Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ilsanman]

I have one.

We were talking about what products that are made in Korea. Of course the kids said phones, TV's, computers, cars, etc.

Then I asked 'what fruits and vegetables are grown in Korea'? I got a flurry of answers, including those crappy yellow melons, strawberries, apples, mandarin oranges, etc.

I then added 'lemons', as I heard there are some lemon trees down south. One student shouted at me 'No teacher, no lemons in Korea'.

I then calmly said 'I heard that lemons are grown down south, on the southern coast, or on Jeju-do'.

He then shouted again, but this time in a whiny/angry way, 'No teacher, no lemons!!!'

So I asked 'Have you been to jeju-do'?

'Yes'.

'Did you go to every farm'?

'Yes'

'Every single one?'

'Yes'


I then said 'I guess you must be right, I can't argue with that'.

And the issue was dropped. I wouldn't want to offend little emperor.

[bixlerscott]

This was so funny a few weeks ago. In a kindy class (4 and 5 year olds) one asks for a drink of water. I say, yes, you may have a drink over there. We have water bottle and 2 cups in each room and another student says. Soju! I want Soju! and then 7 out of 10 of em' says, Soju, drink Soju. gimme Soju and they all go for the water bottle, becuase Soju looks like water. I was like, Do you like Soju? Yes teacher! Give me Soju! I was like, does Soju make you feel funny? (laughing) Yes, teacher Soju is funny and good.

Majorly Laughing out Loud!

[English_Ocean]

[plokiju]

My kindergarten class once randomly sang Happy Birthday to the air conditioner. I'm not sure why, it was hot and I think that may have been the only way they could think of to show appreciation.

Then there are only mis-pronunciations of words.

"What animal is this?"

"Skank"

"Uhh....no, that's something else. This is a skunk."

[OiGirl]

[Omkara]

[quote="plokiju"]My kindergarten class once randomly sang Happy Birthday to the air conditioner. I'm not sure why, it was hot and I think that may have been the only way they could think of to show appreciation.
[quote]

This reminds me of one of my kindy students singing at the top of his lungs into a running fan, "You ahh sho bud-di-pul . . . to me!!"

Once, to teach the kids the days of the week, I'd have them yell out the day followed by a farting sound by pressing their palms on their mouths. So, the first kid would yell out "Monday, pthththt!" the second kid, "Tuesday, pthththt!" the faster they got, the funnier it got.

Try it for sequential memorization. They'll love it (then go home and show mom and dad!).

[ella]

When I introduced myself to my first class on my first day and said I'm from Los Angeles, they said loudly and in unison, "ooooOOOOOOoooohhh..." It sounded so rehearsed I just started laughing. A week later a different class did the same thing when we were learning how to describe people and I said my father has gray eyes. Not sure why either revelation is astonishing, but there you go.

[marckot]

Thanks for the funny stories. Was a really good start for my day!!!

This happened to a friend of mine at a hagwon a long time ago.

He was busy teaching 7 year old kids the difference between "There is" and "There are". By pointing to certain objects in class he had the students repeat after him "There is one fan in the class" ........and so on.

He then pointed to the students and said "There are 8 students in class" All the kids repeated after him, except for one little boy who suddenly jumped up and said "No teacher there are 9 students in class." Well totally confused by this my friend made the little boy count all the students and yes there were 8 of them, but this little guy was serious about the fact that there were nine.

After some discussion my friend asked the student how is it possible to have nine students in class? Big mistake!!!! This little dude jumped up on the table in front of all the kids yanked down his pants and underwear thrusted his hips out and with all the pride in the world pointed to his uuuuummm........manhood and shouted "Nine students teacher nine students!!!!!!" "There are nine students in the class!!!!"

Prancing around on the desk was this little guy exposed to everyone while my friend burst out laughing unable to collect himself and get the kid of the desk.

[theatrelily]

Quotes from my middle school students

me: How many brothers and sisters do you have?

student: I have two sisters.

me: Do you fight?

student: Always.

me: Who wins?

student: My mom.



And my favourite (this was a response to an in-class speaking activity about illness and injury. Students could choose an ailment from the board or invent their own.)

me: What's wrong?

student: My a--hole is too loose

me:

[awalk2remember]

At the start of this semester I let my 1st grade middle school students choose their English names from list. I thought this list was very comprehensive. I even added names like, "Beckham, Angelina, etc."

Then I asked each one of them to tell me their name and their favorite food.

One of my female students told me and the rest of the class that she chose her own name. Her name is "Sweetbox."

I didn't know what to say...She really wanted this name and was proud that she made it up on her own. I smiled and said, "ok, thats a very creative name" and went on to the next student.

[kimchi story]

[Mark7]

I begun my tenure as an ELI at a public high school in Incheon, and its a boys high school.

There are two co-teachers of mine who are young and female. So, me being young myself, they had some interesting questions during my intro lesson where I made them do group question time for the new teacher.

One group as I was passing by wrote, "What do you think of Ms. Lee?," who is the newest and youngest teacher at the school, apart from me. The group put stars over this number "2" question, and one kid wrote in parentheses (Very Important Question). I was rolling. I allowed them to ask the question because, hey, the point is to see how well they work together as a group and I want them to practice speaking English.

So, when time came to tell them to stop writing, I walked over to "Ms. Lee," and started asking her about some input about how to do the next exercise, and they all screamed in unison: 'OOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!' "You get married!" So, when they asked the question about Ms. Lee, they all groaned and yelled "nooooo," when I said about her, "I think she's a great teacher!," because I knew if I said, "she's pretty," I would wreak havoc. I felt like a politician avoiding the true answers...

Same with the other teacher, where I answered and said, "I think she's a great teacher..." and again, different class, but same reaction: "Nooooooo!"

Imagine if I said, "I think Ms. Lee is the hottest thing since sliced bread!" I would have the other classes coming down to watch and cause a ruckus.

[captain kirk]

Elementary, public school life is rich with friendships for the kids and they carry on like comedians. A couple of grade four guys rushed up, after class, to frolic in the joy of erasing the blackboard. And they had this routine set up, like Chinese acrobats, where one went down on his hands and knees, like a dog. Then the lighter guy walked around, from shoulder to the vulnerable small of the back, like the guy beneath was a springy diving platform, erasing. Having back problems I found this marvellous, hilarious, and astounding.

[theatrelily]

Today during a game with my first graders (again, this is middle school):

me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

student: An adult.

[oneofthesarahs]

Me: Vincent, why didn't you bring your book to class today?
Vincent: Because I see dead people.

On another occasion:
Vincent: Sarah, will you teach us bad words?
Me: No, sorry.
Vincent: But it's okay, I already know some.
Me: Well then you don't need my help. I'm not teaching you bad words.
Vincent: But what if I go to America and someone says something rude to me? HOW WOULD I KNOW?????

Vincent's English is excellent, to the point that he can easily have a conversation without spending any time thinking about it. As such, he also says things without thinking about it. Once he came into class a little earlier than the others, and so he and I were just chatting. Suddenly a kid from one of the younger classes ran into the classroom, threw a pencil at Vincent, made a zooming jet engine noise, and ran out. Vincent looked at me earnestly and said, "What the f*ck was that?" I was laughing too hard to even bother scolding him for it.