Fossilized conversation partners

In Korea (and in most other places too), a thing that happens is that partners in language courses tend to get fossilized, which means that the same people tend to sit together for all classes during the course.  I hate this for a lot of reasons including:

1. That poor person who gets stuck with the worst student in the class.  The burden should be spread among everyone.

2. It gets boring to talk to the same person everyday.

3. It doesn't train students for life.  I want my students to be able to converse with almost anyone, in English.

4. Mistakes get fossilized among partners.  Maybe someone makes a mistake that impedes meaning.  Their partner asks for clarification once and the person gives it and then continues to make that same mistake over and over and never gets any more feedback that that mistake is impeding meaning.

5. There's no chance for many students to encounter a partner at a slightly higher level of language development (the zone of proximal development), which can be extremely helpful.

It's really easy to mix it up and make the students change partners.  I usually do it randomly by just assigning numbers or letters or whatever, but there are plenty more scientific ways to do it too.  I teach the same class twice a week, so I'll generally let them sit with their friend for one class and then assign a random partner for the next one.

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.

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. 

Ten Tips for Newbies to the Korean University Teaching Experience

Teaching in a Korean University

Semester 9 of my time teaching ESL at a Korean University is coming to a close, with only 5 more classes of speaking tests to administer and some spreadsheet grading magic to make happen.  And when I compare my first shaky semester as a naive newbie to now, it's almost astounding the differences in my teaching and management style.  Anyway, here are my tips for Newbies to Teaching in a Korean University.  I hope they're helpful to you.  I wish someone had told them to me when I first started.

1. Your students will not be as high of level as you think.  While they may have an impressive range of vocabulary, they're often extremely weak in actually using it.  And basic grammar points will need to be reviewed.  I have plenty of other posts about handling low level students in Korean Universities.

2. University is a party-time for Korean students, between Sooneung Hell and selling their souls to Samsung or Hyundai or Kia.  Adjust your classes accordingly.  If you make them too hard with too much homework, the students will be unhappy.  Give a little bit or homework and a few tests so you can have some self-respect but don't stress too much about making it like a university class is "back home."

3. Don't trust the students to "check" the box for their own attendance.  They will lie and cheat for their friends.  You need to personally do it.  And carefully.  It's the only fair way.

4. Don't accept Kyeol-gung-wons (absence excuse papers) for minor things like colds.  Reserve it for the serious such as a car accident/brain trauma/close family member's death. 

5. Chill out.  Korea is a Bali-Bali (fast-fast) last minute kind of culture.  Lots of decisions will happen just in time with regard to classes and schedules and housing.  Don't worry about it and just go with the flow.  If you stress out about it, something terrible might happen to you by the end of your year, like all your hair falling out.  I guarantee it.

6. Cheating (cunning) is not such a serious offense in Korea as it is in the Western World.  Most students think nothing of plagiarizing something off the Internet for a written assignment.  Or copying off their friend in the few minutes before class starts.  Or bringing a cheating paper to the test.  So give assignments and tests that minimize this and you won't have to deal with it.  I do exclusively speaking tests, with groups of 2-4 students in my office.  There is no possible way for them to cheat.  And I simply don't assign the "workbook" as homework.  Check out Culture Shock Korea for some more insight into Korean Culture.

7. Class sizes really do matter.  Before accepting a job, perhaps the most important question to ask would be, "What are the class sizes?"  I'm not sure I would ever take a job with very large, multi-level classes.  This was the reality in my first semester and it was extremely difficult.  Now, some of my classes are down to 10 students and the difference is astounding.  I can actually get to know my students as individuals and see them actually improve their English skills.  It's far more rewarding.

8. Simple is better.  Syllabi, tests, activities, grammar points.  Everything really.

9. Keep on top of the paperwork.  Input attendance into the computer each week.  Enter grades into your spreadsheets as you get them.  Have at least a couple of weeks lessons planned ahead of time.

10. Your teaching impact does not equal your self-worth.  You'll have some bad classes and students that don't like you.  It doesn't mean that you're a bad person, or a terrible teacher.  Get some hobbies and friends and learn to leave your teaching behind you at the end of the day.

For the best tips on how to get one of these prime university jobs in South Korea, check out this fabulous book (by me!): How to Get a University Job in South Korea: The English Teaching Job of Your Dreams.

Robo-Teacher

On Tuesdays, in addition to the regular credit class that I teach, I also teach 5 OT classes.  These are smaller classes of about 10 students who sign-up for extra English.  The classes are 45-50 minutes long and I have to cover 2-3 pages of the "Smart Choice" Textbook.

My style of teaching is totally interactive.  I will NEVER stand up at the front of the class and lecture with the exceptions of the first day syllabus explanation and when I talk about the tests or homework assignments.  Even with the grammar lessons, I will always leave lots of gaps on the board and work together with their students to get them to help me fill it in. And I will ALWAYS do an example of what I expect for when I set up a conversation activity.  In this instance, the students usually have to ask me 3-4 who/what/when/why/where/how questions beyond the initial question (such as, "What's your favorite movie?")

The first 4 classes on Tuesday seem to love this style.  They are all participating, giving me some answers and feedback.  And the class just works, with everyone seeming to be happy and not sleeping and learning something.  However, the last class is a nightmare.  Dead silence.  It's a perfect storm of quiet, low-level, unmotivated students with not a single bright light mixed in.  I soldiered on with my normal style for a couple classes but yesterday, I switched it up.  I went into Robo-Teacher mode.  No interaction, just lecture, kind of like the standard Korean style.  I would ask my normal questions but then just answer them myself.  Leave the blanks on the board but just fill them in myself.  Then I handed out worksheets based on the lecture.  And they seemed to love it.  Like all smiles and thank-you's at the end of class.  Back into their comfort zone of what they've had their whole lives. 

Anyway, what I'm saying is this: do whatever it takes.  If you have a "dead-class" don't stress yourself out trying to force interaction.  It's just not worth it.  Just lecture, as per the standard Korean way.  I know it's not ideal for actually learning, but it's only the second time I've had to do it in over 4 years at my uni, so my track record for interactive is still intact.

Don't be this guy at the office

A hater story from a Geek in Korea.  One of his co-workers is bringing the whole office down due to his constant complaining.  It makes me thankful that I have a private office.  It's definitely one of the things to ask about when you're comparing your uni job offers.  To me, I'd take a 100 000/month pay hit just to not deal with all the gossip, negativity and inane conversation that happens when a bunch of foreigners in Korea get together. 

Anyway, some advice for you.  Don't be that person.  When you come to Korea for the first time, or start a new uni job just chill out for the first few months.  Things are going to be chaotic.  Korea style is bali bali (fast/fast), last minute.  It usually works itself out in the end.  Try to never complain.  Just tell yourself things are different.  And in your first semester at a uni, you probably won't get that much overtime.  All the vets who know the ropes will snap it up before you.  Don't complain or stress about it.  Just make some connections and figure out how things work for next semester.  Drop your name around as willing to work OT.  And if you have a bad schedule your first semester?  Well, things change in 16 weeks so don't stress. 

I know the feeling all too well.

A conversation class that alternates between periods of total silence and chit-chat in Korean, with a random English word thrown in here or there.  Sigh.

Here's A Geek In Korea's story.

Reader Question...how old is too old?

This one from Blair, wondering if 61 years old is too old.  He's tried EPIK, as well as some recruiters so far and has had, "You're too old," or no response at all. His question is whether it is worth it to apply to unis in Korea and China, and if yes, how to go about this.  He wants to work for 6 months-1 year.

I'd deal with the age thing first.  I've had a couple coworkers who were in their 50's or 60's.  And I've met some foreigners teaching in various kinds of jobs that were that old as well.  So, it certainly is possible.  However, in most places, it's the younger and the more handsome/beautiful, the better teacher you must surely be.   If you're willing to work in the countryside, then you would have a much better chance at getting a job.  But, being the only foreigner within 50 square kilometers is not so appealing to everyone. 

As for China?  Well, it's a much bigger place so I'd say your chances are certainly higher of getting a job there.  And  I would venture a guess and say that there is probably not a lot of demand for those 4000-6000 RMB jobs.  But, I don't have any information on the age thing.  

And the 6 month thing.  NEVER say this on your application to Korea.  All places want a minimum 1 year contract. 

As for how to apply?  Blair is wondering if he should just send a package to every uni in Korea and China (there are lists out there somewhere).  This is kind of a waste of your time I would think.  For one thing, unis in Korea generally don't hire out of country applicants.  Secondly, unsolicited applications don't get any attention (I've been there and done that in Korea!).  Based solely on my perusing the China job boards, it seems that unis there will hire from out of country. 

So my final piece of advice!  Peruse the Chinese job boards at ESL Cafe and ESL Teachers Board.  Follow the directions precisely for what they want in your application package.  Get a professional picture taken wearing a suit and tie.  And not that I'm the grammar police or anything, but your email to me had many typos and grammar mistakes.  Get someone to proofread your resume and cover letter.  If your resume was the same quality as the email, a native speaker (and fluent-ish Koreans or Chinese) would just throw it in the garbage.  Be concise.  You are quite possibly dealing with people who don't know English that well.  They just need the highlights of any teaching related experience you have.  That's it. 

Good luck.

Multi-level classes

One of the negatives of teaching at my university is that students are grouped according to what major they take and not what their level of English is.  This results in classes having one or two students who are semi-fluent (having studied overseas perhaps, or at hagwons for years) mixed in with a few students who struggle to say their name and how old they are.  And the instructors are supposed to make one book fit all.

How to deal with this as a teacher?  It's not easy.  I struggle with it, even in my 4th year of having to work with it.  Essentially, I teach to the middle 80% of the class.  I know that the top 10% of the class will be bored with what I"m teaching.  If the student has studied overseas and is way above the class level, I'll often excuse them from actually attending and just make them do the homework and tests.  And I know that the bottom 10% of the class will not really be able to follow what I'm doing or participate in a meaningful way.  I usually leave these students to do their own thing as long as they don't disrupt the class.

And this also makes testing a challenge.  For the recent midterm exam, I did a speaking test, where I gave the students some sample questions that I would be asking.  I asked some questions straight off the study sheet word for word but changed some questions slightly (for example: What's your plan for after graduation? ---> What's your plan for tonight?  What's your plan for after English class?  What's your plan for winter vacation?)

For the top students, the test is almost edging into the ridiculous.  It really is way too easy.  And for the lower-level students?  Instead of asking some questions that have been changed slightly, I would ask the ones that came straight from the book, or study paper.  That way, if they really did study they would for sure be able to give at least some answer. 

What are your strategies?

Public schools

I've talked about public schools on this blog here and there, but I don't really know the inside information since I've never worked at one.  However, you can check out this blog for an extremely negative view of things.  The videos are quite illuminating.  While he is a bit extreme with the negative, I've heard similar things from my friends who are doing the public school thing.

Time Wasting...

...I admit to being a time-waster in my first year teaching at a hagwon (private kindergarten/after-school kind of thing). Like, I'd plan my time in class based upon how I could fill up the minutes in the best way. Educational value was the second priority. Now, it was partly my fault for not reading up on ESL or taking a class before I came to Korea. But, I do remember expressing my frustrations/clueless-ness to the owner of my school and asking for advice and she said, "You speak English, how did you learn it?" Useless.

Anyway, just recently I encountered a teacher showing a movie in their class. They had the door open for some reason, so I stopped for minute to see what they were watching and say hello. The weird thing was that no students were watching. Like they were texting/talking to their friends, doing other homework and some were literally turned around in their seats, with their backs to the screen. The door was probably open because students were wandering in and out. And so I wondered what exactly the purpose was? There didn't seem to be one, except to waste everyone's time and fill up class time in a way that's easy for the teacher.

And so I thought a lot about how I plan my classes. These days, everything I do has a purpose:

I'll usually play a little warm-up game to start and the purpose is usually just that: to get the students thinking, in English, have a little fun and get their attention.

Paired conversations: to practice speaking, listening and asking questions. This is basic in a conversation class.

Readings in the book: usually to introduce new vocabulary, which is vital for improving language skills.

Grammar exercises. Usually a short lesson by me, a written and spoken practice session and then some sort of game or activity. Again, vital for improving language skills.

These are my basic activities in class that I'll do everyday. Other stuff, varies class to class. But these days, I feel like I have too much good stuff to do and not enough time! I wouldn't even imagine showing a movie that didn't have some sort of purpose or goal behind it. And so when you're planning your classes, try to get out of the mindset of wasting time and into the mindset of thinking about what kind of educational value this certain activity has.

Textbook Selection

I'm thoroughly convinced that textbook selection can make or break a class. While an excellent teacher can overcome a bad textbook, or just plain not use it and do their own thing, in some situations there is nothing that can be done.

In the kids program that I teach in, most of the students are fluent (ish) and are quite articulate, even in their writing. But the textbooks we're using are ESL textbooks, designed for adults. Do dating and Bollywood movies have any relevance for a 10 year old kid in Korea? NO! By way of example, I used the exact same textbook for my conversational uni class last year that the elementary kids are using now. And it went over well with the uni students so just imagine how much elementary kids like it! And so I wonder why we're not using textbooks that are designed for native speaker kids in the USA, Canada or England. Maybe at two or three grade levels below where they're actually at in Korean school to account for the second language factor.

And the thing is, that the teachers are getting hassled by the power that be to teach exactly what is written on the syllabus. In some cases, using 3 different inappropriate books in a 45 minute class. I'm frustrated. And powerless. And thinking that this semester might be the end of teaching in this program. The money is not worth the stress of trying to make something interesting, engaging and fun out of something totally inappropriate.

Cultural differences

At my uni, there are a variety of programs that the foreigners teach in for extra money. Some of them are volunteer, while others are an ask a certain few people kind of thing. Some of my coworkers spend a lot of time and effort worrying and wondering about why there weren't picked for a certain thing. To me, it's just futile because what matters to a Westerner doesn't necessarily matter to a Korean.

Example: appearance. Westerners have kind of a minimum standard of appropriate dress that they would wear in a professional environment and as long as you meet that minimum standard, you're in the clear. However, appearance is much more meaningful in Korea and the best dressed=the best teacher in some cases. And of course, every Korean has an opinion about what skin or eye or hair color the "best" teacher has. And how old they are. You never know what is running through the minds of the powers that be in regard to this.

Example 2. Qualifications. A Westerner would think that the person with the best qualification to teach a certain class should get a job, regardless of almost all other things. However, Koreans seem to consider a wider array of factors such as if they know you and have a personal relationship already, if you smell bad, reputation among students, if you speak slowly and they can understand you, etc. A multitude of things that makes me head dizzy and leads me to not even try to figure it all out. In general, it won't really matter to the people you work for what kind of and what level of degree that you have.

Example 3. Positive attitude. Korea is a top-down kind of society whereas in the Western world we like to be all warm and fuzzy and pretend that organizations can be run by consensus. So any appearance of being a complainer, demanding extra things, or just being plain difficult to work with will lead to being taken off the list of people they ask to do the extra things. The person in charge is the person in charge in Korea and they don't like to be approached by you, thinking you are their equal whereas in the Western world, having a little heart to heart with your boss about an issue at work might be kind of acceptable and/or encouraged.

So realize these things and try to stay in the clear by dressing well, realizing there is more to you as a teacher than your degree and ALWAYS having a positive attitude when around the higher ups (and coworkers too...since it will usually get around who likes their job and who doesn't).

You don't like talking?

I have some classes in this optional English program where the students are very resistant to talking. The major problem of this program is that they basically get their credit for attendance and nothing else. There is a meaningless, token test at the end of the year. Anyway, the students all know this so a lot of them seem to just show up because it's an easy credit for essentially no work beyond showing up for class. To be fair, some students actually care about and want to learn English and they are a joy to teach.

My strategy for the ones who almost refuse to talk? Make it embarrassing for them not to. When we do pair conversation work, I'll set up the activity in a way that's very simple to understand. I'll write the question on the board and go over the 5 "W" questions for follow-up. My example from yesterday was, "What kind of movies do you like?" We'd been talking about movies the entire previous week so they should have had some familiarity with the topic. I'll do a teacher example, with the students asking me the main question and then some follow-up questions. Then I'll unleash them on each other, with a set time of say 2 or 3 minutes. Some students just won't talk. They look down at their books, out the window, sleep, anything but talk. So at the end I'll go around in a circle and ask for a quick summary from each students of what their partner said. The ones that didn't talk obviously have nothing to say. And feel very stupid because everyone else is able to do it. It only happens in one class and then they know I mean business. Try it out!

Lost in Translation

So a lot of things in Korea are lost in translation. It's mostly my fault in most situations for not speaking enough Korean to grasp the intricacies of what being said. But there are some programs that I teach in, at my uni where a lot of stuff is mis-communicated, and it's not really my fault. In theory, those in charge of recruiting and directing foreigners to teach English in their programs would themselves have pretty passable English. Anyway, my tips to help in these situations:

1. Never give a verbal yes to anything over the phone. My Korean is horrible on the phone and so is most Korean's English. I always ask them to send me an email or ask if we can meet in person sometime to discuss it.

2. Don't worry about all the details. At my uni, it seems that the directors don't really care about what you're actually teaching, they just want a program of some sort and they want a foreigner to teach it. So the key is to ascertain if this is the situation or not. If it is, just agree on date/times/money and worry about the rest later.

3. Everyone says their students are "high level," whatever that means. Just prepare for the first class with some general introductory activities and then see what the actual level is and go from there.

4. And check to make sure you actually get paid. This often happens at my uni, with someone just simply forgetting about you, or they don't know your bank account #, etc.

Basic Teaching Tips

Some great stuff on teacher training from the Eflclassroom website. Under teaching tips, there is a presentation of the basics:

1. Write the target language on the board! (always a good idea, since not everyone can pick it up just by listening and it helps to reinforce things, if they can see it).

2. Always provide a simple agenda (this is something I'm incorporating this semester into my classes...so far, classes are going much more smoothly when the students can see the beginning, middle and end).

3. Always teach the big picture first and then the details (obvious to me...not to everyone maybe?)

4. Pause often (I had one Korean teacher who would never give me time to think. She would just butt in with the answer when I just about to say it. It was the most annoying thing and even after I told her to stop doing it, she still would. She was just too impatient to let me go at my own, slow pace in formulating Korean words and sentences. I vowed to never be that teacher. So now, I just wait patiently, very often for responses. I will never give a response after I've asked the students for one. I don't care how long it takes. Someone needs to say something, even if it's one word and it's wrong).

5. Review (I never used to do much review, assuming the students would do it on their own. This isn't the case. And learning a language is all about learning the same things, over and over and over again, until there is no way that you can't possibly not know it!)

Lesson Planning

...for my students is perhaps less than ideal.

But perhaps, they are less than ideal students. Very low motivation, with the exception of a few in each class, a very low level when they start with some literally not being able to say their name and major, they straight-up refuse to do homework in most cases, they will skip the most classes they possibly can without getting an "F" and attempt to cheat their way through tests. And at the end of the semester, they expect to get an A+. It's almost laughable.

Anyway, that's life at a second/third tier uni in Korea so it goes with the territory. I'm not exactly dealing with the best and the brightest with the exception of a few majors here: robotics, nursing, animation, fashion, which for some reason attract much better students. And what electrical engineering student who just wants to stay and work in Korea really cares about English? I can understand and don't really blame them for their lack of motivation.

But, how does that affect my lesson planning? In a lot of ways. I know that I can't lecture because there simply isn't the attention span to make that possible. The minute I start is the minute that the students little heads start nodding and eyes start closing. So I make it interactive. Like they actually have to stand up and walk around talking to people. Or do a little presentation thing in front of the class, where if they don't at least try, they will look like a dumb-ass. Or I play a game where if they don't participate their group as a whole will suffer the consequences. It seems to keep the class moving along at a pace that's not tedious, clock-watching drudgery for me or them.

I try not to put people on the spot. I'm almost never pick someone out of the audience to answer a question, unless they've first had the opportunity to practice it with a partner. Then, if I do pick them and they have no answer, it's their own fault for being embarrassed for not being able to answer, not mine. They're low-level, so I always take this into account. I realize that big group discussions, or even discussions with 3 or 4 of their classmates just aren't possible for most classes so I don't try.

I will always do an example for each conversation question or game that I do. ALWAYS. They can not be trusted to understand and carry out my instructions, no matter how simply I explain something. The class turns to chaos without an example, and it's totally my fault, so I allow time in the lesson plan for this.

I have many more ideas. Perhaps this will be finished in a part two.

Motivation

I ran across this article on ESL Teachers Board, under the article section. This seems particularly relevant to me, in my classes where many of the students don't actually want to be learning English. I picked out the best ones and added some comments. Go to the article for the complete list.

50 Tips on Motivating Students

1. Know your students and use their names as often as possible.

This is one of my new plans, although I teach over 200 students each semester, so it's very difficult. However, I get them to use a nametag each class and this lets me call on students by name.

2. Plan for every class; never try to wing it.

Obvious, for a professional.

9. Review the class objective each day. Be sure the students see how the entire program moves along.

I always plan to do this, but never really end up doing it. This next semester, I'm going to write it up on the board at the beginning of class, and leave it up there.

19. Give lots of positive feedback when students respond, offer their ideas, perform a task correctly, come to class on time, bring their materials to class.

I think this really does work! I try to do the positive feedback thing through rewards and stuff, and just ignore the bad stuff.

23. Provide opportunities for the students to speak to the class.

I'm not sure if this is motivating or not but I've started doing presentations in my classes, with good results.

25. Return assignments and tests to students ASAP. Be sure to make positive comments and suggestions.

This is obvious. I give things back usually in the same class they do it, or the next class at the latest.

26. Teach by asking lots of questions during introductions, presentations, demonstrations, and lab work.

I will never just give away anything, but always make the students provide it for me.

32. Be consistent in your treatment of students.

Playing favorites is not cool. I make an effort to not do it because if I don't, I think it just happens naturally.

38. Recognize appropriate behavior and reward it on a continuing basis.

Having a reward system works for me. Check out my other post on this here.

by Richard Sullivan and Jerry L. Wircenski
The Vocational Education Journal
Published by the American Vocational Association

Oh, how right you are, my Chinese Students...

Yesterday I took my advanced conversation class, that I've been meeting 4 days/week for the past 10 weeks out to dinner because it was their last class. The Koreans students sat on one side, and I sat on the other with the Chinese students and we were talking about life in Korea as foreigners and learning English.

They were telling me that they all started out taking my class as well as a TOEIC class (grammar for a test basically) but that they all quit the TOEIC thing after a week or so. They said that it was a waste of time, because the teachers either spoke in Korean, which they didn't understand so well at the time or that they spoke Konglish (Sounds like English but with a lot of words that only Koreans would use: skin-ship/eye shopping/ pension (referring to a condo), etc).

Now, I really can't believe that the teacher would speak in Korean, if 3 of the students in the class didn't understand it that well. If a teacher (even of TOIEC) can't conduct a class in English, they have no business teaching an English class.

And if the teacher did speak "English", they spoke in Konglish. It makes sense that it's the first I've heard of it, from the Chinese students because the Koreans probably wouldn't notice! They said it was too annoying too listen to. Now, I also can't really believe this, that the program that hired them wouldn't do an English interview, that had a native speaker present. Most jobs in Korea, that involve teaching English don't actually interview the person in English, they just look at the TOEIC score, or how long they studied in the USA or whatever. It's quite disturbing.

Anyway, all this to say: I think a competent, professional native speaker is better than a Korean English teacher. I have no exceptions to this. A newbie fresh off the boat from Canada will likely not be so competent, I know I sure wasn't my first year. But 4 years later, a lot of reading/blogging about teaching and actual time in the classroom, I think I am. I would say this for the following reasons:

1. We can conduct our classes entirely in English, very easily and usually have no other choice. It makes the students actually think. When I learn Korean from someone who speaks English, I get way too lazy.

2. Our accents and pronunciation are perfect, obviously :) Who wants to learn the wrong way to speak when you're learning a language? It seems like a waste of time.

3. Even for grammar, native speakers are better I think because we can teach it in a relevant, simple kind of way that makes sense. My students have studied English grammar since they were in elementary school. But they still don't know the basics, like: "he/she/it (verb)s" or "He (has) brown eyes, she (is) tall." When I teach it to them, I make it very simple, and they often say it's the first time they've actually understood this concept and how to use it in a sentence. Like I literally see lightbulbs going off in their heads, about stuff that they should have learned in their first year of learning English.

4. And finally: the style. Koreans lecture. Foreigners are usually more interactive. Everything I've read about language learning doesn't show that the lecture style works.

What do you think?

Translators

I was eating dinner with some girls in Cheonan last night who work at public schools. A newbie to teaching and to Korea was expressing her frustration at her middle school classes that were apathetic, didn't flow and were very low level. As she talked more, it was revealed that she has a co-teacher (CT) at all times, and so she speaks English and then the Korean CT will just translate what she said. I think this was very revealing at to why her classes don't interact with/respond to her. I don't like translation in a class for the following reasons:

1. I've never taught with a translater, either for kids/adults, beginners or upper levels, so it's just not what I'm comfortable with. This is the complete opposite of my public school friends, who are completely dependant on the translator so they obviously would not feel comfortable going at it alone with a group of kids.

2. Why would you put any effort into understanding another language, if someone who speaks you language is just going to translate anything of importance? In essence, the native speaker has no value within the classroom. Of course the kids have no motivation.

3. It hinders actual communication. In order to speak English fluently, a student must leave Korean behind, at least for a little bit so they can try to think in English, instead of just translating from Korean. Students who just translate from Korean will always remain at the very beginner level and never move to actual communication. If this is the model they have in class, then why would the students ever be inspired to actually learn English?

4. It breaks up the flow of the class, always having to stop to translate.

5. I'm somewhat dubious of the translation abilities of the teachers in public school here in Korea. While some of them are excellent, I've met more than a few who can't even have a simple conversation with me. Like I actually switch into Korean when talking to them, which doesn't say much at all since my Korean is somewhat pathetic.

6. There are ways to make yourself understood, in English even with someone who doesn't know a word of English. I've done it. It just takes a bit more effort and planning. Pictures/body language/speaking extremely simply with no superfluous words.
What are your thoughts? This could be quite the controversial topic I think.