Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bay99801]

Hi all,

I have an interview tomorrow and there's two questions I'm not quite sure how to answer *correctly*.

Background info - with a hagwon, elementary-middle school age.

If they ask, "What is the most important thing about teaching English/learning English" or some similar variation, what is the proper response?

I know in America for young children (Elementary age), it would be perfectly fine to say "Make sure the kids have fun and enjoy learning", but I'm not sure if this is a proper response in Korean culture.

The other question is "What would you do if some of the children became disruptive?"

Is "Ask for help from the Korean co-teacher" appropriate or am I allowed/expected to discipline. Perhaps send them out in the hallway? I'm not sure what is right/wrong/allowed/expected of foreign teachers regarding that topic.

I'll learn right away when I'm there, but I'm mostly concerned with giving the best answers for the interview.

[Coltronator]

Answer to first one is hard.

Answer to second one is easy.

"There will not be a particularly disruptive student in my class. My students will know their classroom expectations. There will exist a classroom culture that will handle 90% of all issues before they begin. After that any disruption can be handled invisibly with visual or hidden verbal ques to the disruptive student."

[edwardcatflap]

Re the first question, I agree you don't want to be seen as just an edutainer, which your answer might suggest. How about saying something general like 'creating an atmosphere conducive to learning' . You can then expand on it by saying stuff like 'by making the activities engaging, establishing routines, giving praise where it's due, dealing with errors sensitively etc..' With the caveat that your methodology will vary according to the students' age.