Korean Job Discussion Forums

Hyeon Een · Joined: 24 Jun 2005

I have a class in 2.5 hours. It is a kindergarten class. I have never taught kindergarten before. They are 6-7yrs so just before they start elementary school, not total babies. I am pretty sure this will be their first ever english class. They won't know the alphabet, numbers, or how to say "my name is" etc. etc.

I have 0 resources. Well, I might be able to rustle up some blank paper. Maybe they'll bring pencils and stuff.. maybe.

There are 13 of them.

So, for absolute beginners, what do they learn first?? the alphabet? numbers? how to say "My name is..." ? Something else? Should I just play a game.. if so.. what? I can't think of any games which don't require at least a little bit of explanation.

Please give me some ideas! Thank god the class is only 30 minutes.

The other class I am worried about I have tomorrow. There are 14 or 15 adult beginner students. I think they all know the alphabet. Some can't (or won't) say "My name is Mrs Kim". What should I focus on with them? I've had plenty of adult conversation classes before, but never beginners. Again, I have no book or other resources apart from what I make/buy myself before tomorrow.

Any help ye can give for either of these classes would be great thanks. I've not had any experience with total beginners before.. its quite different to teaching people who know stuff all ready. Some books would be nice too.

thanks,

-HE

peppermint · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 9:10 pm Post subject:

The only book I know of for adult beginners is Side by Side 1. It's as boring a book as you can imagine, but it begins with the alphabet. Oh, and teach them "I'm Mrs Kim" it's easier to say, and you can build off of it later when you want them to tell you how they are. ( I'm fine, I'm sleepy, etc)

deessell · Joined: 08 Jun 2005

Cutting Edge Starter is an excellent book. You don't have to teach them the alphabet at the beginning but teach them to spell letters eg My name is John J-O-H-N.

I would start with the verb "to be"

I am
he is

Also classroom language is really important with beginners.
Then jobs.

Good luck it's not everyones cup of tea, but you will never ever see a group make such progress as beginners.

deessell · Joined: 08 Jun 2005

Sorry I just realized that the class is Kindergarten....forget everything i wrote, especially the book reccomendation.

Embarassed

tomato · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 2:03 am Post subject:

tomato · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 2:54 am Post subject:

Hello, Hyeon Een!

Some of these ideas I posted on previous threads, some of them are new.
I wanted to make sure you didn't miss any of them because I'm so egotistical--I mean helpful.

�� rhythmically greeting the children

If you are of musical bent, take a scrap piece of lumber, draw quarter notes, eighth note couplets, and a quarter rest. Then ask a carpenter to cut it out for you.

At the beginning of each class, greet each child in 4/4 rhythm. Say "Hello, Michael!" in even quarter notes.
Say "Hello, Jane, shh!" with a quarter rest at the end.
Say "Hello, Melanie!" with an eighth-note couplet on the third beat.

�� easy picture books

My favorite English bookstore is Kim and Johnson in Pusan.
Take the subway to Beomnaegol, which is station #18.
Walk out exit #1 and it's on the second floor in the building right in front of you.
They have a good selection of books published by Creative Teaching Press, which are adaptable for this purpose--or for almost any purpose.
Their phone number is 051/645-0515. Their e-mail address is:

[email protected]

But don't limit yourself to picture books written in English.
There is a wealth of picture books written in Korean which you can translate. There are oodlums of picture books with only one word or very few words on each page. If you know Korean, this will be good practice. If you don't know Korean, this will be a good place to start.
Here is a list of my favorites:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=38947&highlight=

For that matter, the book doesn't have to be written in English or Korean. Keep an eye out the next time you go on a visa run.

As you read the book, elicit a response from the kids after every page.
After you show a picture of a dog, slap your knees while saying rhyhmically, "This is a dog. This is a dog."

�� give the children turns choosing

Lay down pictures of a dog, a cat, and a bird.
"Who can show me the bird?"
When someone chooses the correct item, take it up and say, "Who can show me the cat?"

Never mind that you will have only one item left at the end. The kids will raise their hands anyway.

�� give the children turns drawing

You say the children can't draw anything recognizable?
That's okay, have them draw lines, circles, or anything else simple.
Draw a line and then say, "Who else can draw a line?"
If every hand shoots up, and David is behaving exceptionally well,
choose David.

"Let's all say in a loud voice, 'David drew a line!'"
"Let's all whisper, 'David drew a line!'"
"Let's all say in a puzzled voice [scratching your head and frowning] 'David drew a line?'"
"Let's all cry [taking out your handkerchief and sobbing], 'David drew a line!'"
If David drew a circle when he was supposed to draw a line, that's okay too. Just substitute the word "circle" for "line."

�� spelling words with alphabet tiles

I once had the good luck of walking past a construction site which was throwing away small tiles of about the same size and shape. I took them home, painted letters on them, and have been putting them to good use ever since.

Lay down the letters for the word BLUE, fingerspell the word, and then take one letter out.
"Who can put the letter L back in?"
Sounds absurdly simple for us, but we're not four-year-olds!

�� rhythmically thanking each child who volunteers

There is just one disadvantage to asking for volunteers: it doesn't involve those class members who are not volunteers. You can minimize this evil by slapping your knees and saying, "Thank you, Kevin, thank you, Kevin" after each child gives a correct response.

�� making a song out of the word for the day

My kindergarten students seem to enjoy this song:

Repeat for each letter in the word.

�� gross motor activity

I try to time this activity for the halfway point in the class.
Jumping, marching, and stamping can be adapted for animals, colors, letters of the alphabet, or any other subject matter.

"What color is this? This is red. Let's march for the color red.
This is red! This is red!"
"What color is this? This is blue. Let's run for the color blue.
Thisisbluethisisbluethisisblue . . ."
"What color is this? This is green. Let's stamp for the color green.
THIS IS GREEN! THIS IS GREEN!"

I promise you they will giggle when you "run for the color blue."

In order to adjust to a more sedentary activity, it might help to make tiptoeing the last gross motor item.

�� sign language

Sounds complicated, but you will be surprised how easy it is to teach sign language.
Just make a simple pattern, such as "This is red, this is blue" or "This is a car, this is a truck."
You will only have to look up a few words each week.

My favorite sign language dictionary is:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0913580813/qid=1084934939/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1658994-0003058?v=glance&s=books

�� monotone musical activities

You don't have to be Mozart to administer this activity.
"Red" has one syllable, so sing the word on G.
"Yellow" has two syllables, so sing the word on G-G.
Call on volunteers to play the appropriate number of G's on the xylophone.
Such a task may be an insult to you or me, but not to four-year-olds.

�� teaching the students to read each others' name tags

I hope your students will have English name tags. I've been in Korea studying Korean for 6 years and I still have the dangdest time remembering Korean names.

Ask three or four of the kids to take their name tags off. Then show each of those name tags to the class, identifying each letter.

Then lay the name tags on the floor and ask, "Who can show me Josh's name tag?"

Again, never mind the fact that you will have only one item left at the end.

�� saying goodby

You don't have to be Mozart for this activity, either.
All you have to do is call for a volunteer to play the xylophone, then
sing "Goodby" on E-G-E while pointing to the correct keys with your finger.

As a disciplinary measure, you can choose the three best-behaving students for this activity.

Then you will probably look at the clock and complain that your classtime was so limited.

tomato · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:19 am Post subject:

Hello a third time, Hyeon Een!

I was looking through my Photobucket file, and I found a few action songs which I myself have been neglecting.

On this song, repeat for "jump," "run," "stamp," "tiptoe," or anything else you can think of.

The meaning of the words should be clear if you show a picture of a squirrel. Again, substitute any other verb you can think of.

On this one, show a picture of a snail. Join hands in a chain, with yourself at one end. The child at the other end walks around you while everyone else continues holding hands. If this is done right, it will result in a tight coil. Giggle, giggle, giggle.

They won't understand the words, but it's fun anyway.
Join hands in a circle and rotate. At the end of the stanza, stamp your foot and yell "BOOM!"
Then repeat the song, rotating the other way.

They don't understand the words to this song either, but it's giggleworthy.
Join hands and rotate.
The second stanza goes:

Dear Allen, dear Allen, your true love is dead.
The king wrote a letter to turn back your head.

Allen drops hands, turns facing out (You might have to make it clear that these instructions apply only to Allen), joins hands, and continues rotating with everyone else in the circle.

Repeat for everyone else in the circle.

This is done sitting down.
Swing one fist on the first stanza.
On the second stanza, change the words to "two hammers" and swing two fists.
For "three hammers," swing two fists and one foot.
For "four hammers," swing two fists and two feet.

Since this song only two notes, you can easily point to the keys while a child plays it on the xylophone or piano.

Substitute "stamp your feet," "nod your head," or anything else you can think of.

For "that will do," take a bow.
The other actions should be self-explanatory.

This is a Korean jumprope song.
I am amazed at the similarities between this song and Teddy Bear.
It is a very old song, so there is no possibility of cultural transmission.
The way I got it written, it's played all on the black keys.
If that's too hard for you, I'll write it over so that it uses only white keys.

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

Your adult class will be "false beginners" -- its almost impossible for adult Koreans to have not had some basic grounding in english at some point.

They are likely all different levels & you'll have your work cut out for you keeping them all engaged. Start with simple introductions. Write basic sentence starters on the whiteboard (they'll all be able to read) & it might give them more confidence to speak.

Keep your speaking slow, simple, clear, & repetitive -- they also need confidence that they can listen & understand. Appear relaxed, reassuring, & funny if you can.

Spend some time having them identify simple objects in the classroom -- they might surprise you. Heres a simple game: list several basic colors on a worksheet with an empty box next to each & have them work in 3s or whatever to write down things they can see & name.

The first few classes will be about getting them to enjoy the classroom environment & their fellow classmates. Dont even think about a textbook for now -- wait till they show their real abilities.

Dont be heartbroken if the class numbers dwindle quickly. Do try, but you wont be able to satisfy everyone in a group that size.

If you google on "efl false beginners" a number of useful sites come up. This one has some good pointers: http://esl.about.com/library/weekly/aa022101c.htm & there are many others.

Best luck. Let us know how it goes.