Korean Job Discussion Forums

[SeoulESLteacher09]

I've taught in korea before, but I only have experience with elementary students.

Can anyone give me any tips on teaching kindergarten? I don't know what kind of cirriculum the school will have yet.


Can the kindergarten classes understand any English?

Any advice for someone working with a beginner?

A few people say its just like babysitting...but when i've babysat I never tried to teach the kids anything. If they aren't learning then what's my purpose?

Any advice will be appreciated

Thanks

[northway]

Teaching five year olds is like babysitting, teaching six and seven year olds you'll see ridiculous improvement.

[sallymonster]

I suggest you contact "Tomato", who will give you a list of 40-some other threads about kindergarten and make this the next one.

[ttompatz]

you can also look at http://www.teachers.tv/ and their video collections on EYFS (early years foundation stage) and young learners (k-3).

Registration is free and it is a great place to look at what other teachers are doing in that age range.

It is nice resource site (although primarily aimed at professional educators) with lots of good stuff that you can apply in a Korean kindergarten.

The key thing to remember with young and very young learners is:
sight, sound, bright color, action and activity. Chalk 'n talk will NEVER work at those ages.

Keep you segments short (10 minutes per task), varied (3-4 tasks per period), active (don't be afraid to get out of the chairs) musical (singing and dancing (nursery rhymes and kids songs (look at the elephant show or sesame street for ideas (youtube is a great place to look) and/or colorful (think big page story books with lots of pictures).

.

[Skippy]

Damn, Sallymonster beat me to it.

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

ttompatz said it.

Also, if you're one of those people who thinks they're above things like clapping, singing, being energetic, etc... then prepare to enter a world of hurt.

I didn't find it to be exactly like babysitting, it's more like if they learn that's fantastic but if they don't learn that's okay too. Even things like listen and repeat can be difficult. You're just supposed to be exposing them to the language and trying to build up their confidence/familiarity.

Unless you're at a super-kindergarten where the teachers DON'T actually hold the kids back-- then it could be something else.

[murmanjake]

I don't sing and dance with my kids(well once in a blue moon), but I do keep the energy up. Lots of movement and action-based activities.

I like to start with fresh kindies by teaching them the body parts, as they can come in real handy later on as I begin to teach singular/plural and possessive.

I draw a big face on the board, saying each part, and having the kids repeat after me and point to their own face where the part is. After I get a face up there I go through it one more time, ear-ear, nose-nose etc. Then I erase it a part at a time "goodbye eye" "goodbye ear." Next I call them up one at a time(maybe not practical with larger classes), to draw a new face, each kid choosing the part they want to draw. Some kids might remember a part or two, but don't be discouraged if none do. It's in there somewhere.

After they get that down you can start in on numbers/counting/plurals. Draw strange monsters on the board with 15 eyes and 10 legs. Kids love that stuff.

Oh, and don't be afraid to use high fives! Kids get the hang of them pretty quickly. This one little kid cries a lot, but can't resist the high fives, even in the middle of a break-down. Probably my favorite and most effective classroom tool hands-down

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Prepare for DDONG CHIMs

[northway]

While I realize that pedagogically chalk and talk is supposed to be a huge no-no, it can actually be really effective if you keep the energy level really high and supplement it with flash cards/pictures. I find that being absolutely ridiculous is my most often used tool, as the kids will stay engaged so long as I'm being really, really silly.

[pangaea]

I second aiming for an active class. Kindergarteners can't sit still for more than a few minutes at a time and they shouldn't be expected to. Do you know what materials you will be teaching with? When I taught kindergarten, my classes had books and workbooks that they worked on in class. We would do a few minutes of looking at their book, maybe an activity to help them memorize vocabulary, a few minutes on the workbook, and then some other activities. Songs, especially with hand or body movements are great. "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" come to mind. Sometimes I would do a short exercise session with them to help them work off some energy and get ready to focus. You can also teach them vocabulary like, "run," "walk," "touch your toes," etc.

Mixing it up with story books, flashcards, and simple board games can also keep your classes occupied. Memory is good and you might try to find some simple card games to bring with you.

The great thing about kindy kids is that they will soak up English like a sponge. They pick up things very quickly just from hearing you speak and interacting with you. I had a few sharp students in one class learn the expression, "Excuse me" and use it correctly when they were trying to walk by me or needed me to move. I never deliberately taught it to them, but would naturally say, "Excuse me," when I was moving chairs and tables or walking by students. Be aware that your students can and will pick up anything you say in class and behave accordingly.

[rockymtn]

First day-- talk a little about yourself. Show pictures, a side show would work. Keep it simple & model correct English. Ask them to draw you a picture of their family or something similar you showed them.

Try to focus on nouns & verbs at first. Use visuals! Talk about English words in the classroom. Let the kids lable everything in the classroom-written in English. A window should be covered with slips of paper that read "window"-in their handwriting. (if they don't know their ABC's-rewind and start there). After a few days leave one on the window for a reference. Go from things in a classroom to things at school...at home... outside...lunchroom, on and on.
Eventually you'll want to associate verbs (use visuals) that go along with these nouns and build from there. You probably won't be able to do this day in & day out. They might push the English book at you and insist you teach out if that once in awhile.

Good luck & have fun!

[alwaysbeclosing100]

sing and draw

[ktkates87]

I do as many crafts as possible. Lately Ive noticed that letting them use safety scissors to cut actually kills alot of time in the classroom, which is nice when you're working with such small attention spans. Try to mix up your lessons as much as possible and don't spend too much time on one activity.

Coloring is great too.

Music- they like to dance and sing, so I like to use music as much as possible.

Have fun, if there is a playroom at your school utilize it. I used to feel like I was a bad teacher if I used it, but we play so many games and they're sometimes a bit more free with their english.

Be silly. Others have said it perfectly, be ready to laugh, clap, dance and so on. I am a total goof with my kids and they love me for it. Don't be overly serious.

Other little games: mr worlf, I spy with my little eye, red light/green light, high five/low five, miss mary and ci-ci my playmate, practice "sit down, stand up, run, jump, etc" really fast.....

I've noticed alot of my kids really don't like movies, even the kindies who have a great amount of English skills and can understand whats going on.

Oh, I'm going to make a huge generalization here but Korean kindies are big sucks. They're not good at being the loser, so try to play games where everyone wins if it's possible.

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

[tomato]

Hello, SeoulESLteacher09!

sallymonster and Skippy, thank you for the herald!
Since I joined the forum, there have been 50 requests for help in teaching kindergarten.
I hope that you will find some of these suggestions helpful:

50
49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41
40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31
30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The next time someone asks, this will become thread number 51.