Korean Job Discussion Forums

[beardigin]

Hello,

I have been teaching in this school in Seoul for about 1 year. I have a three student class of pre-junior high school students. They used to talk a little, but lately I'd have better luck trying to pull their teeth. Do any of you have ideas how to get them talking again.

They are very smart and understand written English very well. They may have some troubles with spoken English, but they do not say enough for me to make a real assessment of the problem.

Thanks in advance

[Peter Jackson]

Tough one. Quiet students can be the worst! Sometimes even loud obnoxious kids are better...at least something is going on.

I've recently started using a book called Communicate by David Paul. It comes with a workbook and I highly recommend the teacher's book as well. The stories themselves are not always so interesting but some of the workbook exercises and the ideas in the teacher's book are great. Great for getting them talking and using the language. It comes in two volumes and is not difficult grammar wise.

Also, a book called Heinmann's Childen's Games has some good ideas for card games and other fun activities.

Good luck

[ilovebdt]

I have high schoolers like that and I find that giving them a prewritten role play to perform helps. It is a case of building up their confidence. I have been at my school over a year now and there are still some students who won't speak out in class.

I use the following sorts of role plays:

Mixed up sentences: Ss have to read and understand the dialogue and then put the sentences in a logical order. You can then get them to perform the dialogue and ask them questions about the content.

Incomplete dialogue:
You start the role play and they add sentences to finish it.

Have you looked at the books: Easy True Stories? This is a book of interesting short stories which you can read together and then answer questions and discuss.

ilovebdt

[Meegook]

Blue Stars. 10 Blues stars = 1 gift.

Won't be able to keep'em quiet.

[captain kirk]

Those middle schoolers, they remind me of going to the gym. When you go to the gym to build muscles you're supposed to shock your muscles with different exercises and so surprise them. No desperation for those muscles no challenge and no growth.

Not that I'm Arnie but it's an analogy, ok?

So it seems to be with the middle schoolers. Things can be truckin' along quite nicely with zany, chatty talk going on and goofing around, all very blabbery and pleasant then they 'go on strike'.

One day, for example, the tallest girl in class arrives early, proudly wearing her middle school uniform and strutting in it. She strides up and says, petulantly, loudly, 'teacher game!!!' while pouting and bouncing on her toes, up and down, up and down. I look at her and think (don't say), 'why you ungrateful freak, who are you to be begging and squealing about wanting games, and NOW?'.

So class begins and it must be the weather, or what's going on at middle school, because it's not easy. Three of them don't have a pencil or pen. The girl who demanded 'game!', she always arrives with no book, no writing utensil, ever (thus who the heck does she think she is demanding entertainment!). And they are all pouting like groupers.

The boss happened to be passing by so I called her in and she napalmed them with scolding. And said to me, 'I scold them alot'.

Next class they were fine. These Korean middle school students are very tough and want to, if they can, take control of what goes on in class and if it's casual conversation, gradually turn it into something they want more, like this 'mythical all game class' this girl seemed to want. They can take a ton of scolding periodically to set them back on track as students, not budding supervisors.

I goof around with them. Ask them crazy what if questions like, 'You are an E.T. over earth. Why are you there?'. Their sentence answer is, 'I am E.T. I am over earth because ______'. Some say they want to visit Mexico, make friends, kill earth people, get gas for their flying saucer, etc...

And things like that, a sheet of interesting what if questions we go thru on the whiteboard.

With the quiet students I sort of dance around them trying to unnerve them while getting them to relax, a sort of medecine man dance. While pointing, when they look like they're ready to rip, at each word of the response sentence on the whiteboard; 'I am E.T. I am over earth because.....I want to kill teacher!'.

Some students are just plain meanly passive aggressive and their quietness is never going to change. One class it's a student whose nickname is Big Boss because he's so tall. When he finally is prodded enough to speak it's in a deliberate, zombie monotone to show everyone he is just laughing at the whole enterprise and humouring this training. The joke's on him, though, because he sounds like an ass, every time.

He sits in a state of suspended animation conserving his energy, not looking up, tilted forward in a kind of drowsy hunch over his desk. That class is very difficult to teach because some days they take Big Boss as their leader, and try to be as blase and cool and (from my point of view) useless. Medecine man dancing to summon a rain of conversation upon this parched desert is futile, but I do it anyway and to hell with Big Boss (who, if he took flight some day to the surprise of everyone, would be a lurking Vulture).

[ajuma]

I think that this week most students (middle school and up) are zombies. They've just finished mid-term exams and are brain-dead. Try some pop songs, games...anything to get them motivated again.