Yesterday, I talked about my experience in working for admins who are not really teachers and how that can lead to less than ideal results. Today, I'll talk about the qualities of admins that I like to work for:
1. They are teachers, or ex-teachers. They actually have spent a good amount of time in the classroom.
2. They give enough information to teachers about the class, but then are also hands-off in terms of actual teaching.
3. They filter the ridiculous. One student complaining about something? They never let it get to the teacher. 5 students saying the same thing? They'll let the teacher know. Discretion is required!
4. They want to improve their programs, which involves getting feedback from teachers at the end of the course.
5. They have clear, achievable goals for the students.
6. They do placement tests and divide the students into appropriate levels.
7. They are easy to talk to. This involves speaking English at least at an intermediate level and having some understanding of "Western" culture.
Showing posts with label curriculum planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curriculum planning. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
On organization
I'm a big fan of working for admin who are actually teachers, or who have some sort of training in ESL methodology. If they don't, it can often be extremely hit or miss in terms of what's actually happening in the program. These kinds of admin will often do the following things:
1. Pick the flashy book, which can perhaps lack actual teachable content.
2. Not have any clearly defined goals for the students, such as "be able to write a 5-paragraph academic essay," or, "be able to successfully pass an English interview." I can work with those things.
Things like, "Whatever," or, "Just make sure they're not bored," I can also work with but...yeah...what a total waste of time.
3. Change things half-way through the course when they realize their poor planning is getting bad results. This usually results in mass confusion.
4. Be poor at communicating important information to the teachers. Anyone can be guilty of this, but these admins often just have no idea what information teachers actually need to know, such as class size, level of students, or if there is a book or not.
5. Are not interested in post-course evaluation. As long as everyone isn't complaining, it's considered successful. There is no thought beyond that to next year and how things could be better.
1. Pick the flashy book, which can perhaps lack actual teachable content.
2. Not have any clearly defined goals for the students, such as "be able to write a 5-paragraph academic essay," or, "be able to successfully pass an English interview." I can work with those things.
Things like, "Whatever," or, "Just make sure they're not bored," I can also work with but...yeah...what a total waste of time.
3. Change things half-way through the course when they realize their poor planning is getting bad results. This usually results in mass confusion.
4. Be poor at communicating important information to the teachers. Anyone can be guilty of this, but these admins often just have no idea what information teachers actually need to know, such as class size, level of students, or if there is a book or not.
5. Are not interested in post-course evaluation. As long as everyone isn't complaining, it's considered successful. There is no thought beyond that to next year and how things could be better.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The best possible class you could ever imagine
Think about the ideal situation for a class that you could teach. It's interesting to think about and the reality that most of us find ourselves in is perhaps quite different. Thankfully, in my current job, most of the classes that I teach meet many of these "ideal class criteria." And, there are plentiful overtime opportunities at my uni that allow me to choose extra work that I find interesting.
Anyway, here are my top 10 ideal class criteria. What are yours?
1. Class size= 10-16. Any less can get boring and become too small if a few people drop-out for whatever reason. Any larger can be hard to manage sometimes in terms of admin/grading, etc.
2. Student Motivation=high. This usually is because the class is a voluntary one of some sort.
3. Student age=adults.
4. Class content= not conversation. Basically anything is more interesting to me than basic conversation, even TOIEC prep classes.
5. Class content=something I haven't taught before. I like the challenge of it and it's always good to add new courses to the resume.
6. Admin= hands-off. Ideally, I could teach whatever the students need, however will best help them. Teaching a certain page on a certain day, or covering a certain amount of material for a test isn't ideal.
7. Class format=structured. I like lesson plans. Students like a teacher with a plan. My worst nightmare is a class which consists of "free-talking." It's not really a class-it's just a waste of time.
8. Class time=between 10am and 7pm. Earlier is tough, as is later due to tiredness (students and me!).
9. Book=optional. It's best if I can choose it myself or design my own.
10. Multimedia. I teach using various things including: PPT, podcasts, videos, Internet, smartphones, etc. I would struggle a bit to teach in a classroom not set up for this.
Ideal classes can be found in Korean Universities. Check out this book about how to get a University Job in South Korea
Anyway, here are my top 10 ideal class criteria. What are yours?
1. Class size= 10-16. Any less can get boring and become too small if a few people drop-out for whatever reason. Any larger can be hard to manage sometimes in terms of admin/grading, etc.
2. Student Motivation=high. This usually is because the class is a voluntary one of some sort.
3. Student age=adults.
4. Class content= not conversation. Basically anything is more interesting to me than basic conversation, even TOIEC prep classes.
5. Class content=something I haven't taught before. I like the challenge of it and it's always good to add new courses to the resume.
6. Admin= hands-off. Ideally, I could teach whatever the students need, however will best help them. Teaching a certain page on a certain day, or covering a certain amount of material for a test isn't ideal.
7. Class format=structured. I like lesson plans. Students like a teacher with a plan. My worst nightmare is a class which consists of "free-talking." It's not really a class-it's just a waste of time.
8. Class time=between 10am and 7pm. Earlier is tough, as is later due to tiredness (students and me!).
9. Book=optional. It's best if I can choose it myself or design my own.
10. Multimedia. I teach using various things including: PPT, podcasts, videos, Internet, smartphones, etc. I would struggle a bit to teach in a classroom not set up for this.
Ideal classes can be found in Korean Universities. Check out this book about how to get a University Job in South Korea
Monday, June 16, 2014
Sites I use to make my own "textbook"
This summer, I'm doing an internship preparation program for students who will be working in the USA. I was given total freedom to teach whatever I wanted to teach, based on whatever book I wanted to use. I chose not to use a textbook, for reasons I explained in my last post. Instead, I compiled my own book, using the following sites:
1. ESL Writing. I particularly like the listening stuff.
2. Breaking News English. I mostly use the 2-page "mini-lessons."
3. Film English. Fabulous lesson plans based on short videos to be found here.
4. Business English Pod. This is my go-to site for everything job interviews.
5. My own lesson plans that I've used for various classes. Examples: Renewable Energy, South Korea's Education System, and Problems with Studying Abroad.
1. ESL Writing. I particularly like the listening stuff.
2. Breaking News English. I mostly use the 2-page "mini-lessons."
3. Film English. Fabulous lesson plans based on short videos to be found here.
4. Business English Pod. This is my go-to site for everything job interviews.
5. My own lesson plans that I've used for various classes. Examples: Renewable Energy, South Korea's Education System, and Problems with Studying Abroad.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Content Classes
This year, I was given a class called, "Open Discussion" or "Advanced Conversation" or "Skillful Speaking." Who really knows actually. It was a lost in translation moment. Anyway, what I took from that was that I could basically just do whatever I wanted, that I would have around 15 students, and that most of them would be somewhat advanced, especially considering that it's an elective class. I chose to do a "Speech Class," because it was something that I'd never taught before, and that I thought could actually be quite helpful for the students, for their lives, and presentations that they have to do in their other classes.
I love this class for a lot of reasons, but here are a few:
1. The students are actually really into it. Like they've basically covered every single topic that one could "conversate" about, and so an English class that doesn't involve this is a nice change of pace (for me too!)
2. It's a sneaky way to teach new vocab. Like I'm sure none of these students knew words like: "gestures, voice inflection, posture," but now they do.
3. It's also a sneaky way to teach listening/speaking/reading. They do all of these things each class, but kind of forget they're doing it because the content is the focus.
4. They take some skills away with them besides English. Like how to make a good PPT, or how to speak with confidence in front of a group.
I love this class for a lot of reasons, but here are a few:
1. The students are actually really into it. Like they've basically covered every single topic that one could "conversate" about, and so an English class that doesn't involve this is a nice change of pace (for me too!)
2. It's a sneaky way to teach new vocab. Like I'm sure none of these students knew words like: "gestures, voice inflection, posture," but now they do.
3. It's also a sneaky way to teach listening/speaking/reading. They do all of these things each class, but kind of forget they're doing it because the content is the focus.
4. They take some skills away with them besides English. Like how to make a good PPT, or how to speak with confidence in front of a group.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Speaking/Speech Class
I heard that I'll be teaching a Speech class for the first time this semester, so I went onto the Kotesol Facebook Group (very helpful: join!) and asked for some advice. People mentioned lots of stuff ranging from no book, to books, to video-taping presentations. One book that was mentioned a few times was "Speaking of Speech" by David Harrington & Charles LeBeau, so I decided to order it and check it out. It's quite expensive on Amazon, but I found it on Gmarket for around 15 000. And, it arrived 3 days later.
It looks pretty fabulous: it's beginner level, easy to understand, covers all the highlights such as posture, gestures, slides, etc and has fun, in-class practice things. Plus, there are around 8 (didn't count yet!) ready-made speech assignments, complete with evaluation grids. What more could a teacher want? Planning/executing this course will be not as overwhelming as I first thought it would be.
It looks pretty fabulous: it's beginner level, easy to understand, covers all the highlights such as posture, gestures, slides, etc and has fun, in-class practice things. Plus, there are around 8 (didn't count yet!) ready-made speech assignments, complete with evaluation grids. What more could a teacher want? Planning/executing this course will be not as overwhelming as I first thought it would be.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Presentation Project Ideas
I've done a few variations on the Group/Solo Presentations over the years. Here they are:
1. A speech. Each student was alone and they had to choose from a variety of topics I gave them, such as "family" or "hobby." I think they had to speak for 1.5-2 minutes, without a paper. This was kind of boring for the audience and I only did it once.
2. A discussion/presentation. The group had to give a presentation about a topic of their choosing and think of at least 5 interesting questions/surveys/activities that groups could discuss or do for about 30 minutes after their presentation. This had varying results, since some groups chose a topic that led to a lot of "yes/no" answers and discussions that lasted about 2 minutes. This could be avoided by approving the topics in advance and requiring groups to submit their assignment for feedback a week before the actual presentation.
3. A poster/presentation. Each group had to choose a current issue (like environmental pollution, celebrity suicide, North Korea) and make a poster that had English writing +pictures. Then, they had to do a presentation based on the poster where each group member spoke for 2 minutes, without a paper. If I ever did this again, I would do something where the audience was more involved, such as peer grading.
4. A Powerpoint presentation on a topic of the group's choosing. This has the potential to be very interesting, or PPT death. It all depends on how you set it up. I didn't set it up very well the only time I did it and the results weren't great.
1. A speech. Each student was alone and they had to choose from a variety of topics I gave them, such as "family" or "hobby." I think they had to speak for 1.5-2 minutes, without a paper. This was kind of boring for the audience and I only did it once.
2. A discussion/presentation. The group had to give a presentation about a topic of their choosing and think of at least 5 interesting questions/surveys/activities that groups could discuss or do for about 30 minutes after their presentation. This had varying results, since some groups chose a topic that led to a lot of "yes/no" answers and discussions that lasted about 2 minutes. This could be avoided by approving the topics in advance and requiring groups to submit their assignment for feedback a week before the actual presentation.
3. A poster/presentation. Each group had to choose a current issue (like environmental pollution, celebrity suicide, North Korea) and make a poster that had English writing +pictures. Then, they had to do a presentation based on the poster where each group member spoke for 2 minutes, without a paper. If I ever did this again, I would do something where the audience was more involved, such as peer grading.
4. A Powerpoint presentation on a topic of the group's choosing. This has the potential to be very interesting, or PPT death. It all depends on how you set it up. I didn't set it up very well the only time I did it and the results weren't great.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Reader Question: Shifts/Hours
This one from Neil:
"Please forgive me if you have been asked this before, as you seem to have been asked everything, but what is your weekly schedule like, and how different is it from your colleagues/foreign friends? How many hours per week do you need to actually work to perform well? What kind of "shifts" do you have, even if they are self-imposed?"
Let me start with a basic overview of the jobs in Korea and the hours they require:
1. Public Schools. The easiest to define, it's generally from 9-5-ish. Add on a bit less, or a bit more to either side and you have it.
2. Hagwons. Kindy/elementary Hagwons generally require morning/afternoon shift. Think 10-2, and 3-6. Or, you could find one that is only kindy and work something like 9-3. Non-Kindy Hagwons generally require 6-8 hours, starting at around 2 or 3 and going until 8 or 9. Adults hagwons have terrible split shifts, like say from 6-9am and 6-9pm.
3. Unis. Hard to define a set-schedule. Most places schedule classes only 4 days/week, but that's not always the case. Some days, I'm busy and on the go from 9:30-6:30 with only brief breaks in between but then on other days, I only have 1, 1.5 hour class. It's just kind of luck of the draw in terms of schedules and it changes from semester to semester. Last semester, I worked night classes 2 nights a week, which was kind of annoying, but that's life. And, if you do only the basic hours set by your uni (12-18), your life will be pretty relaxed. It's the OT that brings in the real money, but also the stress of dealing with a million classes and more prep, and different expectations, etc. Some semesters, I've done up to 15 hours of OT/week and my life was insanely busy.
By way of example, here was my schedule this semester (15 regular hours +8 OT hours).
Monday: 10:30-12, 2:10-5:30
Tuesday: 9:30-3:40 (no breaks!)
Wednesday: 10:30-1:40, 2:55-4:35
Thursday: no classes
Friday:10-2 (Usually prep +paperwork time), 2:10-5:30
I spent minimal time on prep this semester, say 2 hours/week. That's only because I've taught all the books a few times before and saved all the lesson plans. If I was using a book for the first time, I would spend around 8 hours/week or more on prep. Admin paperwork generally takes me an hour/week.
As for grading, some people spend days on in, for me it takes about 10 minutes/class since I do only speaking tests and I've been inputting grades all semester and have it on Google Spreadsheets. Same with admin I guess. It seems like some of my coworkers are always outrageously busy doing busywork and various things for their classes, reinventing the wheel or something like that. Others, like myself prefer to work smarter, not harder.
As you can see, this question is kind of complicated! And there really is no definite answer.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Review: an under-rated "Time-Filler"
In the regular classes that I teach, I have freedom to teach whatever I want based on "Top Notch 2." However, in of the extra programs that I teach in, we use "Smart Choice" and are assigned 1-4 pages for each 50 minute lesson. For anyone who has taught Smart Choice before, you know it can be a little hit and miss in terms of quality pages (although I generally like the book).
And what to do when you have only 2 pages assigned for that day, 1 takes about 7 minutes and the other one is complete crap? My coworkers seem to bring in random puzzles and activities unrelated to what the students are studying, based on the worksheets I see left in the classrooms when I go in there. Others, youtube videos, or something of the sort.
Me: Review. And lots of it. Students need to hear things like 37 times (my scientifically based guess!) before they remember it for good. Why don't you help them reach this number? My goal is to have the students groaning "WE KNOW IT ALRIGHT! NO MORE!" when I start to go over the grammar concept or vocab "one more time." If you know it, you know it and you've walked away from my class with something solid to take with you for the rest of your life. A little random puzzle or youtube video? Will the students remember anything (helpful!) from that 2 minutes after class ends?
And what to do when you have only 2 pages assigned for that day, 1 takes about 7 minutes and the other one is complete crap? My coworkers seem to bring in random puzzles and activities unrelated to what the students are studying, based on the worksheets I see left in the classrooms when I go in there. Others, youtube videos, or something of the sort.
Me: Review. And lots of it. Students need to hear things like 37 times (my scientifically based guess!) before they remember it for good. Why don't you help them reach this number? My goal is to have the students groaning "WE KNOW IT ALRIGHT! NO MORE!" when I start to go over the grammar concept or vocab "one more time." If you know it, you know it and you've walked away from my class with something solid to take with you for the rest of your life. A little random puzzle or youtube video? Will the students remember anything (helpful!) from that 2 minutes after class ends?
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Efficiency
As the years go by, I'm learning more and more about how to do things efficiently. For example, thanks to the genius of Google Documents and having done the work already, (refer to this previous post I did about it: Lesson Planning in the Cloud) I'm able to do 4 weeks worth of lesson prep in about 1 hour. With all the holidays at the beginning of semester, it basically brings me up to midterm exam review.
And the online homework thing for the main book I use: Top Notch. Here is an old post about Top Notch Online Homework The question that nobody could answer last semester (the first time my uni used this book/online program) was if you could assign the homework once and get it to filter down to all of our 8 or 9 sections, or whether we had to assign the same homework 8 or 9 times. I ended up assigning the same homework 8 or 9 times, as did almost all of my coworkers. However, this year we all learned the secret to assigning it only once. As a result, time spent assigning homework dropped to about 2 hours (for the entire semester). I'll just have to check the final grade at the end.
I feel good about start of the semester efficiency and wanted to share my happiness with you.
And the online homework thing for the main book I use: Top Notch. Here is an old post about Top Notch Online Homework The question that nobody could answer last semester (the first time my uni used this book/online program) was if you could assign the homework once and get it to filter down to all of our 8 or 9 sections, or whether we had to assign the same homework 8 or 9 times. I ended up assigning the same homework 8 or 9 times, as did almost all of my coworkers. However, this year we all learned the secret to assigning it only once. As a result, time spent assigning homework dropped to about 2 hours (for the entire semester). I'll just have to check the final grade at the end.
I feel good about start of the semester efficiency and wanted to share my happiness with you.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Credit/Non-Credit
There is a new aviation services program at my university, and it's basically for those who want to be a stewardess or ticket agent at one of the airlines in Korea. I was one of the "lucky" ones chosen to get in on the program from the start. I use lucky a bit sarcastically because I'm one of those people who'd rather just be given a book and a little bit of direction and go off and do my thing, instead of being part of the confusion that a new program inevitably is for the first year.
Anyway, the class I'm teaching is with a quite advanced group, for 3 hours a week. At night. And non-credit. I met the students on Monday night and they seem enthusiastic and smart, but I fear that by the end of the semester, that no matter what I do I'm going to have about 5/20 students coming on a regular basis. If it was your first year of freedom away from your parents, would you want to come to an English class every night, if it had no grades or credits attached to it? Probably not. And so I tried to offer a bit of incentive with a galbi/soju party at the end of the semester for anyone with perfect attendance.
I'm at the point in my teaching career where I'd take a class with grades any day over one without. I don't mind administering tests and grading them because I have a system where it doesn't really take me that long to do it. And I think people are generally lazy (including me!) and need tests/grades of some sort to inspire some studying along the way.
What's your opinion? Grades or no grades? What do you like?
Anyway, the class I'm teaching is with a quite advanced group, for 3 hours a week. At night. And non-credit. I met the students on Monday night and they seem enthusiastic and smart, but I fear that by the end of the semester, that no matter what I do I'm going to have about 5/20 students coming on a regular basis. If it was your first year of freedom away from your parents, would you want to come to an English class every night, if it had no grades or credits attached to it? Probably not. And so I tried to offer a bit of incentive with a galbi/soju party at the end of the semester for anyone with perfect attendance.
I'm at the point in my teaching career where I'd take a class with grades any day over one without. I don't mind administering tests and grading them because I have a system where it doesn't really take me that long to do it. And I think people are generally lazy (including me!) and need tests/grades of some sort to inspire some studying along the way.
What's your opinion? Grades or no grades? What do you like?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A group project idea
This week in my classes, I've been doing group projects worth 20% of their final score.
The students could go in groups of 1-5 people. I always hated group projects in school, so I like to give the option on going alone (maybe only 1 person/class chooses this). They have to choose a problem such as global warming, eating junk food, human rights in North Korea, etc and make a poster about it that's worth 10%. I give points for things such as how beautiful it is, English writing on it, and grammar.
Then, they have to do a presentation about their poster worth 10%. I take off points for reading from a script, and copying from the internet and give points for interesting and clear speaking. Each student in the group has to talk for 1-2 minutes.
Results so far? Quite good. The students have done some amazing posters and there is always at least one group in the class who does a fabulous presentation. They seem quite happy and proud of themselves when they're finished. And not that it's all about me, but it has been a nice break from being up at the front and doing lesson plans for the week :)
I did this assignment before, a couple years ago but I was much more rigid with the groups and made everyone be in a group of 5. This time, by being flexible, it's caused me much less stress and made it a much better experience for the students as well because they can just go with their friends and don't have to work with people they don't want to.
The students could go in groups of 1-5 people. I always hated group projects in school, so I like to give the option on going alone (maybe only 1 person/class chooses this). They have to choose a problem such as global warming, eating junk food, human rights in North Korea, etc and make a poster about it that's worth 10%. I give points for things such as how beautiful it is, English writing on it, and grammar.
Then, they have to do a presentation about their poster worth 10%. I take off points for reading from a script, and copying from the internet and give points for interesting and clear speaking. Each student in the group has to talk for 1-2 minutes.
Results so far? Quite good. The students have done some amazing posters and there is always at least one group in the class who does a fabulous presentation. They seem quite happy and proud of themselves when they're finished. And not that it's all about me, but it has been a nice break from being up at the front and doing lesson plans for the week :)
I did this assignment before, a couple years ago but I was much more rigid with the groups and made everyone be in a group of 5. This time, by being flexible, it's caused me much less stress and made it a much better experience for the students as well because they can just go with their friends and don't have to work with people they don't want to.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
EFL Teaching Methodology + Must have resource books
Thanks to Kimchi Icecream, who is now in China for this great post. 2 things are helpful:
First, he talks about his teaching methodology. This could be quite helpful for those getting prepared for interviews to get some ideas.
Secondly, he makes a nice list of books that should be in your resource library if you're an ESL/EFL teacher.
First, he talks about his teaching methodology. This could be quite helpful for those getting prepared for interviews to get some ideas.
Secondly, he makes a nice list of books that should be in your resource library if you're an ESL/EFL teacher.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Reader Question...level of students
This one from Chris:
"I'd like to know a bit more about the standard of your students. The reason I ask is that when I look at some of your games (although undoubtedly well designed) they appear extremely simplistic and almost aimed at children. I'm sure most of my high school class would breeze through them! How can than this be a class for a university or have I misunderstood something? Is university teaching really about doing stuff like this?!"
Well Chris, the simple answer is yes, it really is like this sometimes. Korean students (and parents), generally seem to want an entertainer vs an actual teacher when they have a foreigner in the classroom. Those that are "real" teachers and conduct their classrooms as such generally have a pretty hard time teaching at a uni here. I remember one of my old coworkers who was a principal back in the USA getting very low evaluations from the students because she actually had expectations for the students and was serious about teaching. The handsome/funny/not too serious performer seems to be the one who thrives.
Of course, all situations are different. If you work at a high-level uni, then yes, of course you'll probably forget the little games and stuff and it will be a lot more serious. However, my uni is not high-level:
1. It's out in the sticks, away from Seoul.
2. It's a science/engineering school so the students are good at math and science, not exactly humanities stuff.
3.Anyone can get in.
So, some of my students can barely say hello and tell me their name. If they have problems about homework or something, I have to resort to speaking my sketchy Korean because their English is non-existent (of course some are freakishly good and almost fluent). So, I conduct class like they're in elementary school almost. And, in some ways they are. We're re-learning the grammar and vocab they should have learned then. I give them such simple assignments that an 7 year old kid at a hagwon would be able to do it. I give them the questions for the test a couple weeks before the test. They are generally kind of jaded about English, so I try to make it fun and interesting and hope they'll leave my class and have a wee bit more confidence about actually using it in real life. And actually Chris, the kindergarten kids you teach at your hagwon are probably much better than my students.
Anyway, at a uni you can generally do whatever you want in class. Some of my coworkers are quite serious (we have thin walls!) and seem to be doing lots of paperwork and book activities. Some are like me and play lots of games and have a happier class. It's up to you.
"I'd like to know a bit more about the standard of your students. The reason I ask is that when I look at some of your games (although undoubtedly well designed) they appear extremely simplistic and almost aimed at children. I'm sure most of my high school class would breeze through them! How can than this be a class for a university or have I misunderstood something? Is university teaching really about doing stuff like this?!"
Well Chris, the simple answer is yes, it really is like this sometimes. Korean students (and parents), generally seem to want an entertainer vs an actual teacher when they have a foreigner in the classroom. Those that are "real" teachers and conduct their classrooms as such generally have a pretty hard time teaching at a uni here. I remember one of my old coworkers who was a principal back in the USA getting very low evaluations from the students because she actually had expectations for the students and was serious about teaching. The handsome/funny/not too serious performer seems to be the one who thrives.
Of course, all situations are different. If you work at a high-level uni, then yes, of course you'll probably forget the little games and stuff and it will be a lot more serious. However, my uni is not high-level:
1. It's out in the sticks, away from Seoul.
2. It's a science/engineering school so the students are good at math and science, not exactly humanities stuff.
3.Anyone can get in.
So, some of my students can barely say hello and tell me their name. If they have problems about homework or something, I have to resort to speaking my sketchy Korean because their English is non-existent (of course some are freakishly good and almost fluent). So, I conduct class like they're in elementary school almost. And, in some ways they are. We're re-learning the grammar and vocab they should have learned then. I give them such simple assignments that an 7 year old kid at a hagwon would be able to do it. I give them the questions for the test a couple weeks before the test. They are generally kind of jaded about English, so I try to make it fun and interesting and hope they'll leave my class and have a wee bit more confidence about actually using it in real life. And actually Chris, the kindergarten kids you teach at your hagwon are probably much better than my students.
Anyway, at a uni you can generally do whatever you want in class. Some of my coworkers are quite serious (we have thin walls!) and seem to be doing lots of paperwork and book activities. Some are like me and play lots of games and have a happier class. It's up to you.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Evaluation...Alternative Style
At the recent Kotesol conference my biggest frustration was the lack of practical stuff that I could actually use in my classroom. Academics just seemed to blab on about their research findings in a confusing kind of way that really made no sense to me. And, I consider myself a well-educated, academic kind of person conversant in stats and scientific method. So if I didn't get it....well then, you know.... Perhaps the fault is with me for choosing sessions poorly. Or perhaps it was the fault of the organizers for organizing a conference heavy on the academics when most of the people attending were actual classroom practitioners. Anyway, enough beating on that dead horse.
So, a session from Bita Tangestanifar from Sookmyung Women's University about alternative assessment was like a much needed fresh air. I'm pretty weary of the traditional speaking/written grammar and vocab test characteristic of the modern world. And I think these postmodern students might be as well. I've talked to many of my coworkers about this and their ideas don't really seem any better. One of them makes students memorize some random great American speech. Others have students prepare and memorize a conversation. Others do a presentation in groups of 4 or 5. None of these struck me as any better than what I'm currently doing for various reasons.
Bita mentioned three ways that she has done alternative assessment in her classrooms: podcasts (either alone or group), chat and penpals. The chat and penpal thing would have had significant appeal to me if I didn't teach 9 classes of 25 students. The logistics of it would just be staggering. Bita has a good thing going where she only teaches 50 or so students/semester.
However, the podcast thing seemed like something I could feasibly do in my classes. Like the students have to do 5, 2 minute podcasts over the semester. I could grade all these without going crazy. Or, they could do it in groups to make it even easier for me.
I need to think further on this whole thing, but at the very least I plan to include the podcast/chat/penpal ideas in my planned portfolio creation as a way of assessment.
So, a session from Bita Tangestanifar from Sookmyung Women's University about alternative assessment was like a much needed fresh air. I'm pretty weary of the traditional speaking/written grammar and vocab test characteristic of the modern world. And I think these postmodern students might be as well. I've talked to many of my coworkers about this and their ideas don't really seem any better. One of them makes students memorize some random great American speech. Others have students prepare and memorize a conversation. Others do a presentation in groups of 4 or 5. None of these struck me as any better than what I'm currently doing for various reasons.
Bita mentioned three ways that she has done alternative assessment in her classrooms: podcasts (either alone or group), chat and penpals. The chat and penpal thing would have had significant appeal to me if I didn't teach 9 classes of 25 students. The logistics of it would just be staggering. Bita has a good thing going where she only teaches 50 or so students/semester.
However, the podcast thing seemed like something I could feasibly do in my classes. Like the students have to do 5, 2 minute podcasts over the semester. I could grade all these without going crazy. Or, they could do it in groups to make it even easier for me.
I need to think further on this whole thing, but at the very least I plan to include the podcast/chat/penpal ideas in my planned portfolio creation as a way of assessment.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
On being left to your own devices
I've had an ongoing email conversation with Paul, who is a newbie to university teaching in Korea. Here is an excerpt from one of his emails:
"At my uni I've been completely left to my own devices and whichever curriculum I develop is completely up to me. Having no supervision is great in many ways but also a little unsettling in others for a newbie."
Remembering back to own situation 4 years ago, I understand exactly how he feels. Some thoughts on how to handle this:
1. Talk to your coworkers who've taught at the uni for a while. Everyone likes being the "expert" and I'm sure they won't mind answering your questions (just like I don't mind answering reader questions). If you don't have a shared teacher's office, and rarely see your coworkers send out a group email with your questions and I'm sure you'll at least get a few responses.
2. Relax. Administration at unis in Korea generally have low expectations. Just show up to class every week, give some tests, input attendance and final grades, come to meetings, and don't sleep with the students. Really. Now, of course as a professional teacher your own expectations for yourself should be much higher but don't stress about curriculum and stuff. No one else is.
3. Do some searches online for things like, "writing class university Korea syllabus" or "freshman English university Korea." You'll find that many teachers post their syllabi online and this can be a valuable resource for you.
4. Read the archives of this blog for some more tips.
5. Ask questions on the Korean Job forums at Eslcafe. Many uni teachers are on there and will answer any question you have.
"At my uni I've been completely left to my own devices and whichever curriculum I develop is completely up to me. Having no supervision is great in many ways but also a little unsettling in others for a newbie."
Remembering back to own situation 4 years ago, I understand exactly how he feels. Some thoughts on how to handle this:
1. Talk to your coworkers who've taught at the uni for a while. Everyone likes being the "expert" and I'm sure they won't mind answering your questions (just like I don't mind answering reader questions). If you don't have a shared teacher's office, and rarely see your coworkers send out a group email with your questions and I'm sure you'll at least get a few responses.
2. Relax. Administration at unis in Korea generally have low expectations. Just show up to class every week, give some tests, input attendance and final grades, come to meetings, and don't sleep with the students. Really. Now, of course as a professional teacher your own expectations for yourself should be much higher but don't stress about curriculum and stuff. No one else is.
3. Do some searches online for things like, "writing class university Korea syllabus" or "freshman English university Korea." You'll find that many teachers post their syllabi online and this can be a valuable resource for you.
4. Read the archives of this blog for some more tips.
5. Ask questions on the Korean Job forums at Eslcafe. Many uni teachers are on there and will answer any question you have.
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