no respect

christoffwrighters · Post by **christoffwrighters** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:39 am

Hi,

I have been teaching now in Korea for almost 4 months. I have a boss who is concerned about my teaching because the children's parents have reported back to him that their children cannot remember any of the material I have been teaching them. I teach them once per week out of a book that is designed by the hagwon I teach at. Should I be concerned that the children are not memorizing the book, and if so, how do I get them to memorize the material to get the director off my back?

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:01 pm

Why don't you set periodic tests on the work covered.

Perhaps one test every few weeks. They don't have to be major serious tests, but you could let the students know that they're coming and let them know that you're keeping a record of their scores.

Brian

christoffwrighters · Post by **christoffwrighters** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:03 am

Thanks Brian,

I think that is a good idea.

EFLtrainer · Post by **EFLtrainer** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:14 am

Your director and parents expect a lesson to stick in the kids' heads for a week with no intervening reinforcement? And, let me guess, the Korean teachers don't reinforce it either, right?

You have one and only one hope: homework. A minimum of three days a week. Give them a weekly schedule of homework they have to do. Try to arrange it so that you know they're not doing it all before class, as there is a decay in memory with time.... and it is a very short period of time.

christoffwrighters · Post by **christoffwrighters** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:55 am

Thanks for that reply EFL trainer. Since I posted that note, they have decided to use a Korean teacher to reinforce what I am teaching, so the kids do have more of a chance at remembering it.

Sinister-UK · Post by **Sinister-UK** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 12:25 am

Apart from homework, I think it is important to think how memorable it is what you are teaching. I mean, can students relate what you teach with their life day by day even when they don't live in a English-speaking country?

Are you a native English speaker and not quite immersed in their culture? Are you giving examples and exercises that relate only to your culture?

I teach kids and teens for 2 hours every Saturday and I must say that they don't have problems remembering what we do every class.