Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Fishead soup]

In Korea nonverbal communication is much more important than actual verbal communication.

Here are a few quite deceptive things Korean co-teachers tell their foreign co-workers from time to time.

"Your class is boring. you don't play enough games. You do too much choral repetition."
This is ment to mean you have a serious problem with classroom management. It's usually related to breakdown in order or lack of respect
you are getting from collegues and students.

The problem with taking this one at face value and including more games in your class is it doesn't solve the problem of lack of respect from both Korean collegues and Korean students. If you simply add more games to a curriculam that is already failing. You are not providing your students with a quality education and when the thrill of the game wears off you are in a worse place than you were before.

What you really should do. Games can be a good source of learning in class. If you use all your best games in the first month you'll be screwed after exams. Sometimes you really just need to step up on the discipline.
Make your co-teacher do what he/she is being paid to do while in class.
Control the students behavour translate difficult material and send problem students to the discipline head.

Your class is too noisy- This means that you are disturbing the class next door. All lot of Korean Co-teacher particulary old school ones Don't get the concept of students centered. Or pairwork. Many of them have never changed to seating plan in the classroom.

What you should do.
Ask them point blank. Noisy in what language? If English is the answer then you are doing the right thing. I've got several intern teachers that don't like it when I use peer dictation. Eventhough the majority of the noise is English. Sometimes Principals and Vice Principals complain about this. This is an open lesson syndrome. They want you to make something that looks good as opposed to making something that is good.

This material is too difficult. If you actually believe this one then take a gander at the worksheets on pollution and re-cycling the students are made to do when your co-teacher is teaching them alone. If they can do that then they can easily do some substitution activity from Side by Side.

What should you do. Teach the lesson. If you find out it's too difficult have some back up material available. There have been numerous times when a co-teacher has told me something from Andrew Fince's "Tell Me More"
way too difficuly I taught it anyway and the class was fine.

[thegadfly]