that I was not going to let them get away with not finishing the technology project we have been working on for four weeks.

--- Students dragging their feet and hoping work will just disappear is nothing new when you are used to teaching teens in the US or even college students.

The difference here is --- management supports the teacher-students - not the instructors.

As noted in previous posts, classes here are observed 15+ times a semester, 30+ a year.

Weekly meetings are held with the students to discuss how things are going.

And this naturally leads to micro-management.

It also creates the kind of atmosphere you get in adult Hakwons: where the bottom line is --- Keep the Students Happy.

Unlike hakwons, I do have to give a grade to the students, but similar to hakwons, the grade can't make them unhappy: I must give them a high score - which only the student sees.

Besides the weekly meetings, students also give written evaluations of the program between course terms as well as a grade for the course. My "grades" are given without written comment and mean nothing to 90% of the students...

In the current situation:

I am teaching technology.

I designed the course, from scratch, to meet a significant gap in computer proficiency and user-friendliness among the students.

The typical class format is: For the first 15 or so minutes, I demonstrate 2 or 3 techniques that are either new or a review of previous lessons.

Then, they students practice them, and any others they already know, by working on projects.

As they work, I spend the rest of the class, which is the bulk of the time, giving individual instruction. I coach the lower level students along and give some different pointers to the more advanced users.

Since this is an adult class in Korea, some of the students (a minority for sure but a significant one) --- ignore what they are supposed to do if they don't want to do it.

Some do the bare minimum. Some pretend to work as I walk around the room then switch to what they want to do when I'm not looking. Some just openly watch videos, listen to music, surf the Internet, or work on outside material. (In a previous semester, I saw one watching porn.)

Basically --- this is just like teaching secondary school students back home.

The difference ---- In Korea, teaching adults, - I can't push them or try techniques designed to push them to do the work.

When I do --- it comes back on me.

Like now -- I am forcing the class to finish a project before they can move on to the next project. Some students have finished and started the review process for the next project and will begin it as others are finishing up the last. Most have been plugging away at the first one - with the speed depending on how computer-friendly they are - and a handful are --- now ----- disgruntled.

When they realized they had to actually do the project, they started to say things like --- the class wasn't well-prepared.

They said they should have been given a detailed worksheet explaining the procedures. They should have been given the same video example to edit instead of having to locate a video on the Internet, download it, and convert it before beginning the video editing process...

...I pointed out --- the first thing we learned in the course was how to install an flv downloader (which I installed for them on each computer) that converts the videos ------ and that I had told them at the start the material they were supposed to collect to practice using the software was going to be used in a later project.

For the current project, we went over how to do it stage-by-stage - with repetition built in. The only reason some of them are still lost at the beginning stage is -------- they expected from the start they would be able to get away with not paying attention or quickly ignoring what I would show them individually.

I also pointed out ----- when I began introducing video editing techniques, I had given them a hard copy of the chapter the techniques came from - and - I had given them a pdf version of the whole textbook to work from.

I had also explained frequently at the beginning --- the textbook and chapter were meant to help those who were less familiar with computers and video editing and help those who were more advanced.

They have both individual instruction on call and a text to refer to.

We have been going over the same techniques for four weeks on this project. With the lower level students, I've been showing them how to do it again and again.

Which is how I designed the course.

I don't mind that a few of them are slow at picking up computer applications. I anticipated it...

What I do mind is ----- they know they have the option of ignoring most of what we are supposed to be doing in class --- and if I put my foot down even to a minor extent to force them to do the work ----- they know they can easily go over my head ----

----- and I am the one who has the problem.

Which results in things like --- all instructors now having to turn in lesson plans ahead of time.

And - which I forgot earlier ---- turning in a new semester-length syllabus if modifications in the original are made.....

I just remembered that part ---- We have to create our courses from scratch - given nothing more than a course title to work with. And we have to turn in a syllabus.

I told both the students and administration that the syllabus for this course would be very flexible, because I would be dealing with large individual differences that would determine the speed of progress.

But, I'm wrong. The customer is always right........even if it is a minority member of the customer group....

This is one of the problems with micro-managing....

What adds much salt to the wound:

I know many Korean teachers, especially secondary teachers, don't do lesson plans. They follow the textbook and curriculum provided by the government. (Elementary teachers do seem overall to be different on this point and do seem to prepare like we'd expect in the US - though not formal lesson plans like I have to turn in here or like I've had to turn in in some schools in the US).

I also know Korean teachers are angry this year that the number of observations they have to face has doubled ------------ from 2 a year to 4!!

And they don't like that their students can now give written feedback and grades to the teachers.

---- In short --- as I've whined before ---- not only do I have to create community college-like courses from scratch - I am from from the beginning NOT treated like a real teacher....

And they don't understand why I'm not signing a new contract.....

[Geumchondave]

wow - that was a good rant! I can relate to the feeling - my first job after me TESOL was at an adult education center in croydon - its was basicaly teaching economic migrants and a few french and spanish university students enough english to survive in the british work places.
And as you say they where exactly like teenagers/children - but thats how it is, you put a bunch of people in a room with a teacher and some desks and they all go back to how they where at school, and when confronted with what they dont know people always react the same way at whatever age, some will engage some will get arrogant and some will switch off and avoid eye contact.

The fact you are teaching adults makes NO DIFFERENCE to how you teach - I was only 21 and dealing with some 45 year old students but I still made them play games, move around the class asking questions and treated them exactly like children - massive positive feedback for correct answers etc, dont patronize them but all of the educational theory on visual and kinesthetic learning doesnt change at puberty - in fact you act like a teacher and really engage with the students they will actually respect you far more - I never had any negative feedback and my final review was very favorable - Despite the fact that I had been treating them just like any other student.

As far as deadlines go - exactly the same, check on their progress regularly and make sure the class is all at the same level - your pace always has to be set by the slowest class not by the high flyers otherwise you are only teaching one person and ignoring everyone else in the room - and they will pick up on this .

I know you where ranting so fair dos, an ill admit it took me back at first as well but you have got to stick to your guns and really take the class in hand - if you know your stuff they will eventually start respecting you, but don't expect them to act their age in the classroom

[iggyb]

Thanks...

The ultimate problem isn't so much the students --- it is the admin: instability created by --- supporting the students instead of the teachers.

Basically, we aren't really teachers to them:

We are observed constantly - far, far, far more than Korean teachers are used to.

Our students are also encouraged a variety of ways to believe they can offer an opinion about the course and get changes made mid-stream.

For example, we are about to have 30 minutes added to our lunch time - because students feel sleepy around lunch - and 30 minutes added to the work day by beginning classes at 8:30.

And I'm confident the new rule on turning a week's worth of lesson plans the Friday before classes is a direct result of my forcing some of the students to turn in a project they wanted to ignore.

Not a good teaching environment ---- and ultimately bad for the product we are offering....

...which means the adult learners will never be satisfied.

I have found --- adults trying to learn a language are motivated by -- progress.

And progress requires some struggle.

Trying to make each student happy --- doesn't work...

[Geumchondave]

totally agree - managers in that type of environment are businessmen first and educators second so always cave in to the customer - but in education the customer in nearly always wrong...
I had a cctv camera and a microphone in my room when i taught which was very un nerving at first because I never knew when my supervisor would decide to observe me, or indeed any of the other teachers - in fact they never really bothered to check the tapes and it was aparently for our benefit and security - of which I have my doubts.

I had some students who decided that they didnt want to come to the morning class because they where too tired and so decided to come in the afternoon - despite the fact that the morning was the advance and the afternoon was the pre - intermediate and then had the cheek to complain that it was too easy!! I gave them a right bollocking and told them to be responsible for their own learning - if they found it easy show up earlier or just expand on the activity themselves instead of doing the bare minimum - in fairness they did sort themselves out after that but I really had to talk to them like a naughty child.

The important thing to remember is that you are the teacher and they are the student - no matter what the manager says - you do your own thing and make them respect you, stick to your guns but remember their brains work in the same way as a younger students even if they are too arrogant to admits that they need visual and kinesthetic learning techniques as well as warm ups and review sessions - keep to good practice lessons and they will respect you - dont feel bad about talking down to them if you need to, thats why they are paying you instead of buying a book on the subject and teaching themselves - they need the motivation

[Fishead soup]

SNIP- Smile Nod Ignore Proceed

SOTR Stay Off the Radar

[talltony4]

I hear you IggyB but I think you have to share some of the responsibility for this situation.

It sounds like your relationship with the students is not good enough.

Geumcheon Dave had it right when he said a student is a student, regardless of age.

All students want praise, and all students want the teacher to appreciate their individual character. That means that you have to be more than just the instructor in the classroom, you have to get to know your students' individual circumstances.

Lets say the project is due but only half the class hands it in. You might start by giving some positive reinforcement to those students that have completed it. Mention them by name in class and give each one a comment like "great job" or "I appreciate your effort". Try not to be too generic. If someone has handed in work after missing the last assignment make a big deal out of it.

Next, you have to work on those that didn't hand it in. So you choose one of the younger women that is always dressed up and say "Hye-jin (for example), new boyfriend?" in a joking tone. She will laugh, and the others will laugh and she will get the point that you don't expect much of her. Hopefully this will spur her to prove you wrong by handing in the assignment.

Of course if she really does have a new boyfriend, or a sick child, or whatever, then I would probably consider those valid excuses. I would merely say that I expect her to discuss with me when she was going to complete the assignment

Next, there is a guy that didn't do the assignment, so you say "Tae-kyong, did I see you on the starcraft channel?" He will get the same message. That's probably enough gentle scolding. You don't want to go to far because some students will have genuine reasons for not handing the assignment in on time.

Obviously, you can't say "Hye-jin, new boyfriend?" to a girl whose mother has just died. That's why you have to know your student's individual circumstances.

This is a humanist approach, so it may not suit your style at all, but based on what you wrote it sounds like it might be what your students are looking for.

[Leslie Cheswyck]

Rule Number One: Keep the Students Happy

Rule Number Two: Keep the Students Happy

Rule Number Three: Keep the Students Happy

[RMNC]

You can still teach adults effectively without resorting to treating them like children, and yes, even make them happy.

[Died By Bear]

Koreans especially like flexible people. The more flexible the better.