Korean Job Discussion Forums

[butlerian]

Hi, I recently came to Korea and got a job in a Korean middle school in a small town. I was a bit surprised to find there is no curriculum or even any guidelines as to what a native English teacher should teach. I am expected to make my own lesson plans, but since I've little teaching experience etc, this is a little difficult! Lessons are 45mins long and I teach the same classes once every week. Can anyone provide any advice as to a suitable lesson plan? I have the rest of the week to prepare before I start teaching next week. I'm also to teach Korean English teachers for 3 hours on Wed, Thurs and Fridays every week - I expect that will be tough too!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[crazylemongirl]

Are you teaching from their english books? you should be. Will make you more valid which is important when teaching older kids.

Here's what a typical clg lesson looks like.

1. A few minutes of small talk. At the start of the month I introduce the 'idiom of the month' which I then use for the rest of the month.

2. Intoduction to dialogue/activity. Basically vocab. Check comprehension.

3. Explain dialogue.

4. Dialogue drill. Ask questions (which will appear later) between drills.

5. If time, volunteer time. Students do the dialogue by themselves for candy.

6. Worksheet. A brief worksheet on the concepts covered in class. Should take 5 to 10 minutes.

7 Check worksheet on the board.

[butlerian]

There's no English book or set text for me to use. The Korean teachers have a book which has a dialogue etc, but most of the book is written in Korean and I've been told not to use that. Maybe I could suggest to them a book to use - has anyone any ideas?

Thanks a lot.

[crazylemongirl]

Use their school textbook, if you don't then your classes are going to be viewed as fun time with the foreigner and they won't pay attention.

If the dialogues are in English, then you can work from that.

[butlerian]

Yeah, I can imagine, but I think my co-teacher (Korean) will also be in the lessons to manage behaviour. I guess many public schools in Korea operate differently so it's hard to compare.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

You'll probably have a few different Korean assistants so it might be difficult to get in a good routine at first.

Pronunciation Pairs by Baker and Goldstein has really good phonics activities and dialogues. Side by Side has typical EFL lessons and it's sister book Word by Word is a good English-Hangeul picture dictionary. Picture dictionaries that come with ready-made handouts are great. Real Listening 1 by Choi and Kong also has some great hand-outs for phonics and pronunciation.

As a basic rule of thumb try to focus on things that Korean teachers can't do - pronunciation, listening, and conversation. Just remember that it's really difficult for middle school students to listen to lessons done in L2 for very long, so don't spend too much time just talking. Also, don't mistake first-week enthusiasm for genuine interest in English. Finally, don't expect Korean teachers necessarily to take charge of discipline; they may not even show up or if they do, just stand there looking stupid.

[butlerian]

Thanks for the book suggestions. Is it possible to just buy one book and photocopy activities for the students, or will everyone need a copy?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[rawiri]

I work elementry so it's a bit different, but i reccomend that you try to get the korean teacher out of your class and you run the show yourself. If you are new to teaching in korea then it may take a little while to get the gist of things, say a month or two, but the ultimate goal for you should be self sufficiency. It makes it more of a challenge for you, raises your cred at the school with your superiors and gives the k/teacher some free time which generally they are pretty thankful for.

Luck.

[passport220]

Hiya:

I like you just started my first week of teaching on Monday. Other than a few classes as a student teacher in my TESOL class I have never taught before.

Your first lesson plan should be built around an introduction. For one formal introductions are very imporent in this society. Two, the kids and teachers want to know all about you.

If you would like I will send you a copy of my first lesson plan that included two introduction or �getting to know you� activities just pass along your email addy.

This thread is also helpful:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=64878&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

As I am also new so I don�t know, but I expect teaching English to the teachers (because many will at least know basic English) will be the highlight of your week

[butlerian]

Hey,

Thanks for the advice - your lesson plan would be great, if you're sure you don't mind sending it to me. I think you're right about teaching the Korean teachers - it will be easier in the sense that at least they can say more than just a few words of English. The only problem is that I don't really know what they're expecting, and 3 hours is a long time to kill. I'm going to start with the usual introductions, and then tell them about my country/city and culture, but after that I'm not too sure what I should do.

Thanks again.

[techno_the_cat]

I teach a simular job myself. Ask the Korean teach for a copy of their text book and model your class plans on that.
You work in rural schools right?

[butlerian]

I've got a copy of the textbook they use but it's mostly in Korean and it doesn't seem to very comprehensive anyway. I'm working in Cheongnam so, yeah, it's fairly rural - I'm working in a small town.

[refikaM]

Hey butlerian are you one of the Gangwondo crew?

[butlerian]

I don't know - what's that?