Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello,

I am teaching a high-beginner English conversation course to freshmen at Yeungnam university this fall. Since I don't have experience with Korean university students at this level, any shared experiences would be appreciated! I am looking for any suggestions to improve lessons or pitfalls to avoid.

I heard that university students are pretty apathetic about learning English so I'm expeciting that they won't care much. I also heard their level of English is disappointing so I'm not expecting too much. The course I'm teaching is mandatory.

If you have any experiences at Korean universities, please share them with me. Thanks!

-Kristina

Dear kjoie,

I have been teaching Korean freshmen for one and a half years. Indeed, if the course is compulsory ( English majors are different ) there may be some apathy to deal with. I find that rather than resorting to emotional appeals for them to apply themselves, I simply tie everything to thier grades. The situation varies from school to school, but it is likely you will be responsible for thier entire grade. A typical breakdown that you will be asked to follow goes something like this:

Attendance 15 Attitude and Participation 25 Midterm 30 Final 30

If a student is late, they lose half a point, absent, a whole point. I set homework for every class and check they have done it ( laborious in big classes, but I do ), if not, they lose a point. I give short quizzes every class too, and factor those results into Attitude and Participation. I keep the record sheet for this info on me always, and when I'm taking a point off I show the student clearly what I'm doing. I also give out bonus points every now and again, for example if I'm struggling to get responses I'll say "Who wants a bonus point?" I also prepare and give out a kind of "running update" of grades presented as if all the possible points at that time were 100%, so students know what grade they're sitting on. That way you don't get so many surprised students comming in to complain. And it's motivational. There is a big culture in Korean universities of students comming in to complain about thier grade and negotiating for and upgrade. If you are resistant to caving in to this pressure it's best to have very complete documentation ready to show them how they stacked up against others in all the areas.

Hope this helps. I've just talked about grades. Obviously having clear well organised plans and setting work at a level where students can feel progess, and many other factors will contribute to you managing a motivated class.