Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Apparently my middle school is one of twenty in Kyeongnam Province that has been chosen to get to host a Russian student for a few days (she'll be doing a short homestay with one of my grade 3 students). Presumably she can speak some English - and I'd love it if it turns out she more fluent than the teachers at my school. A big group of Russian students (I don't know what school level, but I guess it's the equivalent of Korean middle and high school age) are arriving in Masan tomorrow. It should be fun to show her around a bit and give her a foreigner's inside scoop on Korea.

Is anyone else's school getting to host a Russian?

And out of curiosity, does anyone know how the grades / forms / years / levels at Russian secondary schools work, and what their equivalents are to the Korean school system?

[rothkowitz]

tell her to bring some voddie.

[ejmlab]

We haven't had any Russian students but my school does have a Russian Math teacher. Actually he's a math professor that does part time at the high school and part time at the University. Two months ago we had a group of American students come on an intercultural outreach program and next week we have a group of Korean American kids (adoptees) coming to visit.

[Hotpants]

You'd better watch this! There could be a new strategy on the horizon by the education ministry to get cheap Eastern European guinea pigs to be placed in classes here as substitutes for English teachers. They've already got a number working in the English camps. We could all be out of a job soon!

I think it's encouraging to see some inter-national exchange going on in Korean schools, although I once had a Russian student in my class and nobody could understand what she was saying - myself included! - because she had such a strong accent with zero intonation. She dominated the whole class and it was quite overwhelming for everybody. Kind of fortunately, she then complained about my teaching methods and quit my class. It was difficult to have just one student who was of a different nationality amongst the typically reticent Korean class. If the Russian student's English level is good enough, it may be worth taking her aside at the beginning and explaining some of the characteristics about your class, and some of the expectations that you and her should have about her participation in the class. Perhaps designate a special role for her.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It turns out she's only 13 in western years, and did she ever look like a deer caught in the headlights when she first started getting introduced to everyone. Apparently she comes from city in Siberia that's four hours away by aeroplane. Her English wasn't that great, but it was interesting how I could communicate with her much more easily than the Koreans. I could usually understand what she was trying to say when they couldn't, and she had a much easier time understanding me. She's part of a group that's in Korea for a week - I'm not sure what the purpose of such a trip is. She's staying with one of my grade 3 MS student's family for the time being and that will probably be quite a cultural shock. The poor girl doesn't even know how to use chopsticks.

I have to say that she handled it quite well - going from room to room and getting swarmed by crazy brown girls treating her like a celebrity and all wanting to touch her hair. I can only imagine what would have happened if they had sent a cute, blond-haired, blue-eyed boy.