Korean Job Discussion Forums

chooch · Joined: 21 Jan 2015 Location: ottawa, ontario

Hi Everyone,

When I accepted my job at the Hagwon I work at I was under the assumption I would be teaching kindy, but since arriving, I have been assigned a preschool class. I have three boys aged 3 (Korea). I am struggling quite a bit because unlike a regular kindy class with students who are a year or two older, these little guys are still learning Korean. I am taking things very very slow, but my co-teacher does not even speak English, so there is a heck of a language barrier.

I am wondering if anyone has been in this situation before with such young ESL learners? Do you have any suggestions? One boy can count to 3. They can kind of say Hello but not goodbye. They are beginning to learn colours but thats difficult because as I said, my co-teacher--no english, so she can not say the Korean word and then the English word. The boys sometimes just look so confused because a) Im Canadian 2) they don't know what I am saying.

Flashcards are good, they like "head, shoulders, knees, toes."
But I guess what I am saying is that, they barely know Korean, so English right now is sooo foreign to them.

Any suggestions or help?

Thanks!
Jon

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

Are you sure that they're three Korean-age and not actually three? Three Korean-age is 1-2 years old, i.e. still in diapers and struggling with walking. Based on your description it sounds like you're teaching five-year-olds. I've never heard of any hagwon having classes for three-year-olds.

BigBuds · Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Location: Changwon

I have one kindergarten class with Korean age 4 year olds. It does happen.

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

nicwr2002 · Joined: 17 Aug 2011

You need lost of visuals and interactive learning type stuff. Saying the English and then the Korean word is going to be tough for you and the kids.

tophatcat · Joined: 09 Aug 2006 Location: under the hat

Give them a lot of homework.

takethree · Joined: 20 Mar 2013

When I was at a hagwon, I had a once-weekly "class" of about six three to four year olds (American age). It was basically playtime, with blocks, toys, songs, stickers, etc. Just use English in a fun way (sort of have to play the clown) and that will be good for them. There's not much sense in trying to get them to anything structured. They'll hardly be able to focus on anything for more than a few minutes at a time.

Careful about having enough of everything for each to play with. If there are three boys and only 2 dinosaurs, expect tears.

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

pmwhittier · Joined: 03 Nov 2011 Location: Korea

For my youngest students, Korean age 5, I use a lot of songs and silly dancing. If you are allowed to use video during your lessons, I recommend checking out "Super Simple Songs" on Youtube. Some hagwons frown on using videos, they see it as you phoning it in, but hopefully you can use this resource. I play songs and videos and dance with the kids. If no video is allowed, find some songs to teach them and make up a dance.

With my youngest students, it's all about movement, laughter and noise!

Aine1979 · Joined: 20 Jan 2013 Location: Incheon

Last year from August onwards my homeroom class were Korean 4 years old, so Western 2-3 years. I taught the class by myself, and in the beginning they hated me. Initially I had a lot of crying and a lot of silence, but they soon settled down and started to really engage in classes.

I kept the same class this year, and their speaking level is amazing. That said, my hagwon were really supportive, they bought me every book and every craft item etc that I asked for, and gave me total freedom with the class.

We did a lot of song story books, like "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See", "Piggies", "The Wheels on the Bus" etc. We did a lot of coloring, and a lot of simple games, like matching colored pencils to a sheet of colored paper. There was also plenty of finger painting and simple sticking crafts I had prepared in advance.

Everything was very repetitive and we had a set routine every day that I stuck to for months. We sang the Alphabet song, said the colors of the rainbow, said "Hello, my name is..." and counted to ten every single day.

Don't expect too much from very young kids. Just establish a fun routine and you'll be amazed at how quickly they start to pick things up.

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

FastForward · Joined: 04 Jul 2011

kabrams · Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Location: your Dad's house

shsaint · Joined: 29 Nov 2010

gl chooch, I always thought teaching little kids were the easiest. Then again, I'm all talk and still looking land my first job. However, the things I am sure are that kids love to move on their feet, follow the leader, use their 5 senses, being rewarded for anything, and above all they love to play. You keep them busy otherwise they will lose their direction faster than a school of goldfish. Ever wonder why kids enjoy watching tv? It's not because they understand it, it's because tv keeps them going. They don't have to understand it, they just have to follow it (remember they love to follow the leader). Disney movies are one example of the many, and kids will enjoy watching them even if they weren't spoken in their own language. Disney have done amazing work to their pictures(facial expression, hand gesture, arrows, colors, signs, body language, et) so that kids from all ages and tongues will understand their movies.