Korean Job Discussion Forums

Toby · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Wedded Bliss

Starting next week.

One hour a week with about 35 mixed level girls.

15 different classes a week.

Round about 550 girls.

Suggestions please....

pet lover · Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Location: not in Seoul

Have you tried beating your head against the wall? That's my first thought....

Zyzyfer · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 6:15 am Post subject:

Hahahah everyone gunning for these public school jobs!

As for advice, this thread does pop up a lot. Snoop around.

skindleshanks · Joined: 10 May 2004

One prep a week, should be great!

I did 14 classes of 40-50 Middle school Chinese students for a year. Any group activities degenerated into chaos, with the cooperating teacher looking on and occasionally yelling at the top of her lungs.

In the end opted for whatever was entertaining and could be done with them staying at their seats.

I tried giving a test once, but I was marking for over 40 hours and still was only halfway, so I quit that.

Anyway, with luck you might live through this one!

Wink

Gollum · Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Location: Japan

I know a guy in Japan who does that with 1,000 girls a month! Nuts!

Not to degrade you as an individual, but in this circumstance, you're for show, and so your school system can claim having a foreigner teaching there.

The good news is that, as mentioned, you only have to plan for one lesson. Make it REALLY great!

Suggestions:

Start with a graphic of the body, and teach body parts, followed by fun things like photos/graphics of Korean TV stars.

You can spend much of a whole lesson popping up different photos of stars and asking students to describe the star's features.

For example, pop up a photo of Won Bin somehow. Then ask them to "describe Won Bin" in English.

Prompt them to help 'em out: "He has.....???"

You: "Won Bin has....??? ��?
They: Shouting various garbled responses
You: "Won Bin has big eyes! Please repeat after me -- Duko dala ha shipshio... Won Bin has big eyes!"
They: "Won Bin has big eyes!"

Then go on and describe different body features, etc.

Change the photos, and then after it starts getting old, tell them to describe their neighbor to you, etc.

That's one idea of what I do with my low-level high school girls.

You don't have to learn a lot of Korean... just enough to help prompt those who wouldn't pay attention otherwise. Some will say you shouldn't use any Korean in class. Personally, I consider those who say "it's English class, so the teacher can't speak Korean" just plain foolish. Often, I find it's an excuse for the teacher's innability to speak Korean. I only know a little Korean, but let me tell you -- classroom commands can make the difference between your life being hell or tolerable. In situations where the English is repeated before and after the Korean command, they learn quick. Soon you can dump the Korean.

You must find ways to engage them -- at least the majority of them. If you don't, you'll reach a point-of-no-return, and suffer the Chinese chaos on a daily basis.

That is when you enter Dante's toughest level of Hell.

kprrok · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: KC

I posted a response earlier, but honestly and to be fair to the mods, it was a little inappropriate. So I'll post the important and good part again...

The best thing to take in to a class that large is a good sense of humour. Realise that you're not going to have an easy time and just go with it. Learn to laugh, and try to get your students to laugh. it'll make everything easier.

KPRROK

Gollum · Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Location: Japan

I'm not sure if my current school is taking out pension or not.

I need to check into that.

riverboy · Joined: 03 Jun 2003 Location: Incheon

Actually, it can be really fun. I enjoy it. Do you have a taxtbook to work from. If not, work on a theme of question and answers. Write the question on the board.
What did you do.........?
What will you do.........?
What are you doing.......?

Talk abouit the weather. Talk about TV and computer games. Do a lot of writing on the board so they can visualise and have them reapeat it.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

My suggestion is that you get a hold of their english text book and build your lesson of these.

For instance my 1st graders (middle school) did a lesson on what shoe size are you?

We practiced a sample dialogue for 10 minutes to introduce the lesson. They then had a quick worksheet on the dialogue.
We then practiced saying 10.5 5.5 etc.

They then had to ask 5 people what their shoe size was. I had a table of american and korean shoe sizes for them. They then had to make sentences about what they found out on their worksheet.

I am a size 2.
Gi-ho is a size 7.5

That's for a 45minute lesson. Keep stuff simple and try not to cover too much in one lesson.