Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lifeinkorea]

How do you teach large classes? I teach at a high school, but I feel the same questions and concerns could be addressed for middle school as well.

I have taught some successful classes in the past with 1-10 students. Now I am teaching 40 students, and the noise level for one is unmanageable at times. This is actually with the good classes, because they are interacting and involving themselves in the class. The quiet classes just have one or two students who speak out, and this means I cannot get through the lesson (compared to other classes). I spend too much time trying to get students to speak.

One thing I have done is hand out colored markers to groups. This initially helps because in selecting a color for their group, some are interacting and I can see those who aren't right away. I also don't have to know their names. After that, I try to get the markers back or else the same person from each group will always answer.

I also tried a game where 3 students come to the blackboard. So far, this has had the best results, but zero speaking. I divide the class, front to back, into teams. This way, the students in the back are not at a disadvantage with the students in the front.

When I try to do something similar with speaking, usually the students are talking which makes it hard for the class to hear the students who are speaking. Last week, I took a performance approach like it was a talent show. I called a few students up, we worked privately on something, and then when they were ready I got the class to be quiet. This works a few times, and then students lose the discipline in being quiet.

Here are some questions I have regarding all this.

1) How much focus should the class be on speaking? Should I simply teach it more as a listening class, or am I doing the right thing in trying to get students speaking?

2) I didn't bring up computer use, but I do normally have access to a computer in every class with a screen. Today, one computer wasn't working and in another class the curtain was down. So, the students in that class could not see much on the screen. I don't want to always rely on computers, but how much of it is essential for teaching? What do you do instead?

3) Dictionaries. Some classes have dictionaries and they can look up words. I see this as better than someone rattling off a memorized list which contains words that are not pertinent to the lesson (What things do you have in your house? A ceiling, air, floor, etc.....). Does anyone have an idea for the whole class to use one dictionary? For example, one or two people from each team could come up and be asked a question or told to list 5 words.

4) Textbook. If you aren't required to use them in your classes, do you still use them? If so, why? What do you do differently that the school's English teacher doesn't or can't do?

5) Reading aloud / repeating. How much time, if any, do you use with students reading and repeating? Do you think it is beneficial?

6) Games. How do you manage games with so many people? I have had to set up round robin tournament style games to get at least half the class speaking. I know 5-10 students will either be sleeping or doing math homework, but I am shooting for 70% involvement from each class. Are there any games several groups in a class can do while you walk around?

7) Mistake. "You got it all wrong. Just talk one to one for the whole period." Should I forget class involvement and simply talk to students one on one? If I ask the students a question, only the smart ones who already know will answer. If I ask a harder question, then only they will have a chance at getting it right. I feel this is how many of the classes are run. A teacher asks a question until they get a correct answer, and then they move on. They don't try to get other students involved. Do I go the Bingo approach and call out seat numbers?

[Illysook]

I'm taking the CELTA this month and they preach the pair and group work to no end, saying that the teacher should never be talking when the students could be talking. when I'm not thinking This would never work in Korea, I'm thinking that I never want to go back to Korea. However, I do have the occasional wow, that might work moment, so, you could try this peer dictation exercise:

Step 1 Take a piece of text frome a site like http://www.onestopenglish.com/ and copy it into a document, then open up a second document.

Step 2. Cut every other sentence from your original document and paste it into the second document.

Step 3. Make lines on both documents for students to write down the dictated stuff.

Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3

If you can get some colored paper, print the docs in different colors. This will visually tell the little cheaters that such attempts will be futile.

Divvy students up in pairs and have each pair sit with their backs to each other and pass out worksheets ABCDABCD. No student will be able to ask the person in front of him for help, only the student behind him.

In smaller classes, you only need to do steps 1-3 once but since it's so hard to monitor larger classes and kids will want to trade things around, you want to make it harder to cheat.

You can do similar things with crossword puzzles giving one kid the definitions for the words that go accross and the answers to the up-down words, while the other studen't handout has the opposite information.

I imagine that a real pro could get both of these exercises done in one class period without too much hassle. The hardest thing will be getting the kids to do as they are asked. If the Korean teachers think that your exercise is worthwhile, they will take care of that for you. If they think it's worthless, they won't. That's sorta how you assess your performance. Chances are good that they won't give you much other feedback.

I can also recommend onestopenglish.com lots of good exercises there and giving kids fun stuff to do that your teachers will get behind you on is the only way to manage these learners. I wish I'd taken this course 2 years ago!

[lifeinkorea]

[iggyb]

Like someone said above, today's ideas in teaching are getting the students to produce (or process) as much language on their own as possible with the teacher acting as guide or facilitator. And this matches what I've experienced over time.

The noise level is an issue. I have it with my elementary school kids. Classroom managment ideas, like giving and taking away stickers - rewards and punishments - is a way to go there.

But, giving small group work and pair work can gain more interest in the work and is supposed to be highly beneficial to their development. Of course, it depends on how much the participate - which again can be influenced by classroom management items.

There is also a pretty fair book out with lots of activity ideas and some thoughts on this subject: Teaching Large Multi-Level Classes. I keep a copy of it on my desk.

[Fishead soup]

[Patrick Bateman]

[alwaysbeclosing100]

worksheets......i absolutely put a piece of paper in front of each student with questions that must be answered related to the topic......

[iggyb]

If you are looking at teaching long term, or even a few years in Korea, you might want to look into something like this:

http://www.etacuisenaire.com/catalog/product?deptId=CLASSRESOURCES&d0=55526&prodId=55526

Its called a Yacker Tracker.

It is a sound-controlled stoplight. You set the levels at which it goes from green to yellow to red. You can assign rules for what happens it if goes to red once or twice or three times.

It is good for group work and for noisy classes.

If I were going to be in Korea more than this year, I'd probably get one. Shipping costs are the big extra.

[Fishead soup]

[iggyb]

My classes in elementary school are too loud for me to determine whether they are talking about the group work or not...

[lifeinkorea]

Well, test days are over, so that meant the students who were quietly studying while the others talked are now talking to them. It's twice as loud. The only thing I can do is scream "Quiet!!!" like a drill sergeant and then they gasp for a millisecond that I could be so loud. They go right back at it.

Today, I just stood there with one class drinking water and eventually the front row told them in Chinese to be quiet. I told them it would be easier if only one person made noise, cause then I could just kick them out

Out of 7, I would say 3 or 4 were good.