Sleeping students

This summer, I'm teaching an internship preparation class for students who are going to the USA for a year starting in October.  They started classes at the end of June and will continue on until October with only a one week break in August.  The thing that is difficult (and perhaps not well thought-out by the admin) is that the classes are from 9-6, Monday-Friday.

I honestly try my best to make classes interesting and very rarely have problems with sleeping students.  I do lots of different activities and include lots of partner work and opportunities to stand up and move around and do different stuff to prevent the tiredness.  BUT, this class I just had today is terrible for sleeping and the good students tell me it's not just me because many people sleep in all the other classes.  What to do?  It's pretty demoralizing to have so many students sleeping, but I can also understand because they're in class for a ridiculous amount of time each week.

Readers: help please!

Reader Question: PhD in another subject but teaching ESL

A question from M.S.

"I have a PhD (not in tefl, in env sci) and am in my late 30s with one year's tefl experience.  Could you please advise me what are my chances for finding employment in a Korean uni teaching English?  Should I find employment elsewhere first to brush up on my tefl (and maybe even look into obtaining a CELTA?)?  I was also wondering about what might the age limits be for English instructors in Korean universities? Thanks for any help you can give, it helps me to plan for my future."

My answer: 

Your chances of finding employment at a Korean university is quite high, but as I've said before on this blog, it's pretty hard to find uni jobs in Korea when you're not actually in the country.  Difficult, but not impossible though.  You could look elsewhere in Korea for a job to get your foot in the door, but working at a hagwon or public school for a year could be a long, long year for someone like yourself.

A Celta is of no use in Korea so don't waste your time on it.

The accepted retirement age in Korea is 60, so you'll be fine.

I think it really is possible for you to get a uni job, but a tough question that you'll probably be asked over and over again is why you have a degree in science but want to teach English.  I can't say that I really understand it myself and Koreans probably won't either. 

That said, there are most definitely some uni jobs out there that are teaching English to science or engineering students, where you teach things like technical English.  And there are also editing jobs that require a science or engineering background, which you could probably also do, assuming your English skills are up to par. I'd definitely try to look for some of those jobs instead of just the general English ones and you'll probably do better.
 

Teaching training: a wee rant

I found out a couple of days ago that I'll be teaching a Masters level, credit course about how to teach English this upcoming semester.  I was initially kind of excited about it since I can put all the stuff I learned when doing the Celta and the Delta to good use.  Except, upon further conversation with the admin and the previous teacher who taught the course my initial excitement has waned.

"It's about how to teach English, except the students aren't good at English and you can help them improve their English."

So, what exactly is it?  Is it a basic 4-skills English class, disguised as a masters level teaching methodology course?

Is it actually a teaching methodology course, just dumbed down because the MASTERS level students don't actually speak English that well?  Is it somehow supposed to be a combination of the two?

Now, I'm no hater of teaching content courses and I actually really truly believe that content courses, delivered in English are fabulous because students get information/skills/knowledge about the topic plus they can improve their English.  But, this situation makes me feel annoyed. 

If it's a 4-skills course, I can deal with that.  If it's a teaching methodology course, I can deal with that.  If it's SUPPOSED to be a teaching methodology course but is actually a basic English course in disguise...well, that's not really a good situation for me to be in.  Students will have all these expectations of what it can and should be and because the objectives are so vague and varied, it will be almost impossible for me to deliver what they actually want.  It's like the admin is just setting me up for failure is what it feels like at this point.

Check out this book if you want to get a University Job in South Korea

Agrictultural Subsidies in Korea Lesson Plan

This one is for a 2-hour discussion and speaking based class.  The students are high-intermediate, low-advanced and I like to challenge them with authentic materials about topics that they don't necessarily know all the vocab for.  The article is from the English website of the Korea Herald.

Agricultural Subsidies ESL lesson plan

Does the Celta open doors at Korean Unis?

I got this comment from a reader and I wanted to clear up any misinformation:

"I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog. I read that the CELTA enables you to teach at the University level. Since I saw that you took the CELTA course in Seoul (which I plan on doing), I was wondering if it opened doors for you."

My comment:

The Celta does NOT enable you to teach at a Korean university.  A masters with 2 years experience at a Korean uni, or a BA with 4 years experience teaching at a Korean uni does that.  You can slip in with lesser qualifications but it won't be easy.  Most Koreans actually have no idea what the Celta is and truly won't care if you have one or not. 

I simply did it to improve my job prospects for the day that I'll eventually leave Korea.  If you're doing it to teach in Korea with, I'd strongly recommend not wasting your time or money.

Tips for Newbies to the Korean University Scene

It's that time of year again, when lots of people are getting ready to start new jobs at Korean unis, perhaps for the first time ever if they're making the transition from a hagwon or public school.  Exciting times!  I remember how nervous I was about the whole thing.  This post, back from 2011 was one of my most popular ones ever and might be helpful in this situation: Ten Tips for Newbies to the Korean University Teaching Experience.

The only thing I wouldn't necessarily agree with anymore is #7 about class size.  Sure, smaller is better but it wouldn't be a big factor for me in taking a job, or not.  With a bit of experience, teaching a class of 40 or 50 is really not a big problem. 

How to get vacation work

Ahhhhh vacation.  After a usually somewhat grueling 16 week semester, 10 weeks off is kind of a welcome relief.  Back in the years gone by when I first started working at Korean unis, I would take the entire 10 weeks off and take fabulous vacations for the entire time.  Except now, I have 2 cats who, although they are cute, nobody wants to look after for months at a time and I'm also trying to save more money so I can retire early.

So what do I do?  I usually take a short vacation of 2 or 3 weeks (I was just in Malaysia, so no updates on the blog!) and then work for at least a few of the remaining weeks.  How to get this sometimes elusive extra work during the vacations?  It can sometimes be tricky because there are often lots of teachers and a limited amount of OT.  Here are my tips:

1. Cultivate good relationships with colleagues.  At my 2 unis, it was amazing the amount of OT that got passed around amongst the "inner-circles" and never reached the email everybody stage. 

2. Cultivate a good relationship with the department secretary.  It's amazing the amount of OT that gets passed around to his/her favorites and never reaches the email everybody stage.  It's helpful to stop by the office quite often.  Bring small gifts. 

3. Cultivate a fabulously stellar reputation as a solid, responsible, and well-liked teacher.  Admin and colleagues know who the good ones (and the terrible ones) are. 

4. Put the word out.  Drop the hint with the people in power that you're looking for vacation work.  You'll bump yourself up on the list of people they'll call when something comes in.

How to Teach English

I remember back to my first year or two of teaching in Korea and how clueless I basically was.  Like I almost literally had no idea what I was doing and what was effective, or not in the classroom.  It didn't help that my school owners were business people and not teachers and so could offer no really helpful guidance except don't sit down and make sure you smile.

If I would recommend one book for a newbie teacher to read, it would be this one: How to Teach English by Jeremy Harmer.  It contains some theory that is very accessible and not really academic and then has a multitude of practical and helpful tips for things like lesson planning, classroom management and activities and games.  Even experienced teachers would find it useful I think.

If you want to get a University Job in South Korea, check out this Ebook.