Differences between Personal Information & Forms in U.S. vs Korea

Somewhere in mid September I posted some lesson plans on Introductions. This lesson is for Personal Profiles/Information but it's also relative to Introductions.

Personal Profile:

Name:   ____________________________________

Nickname: ___________________________________

Address: ____________________________________

______________________________________________

Country:  ___________________________________

Email Address: _______________________________

Phone Number: _______________________________

Birthdate:   __________________________________

I never realized the importance of learning how to fill out forms or mailing addresses until I got to Korea and had to fill out applications for various things-- opening a bank, point cards and discount

2 Fun Games for Teaching Adults

Yay! My teaching whiteboard is looking neater and neater.

In honor of it being my last class, I'm posting two more activities I've used with my adult students!

What I learned from teaching adult ESL

 

What I learned from teaching adult ESL:

•  The Teacher-tainer works with adults just as much as does kids.
Teacher-taining is another expression for teacher-entertainer, the ability to make learning an entertaining show for your students. Employing humor or dramatic expressions, the teacher-tainer is not only for y

My Adult Class Graduates! Well, sorta... they get certificates

Last week was my last week of Parent's English Class. Woot! A bit sad but that's one lesson planning class down.  

Adults aren't nearly as fun or filled with surprises as kids but my parents were still a cool bunch.  Did we have a party? Not quite. I brought some refreshments for them and continued to crack the whip

'Give Me More' Technique: Using it for Multi-level Adult Students (Part II)

 First, my parent's class is back on the upswing.

Yay, I don't suck! My Parent's English Class has averaged over half the original attendance... approximately six students a session.

Definitely, not bad. The class is free and dropouts after the first day is to be expected.

Occasionally, I realize I'm like some of the professors/teachers that I never liked.. my whiteboard gets a bit crazy with all the additional stuff I try to squeeze into my lesson and rather than erase everything
(for fear I may need to refer to the examples or that my students haven't finished writing), I just add it

Raising Stakes on Learning English?

 

Sometimes I wonder if I suck as a teacher. My Adult English class attendances are already falling and its barely been a month. I started with around 10 parents (9 women and 1 man). This past Tuesday ( class session #4), I was down to 3 parents! Whoa! Major blow to the ego. I think... Maybe they'll cancel the class. No? Just checking...

It's like my Teacher's English class which only has an attendance of two (with my co-teacher being one of them)! Occasionally I drag in one or two other teachers from time to time (my co-teacher practically has to solicit them to show up just to keep the program running); mostly, it feels like a waste of time and energy to plan lessons each week for
two-ish students. Still, I can't help but want to make my class interesting for the few that still attend. Damn me...

and damn, them!

If I only had that same luxury to bail on my own language lessons...instead I am terrified of falling behind or not learning. My Korean language YMCA Beginner B class this past semester had around 5 students.  I think we all missed not more than one or two classes each. Everyone is pretty dedicated to learning Korean; it's mostly out of a basic survival. We want to improve the quality of our expat lives and secretly, I'll like to be able to a) call my students on their shit and b)understand what my co-teachers are saying when they talk in Korean and mention my name in front of me.

Photo of our class on the last day making Songpyeon.

How committed are you... to survival?
It all "dwindles down" to stakes and incentive goals. If you don't think you're going to need to use a language or have a reason to practice it, why learn it? You're trying to learn it so that you can support your child's education in English or you want to learn a bit of English.. just because...  These aren't strong enough reasons.

You want to learn English because ...
-- You're a fan of English films.
-- Your goal is to travel.
-- You want to date western English teachers.
-- You need it for business relations.
-- You dream of some day marrying Brad Pitt should he ever divorce Angelina.

These are motives which which will lock you into a goal because they're all necessary to the survival of something. These are called stakes.

From reality shows to the English classrooms:
Having produced stories for reality shows, I know a lot about stakes. It's the seed of the formula and the main component a story is often built around. Without stakes, we don't have an interesting story and our character falls flat.  Why? Our hero or heroine has to want to succeed in achieving their goals, endure the painstaking challenge, the risk of shame and failure...all as if their life depended on it! This is what people want to see, be inspired by- people making their dreams happen at all costs. Stakes are that one money factor, which will draw ratings as audiences root for their hero, even if their hero is a villain.

Offering free classes... for failure.
Okay, so not all my students will fail at their goal, but what does FREE get a teaching program but soggy attendances and a general lack of commitment? Offering free English classes to busy Korean teachers and house mothers is great and very noble idea, but it doesn't really work. Not in this case (I'm ranting- there are always exceptions...). What it can't instill in adult students (who don't really feel they need to learn English for their lifestyle) are strong self-directed goals... and whaaat?...stakes!  It stands to reason that if someone pays for a class, chances are they're serious enough about learning to invest in it.Meanwhile, "free" means "Take me for granted, please".

Anyways, this filtering out of attendances is what I predicted and what I've been told by other NETs teaching the same classes. Of course, a part of me can't help but take it an eensy bit personally. Afterall, what if I truly do suck or am not interesting enough as a teacher? I guess we'll see what next week's class brings.


On a positive note, my second teacher gift in the past 6 months.
One of my parent students arrived and brought me a bouquet of flowers! Wow! (and finally!) A lot of the EPIK teachers say they get showered with gifts on a daily basis. Me? Try not even one.... Well, no...two.  My first week of teaching, one of my students made me three miniature paper cranes (which I've taped to the top of my school computer).  That's my sad little trophy corner. My school hasn't been big on gifts, heart-felt sentiments or social outtings. It's been for the most part, work. This bouquet was nice and even though she's only been to my classes twice, it really made my day!

Teaching Adults: Poetry & the English Language

A short game in Adult Introductions

In my Parent's English class, I made name cards for the subject of Personal Introductions.

The name cards with the faces and names of famous people who inspired me. Some cards were of famous celebrities which would be fun or funny for parents to introduce themselves as; others took on a more serious note which I hoped might strike an interest in multi-culturalism.

One of my favorite name cards was Maya Angelou.

Poetry can be an advanced text to teach from. Poets take much creative liberty in their use of words and interpretation isn't always easy, even for English speakers. At one point, I thought my teachers would be busting out their cellphone translators for this. Still, teaching stay-at-home moms and teachers who don't like their husbands, I thought introducing a subject about female strength, sexuality and passion would be good-- whether they understood the meaning or not.

Phenomenal Woman   by Maya Angelou Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say-- It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips.I'm a woman Phenomenally.Phenomenal woman, That's me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say-- It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet.I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery.

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Rebouche blogsite When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say-- It's in the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style.I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed. I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say-- It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care,'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me.

Activity (tried out on my Teacher's English Class) :

- Students take turns reading through the text, while I check their pronunciation
("Phenomenal" is the hardest word for them to pronounce... they often say, Pen-omenal). The poem has a lyrical rhythm to it and the words aren't complex, so this makes it an easy text to read.

- Next:
I read the poem in a more dramatic sense and with my entire body, to give more expression and meaning to the language.

- I give a summary of the poem and then go through and offer translations.

-  I have them try expressing their feeling through the words that I've translated.

- There are many cultural differences between Koreans and Westerners in regards to being a woman and femininity. My adult students are all mothers. So I encourage a discussion.

I am considering using this text for one more lesson as a way to practice pronunciation, but we'll see.

Teaching Koreans: Common English Mistakes Made by Koreans

So I happened upon this blog and video, "Common English Mistakes Made By Koreans #1", by chance. I think it's just brilliant and very funny.  The video is done by On My Way to Korea. Enclosed is a link to the actual site with an English transcript of what Matt is saying (as he's speaking in Korean).

I used this video for my teachers as a warmup, but it easily ended up being the entire class when my teachers wanted to practice and to clarify other words!  These are also helpful for recognizing mistakes our Korean students make.

I wish he did more vids on the matter but this seems to be the only one. Enjoy and if you like it, feel free to leave a comment on his blog.

By the Way, You're Teaching Adult's English This Semester...

This semester I have to do a class on Teaching Parent's English. You've gotta be kidding, right? What do I know about teaching Adult's English when I'm only finally getting the hang of teaching/co-teaching elementary school students? I've taken language classes and I'd like to think there's a level of teaching qualification in the the teachers who teach them. But okay...

Sure, when this was dropped on me, I'd heard of it before. The Korean school system goes to arms with throwing NET's random programs like these, such as Teaching Teacher's English, Video Broadcast, Storytelling class...  What I just mentioned was my last semester add-on schedule. Now, a Parent's English class? A couple of fellow EPIKers had to run this kind of Parent's English class last semester and most of them felt it was pretty easy. They were told by their co-teachers that no one actually expected them to teach the parents. No, just conduct a class which opens up discussion where the parents can talk in English... assuming they had some kind of formal education of English beforehand.

A week and a half before my first Parents English class:
I was told I had to produce a semester-long schedule (from week #1-24) of subjects I'd be teaching in my class.  (Whuh?) 
- The schedule could be loose and flexible to change but I had to submit it by the end of the week...and it was already Wednesday.

Fine. Then I was also told that I needed to find a textbook to teach from. (Double-whuh?)
...and I had 2 days to find one so the school could order it for the parents. (Triple whuh?)

Level of the Parents?
-  No one knew. But it would range from Beginner to Intermediate. I'd have to find a way to teach multi-levels.

How many parents would attend my class?
-  No one knew. They had yet to send out a notice to the parents.

How long is my class?
- Once a week, 100 minutes/class!

All, a week and a half before my first class.


DYNAMIC KOREA!

What do you say to that other than ... "Uh, okay?" I ran to Kyobo books to the English Learning section and found textbooks galore-- student textbooks with accompanying teacher's guides to teaching the chapters. Yay and Oh my God, I could spend hours going through them and I did... to finally choose: First Choice by Ken Wilson & Genevieve Kocienda.

It had all the subjects which would be useful to learn for a survival command of English without a loss of modern applications and pop culture interest. Great, I was set. Fingers crossed.