Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Oreovictim]

Yesterday, my fellow foreign teacher looked really tired. He was writing a heading on a piece of paper and wrote the numbers 1-25. Tired of dealing with some of his students, he decided to have the out-of-line kids write sentences. I think his heading was, "I will not talk in class." Something like that, anyway. I don't know if it will be an effective form of punishment, but we'll see.

What are some other things you could have the kids write out?

Here's a few that I thought of.

I will not stand on the chairs or desks.
I will not write text messages in class.
When the teacher enters the class, I will not yell, "Teacher, game!"

Although it's not cool for kids to sleep in class, I don't think that I'd have them write sentences for that. Man, these kids have a long day.

[Ya-ta Boy]

How about:

Dong-chiming is OK. It makes the teacher smile.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[some waygug-in]

What are the odds that the student in question played with their phone and acted indolent-airheadishly whilst doing said assignment?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[hubba bubba]

That's a good way to get your students complaining that "Teacha boring. Class is no, Omma"

[Corporal]

"Korean food sucks" times 50...

Nah, that's too short.

[ttompatz]

[Sash]

[crazy_arcade]

game?

why the hell not?

they've been at school all day...if they're middle school then they've already studied 7, maybe 8 subjects that day. Some of them have to study EVERY subject again at night. You can make pretty much every activity in a kids esl book into a game. No hangman.
Put your students into teams, give them points and rewards for good behavior. Make it a competition and they'll really get into it.

You're at a hagwon so think of yourself as an afterschool tutor that has kids who would MUCH MUCH MUCH rather be playing video games or something. Wouldn't you be in the same position at that age?

[Qinella]

I have reservations about negatively connotating writing in their minds.

They shouldn't learn to hate writing.

However, I have made kids do writing on a few occasions, typically to drill a lesson into their brains. I write it in English and Korean, make them memorize what it means, then write it out. Like, 'I will do my homework.' Next time, guess what? Homework done!

But I'm not sure if that's a good move or not..

[Sash]

[Qinella]

Yeah the dude that 'taught' before me at my last hagwon apparently played a ton of games with the kids. Stupid games like hangman and the one where you start the next word with the last letter of the previous word. Blah..

[Dawn]

I've quit requiring kids to write short sentences multiple times. The average kid rushes through them, jotting down 50 I's, followed by 50 wills, etc. without paying any attention to what he or she is saying. Then, there are those few kids who complain to Mom that teacher is giving them unreasonable amounts of homework and Mom calls school to demand that her little darling be exempted from punishment.

Nope. No more sentences in my classroom. Now they get "motivational paragraphs" to be copied, translated, and signed by one or both parents. Funny ... I've yet to have a parent complain that the mean teacher made little Min-Soo write about how smart, loved, and special he was.

Here's what they get. Particularly evil students get to copy both the English version and the Korean translation multiple times.

"I know that I am a special person. I am smart. I am fully capable of learning a second language. I am loved. My parents work hard to give me the best education they can. I am cared for by a number of people. My teacher is one of these people. She insists that I work in class because she wants me to succeed in life. Today, I've made poor choices in the classroom, but tomorrow is a new day, and tomorrow, I can and will do better. I will choose to listen. I will choose to work. I will choose to treat myself and those around me with respect. I will choose to live up to my potential."

[Son Deureo!]

Motivational paragraphs translated for and signed by Mom and Dad... brilliant!