This Sideby: the real ginger on: March 19, 2008 6:07am
Hey, everybody! I've been in a great mood this week! I was kind of nervous on Sunday (like I always while hovering on the cusp of a new week) but things have been going really, really well at the school. My classes have been fantastic--not a bad one in the whole 20 that I teach. There are some that are less responsive or less quick than others, but none would qualify as "bad" (unlike some of the classes I had last semester). The kids have been overwhelmingly sweet these last few days--I have no idea what's in the water. Maybe a dash of love-your-teacher-more? Or perhaps a little I-think-I'll-be-extra-nice-to-everyone-this-week? They've been giving out compliments the way Free Hugs gives out...well...free hugs. There's only so many times/ways you can respond to, "Tee-chuh! Doll face...small!! Small!!" I smile back and say, "thank you", but I imagine that it looks more like a grimace of pain. Anyway, whatever it is, it has put me in such a great mood. Really, I haven't had a week this good in a while. It's days like these that I really do feel that, even though life can always be better, it is perfectly survivable and lovely just the way it is. One thing that stresses me a little is that classes are already on different schedules. Because I didn't have my Monday classes on the first day of school (the kids were just having orientations) nor did I have my Thursday classes with the 1st years, there are some classes that have already finished the first lesson and there are other classes that are still plodding through it. So I'll get to play a game with one class and then have to switch back to the boring book lesson. The thing is, so many of these books are absolute crap. I don't understand how the books can be this bad. There's no way they could have actually been written by native English speakers--the dialogues they use are so, so awkward and unrealistic. For instance, one of the dialogues for my 1st years goes: A: What's your last name, please? B: Hong. A: Spell it, please. B: H-O-N-G A: Okay. Thank you. Glad to meet you. B: Glad to meet you, too. ...I'm sorry, but that's useless. Who says "glad to meet you"? What happened to "nice to meet you?" I've never had anyone say "glad to meet you!" Sure it makes sense, but it's not accurate at all. This is the only example I can give right off my head, but trust me, these books are useless. The vocab for each chapter seems like it was randomly assembled and that makes it incredibly frustrating to have to stand up there and spew back this stuff to the kids. A lot of times, I have to correct the book for the kids. Another example: last semester, there was a dialogue that went: A: Hi, Paul! I waved 'hello' to Ann and she didn't say anything! B: That's because waving your hand means 'bye' to Americans, not 'hello!' A: Oh! I didn't know that! Alright, yeah, who the heck wrote that? Since when did waving not mean 'hello'? I had to stop and explain to all my kids that waving DOES mean 'hello' in English and not to worry that waving would make Americans think you were only saying 'goodbye.' *sigh* But this just leads to the topic of English education in Korea. They are trying to advance so quickly but they are going completely the wrong way. What is the good in making kids memorize things like this? The kids don't know *how to apply it.* I know it's difficult to learn a language--I studied Spanish in high school and college. But we had good books, first of all, and more importantly, we had great teachers. The Korean teachers baby the kids--they translate almost everything for them. I was trying to explain a simple worksheet to the kids in one class and the kids were just staring back at me blankly. I'm sorry...if they've been taking English since 3rd grade, they should at least have mastered basic directions like "write the answer" and "work with a friend." What the hell? My Korean co-teacher immediately jumped in and began translating everything, to which the kids went, "....OOOOOOHHHH!" Korea is relying so heavily on memorization that the kids just have no way at all to apply to real life. By the time I had taken a few weeks of Spanish, I could at least have a small, basic conversation of introductions with my teacher. But these kids get so confused when I ask, "how are you?" There is *no excuse* why students who have had English as a mandatory subject for 5-7 years cannot even answer "how are you?" No excuse at all. Only one of my Korean co-teachers thinks that the way Korea is educating the kids in English is the wrong way--she was the one who was always encouraging me to spend time playing games and doing activities with the kids rather than focusing on the books. People may think games are time killers, but really, they are a GREAT ESL technique. First, I make the games competitive. Korean kids are, without a doubt, a LOT more competitive than their American counterparts. So any game that involves winning a prize or points has them all scrambling to participate. Secondly, they make kids think on their toes. Third, they get the kids enthusiastic so English doesn't seem like this dry, unintelligable class that they'd rather skip. So yeah, I love playing quiz games, word games, etc with my kids. One thing that I do if we have 5-10 extra minutes at the end of tthe class is play "ESL Taboo." Basically, you have one kid who sits in front of the chalkboard, facing the other students. I write a word like "flower" and under have 2 other words, like "grow" and "pretty." The other kids have to raise their hands and give hints to the student in the chair, but they can't use the two words underneath the main word. It forces them to be creative with the language and some of them have been great. It always incites a lot of laughs because you get some really, really amusing hints. Games like this are so much more effective than Hangman, which again, just reinforces straight up memorization rather than application. Alright, now to the fun stuff--the pictures! If you read all that, then god/karma bless you. This is one of my favorite classes of 3rd years. The kids are stellar.
Some 3rd year girls working on writing their own daily routines.
Here are some 1st year girls trying to make a sentence. There are 6 teams and I give each team the same sentence that has been scrambled. They have to solve it, obviously! The kids are amazingly competitive about this (since the first team to get it right gets 2 points).
Some boys who thought they had the right answer (they didn't)
One of my most hardworking 3rd year classes. They're not one of my favorites because they are more serious and there is a lot of dead silence in the room. Many esl teachers will tell you that they'd prefer a rowdy class over a class of studious zombies--it's so true.
This was taken during lunch. A lot of kids were running around. It was funny to see them run, slow down when they saw me, bow quickly, then resume their mad and crazy dash.
Students from Doksan High (right down the road) getting out of school. Walking home is difficult since the kids clog up all the sidewalks. Plus, I see a lot of my old students and I'm constantly, "HI!"ing.
And finally, what's so interesting about this picture? Hmmm..maybe it's the army men stationed in the back while the middle school kids are running and playing soccer around them?
This title is This Side by Nickel Creek. It's foreign on this side, but it feels like I'm home again. There's no place to hide, but I don't think I'm scared. »
Comments |
Yeah, it's a good age. There is something in the water though, this week--kids are acting freaking nuts! I don't get it. I don't want to get it. It's some kooky middle school thing.
by: the real ginger
Apr 10, 2008 11:05pm
Wow! When I was reading your blog and it said 3rd year, 1st year students, I expected ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. But when I saw the picture I was like Daamn! Middle school to high school students? Not bad ^^ I'd rather teach in that age section.
And aww the caption about the students running and bowing to you is so cute. I wish students were like that in US. We need some manners lol
by: KTZ811
Mar 24, 2008 3:08am
Sadly, I only know the names of maybe 20 of my students. When you see 800 a week, it gets pretty difficult, especially considering how many classes get canceled. Last semester, there was one class that I only saw 6 times!
by: the real ginger
Mar 23, 2008 4:49pm
4th picture down, far right... the chubby kid looks exactly like my cousin.... oh man i wonder if it is? havent seen him in about 3 years.. hrmmm what a coincidence if it was
is his name lee chung ha?
by: aaandy
Mar 23, 2008 2:56pm
Yeah, that kid cracks me up. He's a fun student, too--not great with English, but him and his friends try hard.
But don't worry--I don't speak Korean. I can read it and speak a little, but a lot of places prefer that you DON'T speak Korean, actually. There are thousands of English teachers here and most of them don't speak Korean at all.
by: the real ginger
Mar 22, 2008 7:56pm
Go for it! It's a really, really great opportunity, especially if you're right out of college.
by: the real ginger
Mar 22, 2008 7:53pm
wow thats really cool. it makes me wanna do that too. which i will one day and keep it up!
by: Lelo
Mar 22, 2008 10:47am
The picture you took during lunch is officially my favorite part of this. x) That one kid's face(front, running) is just so priceless. Wow. I really admire you for going all the way to korea. I wish I could do that, but I lack even basic skills in Korean. I'd be doomed. xD -sigh- I wish I could. I really love your blogs!
by: quinwa_gelatin
Mar 22, 2008 10:01am
I appreciate you leaving a comment! I was on the fence forever about Nikon vs. Canon, as well. I have a Canon Powershot A540 that I have used for the past year or so, and I really, really love it. I think Canon makes really quality cameras. But someone had mentioned that the Nikon 40D is better for portrait use, and I am definitely a portrait person, not so much a landscape/random still life person. There are definitely some things that really tick me off about the Nikon, and I think, "Ugh, I never had this issue with my Canon!" But it does take quality pictures, so I can't complain too much. :)
Thanks again!
by: the real ginger
Mar 21, 2008 11:23pm
hey ginger! i was just going to write you about that ^^;
we want more people to check out the main site, so we thought it made sense to feature some of the best content we have :D keep up your awesome blog!! <3
by: soomp
Mar 21, 2008 11:06pm
I just saw it! I was really, really surprised and thought I was seeing things, so I kept refreshing the page!
by: the real ginger
Mar 21, 2008 10:34pm
In some ways, American schools *do* have it a lot easier than the Korean schools, but at the same time, we're given more room for creative development and individuality. I went to private schools my whole life, and the curriculum was definitely very challenging, but it was also very nurturing and personal. I wish they gave kids more room to breathe around here. :(
by: the real ginger
Mar 21, 2008 10:08pm
Thanks for leaving a message! In what country are you interested would you like to teach?
by: the real ginger
Mar 21, 2008 10:04pm
Hi, I've been a silent reader. >< Well, I just wanted to leave a comment and say that I really enjoy reading your blogs. =) They really inspire me to be a teacher in a foreign country. Sounds like fun. And your pictures are always so interesting. You're really pretty, btw.
by: michelleys
Mar 21, 2008 9:23pm
Hi~ I knew that I always needed to comment cause I have kept up with your blog and now I remembered I had a account. But aw your students are so cute<3 I like the first picture lol.
But I agree with you with the English textbooks. I remember going back to Japan and I asked my friend to show me her english textbook I think and it was....pretty bad lol. I was like "the grammar is horrible, its worse than me." I think East Asian countries should concentrate more on expanding and allowing imagination to flow through instead of jamming and memorizing knowledge that may not benefit them in their future lives. I think its because I'm much more used to the American system and I love it, although we have it a bit TOO easy at times, I love how we can express and discuss things with teachers and learn something new out of it that may be a life lesson to be learned. I thank my english teacher when he teaches us really important tips in life instead of forcing us to memorize things that you may forget and not see the purpose in.
But I have to say I love all your entries, very informative, and it allows me to see Korean culture which I barely know about. I hope everything continues to go well and I shall comment more often^^
by: hangbok_2007
Mar 21, 2008 6:22pm
OMG! i just wanted to tell that there's advertisment for ur blog on soompiforums =D!
by: XenT
Mar 21, 2008 5:43pm
delete plz
by: aaandy
Mar 23, 2008 2:56pm
since i last read your blog. i'm not even sure if i've ever commented ur blog, anywho this is candydive. from the forum :) honestly, i enjoy reading your blog! normally i just read them in 1 big bulk because i always forget, but whenever i do they're so interesting. i wish i could live in a foreign country and teach english, while writing blogs to keep people up to date or feed their interests. i love your new do and i'm envious that you've gotten a nikon d40! i'm still contemplating whether or not i'd like a nikon or a canon. the pictures you take are awesome, and your many adventures fill me with excitement hoping that 1 day i could do something like that/this.
keep writing ginger :D
♥darlene
by: Junsei
Mar 21, 2008 9:30am
Whoa, hey! Another SMOE bro in the house...
Anyway, I completely agree with you on the class size. It's hard to have kids that have learning disabilities in the class as kids that are fluent and have lived in an English-speaking country. I try to be really, really careful with the games to make sure that they're something 1) the majority of the kids will have to be involved with in order for a team to succeed 2) involve some sort of conversation exchange 3) build on the vocab from the previous lesson. Of course, not all the kids are gonna get involved, but all it takes is a few kids to get excited and then more will catch on. I did do my own lessons with the classes I had with one co-teacher last semester, but that co-teacher is on a 6 month leave. :( The others would prefer me to stick to the book, then do a fun game/activity, then do another lesson, etc.
I just want to bulldoze the entire system of teaching English here. It's just so old-fashioned and slow.
You ran a school "marathon" with the kiddies?? Oh, my! I made the mistake of going up to take pictures in the hallways during lunch and the kids went into hysterics. Screaming, camera phones, candy, giggles, and the like. You'd think this would get old to them eventually...? I freaking *look* Korean and they still do it.
by: the real ginger
Mar 21, 2008 5:23am
Hey this is James,
I agree mostly with what you're saying. However the main problem with English education in Korea is class size. This effects teaching methodology and it's something which would be difficult to change without huge investment. It means more creative communicative activities which require more more trust in the students are impossible. Games are good but do have limited educational benefit, most don't require the students to use sentences and if a student isn't motivated to get involved then they will learn nothing from them.
I totally agree the textbooks are seriously aweful, they rarely seem to have real life relevence, a consistent theme and teach too many unrelated expressions at once. You'd still find it diffiicult finding one which would really work as esl books will mostly be written for classes of 10-20 motivated students. So yeah really the whole system needs to be built up from scratch and some better minds than us should work on writing some textbooks for 40 student, same language classrooms.
Anyway sorry for the rant. Great blog, look like you've got a lot of fans.
Yeah it's great at the moment, kids are listening and getting involved but I'm sure it won't last for long. I always love the million hellos and Hi's a day. In the school "marathon" I had to run 9km saying hello every five seconds.
Have you asked about teaching your own lesson plans? I don't use the book for 2nd and 3rd grade. It takes more work but it's much more fun and rewarding. For first year I taught something vaguely related to the book, maybe one expression I liked.
by: bp
Mar 20, 2008 8:56pm
The students are lively, but the environment...not so much. The kids break free during lunch and when I give them games, but other than that, the Korean schools are insanely rigid (there are people hired to check all of the students' uniforms before they enter the school gates, check to make sure they aren't wearing makeup or have perms, circle lenses, the kids still get beaten by the teachers, etc).
I communicate with the students that speak English by asking them how their weekends were, what hobbies they like, where they want to travel when they're older, etc. I establish myself with the non-English speaking ones by cheerfully waving to them in between classes and trying to help them with their work. I only speak Korean to them if there is no Korean teacher present and we have a problem. Even then, it's really simple stuff like, "where are the girl students?", "you don't have your book?", "go to the teacher's office", "write your name," etc. All of it probably has terrible grammar, but they get the point.
by: the real ginger
Mar 20, 2008 8:07pm
Yeah. There are some days where I am just so frustrated at the education board. There's like...*no need for me to be here* if this is the kind of program they're going to run. Paying thousands of dollars to support a foreigner at your school just so they can parrot things back the kids is so, so ridiculous. If they're going to make a big deal about hiring us foreigners, they need to learn how to *use us properly.* Have us help pick the books and make the curriculum, have our classes count for grades, organize them into levels rather than just throwing all the levels together, etc. I really don't understand why the education board is so freaking stubborn when it comes to keeping this old school method of thinking. Have NONE of these education experts read modern studies about teaching theory? I didn't even STUDY education in college but I know enough to realize that this system is incredibly wrong.
by: the real ginger
Mar 20, 2008 7:57pm
Whoops, double posted my own comment. Carry on, folks! Nothing to see here, nothing to see here at all... *shuffles away*
by: the real ginger
Mar 20, 2008 7:59pm
i totally agree with you on the english education in korea. it's pretty ridiculous. when i was in korea i took a look at my cousin's english books and toefl test prep material and i was like, what in the world? no wonder these korean kids can't speak english to save their lives! not to mention the ones that do happen to score high enough to study abroad cant seem to put together a sentence to express themselves. it's pretty frustrating.
hopefully lee myung bak can turn things around. except most koreans think that their way of teaching is correct and that teaching english in english is a crazy idea.
by: saera
Mar 20, 2008 7:14pm
Your teaching career looks really enjoyable. The students and the environment seem so lively. How do you communicate with the students? Do you ever speak Korean to them?
by: dalki
Mar 20, 2008 7:10pm
Thanks a million! You guys who have been posting have been really, really sweet.
Yeah, the bowing thing is crazy here! Last night, I was standing at the bus stop with my boyfriend (we were coming back from dinner). All of a sudden, this teenager started bowing profusely. At first, I was really confused because he wasn't in my school's uniform or the Doksan High School uniform (the school where a lot of my former students are now). But then I recognized him (he must have gone to one of the really nice high schools, because his uniform was super snazzy)! There's just bowing everywhere from kids. They're talking, they stop, they bow. Some won't stop bowing until you acknowledge them--they'll just keep going until you're like, "oh, crap!! Heeeey..." and then they stop.
If you want to experience the Korean school, experience it as an English teacher! Trust me! School is often hell for these kids but if you are an ESL teacher, you can experience the school life while getting paid. ;)
The girls don't all have the same hairstyle, but when a look is trendy, 90% of the girls seem to go for it.
by: the real ginger
Mar 20, 2008 6:11pm
Thanks so much for making the effor to comment! *hug* It makes me really happy to get feedback from you guys and definitely gives me a smile for my day. And since it's Friday, I am taking all the smiles I can get!
by: the real ginger
Mar 20, 2008 6:07pm
Yeah, Korea and Japan are so similar with their school systems and they definitely need re-shaping. This isn't the 1950s. It's so weird, because their countries have advanced technologically so much and their cities seem SO modern...but their way of schooling is so, so stale and outdated.
by: the real ginger
Mar 20, 2008 5:58pm
Sounds like you're having alot of fun! I agree with you on the issue of English education in Korea; it's the same thing with Japan from what I've heard. It's astonishing how Korean and Japanese students can learn English for years and not be able to articulate one line of conversation. The whole system should be reconsidered. The pic with the student running is funny lol. Cheers!
by: _stacy_
Mar 20, 2008 3:55pm
hi ginger :] this is my first time replying here. i just made an account and i just wanted to say that your posts make me want to do a lot of things. they're really inspiring. this particular post really touched me for some reason. the pictures <3, your thoughts about the students and everything else, and that poem at the end. wow. ;_; thanks for writing!! your posts are always appreciated!
by: animagelet
Mar 20, 2008 2:06pm