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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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 Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:56 pm Post subject: Assigning English names: any ideas? |
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Next week I'll be starting a brand new after school program at an elementary school with kids ranging from phonics level to fluent. I know lots of games and activities for getting each child to learn the other students' names but...how do I go about assigning English names to 50+ students who don't already have one?
I thought of asking each class to come up with as many names as they could and then each student could pick one, but most of my kids are still learning the alphabet so they're as unfamiliar with English names as the majority of us are with Korean names. Any ideas? |
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tanklor1
Joined: 13 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Why do you want to give the kids names? Is it something the school has asked you to do? |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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how about the names of disney/cartoon characters.
mickey, mini, goofy, pluto, donald, woody, etc.....  |
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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| tanklor1 wrote: |
| Why do you want to give the kids names? Is it something the school has asked you to do? |
Exactly this. |
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tanklor1
Joined: 13 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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| curlygirl wrote: |
| tanklor1 wrote: |
| Why do you want to give the kids names? Is it something the school has asked you to do? |
Exactly this. |
Ahh. Okay. Well, odds are a lot of your kids already have English names. You can just ask them. If they don't I always tried to give them names that sounded similar to their Korean names. |
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OculisOrbis
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| If the students want English names, Google most popular baby names for the year the kids were born. Usually there are some 'top 100' lists. Let them choose their own names from that list if they dont already have an English name that they like. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Good site here for names. It also has lists of popular names. |
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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks OO. I'll do that.
If anyone else wants to throw some other ideas into the pot please feel free to do so. I've got quite a few classes so I'd like to try several techniques to see which ones the students like best. |
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OculisOrbis
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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There's also a name generator on this site:
http://www.barryfunenglish.com/tools.php
I used it once. The students liked it and it kills a lot of time depending on class size. It spins and stops with three names. They can choose one. |
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Setaro
Joined: 08 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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1. Take a photo of the class.
2. Get them to write their real name in Hangeul above their head.
3. Learn their actual damn names.
EDIT: Ok so I noticed it's that your school asked you to do this...Similar thing to what a co-teacher asked me to do to be honest, but I ignored her. If you do what I suggested you'll know their names within a couple of weeks though anyway. If they want to pick an English name then so be it, but I usually forget it and just end up using their actual name anyway, seeing as that's the name I have to use when discussing the students with the other teachers anyway. |
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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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| OculisOrbis wrote: |
There's also a name generator on this site:
http://www.barryfunenglish.com/tools.php
I used it once. The students liked it and it kills a lot of time depending on class size. It spins and stops with three names. They can choose one. |
Wow, that is just super cool. I don't have a computer in my class yet but my co-teacher does. I reckon I'll send her this idea and gain some brownie points. Thanks so much. |
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interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:26 am Post subject: |
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| Leroy, Sally, Lionel, Lucy, Floyd, |
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SeoulNate
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Location: Hyehwa
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| Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:47 am Post subject: |
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| Setaro wrote: |
1. Take a photo of the class.
2. Get them to write their real name in Hangeul above their head.
3. Learn their actual damn names.
EDIT: Ok so I noticed it's that your school asked you to do this...Similar thing to what a co-teacher asked me to do to be honest, but I ignored her. If you do what I suggested you'll know their names within a couple of weeks though anyway. If they want to pick an English name then so be it, but I usually forget it and just end up using their actual name anyway, seeing as that's the name I have to use when discussing the students with the other teachers anyway. |
Yes, you should learn the Korean names, but having an English name for younger students has more benefits.
1. It gets the kids into 'English Mode' as long as everyone at the school uses it
2. Helps students practice pronunciation, and it gives them sometime to write that is their own.
Again, I am not talking about middle school or high school students, but it is great for kindy and the younger elementary students.
I have found the best way to do it is as follows: Go through the alphabet and write down 3-4 names per letter and separate them into boys and girls names. Put them in a hat, let each student draw two and pick one if they cant choose a name for themselves.
Although, when I was teaching kindy a few years ago 90% of the kids came to school with a name their mom picked out. |
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pangaea
Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:16 am Post subject: |
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Setaro wrote:
| Quote: |
1. Take a photo of the class.
2. Get them to write their real name in Hangeul above their head.
3. Learn their actual damn names. |
I don't know why people get so testy about this. The OP never said she didn't want to learn their Korean names. Unless you are just looking for an excuse to be rude, there is no reason to assume that people who post a question about giving English names to students are looking for a way out of learning their Korean names. Everyone who has taught here for any length of time knows that giving English names to students in English classes is very common and part of the fun for many students.
OP, I would suggest giving names that are not too exotic but also not overly common. I've lost count of the number of students I have had named Sarah, Jenny, David, John, etc. Don't be afraid to be a little more creative. Also, avoid names with a Z or a Th. Those sounds aren't used in the Korean language and are pronounced like a J. Also, I have heard that teachers should never give out the name Jill. I can't remember exactly what it means, but I think it sounds similar to the Korean word for a female body part.
When I give names to students, I usually try to put quite a few different names on the board and let the students choose a name they like. Sometimes I use names of family and friends and sometimes I just use names that I like or are just a bit different. That way the kids can have the fun of picking a name that they like rather than just being assigned a random name. If a student doesn't want an English name, I don't push it. I think it should be fun for the student to have an English name, but not mandatory.
Some of the more unusual names that my students have had:
Gloria
Shirley
Percy
Edison
Maria
Betty
Helen
Grace
Rose
I realize that those names are not all that unusual, but in a sea of Amys and Toms, they do stand out. I can put a face to all of those names even though I taught some of those students 4 years ago. |
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interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:03 am Post subject: |
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| pangaea wrote: |
Gloria
Shirley
Percy
Edison
Maria
Betty
Helen
Grace
Rose |
Sounds like the 1920s  |
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