Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sirfro]

My girlfriend and I recently arrived to Korea to start work in a new school, an English kindergarden.
I don't know where to begin. The classes are tiny, only 3-5 kids, between the ages of 5 and 7. We're not supposed to speak any Korean in class [if we know any] and there's no Korean partner in class with us to help with discipline. The kids don't understand what we're saying [of course] and just run wild in class. We can't control them, our lesson plans go no where. I'm catching some flak from the head teacher about it already. It's our 3rd official day of teaching, but it's our 3rd week on the job. (We got here earlier for 'development' of lesson plans and materials - the school had no structure for us to follow). Also, we haven't gone for our visa run, so technically we're still illegal.
I don't know what to do. My girlfriend is at breaking point and though I tell her I'm ok with it and we should give it time, after this last class, I really don't know.
Our co-workers are nice enough, and they did provide us with a pretty big office tel, although besides bed, table + chairs, TV and basic kitchen appliances it's empty. We haven't been paid yet.
Am I getting alarmed too early? Should I really just wait it out for a while and see how it goes?
Surely other teachers have been in our position...
Any advice would be very much appreciated. (And something helpful please, not just 'sucks to be you').
Cheers...

[endofthewor1d]

3-5 kids in a kindy class? that's like heaven. you might actually be able to teach them something. i know it can suck to have absoulutely no idea what you're doing, but give it some time. do you have other foreign coworkers? talk it over with them. good luck!

[sirfro]

The co-workers are Korean teachers, but they don't seem to have a problem controling the kids. I'm sure they tell them what to do in Korean...
Ah, the kids already know all the material from the book I'm supposed to use in class. I have the kids at the higher level apparently, they have some English background... One of the mothers has been in to school already complaining the class is too easy. I found that out just this morning. I think she wants to sit in on one of my classes... I've been looking around on the net for ideas and things to use in class, but I don't know where to go with these kids. Only one can write, another one seems to know everything I say but won't respond to anything in English, and the other... is the school owners daughter. *sigh*...

[poet13]

3-5 kids per class. Cooooool!
No visa run? Way UNCOOL.
They need to get you on a visa run yesterday. The kids are the least of your problems right now. As it is, the can work you for a month, decide your "not working out", and fire you.....oh, and they don't have to pay you....cause you're not supposed to be there.
After your visa run. I think after you get over the first overwhleming period of "what the heck am I doing here?", you might find yourself in a great situation.
If you boss is giving you grief already, then maybe you can discuss with him or her the problems your facing, and ask him or her for suggestions.
As I said above though, you are in a precarious position if you dont have an E-2, and are already getting complaints.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

You'd would be neither the first nor last FTs to run away from a kindy job, but I would give it more than three days. I'm surprised that the first two days the kids weren't so afraid they just sat there looking at you. Do you know any Korean? If so, use it anyways - I'm sure all the KTs do.

Give it another two weeks before you decide if kindergarten isn't for you.

[babtangee]

[JeJuJitsu]

[grainger]

Okay, First take a deep breath and relax.

Rule 1: In kindergarten routine is everything. If they know what is comming next it makes life a lot easier.

Rule 2: Kindergarten students have an attention span of about 5 min on a good day. Keep it fresh.

Rule 3: Have a reward system in place. Stickers - little stars and hearts - work great.

Here's my routine and I have up to ten students in a class.

Students come in to find lines drawn on the board. Large sized.

________________________

________________________

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

________________________

If the letters of the week are Aa Bb Cc I get one kid to come up and write the big A another one does the small a (they get to move from their chair, bonus.)

Next we do Tiny Talk. It's just a little book that teaches conversation. Lesson 1 Hello response Hi. (Do this with each kid in the class) Repition, repition, repition. Only one lesson per day. As you move on you can review lessons. If you want to review vocabulary you say: What's this?
They say: It's a ____________. Get them started with sentences right away. Pick a new item for every kid. Same pattern. What's this? It's a _____

If a kid tries to shout out an answer: say you were asking Ryan What's this? and Susan shouts it out just look at her and say Hello Ryan. All the kids will yell nooooo. and laugh, so it's pretty effective.

Next I say "Writting Time" and I pull out the book in which they practice their letters. I make sure I say each kids name and the item as I hand it out so: Ryan's book, Susan's book, etc. If you can, with so few kids, put the desks in a group, then they can help themselves to pencils and erasers in the middle of the table. If not as you give each kid a pencil say pencil.

If it comes to doin activities like what letter does Bear start with do it as a class. You stand up front with a spare book and write in the answers with a dark marker so everyone can see, and look to see that everyone is finished before going on to question 2.

When everyone is finished you go around the table or down the row with you stickers and you say: What colour would you like? At first you may have to list the colours. They will answer at first by just saying the colour. Then as you progress you could correct them and say blue please. Then progress even further to saying I want blue pease. Do this with every kid. When they know you're comming they'll be patient. Once the kid has the sticker say "Tidy up". First time choas, but show them where to put things away. Second time better, until it becomes a well oiled machine. Bonus: they get to move from their seat again.

(That will usually finish a 30 min class)

For the 1 hour classes I might create a cut and past activities. One that they like is when I take that weeks vocabulary and photocopy the picture with the word underneath onto a piece of paper. Over all of these pictures with words is a table with just the word typed at the bottom of the square. They have to cut out the picture with the word and match it to the word in the box. They love it and it works for whole word recognition.

Or, I take them out to the lobby and I scatter the numbers 1-10 upside down on the floor. I say: Find the number...10. They go nuts turning over numbers until it's found. The kid that finds it gets a sticker in the colour of their choice. Works with colours or letters too.

Possibilities for the second half are endless but just give them something to look forward to and they'll do anything for you.

Hope this helps.

[cubanlord]

hmmm....OP,

Sorry to hear your luck. Here is the best advice thus far:

STOP WORKING BECAUSE YOU ARE ILLEGAL! NO VISA = NO TEACHING!

NO VISA AND TEACHING = BIG FAT FINE FROM IMMIGRATION IF THEY FIND OUT AND DEPORTATION ON YOUR DIME!

Tell the director, no visa = no teaching.

[Lion Brown]

i agree about the visa.
you had 2 weeks at the school before you started teaching, this was the opportune time to take the trip to Japan.
Ask your boss when you are set to go and get the visa. no, better yet, tell him you won't work without one. Perhaps they are new to the business because anybody with any experience with immigration knows that what they are doing is illegal.
Dude, make a stand.

Also, give the job a little more time. It can be overwhelming at times, but you do have it lucky with such small classes.

[crazy_arcade]

Routine
Rewards
Coloring

These are your friends!!!!

[spliff]

Going in cold turkey is a bitch, especially w/ kinders! The problem is you don't have the necessary skills in dealing w/ them nor, the teaching experience to give you confidence. Hurry, try to talk to other teachers w/ training and experience and ask them to teach you some quick techniques. I'm busy now but will post later w/ some pointers...

Hang in there! Tails up!!!!!

Sort the visa. too or you could end up way screwed in more ways than one!

[lover.asian]

[Mr. BlackCat]

Since you don't have a visa you aren't really 'employed' by the school. If you really want, just stop working there and find another (non-kindy) job. You don't need a letter of release because you aren't technically employed even though you may have signed a contract. I wouldn't want to work at a school if they were making me teach illegally.

Anyway you look at it, you and your girlfriend should be looking for alternative employment. Right now there is nothing guaranteeing you'll get paid. You're the illegal one, not so much the hogwon (although they probably would get a slap on the wrist or something).

Just my two cents, but I would get out of there not because of the classes but because of the dubious legality of it. I'd tell a friend the same thing.

Just to add, though, 5-7 kinders in a class is a joke. If you do get another job you'll have at least 10-12 with the same confusion, perhaps more. Many, many, many of us have had to deal with it. But it can be really rewarding. I hated kindy when I first got it, but by the end I literally cried when I said goodbye to my kids. That's right, I cried and I called them "my kids". Want to fight about it? Never again, though. Never, ever, again.

Good Luck!

[ChuckECheese]