Korean Job Discussion Forums

[some waygug-in]

If you are new to Korea and teaching in a haggie or are planning to do so, here are some things that I have found helpful over the years:


Teaching English to Children in Asia - by David Paul.

Get it, read it, apply it to your teaching situation. It's not rocket science, but it is helpful.

Up and Away, Let's Go, Parade, Finding Out, American English Today, English Time
workbooks- The school is using other books, but the kids need more practice just making basic sentences. I give them worksheets from various other coursebooks to help suppliment what the regular textbook is teaching........or not teaching. You have to pick and choose a bit, but it gives the students a broader base from which to learn.

ELI puzzle and quizz books. These come in various levels. The begginner levels have vocabulary grouped into various useful categories,
months, days, numbers, colors, verbs, adjectives etc. They are presented first with pictures, then the students have to match the word with a picture, then they have a crossword followed by a wordsearch.


Uno cards from the Finding Out course books. Useful as "reward games" if the kids are good.

Crazy 8's cards

Go Fish cards

Let's Go student cards - useful for playing pictionary or for making various worksheets etc.

Feel free to add to this if you like.

Cheers

[I_Am_Wrong]

my advice: don't do it.

[Hotpants]

I don't think anything can prepare for the actuality of working in a hagwon. I know from the first language institute that I taught at, that it was totally different from anything I could have possibly imagined.

I would just say that you must be prepared to manage kids, unpredictability, and you must check with any existing teachers at the school you're going to what they have to say about working there. Moreover, never start work without your E-2 visa in your passport.

[flotsam]

[dulouz]

Relax, you aren't a real teacher. You don't teach at a real school. Let it go...

[Lizara]

What dulouz said. By all means, do your best, but don't freak out when things don't go according to plan, or new plans are thrust upon you at the last minute... sometimes great things happen. Other times if you can just manage to bring the right book to class and get all the kids on the same page, you're doing well.

so yeah. Try not to get too stressed. It's really not worth it.

[semphoon]

Make sure the kids are learning a bit and having fun. Dont stress if they are not getting every point. Remember, part of the reason they go to hagwon is to give mommy and daddy alone time.

[lonestar]

ESL Teacher's Activities Kit by Elizabeth Claire and Eileen Gerne Clavarella

[Mary-Jane]

Are all hagwon working hours (except kindergarten age, right?) from afternoon to night? I'm planning to try and get a public school job because I want my evenings free.

[poet13]

Kill yourself, quickly. Now! Only a boarda marka through the hearta will do. Do it now before your soul is lost!

[ttompatz]

[kimchi_pizza]

Drop the "I'm-fresh-from-university-wanna-show-my-intellegence-by-gettin-into-an-intellectual-piss'n-contest" attitude. That's the first mistake newbies make and I avoid'em like anthrax.

However, come in with a sincere "I-need-help-cause-I-don't-know-WHAT-the-heck-I'm-doing" attitude which I know to be the truth then I'd be more than happy to help out and befriend.

[poet13]

Ok, for real now. Book knowledge aside ( I have no formal teaching training, but almost five years ESL experience, and one year assistant teaching at a university.), I have learned enough to say the following...

-Kids can see, and feed off of your emotional energy. If you are down and depressed, they can see it. If you are up and bright, they see and feed off of that too. Leave your issues with your boss, girfriend, boyfriend, gay S/M bondage lover, IRS, neighbours, in laws, etc., AT HOME.

-Recognizing that every kid learns in a different way is important. Even your best students will have bad days. I know the names of maybe 8 of my 60 children. (flames welcome) However, I can tell you for each and every child what seems to work best with them.

-Maintaining discipline, even among 6 year olds, is not that hard. Firm, fair, and consistent. It's difficult and frustrating with a new class, but once they learn what is expected of them, and once they learn that punishment is handed out consistently, your classroom can become a place of learning, not a monkey cage at the zoo during feeding time.

-Keep a short memory. When a student or a class acts out, punish and forget about it. If you continue to alienate or be angry at a student after their punishment, then you are in fact still punishing them. This is very confusing for them.

-Respect. You will have outspoken children, and shy, quiet children. When your students learn to respect each other, that is, not speak while another is speaking, or shout out answers just cause they know, the shy students will after a while, learn to trust you and themselves enough to speak up. Not in all cases, but I think most. The outspoken children will learn that they don't have to compete to be heard. This social skill is something they can carry with them through life.

-Praise. Find something, anything, to praise a child for if they perform a task. I have even had to resort to, "Wow, I really like your choice of color!", when a child butchered the alphabet so badly I thought he was writing hanguk. The child had no idea what I said, but the tone of voice said it all.

-When there is something wrong in your classroom, examine yourself and your technique first. Don't assume that your students are the problem. More than likely, they are not.

-Laugh with them, not at them. That sounds easy. For some, it's not.

-Recognize that every day you should learn something new. If you ever feel that you have stopped learning, then there is something wrong. Regard it as you would any illness. Diagnose and treat aggressively.

-Finally. Have fun.

[gang ah jee]

Remember the "one-at-a-time" rule when getting involved with adult students.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Have a good contingency plan for if you have to jump ship, and don't be afraid to screw them over if they've treated you like crap. Have lots of spine, but if you do end up at the rare good hogwan be willing to do some favours.