Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LateBloomer]

I apologize in advance for a post that will undoubtedly be long. Some time ago, I posted my concerns about the prospect of teaching a large class of teachers. A few of you kindly provided suggestions and some very good advice about how to approach it and I said I�d report back. Sorry to be so long in reporting back but the situation and class numbers have been evolving. So, I decided to wait until things stabilized to give you this update.

The first class�you were right�..all 47 teachers didn�t show up. There were 24. From the outset it was clear that some spoke almost no English and I decided not to �dummy things down� for those. (I didn�t have the option of having a beginner class and an advanced class, so I expected some of the beginners would �self-select� and drop out.) For the ones with a better command of English, I gave a �pep talk� about how it�s impossible to improve language skills without making mistakes and how mistakes are good and a valuable part of learning�not something to be feared. I told them about some of the mistakes I had been making when trying to speak Korean (they laughed quite a bit during that part) and it seemed to go over well. Next, I told them a little bit about me and where I�m from and gave them a chance to ask questions. Then, as one of you suggested, I handed out a questionnaire about their English levels, past history of English instruction and expectations for the course.

The rest of the class, I had them play �getting to know each other� games that forced them to speak English. I gave them examples of how to ask specific questions and to answer them (with blanks in the appropriate places). Then they had to report back about what they had learned about their colleagues. At the end of the class I asked them what approach they wanted me to take (i.e. Did they want a textbook? Did they want mostly conversation or a balance between conversation and grammar?) They didn�t want a text and thought the focus should be on conversation. A couple of them said they wanted future classes to be similar to the first one.

Class 2�Those with little English dropped out, as did two teachers who speak English very well--much beyond the level of the others.

Classes 3-5�Two more dropped out. Now I have between nine and twelve �regulars�.

As things now stand, I really enjoy these classes. One of my co-teachers is a faithful participant and I give him credit for not being afraid to be there and have the other teachers see that his English isn�t perfect. (My other co-teacher was one of the ones who didn�t speak enough English to be able to follow anything, so she dropped out after the first class.)

In each lesson, I focus on a grammar point or two (lot�s of work on verbs and mistakes common to Korean learners) and we do quite a bit of group work that requires individual speaking. We sit in a circle and sometimes I have them each pick a card with a couple of words on it (tomorrow/swimming) and make a sentence using those words. They especially like �getting to know you� activities in which they find out interesting things about each other or me (not that there�s much interesting about me). For example, I get them to draw questions out of a box and ask the person beside them that question. Or, we do variations of �find someone who�, emphasizing a particular grammar point. The content possibilities are endless�movies, music, hobbies, food etc. And for some strange reason, they seem to like pronunciation exercises. We laugh a lot during those.

Anyway, this class has been a great way to establish a rapport with some of the teachers I didn�t previously know. I�m sure it also helps that I�m an �older� teacher. Now they�re always doing nice things for me like bringing me tea and goodies or making sure I have an umbrella when it�s raining. They�ve also said kind things about the way I teach and have told me that the class is fun. I�ve gotten gifts in addition to the usual offerings of food�� so I feel I must have stumbled into doing something right. It really is nice to teach people who are attending a class because they want to be there�not because they have to. Since they didn�t pay, there�s no other incentive for them to show up.

[spyro25]

sounds awesome. i loved my teachers classes when i had them a while ago. they were some very nice people. i will say though that i had to take a teacher's class just ONE week into my first ever job in Korea, now THAT was stressful.

seems like you are having a good time of it. try to get some of their names and numbers if ever you need a korean 'friend' to sort out issues with you. they will be respected members of the community who can vouch for you if you get into any trouble with anyone.