If you are reading this post, you probably speak English. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that 98% of my readers are native English speakers. With that being said, you too are very lucky!
This week alone, on two separate occasions, two of my co-teachers told me how fortunate I am that I speak English. This isn't the first time I've thought about how fortunate I was because I spoke English; I've discussed it several times with multiple friends.
**I want to state that I am in no way an expert in anything that I'm about to say. I am writing either from experience or what I've heard others say.**
Being an English teacher in South Korea, I am hit with the realization everyday that I am lucky to have been born in an English-speaking home. I am in Korea because many, many people want to learn my language. Okay, maybe they don't want to learn, but they feel it's necessary in order to get a good job and have a better life.
In the two minutes of research I did online, English is listed as either the #2 or #3 most spoken language in the world. Chinese or Mandarin is #1. So, why aren't the masses learning Chinese/Mandarin? I either read or heard an opinion on this: Chinese/Mandarin is still thought of as third-world or poor. English is thought of as rich and moving forward. World business is conducted in English. If someone from France and someone from Japan meet for business, they will most likely speak English to each other if they don't know each other's language. How lucky for us native English speakers!
As my co-teacher was saying, I am lucky because I speak English. I have an opportunity to travel and work in a foreign country just because I speak a desired language. She said she was truly envious of me. Come to think about it, it is easy for people who speak English to travel. Take away all outside influences like money, time off, etc. and just look at the language aspect. If a sign is going to have two languages printed on it, the languages will be the home-country's language and probably English. As a native English speaker, it's (relatively) easy to travel without having to learn another language. (I'm not saying that we shouldn't at least try to learn a few basic words in the language of the country we're going to.)
Every Friday I teach a teachers' class. They want me to teach them practical English that they can use when traveling like phrases for ordering food, exchanging money, asking for directions, etc. My class of two or three students is higher level and already know most of the basics. So, for tomorrow's class, I am going to play them the following TED Talks video. It's only 4 minutes, 32 seconds, but I would like for them to discuss the video and if they agree or disagree. Maybe what Jay Walker says in the video isn't completely accurate; maybe it is. I'm not too concerned about accuracy. I just want to hear what my students think of topic and why they think English is an important language to learn. To view the video I am talking about, please click on the following link: TED Talks: The World's English Mania.
I would really like to hear your opinion on this subject. Why do you think it is so important to learn English? Do you feel lucky because you speak English?
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Dancing to K-POP Every Wednesday
Everyday, the students get a 20 minute break between 10:30-10:50. Usually they just go outside to play. However, for the past two Wednesdays, all of the students in school have gone outside and loud music is blared over the loud speakers. Two weeks ago they did the following dance:
From left to right: 1st grade-6th grade
I asked one of the teachers why they were dancing. She told me that they actually performed this dance last semester but that they didn't take enough pictures so they were just doing it for the pictures. Haha!
Last week they did the following dance:
From left to right: 1st grade-6th grade
I don't know why they were doing this dance. I really like watching the younger kids trying to do the dances because they actually tried. They may not remember all of the moves, but they sure tried! The older kids could care less.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Dancing Police
My school is across the street from a police station so it didn't seem strange to me when a bunch of police officers invaded our playground the other day. I was sitting in my 5th grade after school class teaching the idiom "piece of cake" when a girl in my class started laughing and squealing. In a limited number of words, she tried to explain to me that the police officers where trying to do a dance cover of a really popular Korean song/music video, Crayon Pop's "Bar Bar Bar". (I had to do some research to figure all of this out.) Below is the original music video.
Apparently, it's been really popular for police officers to do dance covers of this song. Below is one of the most watched dance covers.
Here are some pictures and a very short video of the police officers practicing at my school.
Want to see more dance covers? Click here.
Apparently, it's been really popular for police officers to do dance covers of this song. Below is one of the most watched dance covers.
Here are some pictures and a very short video of the police officers practicing at my school.
Want to see more dance covers? Click here.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Problems in Paradise
No, this is not a post about marital problems. Ha!
For the most part, I love living in Korea! It truly is an easy life. Yes, there is the language barrier that can be frustrating at times, but it's not always an issue. I don't have much work to do even while I'm at work. My housing is paid for. I get to save a lot of money. I get to travel to other countries (soon!). However, there is one specific thing about Korean life that I cannot stand. It's the education system. When I was working in middle school, my eyes weren't open to the way the system works. I never saw my co-teachers in action. I taught the whole class by myself. I tried my best at all times to teach them as much English as possible. It's way different in elementary school - at least in my school.
Here's how a typical class runs (3rd-6th grade):
1. I greet the class and ask them how they are, what is the date, and how is the weather.
2. My co-teacher "teaches" for 20-25 minutes.
3. I "teach" for 15 minutes.
The way my co-teacher teaches is he has everyone get out their dialogue sheets. These sheets have English, Korean cheats for the English words (phonetics of the word written in Korean), and the Korean meaning. He says a word or phrase and the students repeat after him. Why is that not my job? The kids are repeating bad English when they repeat after him. He then has them self-study the words and phrases. Then, he says the Korean word/phrase and they say the English equivalent. If they get it wrong, he bops them over the head with a toy hammer that makes a squeak sound. That's all he does for 20-25 minutes.
Then it's my turn. My job is to play the CD that goes along with the book. We spend about five classes on one lesson. If I am able to finish the book before those five classes, I am able to create my own material and games to do in the class. I think this is fairly typical in most classes with a bit of variation depending on the teacher.
Corporal punishment is technically not allowed in the classrooms anymore, but my co-teacher definitely still uses it. He hits kids on the head with a small stick, hits them with the toy hammer, etc. He also has them stand in the back of class with their arms straight out in front of them. The kids that get this type of punishment are usually the ones who don't do their homework. However, not all kids have homework. If a student answers a question in class, they are exempt from homework. The kids that don't answer questions are usually the ones who are struggling in the class or have learning disabilities, etc. So, the kids who struggle are required to do homework that they don't understand. When they don't do it, they have to stand in the back of class and suffer while class continues. While they are in the back of class, they don't have their books in front of them, they can't answer or ask questions, etc. It's such a vicious circle!
I've even been told to ignore students. The students that I'm supposed to ignore are the ones with learning disabilities or the students who act out or don't try. I definitely do some ignoring - ignoring my co-teacher, that is. Instead of ignoring students, I think we need to give them attention. I agree that I shouldn't focus all of my time and energy on one or two students, but I am definitely not going to ignore them! I had an "I told you so moment" with my co-teacher this week. One of the students he told me to ignore, I definitely didn't. I helped him find the right page to be on and even gave him a pencil when he couldn't find his. The next time I had him in class, he volunteered to answer two questions and when I pointed at him to answer, he got them correct! I am just finishing my 6th week here and not once has he raised his hand to answer before. I just wanted to stick out my tongue to my co-teacher and say I TOLD YOU SO!
I know that not all schools and/or co-teachers are the same as mine, but there are some basic similarities. I know there's not much I can do about it except be the best teacher I can be for 15 minutes every class. I just feel sorry for the students who are lagging behind because they are probably not going to have a chance to ever catch up. It just makes me sad how we are failing these students.
Other than these issues at school, all is well!
For the most part, I love living in Korea! It truly is an easy life. Yes, there is the language barrier that can be frustrating at times, but it's not always an issue. I don't have much work to do even while I'm at work. My housing is paid for. I get to save a lot of money. I get to travel to other countries (soon!). However, there is one specific thing about Korean life that I cannot stand. It's the education system. When I was working in middle school, my eyes weren't open to the way the system works. I never saw my co-teachers in action. I taught the whole class by myself. I tried my best at all times to teach them as much English as possible. It's way different in elementary school - at least in my school.
Here's how a typical class runs (3rd-6th grade):
1. I greet the class and ask them how they are, what is the date, and how is the weather.
2. My co-teacher "teaches" for 20-25 minutes.
3. I "teach" for 15 minutes.
The way my co-teacher teaches is he has everyone get out their dialogue sheets. These sheets have English, Korean cheats for the English words (phonetics of the word written in Korean), and the Korean meaning. He says a word or phrase and the students repeat after him. Why is that not my job? The kids are repeating bad English when they repeat after him. He then has them self-study the words and phrases. Then, he says the Korean word/phrase and they say the English equivalent. If they get it wrong, he bops them over the head with a toy hammer that makes a squeak sound. That's all he does for 20-25 minutes.
Then it's my turn. My job is to play the CD that goes along with the book. We spend about five classes on one lesson. If I am able to finish the book before those five classes, I am able to create my own material and games to do in the class. I think this is fairly typical in most classes with a bit of variation depending on the teacher.
Corporal punishment is technically not allowed in the classrooms anymore, but my co-teacher definitely still uses it. He hits kids on the head with a small stick, hits them with the toy hammer, etc. He also has them stand in the back of class with their arms straight out in front of them. The kids that get this type of punishment are usually the ones who don't do their homework. However, not all kids have homework. If a student answers a question in class, they are exempt from homework. The kids that don't answer questions are usually the ones who are struggling in the class or have learning disabilities, etc. So, the kids who struggle are required to do homework that they don't understand. When they don't do it, they have to stand in the back of class and suffer while class continues. While they are in the back of class, they don't have their books in front of them, they can't answer or ask questions, etc. It's such a vicious circle!
I've even been told to ignore students. The students that I'm supposed to ignore are the ones with learning disabilities or the students who act out or don't try. I definitely do some ignoring - ignoring my co-teacher, that is. Instead of ignoring students, I think we need to give them attention. I agree that I shouldn't focus all of my time and energy on one or two students, but I am definitely not going to ignore them! I had an "I told you so moment" with my co-teacher this week. One of the students he told me to ignore, I definitely didn't. I helped him find the right page to be on and even gave him a pencil when he couldn't find his. The next time I had him in class, he volunteered to answer two questions and when I pointed at him to answer, he got them correct! I am just finishing my 6th week here and not once has he raised his hand to answer before. I just wanted to stick out my tongue to my co-teacher and say I TOLD YOU SO!
I know that not all schools and/or co-teachers are the same as mine, but there are some basic similarities. I know there's not much I can do about it except be the best teacher I can be for 15 minutes every class. I just feel sorry for the students who are lagging behind because they are probably not going to have a chance to ever catch up. It just makes me sad how we are failing these students.
Other than these issues at school, all is well!
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