Korean Job Discussion Forums

[deetah]

My new job consists of teaching some adult classes. I've never done it before!

Can someone give me some tips and ideas for lessons? Any helpful websites?

I don't even know where to begin!

[Captain Corea]

I'm sure you're a nice person and your intent may be in the right place but...

[mj roach]

Most job ads read "Degree - any major; no teaching experience necessary". This forum is a good place to start when faced with a new situation and looking for ways to help your students.

Assuming you're in the typical hakwan setting (you didn't mention business/corperate etc.), expect a class of mixed levels. After introducing yourself at the beginning of the first class (3-5 min.), pass out a prepared questionnaire (photo copy the academy logo/letter head at the top?) using complete sentences, asking basic Q's (Please answer in complete sentences)...i.e. : What is your name?; Do you have an English nickname?; How old are you?; When were you born?; What do you do?; How long have you studied English?; Have you ever travelled or studied abroad? (10-15 min.)

Let the students keep the questionnaire to use as a guide and ask them to introduce themselves (rock, scissors, paper to see who goes first?). Collect the questionnaire after each student finishes and make a note about their speaking level. If there is time remaining, ask the students you think will be least embarassed some follow up Q's.

Choose a text appropriate for the majority of the students. See "What is a conversation class?" floating around p.2 on this forum. Although the discussion concers middle school students, the advice/opinions will benefit you, too. If you need some ideas on how to use the book with a mixed adult class, please feel free to PM.

During the "produce" portion of the class you may need to act, as tactfully as possible, as moderator to ensure that all get a chance. If not, the older (est) male will dominate (regardless of level!).

As a word of encouragement, think of your new class as a way to learn and grow (OJT?). I think you'll find that what adult students want most is a chance to "practice their English with a foreigner".

[lastat06513]

Thats all I've taught since I started teaching many years ago.

1. Know who your students are (businesspeople, housewives, uni. students, etc.)
2. Know what they want to learn (improve their conversation skills, desire to speak like a native speaker, just to speak to a foreigner, etc.)
3. How many students are in each class?
4. What is the language level of the students? (that will determine the level of preparation needed for each class)

NOTE- Don't go into class without a lesson and don't in the classroom with the intentions of just "talking" to the students, they are adults and expect some kind of results for their money. The key is to be prepared.

There are many things to consider when teaching adults

[TJ]

A few random ideas that may help.
1. Your adult students will almost certainly have varying levels of english. Usually the worse they are the further they sit towards the back of the class. Usually older males come into this category. As you may know it's very important (to them) that they don't loose face by revealling just how bad their english is. So ............... don't pick on them. If you do ask them a question try to make it easy for them to answer. Use a bit of psychology.

1. I always started my adult lessons with a tongue twister ... they loved it, especially when I told them their own students would like it as well.

2. Choose topics (for discussion) that are of interest to them. Photocopy articles from english langauge newspapers (download from the web). Some topics of interest are .......... teaching / education in other countries. The traffic accident rate in Korea. This can lead on to "tell me about a traffic accident you saw or were involved in". Stay away from discussing politics or religion.

I did a couple of lessons on the different types of english eg. american english, australian english, NZ english etc etc. We compared pronunciation and spelling as well as variations in meaning of some words.

3. Divide your lesson into two parts. First part will be on the english language. Second part will be on the article or articles.

4. Hand out photo copies of the article(s) to be discussed. Each student is to read a paragraph or section. Help them if the have problems but make them at least try before offering to help. Do not REPEAT DO NOT embarass any student in front of the class.

5. Note any words they have trouble with and discuss it with the class. If you know the origin of an english word tell them ........ you can have very interesting discussions about the english language itself. The beauty of that is that it makes learning fun and interesting.

6. Don't hesitate to deviate from your lesson plan if the students are enjoying themselves and practicing their english at the same time.

7. Relax and enjoy this opportunity. These adult classes can be enjoyable and very rewarding for students and teacher alike.

Finally, if you have any specific questions PM me.

Good luck

[deessell]

Buy a course book appropriate for their level then read the teachers book. A good series is Cutting Edge or my personal favourite, English File.

[Ya-ta Boy]

You didn't give us a lot to go on, as in are these students beginners or higher, early morning businessmen, a private class with a specific goal in mind...

I'm guessing you are looking for some discussion material. If so, you can't go wrong with www.breakingnewsenglish.com. It has two versions of each lesson geared for lower and higher level students.

In a discussion class, do not feel you need a new topic each night. Start with vocabulary and grammar (possibly play a grammar game for some sorely needed interest-building in the necessary grammar); the next night do the reading/discussion; follow that up with something creative with the idioms found in the readings.