Teaching

I've been in Korea for almost a month and have been solo teaching for 3.5 weeks. I feel like I'm still a crappy teacher, but I'm getting the hang of it.

Let me run the numbers for you.

I teach six one-hour classes everyday, which is thirty classes a week. I have 19 separate classes and about 130 students. I have the 5 of the same classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 Monday/Wednesday, 1 Wednesday/Friday, and 2 classes three times a week. The last 10 are just once a week.

I have to be at work at about 1.30pm. That gives me time to prepare for classes and mark homework. Classes run from 2.25pm until 9.00pm. I have 5 minutes between each class, and dinner from 5.35-5.50pm. 15 minutes doesn't seem like much, but I'm glad to get the day finished as quick as possible.

My school teaches ten main levels of English. Each level lasts six months. In each level, students will go through 2 conversation books and 12 readers. That makes finding the right book for each class a little challenging. However, our program is mostly computer based, so if I can't find the right book, I can do without. However, having the book makes it easier to help kids do book work.

Each class takes one of three general forms. Most classes learn one conversation and two reader stories a week.
1). Introducing the story. This means we learn a new story. So we listen, repeat, and learn vocab. We can role play, speak together, and ask questions for understanding.
2). Comprehending a story. I ask questions about the story, probe for further understanding, ask questions for creative thinking, and do related book work.
3). Conversation book stories. One day a week we learn a conversation story, which is mostly dialogue. This gets kids more involved with speaking, since each can play a role.

So far I have some classes that I love. Others make me want to cry. My boss still has to watch one of my classes on the camera and intervene, even after almost four weeks. Oh, yes. All of my classes are video recorded. It's pretty typical here. But most of my classes are pretty good.

Some of my students blow me away with their genius. I can't believe how brilliant they are, especially given it's a second language. I can tell others are just tired. Korean students work very hard (more on that later) and I know they just hate being in my class. And that kills me. One kid glared at me in the hall today. I've been in classes where I can just feel the hatred rolling off them. Some kids misbehave all through class, making it almost impossible to teach everyone. One class has twelve students: six rowdy boys, and six well behaved girls. The girls are almost entirely ignored because I am so busy trying to get the boys to pay attention, do their work, stop hitting each other, stop screaming. Luckily, I only have that class once a week.

I have other students who like me. And having one student who likes me outweighs two students who hate me, because I know that in the long run, I make more of an impact on the student who likes me than the students who don't. I also know it's not personal. If they dislike me already, they are likely to dislike most teachers. They don't know me well enough to hate me for me.

One class had me worried in the beginning. It was my first time teaching them and the lesson was about weight. Knowing how mean some of the kids are about size, I was apprehensive. But I went in and the kids were freaking amazing. They are super smart and love to act. We acted out the story with one student playing the scale. I laughed so hard. Another class is six boys and two girls. Boys are usually rowdy and have a tendency to misbehave. And six boys could be uncontrollable. But these boys are wonderful. They are rowdy, but always do their work and love to role play in the story.

I find my older classes less stressful. The younger kids are adorable and fun, but they take so much energy. They jump and scream and are always touching me. They want attention all the time and I can't take a minute to talk to one student without three others pulling on my shirt and yelling for me. I'm glad the younger kids have classes earlier in the day, so I have more energy for them. The older kids may have attitude, but at least I can sit for a second.

Most of my students take English names. I have Sarahs, Annies, and Johns - all normal names. However, I also have Joy2, Conan (like the barbarian), Pinky, Raven, TTT Monkey, Soul, Beat, Smith, Random, Kim2, Moto, Star, Smily, and three Lions. If and when I get a very beginner class, I may be able to give them English names. Hello Finnegan and Evie. Perhaps Nessie.

Thanks for the patience on my slow postings. I find that writing makes me homesick and while I still haven't experienced much, I occasionally get pangs. I miss you all!