Video as a Tool For English Education in Korea

I noticed something the other day while teaching my winter camp classes, and that is Korean kids love Youtube just as much as kids back home. Of course, this should come as no surprise as Korea is a very wired country. But I think seeing videos in the classroom has been a part of their lives since they started school. I for one have used a multitude of math-song videos and for fun, played those cutesy and catchy ones that get their attention.

An excellent evolution has occurred with the use of video in the classroom, and that is teachers making educational videos with their students. The forum waygook.org has already shown areas where teachers are integrating a video-creating lesson into their classes. Also, you catch teacher made videos on youtube with some that are awesome and others quite simple. Here for you are an example of teachers taking the video camera in the classroom and making it a fun tool for English education.

1. Mike Karlan's "Bandit" Videos:

The following is called, "The Color Bandit":

A quirky and fun video with a great example of kids using English in a fun and enthusiastic way, you see the theme of an evil bandit who stole colors. The kids must think of a plan to destroy him so they can use colors again. At least, that is my interpretation. Nicely edited and it shows that the kids were involved and had a good time.

2. Daft Punk's Harder...Faster Song:

I recently was creating a lesson about comparatives and found that other teacher's out there used the Daft Punk Song, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" with their students.

This one from "miathetraveler"

First off let me congratulate these teachers for getting their middle school students to participate in something like this. From what I understand teaching Middle school is challenging in that the students are hard to motivate. 

This one from "danitravels"

I like this one better as you can tell they were really into it and I like the way they organized their signs. This would make a great project for a camp session or an after school group. I think with some patience I might even be able to do this with a group of my first graders. 

3. Make a Movie Camp:

Sometimes it is best to just let the kids figure out what to make, and you can do this with a themed "movie camp." Found on waygook.org, are lesson plans and worksheets to use for the camp. The following are video examples of what came out of the project.

What are the benefits?

In my opinion this gets students excited for learning English and the result is something definitely different from the usual hum-drum lesson. However, I am sure if you tell your students, "We are going to make videos!" That there will be a group that sighs and says, "No, I don't want to." Like all lessons it is all about getting them motivated, and this should be no different.

Also, they get to see what their English looks like and sounds like in the final product. This is a great tool for them to understand where they need to improve. Throughout the project, students work on plot, character design and story therefore getting to use their English skills in a productive way. 

Some pitfalls might be that you don't have enough equipment for the students, like cameras and computers to edit with. Also, students will work in groups and as you may already know this is sometimes a hard thing for them. I recall one group I had during a camp where they argued over everything the whole time.

In the end, I think making videos with your students is an overall beneficial part of the English classroom here in Korea. Why not add this to your curriculum? 

Do you have any teacher-student made videos you would like to share?

The English Section of the 수능

The "수능" or "수학능혁시험" is the test Korean high school students must take before they graduate. Last week it was administered across the nation. Typically, lower grades cheer on for their seniors and give them little goodies to help them pass. If you want to see a nice photo-essay of the event then follow this link. Note that this test is very important and not just something they can "Christmas Tree" in the answers and then figure out what to do with their lives. As shown here:

While 수능 doesn’t determine absolutely everything about one’s future academic and professional career, it does determine a whole lot more than the SAT. A high score on the 수능 is the primary admissions requirements to get into one of the SKY universities (Korea’s answer to an Ivy league school or the Big Three).

I don't work at the high school level and so have no real direct relationship to this test and what goes on. However, the other day JH sent me a pdf file of the English section of this test. I remember he showed it to me last year, although it was a print out. This post will be meant to share with you parts of the English section and my critique of it.

At first there are mostly questions with Korean and English.

Yes, I don't know Korean well enough, so I can't tell you what is being asked. My judgment is based upon the overall test and that it looks really hard. Some questions even I don't know what they are getting at. Of course I have used and studied English in a different way from a Korean high school student. It is well known that young Korean people study for this test practically their whole young adult life. They know how to find the answer and crack the test's code.

But still there are 9 pages of this and 50 questions to get through. Here is what one of the pages looks like:

It's straight black and white with a few pictures and not much room for imagination. However, I don't recall the SAT I took back in high school was any more vibrant than this.

Let's look at one of the questions:

Without checking the answer sheet, which I have here, I think the answer could be either #5 or #1. The actual is #1. Bravo! What did you think? Or was this actually easy?

The thing is I teach English to elementary students and often wonder where it is all leading up to. Teaching my kids, "I like apples" and showing them different fruits, I stop and think "why?" Is it to get them to be comfortable and familiar with English or teach them sentence structure and a list of vocabulary? The thing is I have been told to teach in a very active and outgoing way. As I have said before my coteachers basically want me to perform like a clown in the class making English a form of entertainment. I am fine with getting away from the typical rote-memorization that is found here, but I don't really have the energy to bounce off the walls with every class and on every day. However, I can't help but feel perplexed that this "Clown English" leads them to this really strict high school SAT test.

How does this test really measure their English skills? The test does include the different levels, such as reading and listening. So I guess they get to use all of that. Of course what test could there be based upon non-memorization preparation.

Even the American SAT requires some preparation that isn't very exciting. The "Critical Reading section is laid out like this:

The Critical Reading (formerly Verbal) section of the SAT is made up of three scored sections: two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, with varying types of questions, including sentence completions and questions about short and long reading passages. Critical Reading sections normally begin with 5 to 8 sentence completion questions; the remainder of the questions are focused on the reading passages. Sentence completions generally test the student's vocabulary and understanding of sentence structure and organization by requiring the student to select one or two words that best complete a given sentence.

Oh, that is bringing back memories. As you can see, from the following picture, the American SAT version isn't that much different in style.

source

Another Korean example:

The answer is...#5.

Do you think this question was hard? Do you think it would be hard for a Korean high school student? Let's not forget they are taking the test all day along with other subjects such as Korean and Science, and that they have likely been studying all night for the past year. I never really enjoyed taking these types of test and knowing that my score determined a certain future. I should be grateful, because whatever score I got on my SAT it never got in the way of my life. I went to college, graduated and have since been doing well. Unfortunately, Korean people live in a world where their test score determines whether or not they will get into the top 3 Universities, which means whether or not they will get hired by the top companies (LG, Samsung, Hyundai) and to some who they can marry.  

I have talked to JH about this and how someone's test score shouldn't be how the world judges them. Instead, it should be about their character and life experience. Of course, I said taking tests and measuring your skills can come along with that, but to base one's qualities just on a score is harsh. He agreed with my reasoning but said, "This is Korea. We have to do like this." Why? Essentially he brought it down to that Korea is a small country without a lot of competition and everyone wants to do better than the other person. He said, "If I see someone else study 3 hours, then I will study 4." So I said, "Then the person behind you will study 5 and so on..." I tried to tell him that Korea being a small country and crowded isn't going to change, but that the way people function and accept each other can change. I told him there are crowded parts of America, like New York and LA, where there is a lot of competition. But to get ahead people usually work hard and pull themselves up through networking and starting their own businesses..etc. 

The conversation huffed out as I was getting a big headache. I wasn't trying to change JH's mind but help him see how I see it all. Of course, he helped me how he sees it. 

To me this English section of the Korean SAT test points to a critical conversation that many expats have with each other about Korean society. Over time things have been changing little by little here. I don't expect Korea to suddenly do a 180 flip and look like the West. But I can't help but think that someday the young folks will rebel or break out of the mold and make their own path. Maybe that is already happening, but from underground or from the inside-out. 

All in all, my views are strictly that of someone with surface knowledge of this all. I wanted to share the English version of the test so those who teach English here can kind of see what it amounts to. 

What are your thoughts on all this and by all means feel free to correct me.

North Korean Elites Learning English

Article in the BBC tells us about North Korean elites taking English classes.

In a sign that it may one day open up to the Western world, North Korea has gradually shifted a lot of its language training away from Chinese and Russian and towards English.

Interesting to note was the introduction which described the University classroom as cold and that the students were wearing their outdoor coats. This sounded very familiar to me as all through winter in public schools kids rarely take off their winter coats. But I can imagine the North not having the heat on due to more critical issues than just saving money.

A really touching part came from one student who said:

"It helps us a lot learning English. I so much want my country to be one of those leading in the economy."
"We're already a leading nation in politics and other stuff. Well, it's no offence but I want to learn English so that the other people get to learn [about] Korea."
She smiled and said "Look at our faces - are we depressed, are we unhappy, are we hungry? No."

One hopes this kind of attitude takes shape out there and helps form peaceful ties between nations.

Readjustments

Public schools are not free of stress or frustrations. In comparison to hagwons I think the job itself is a whole lot different. Sure you are teaching English to kids but the goals of your superiors are different.

What I am talking about really here is how one's idea of how and what to teach often times is very different from the opinions of your coteacher. This is a good example of eastern thought clashing with western thought.

At my last school the mix was like water and oil, meaning we didn't get along. I gave up really and focused on the advanced class, which I was left to my own design. Now at my new school when I try to explain my opinion of why I want to teach selected materials I seem to get a lot of criticism.

Recruiters like to tell you that every public school is the same, and I think they are making this assumption based on the fact that at every elementary school the curriculum is the same. But not every public school is equal.

It comes down to their interpretation of how English should be taught, and there is no changing it. I guess that I still haven't adjusted well to the Korean education system since I find myself up against a wall this time.

Here's the situation:
Winter camp is next month and so all the preparations need to be squared away. I have experience teaching 4 camp sessions, so I know what it is like.  Or I think I know...

I will teach 4th and 6th graders while the other foreign teacher will teach 3rd and 5th grades. We will both teach the same subjects such as "World Culture" and "Sports Day."

The situation I walked into was that the previous teachers made a plan for winter camp but it was very lean and needed more. So I added more to it using stuff from last year.

The problem came today when my coteacher checked it and made the remark that my materials were too difficult for 3rd and 4th grades. There were a few worksheets with sentences and maps on it. I didn't make the material but was borrowing it.

Immediately I tried to explain to her that it doesn't matter what material you use as long as the teacher adjusts the way they teach. Meaning I was handed these same materials last year and said "Go~". So I learned to adjust myself to the students and not adjust the materials. This is a teaching method and philosophy I picked up from experience. Last year at mountain winter camp I used the same materials for the lower grades and it came out fine. They spoke, had fun and learned a thing or two.

But she frowned and said "No." At that point I did the thing that I should not be doing anymore, which is I got upset and took it personally. You would think I have learned by now.

Needless to say I tried to defend my understanding of how to be a teacher. Yet she stood her ground with what she thinks how English should be taught.

In the end, you have to yield to what they want. You are in Korea and it is their court. Logically you would think that they would try to understand where you are coming from but it is more that they want you to adjust to their ways.

So as you can see I need to readjust myself and create an image that they will be pleased with.

How to make this a positive experience:
It is my opinion that I need to stop thinking that they will someday understand it all from my perspective.

I have the choice of just giving up and becoming a non-creative and robotic teacher who doesn't care anymore. Or I could adjust to their ideals, yet find a way to be creative and still teach the "Joy" way.

In other words I understand where my coteacher is coming from. She demands that English be taught to the children with the goal that they speak. So speaking is a priority of theirs. That means my lessons should cater towards speaking as an objective.

They want to teach by talking slowly and clearly, as she put it "This is the most important thing." At first it was a little insulting to hear her ask this of me since I already do this. But I guess she wants to make sure.

An Example of Teaching Differences:
I made the mistake this week of giving out to my 2nd graders "The Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" song lyrics with Korean next to it. My coteacher and the Korean 2nd grade teachers complained it was too hard for their students.

From my point of view I wanted to teach them the festive holiday song that was accompanied by a fun video. At my old school a similar method was used to learn a song. First you read the words and get use to them. Then you sing the song over and over till you know it.

My coteacher told me that it was too hard for them and suggested instead to focus on teaching them only a few sentences. And to repeat it over and over again. Not from the song, cut that out, but teach them a sentence like "The reindeer is brown" and make a lesson out of that. (You can do it like this: The____ is _____)

Initially, after hearing this I felt as if she wanted me to just be some kind of English Robot babysitter. Then I have thought about it some more and realized that her method is valid.

They are English Foreign Language students and should learn in a simple and easy format. This doesn't mean that my lessons have to be boring or that I as the teacher will end up looking like an English robot. It means I can make fun games and activities to help them reinforce those one sentences they are learning.

Readjustment Realization:
What I am trying to point out here is that I need to change and not them. As a westerner and independent woman this is something that is very hard.

But I know what happens when you don't adjust to what they want, and I don't want that to happen again. I want my coteacher to see me as useful, smart and a darn good teacher.

And so I started to think some more and realized that teaching is not only about relating content and how to say English words, but it involves catering to Multiple Intelligences.

I know they want me to plan for their level, but what about their intelligence? For example, some students may respond well to listen and repeat. While other students need more hands on activities like a craft or role play game.

What I wish I could do is talk to my coteacher about this teaching method and have a lovely conversation. But I am learning now that my coteacher is an older stubborn woman set in her ways. I respect that and so understand there is no point trying to shake up her roots.

Instead I will just plan my classes to teach them to speak a certain phrase or words but use materials and methods that will cater to different intelligences, without her really knowing that is what I am doing.

I feel like I am the only teacher out here who takes their job too seriously (but who knows). Wish I could be the teacher who just goes through it all without really caring and then hitting the bars in the evening. But unfortunately my nature won't let me do that. Yet I am sure I could try to take it a little less seriously~

Well I feel good for getting that out. My other foreign coworker talked to me on the way home about how she is dealing with the same things. I have to say I was skeptical about our relationship at first but now I am seeing that we have a lot in common. I hope we help each other out more ;)

Quieter Closet

There are many things one has to battle with on a daily basis living in Korea. For instance, if you don't know the language then that means you can't really speak to the people around you. Other occurrences are the lack of trash receptacles along the street or that people still smoke indoors in this country.

I don't know about the rest of the expat population here but for me some days these aspects of life really get to me and other days I just look past it all.

Whenever you move into a new place in this country it seems there is a list of things that is bothersome, which you have no control over. At my last place it was the Octopus restaurant underneath me that had fowl smells wafting up into my room. And now at the goshiwon it has been that I was positioned close to a main road, which meant the constant hum and buzz of cars going past. Along with this the window faced the alleyway where the buildings vents are located. Therefore I heard the humming sound of the vents and on occasion getting a whiff of what was coming out.

That is why I am grateful now that I managed to move rooms to a more quieter space in the Goshiwon. How I managed this seems like it was a miracle but took the finessing skills that I think is picked up after living here for a while.

I met another tenant here while I was in the kitchen last week. She spoke English and asked about my residency. She was an older woman staying in the goshiwon to help her daughter who lives nearby as she studies for a college entrance exam. That was a brief meeting until today when I ran into her again.

I was doing my laundry and had run into some trouble with the machine. It had finished washing but my clothes were still dripping wet. I had seen her in the kitchen on my way to the laundry room and figured I could ask her for help. She did just that and we started up a conversation in the meantime while my clothes took another spin in the washer. It turned out she knew the owners of the goshiwon as close friends and I took this as an opportunity to talk about how I want to change rooms. But I did it with great finesse!

Me: Oh, I like living in this goshiwon.
Nice Ahjumma: Ah yes, I know the owners they are friends of my daughter.
Me: Ah that is nice. Hmm I like living here but my room is so noisy. Unfortunately I am next to the big road.
NA: Oh really?! Well I know there are open rooms over here. (Near the laundry room side...which is in the back of the building).
Me: Oh yes, I was thinking of asking my boyfriend to ask the Ahjusshi if I can move rooms. But I think he might say no.
NA: Oh I will talk to him and I think there will not be a problem.
Me: Oh really? Thank you so much.

There you have it, for that is how I managed to get into the quieter side of the building. Sure the room is still small and everything but I think I will sleep better.

Nothing comes for free, you know, so in exchange for her helping me out she mentioned how her daughter will need tutoring next year as she starts University. I gladly exchanged contact information and so will work on that.

I made a little video of my new room. Why? Oh what the heck right?

Simple Weekend

Last weekend JH and I just did simple stuff, so on Saturday we went to Insadong and Samcheondong for some good eating and artsy viewing.

There is one particular place we like eating at and so went there again. I love their dol sot bulgolgi.

JH mixes the rice with the bulgolgi.

While we were in Insadong we saw what we assumed was a Japanese tourist, based upon her outfit. I only managed to get a back shot.

Then we went up into Samcheondong and I took JH to what is now my favorite cafe there. It is quiet and oh so artsy. We played travel scrabble and I have to say that he is pretty good, but I won in the end.

Later on Sunday I helped him study English at a cafe where we had a waffle for a treat.

Job Hunt Update: That recruiter was merely just telling me his game plan for helping me. I have an offer in Paju but I told him it is not my number one choice. So he told me to go ahead and have an interview with them but tell them to wait. In the meantime more positions will come in. I may get a position in Seoul as an after school teacher. But again, I am not signing anything unless I see the house and it agrees with me.

Let it All Out

Well I haven't had too many responses to my first podcast yet. I know what I composed was a little bit esoteric.

Moving on..

I recently spent some time in COEX and was at the Bandi bookstore. Whenever you go into the English part of a bookstore here in Korea you sometimes find yourself around people who are hunting down English speakers. In some cases you can spot these individuals and stay clear of them. But if you were like me and was engulfed in the Korean culture section then you were not on alert.

So as I was passing by the bookshelves a man said hello to me. I said "Hi" back but kept on walking. I didn't know if he was out to stalk me for an English lesson or what. Then he followed me, and I turned around to face him. In which case he introduced himself and asked about me. I am sure this all sounds like a very normal and congenial situation. But this guy was kind of odd and a little creepy. He wasn't Korean, but Asian American and apparently has been living in Korea for quite some time.

He told me how he works at a University. But the interesting part got to when he started ranting on about how new English teachers know nothing of the trade. He had a Master's in TESOL and other fancy titles behind him so he was, I guess, okay to talk as if he knew something.

I went along with it and let the guy get out what he needed to say, chiming in here and there with my tidbits of knowledge. His biggest complaint was the Korean education system and that it doesn't favor "Multiple Intelligence" learning. I agreed with him but he still felt it necessary to remind me over and over.

I tried to tell him that in some small way Korean education is changing but we probably won't see the full impact till later on. He still seemed skeptical. It was like a real live Dave's Esl forum gone wrong.

Finally, a pause came in the conversation and it seemed he had finished everything he had to say. I seized this opportunity to tell him I was meeting a friend and so got out of it.

I still wonder if he is in the bookstore looking for an English speaking person to spill his thoughts on to. I kind of hope that this guy has a handful of friends that he can talk to instead of bothering complete strangers. But in this country I think you end up doing what you think works and you go along with it.

As for me I do hope Korean education evolves more and allows for different types of learning, besides just rote memorization. We will see.

Dinner with the Family

In between all this job stuff I managed to meet JH's Mother and Sister last Saturday. JH and I have been together for about 3 months now and I have been asking him if I could meet his family. Also it seems like he has been talking a lot about me around his house and so they were starting to become curious.

Whenever you mention to other expats that you are dating a Korean guy usually one of the things they ask you is whether or not you have met the parents and how did it go. It is perceived that Korean families don't take it too well that their sons or daughters are dating a non-Korean. After the outcome with my ex I have come to realize that there really is no way to tell.

I was a bit nervous when I first heard that JH had made an appointment for us to meet. But on the day of our meeting my mind was too busy thinking about my contract that the notion of meeting his family didn't seem to sway me very much.

We met for dinner in Apgujeong in Gangnam at a Shabu Shabu place. For those unaware a Shabu Shabu place is a Koreanized version of a Japanese cuisine. Basically what you have is a pot of boiling water in the center of your table. You can chose to order a variety of foods to go in that pot to cook. Choices range from seafood, ham to beef. Usually they all come with mushrooms and sorted vegetables. This particular Shabu Shabu place was quite fancy with many dipping sauces than usual.

It was pouring down rain when we picked up his Mom and Sister from the subway station. They seemed excited to meet me. However their English skills were pretty low and I sputtered out the little Korean I know to help them get to know me.

We got to the restaurant and waited to be seated. It was that in between time where you don't really know how to act. I played it cool and joked with them as they spoke Korean. JH helped translate what everyone was talking about.

At the dinner table I was quiet throughout the meal as everyone ate. I got the usual question of "Can you eat kimchi?" and awe that I can function using chopsticks. Looking at JH's Mom and Sister I could tell their family is a petite skinny type of people, unlike my ex's which were on the plump side. Towards the end of the meal I warmed up more and joked about JH towards his family. They seemed to enjoy my humour. I felt a bit relieved that he has a sister instead of a brother. Hopefully we can go out more together and bond in that sisterhood kind of way. Of course learning and practicing Korean more would help.

It was time to leave and his sister took off to meet her boyfriend. We took his Mom home and were offered to come inside but we felt it was too late and would rather come and see the house when it is daylight.

Overall, it went well and wasn't such a big deal. From what I can tell they seemed open minded about their son and brother dating a foreigner. But I know to keep that open ended and see what they think as time progresses. I am going to find them something cute from America and bring it back as a souvenir for them. ^^

Different Shades of English

After my Korean class on Wednesdays a few of us go out to dinner together afterwards. At first there were about 10 of us but then participants in this free Korean class started to dwindle and it was down to just us sticklers.

We would pick a different place to eat at every time and usually it was a non-Korean cuisine.

The interesting part of our meals were the conversations. In particular I think this is what is most enjoyable about living in Korea. That is meeting people from different parts of the world.

At our last get together after class I met with a South African, New Zealander and a Britain. One of the conversations we had was about how they can't stand teaching "American" English.

For example Americans call the device where water comes out of in a sink the "faucet" but for the others at my table they called it the "tap". The South African when first hearing it called a "faucet" here in Korea that it was some old English word that nobody uses and so taught it that way. She corrected it for her students thus teaching them to call it the "tap".

I found this conversation amusing because it shows how English speaking people have different words for the same thing. It is really fun to sit down with non-Americans and share these differences in the English language.

What happens most often, I notice, is that the non-Americans end up complaining a little bit about the American usage for certain things. Certainly I heard this kind of griping during our dinner. The British guy said he refuses to use American words.

As for our students I think they mostly know about American English. Therefore it may be a good idea to do a lesson comparing English spoken across the globe.

All in all, I always have a fun time calling the hood of the car the "bonnet" and the trunk the "boot."

Mastering English for Koreans Hopeless?

The Korea Times presents us with another "Opinion" piece, which is of course brilliantly annoying.

John Huer poses the question "Why is English so difficult for Koreans to master?" and comes up with the conclusion that because the Korean language is so different from English and that Korean bases itself on high class and low class that English just wont fit in to Korean society.

In other words, he doesn't believe Koreans can master English. Again why is the Korea Times publishing such pessimistic point of views? Who knows... but let's take a look at some of the highlights from the article.

In the very way the language is structured, English tends to encourage individualism and personal freedom.

Even during the feudal era, English-speaking nations tended to avoid the extreme forms of tyranny or despotism. When bilingual Korean children switch to English, their self-assertion becomes instantly obvious. Unsurprisingly, many Koreans find the intrusion of English a threat to this stratified society that binds their subconscious with one another.

Ahhh English threatens are hierarchical society!! Ahhhhh Don't speak English kids you will find yourself ostracized. But seriously folks if you start to think about this assertion than you can kind of understand how Koreans view speaking English.

In many cases, English speech has one subject and one verb. In Korea, everything is assumed whereby one Korean tries to guess another Koreans disposition, intention, or mood swings, without getting clear, assertively formulated messages.

This makes sense but on the flip side of things. For example, when conversing in English with my co-teacher or coworkers about something going on at school usually the answers are very ambiguous. In general when you speak to Koreans you never really know if what you are being told is the final answer. I have gotten use to this.

Korea, on the other hand, has two effectively unrelated languages. One for the upper-echelon Koreans in business, news reports, education, government bureaucracy and law, that rely almost exclusively on borrowed Chinese characters. The other is spoken Korean reserved for family interactions, neighborly exchanges, and other street-level encounters.

Those Koreans who learn English find it impossible to imagine that they can speak like that to their superiors or their children, uniformly and simply.

This might shine light into BK's life and cause me to have sympathy for him. Due to that speaking English to me in front of colleagues may have caused him discomfort. But let's not make this personal.

I don't know if this guy is only speaking to a certain generation here in Korea or to all. I would wonder whether the kids who grew up in English hagwons and gone on to University may be more comfortable with English than the older generations.

They tend to verbalize their emotional states quite directly, as in ``I love you,'' ``I am depressed,'' or ``I am angry (sad, happy, whatever)'' and so on. English tends to promote adherence to agreed-on procedures, parliamentary rules of the majority, elaborately written paperwork, self-assertive exchanges of verbal statements and evidence if in dispute.

In general, emotional pleas or outbursts, when presented, tend to be calculated for theatrical effects. In Korea, on the other hand, all is emotion. Koreans have developed themselves into the world's most dramatically effective pleaders of their cases ― all on the powers of emotion and tears, screaming thrown in for good measure.

What the heck is he rambling on about here? Hmm ok I can agree hearing Korean can sound pretty theatrical at times. But I would bet Koreans find ways to assert their knowledge.

Can such a culture genuinely adopt a foreign tongue that is basically cut and dried, with no room for emotional grandstanding (``Please!'' being the most effective plea-making word)? Not very likely.

What the .... ?

And finally...

He said something to the effect that expecting democracy to bloom in Korea is like expecting a rose to bloom in a trashcan. Korea was naturally up in arms over this comment. In a similar vein, I will say that expecting world-class English aptitude in Korea is about as unlikely or just as impossible.

Wow just throw out any hope of optimism. I guess the hagwon kids should pack their yellow backpacks and go back home. But I am sure that there is a feeling amongst Koreans to just give up on getting English perfect. As a nation though I don't think Korea should throw in the towel. And Korea should thank the presence of Foreigners because we give Koreans the opportunity to speak to us in comfortable settings. John Huer recognizes the social blockades that is preventing English from becoming perfected in his nation. Yet he stalls to provide insight to where it has triumphed.

All in all it is just interesting to think about and consider how these two languages clash with each other and make it difficult to learn and use English on the academic and personal level.

Rocket Day

In response to North Korea's recent attempt at launching a missile, my school retaliated with their own show of rocket launching.


Ok, ok yesterday's rocket launching had nothing to do with NK's missile mishap. But it sure was fun to think it did!

It was Science Thursday and the 6th grade class took to the play yard with their homemade bottle rockets.

After adding some water they took their rockets to be launched. I wasn't sure if it was some kind of contest, but after the rockets landed one of the students came out with a tape measure and checked the yardage.

Launch Pad Area

It was fun watching the rockets whiz off into the distance and make a crash landing. Even more fun hearing the kidlets go OOooooooOOoooo.

I came out because due to the Science activities classes were canceled. Gotta love extracurricular days.

Other classes watched from out their window.

It was fun to play with the kids in the waiting area. I tried to use some Korean on them, but then they started thinking I can speak Korean.

Dear Jessica Kim

Dear Jessica Kim,
First let me thank you for writing the enlightening opinion piece in the Korean Times. I can sympathize that there is an English craze going on here in South Korea that has all the Mom's in a daze. But you kind of lost me when you started talking about my people.

They all say in unison, as if it comes from the Holy Bible, ``I heard all you need is the 'white looks' and you are good to go."

So why is Korea, the nation that even created a national day to celebrate the beauty and the history of the Korean language, seen as the place to go for those ``native speakers" who have no life goals?

In summation you are saying that the people who come to Korea to teach English are a people who are deadbeats. Well probably amongst the near millions of us English teachers here there are likely to be a few deadbeats. But we are an educated deadbeat mass! We hold Bachelor's degrees and... oh wait you want to say something?

Do we really want these ``white-looking" people to just stroll into Korea, who probably scored less than 500 out of 800 on their verbal portion of their SATs or don't even know what they SATs are, to be hailed as kings by Korean parents?

Ah I see you think we are the lowly half of the college graduates. The ones who got by stoned and dehydrated from drinking too much the night before. And since you refer to us as "Kings" I can only assume you are projecting this at the male portion of English Teachers.

Jessica, listen here if you think that living in South Korea is a piece of cake than you are wrong. Sure for most of us we get free housing and health insurance, but that doesn't mean life is a bowl of peaches, darling.

Look I can understand if you have some kind of paranoid feelings about our presence here. But please don't blame us for Korea's insane craze to institute English into the young brains of your nation. We didn't come up with the idea of having pre-kindy English hagwons or 24/7 English instruction. Oh what's that you really mean to blame the parents and not us?

...and, finally, it is their obsession that leads Korea to be looked-down-upon as a Plan B by those ``native English speakers" who miserably fail in their own lives. The parents with such wrong attitudes are to be blamed for the pandemic.

Let me first just say, honey, that choosing to pack up your life and move to an Asian country, one known for its homogeneous society and two still whacks its kids with a stick in the classroom, is not exactly the easiest choice to make. Heck we could chose to teach in Spain or Japan, societies open to the foreign man / woman.

We all need to realize that this English craze is not only pointless, but it burdens the students and their families. It ships Korea's money offshore and it pressures Korean educators to seek unqualified people who only possess the ``white looks." It leads to many indirect social problems that we have in Korea right now.

Again I agree with you that the English craze is a real crackpot here and is not as regulated as it should be. But don't think for a second that we are making it worse for this country. For one we come with our educated background, life experience and free-thinking open-mindedness that is probably a set of skills and tools this nation could use.

So please do yourself and your nation a favor. Think first before you act! It is called critical thinking skills, something us deadbeats learned in high school and college.

Sincerely,
Joy (3.9 GPA top of her graduating class, Asian Art History Major, dating a Korean, white-looking female)

Hagwon Hauntings

As most of you know I use to work at a hagwon when I first arrived here in Korea. After 5 months I quit and switched to a public school.

Lately, I have been finding that I still can't escape the hagwon system. Certain aspects of my work at a hagwon has crept into my current life.

I teach an advanced class three times a week. This is an after school program for selected students. Last semester I didn't hear many complaints from the Mom's. Either because there weren't any or my old coteacher didn't bother telling me.

Since last week I have already received two parent complaints. It isn't anything as severe as it was in the hagwon. Meaning I won't get fired over it. But one student was pulled from the class from her Mom.

What's the big deal?
The class is a mix of 6th grade down to 4th grade, so that means the English levels differ. I have to talk slower for the lower grades but provide higher level material for the advanced kids.

So some kid's parents might think the class is too easy, while others will think it is too hard.

Competition with hagwons:
The main grief I am experiencing I feel is because there is the option to send their kids to a hagwon. Of course it would be a lot more expensive, but certainly more thorough.

At hagwons kids are tested on many levels, given progress reports, butt-loads of homework and a lovely ride in a hagwon van.

At the Advanced Class in an public school the activities and work is determined by the Foreign teacher, myself.

So the parents see all the work other kids are doing at hagwons and think "Why can't my kid be doing that at the advanced class?" And so they examine my class and call up to make some comments.

At first I was a little take aback by the comments, because I thought I had left that kind of thing when I quit the hagwon. But I can see now that the parents are just concerned for their child's education.

This semester I already have planned more homework, activities and tests that are more extensive than last semester. Already the mention of these things have not pleased the students, who just want to play during their time in my class. But I hope it gives the parents something to agree with, and at the same time help my students learn English.

But I am going to follow my own style and methods, not what a Mom thinks should be done because she saw it at a hagwon.

TESL Struggle

Hey there folks. I am working on getting my TESL through an online course. Basically the work consists of reading, taking a short quiz and then writing.

This is a course that will give me the TESL certificate which can be used to get more money added to my salary, and also an advantage when it comes to being hired.

However, I think the most important aspect of working on this is that it will improve my knowledge and skills of being an English teacher for EFL students. So I got started on this last week, after finally paying for it and printing out my first assignment. This course is not heavily weighed on grammar but that doesn't mean it isn't a part of it.

I have come to a part in my writing assignment, which deals with grammar. I am not a grammar whiz, as my Mom would tell you. But I am very willing to learn and get over my own mistakes.

I am asking you, my readers, to extend your grammar knowledge to help me with this assignment. I'm not trying to cheat here, I just really don't know where to start when it comes to figuring out grammar. So if anyone can give me some pointers that would be terrific!

The Prompt:
The assignment is to write down three sentences that Foreign language English learners commonly make that are mistakes. These sentences have to be grammatically incorrect and all relate to each other with the same grammar problem.

Their example:

from French:

I have twenty years.

I have cold.

I have ill.

The reason for this error is due to the use of have in French.

My choices:

I goes to a PC Bang.
I go to church.
I was go to home.
These are common answers to the question "What did you do you yesterday?"

The Help I Need:
I know that these sentences are grammatically incorrect. I just can't tell you which grammar rule it relates to. I am thinking it relates to getting the past-tense incorrect, but I know there must be more to it than that! (See how badly I need grammar help folks, my poor students...so sorry)

The Twist:
The assignment requests the following:

• Explain why you think the error takes place.
• Explain in terms of grammar.
• Explain in terms of the MT (mother tongue, Korean language) and then explain it in terms of the English Grammar. This is the part that I need help with, mostly because I don't know Korean grammar.
• Point out the differences.

At least I have a set of sentences that I thought of on my own. That alone was pretty tricky.

In the meantime I will hit up google and see what I can come up with, and try to get myself on the grammar path.

If you know of an explanation I could start thinking of that would be great. Or of any websites that would be awesome, too.

THANKS!

New Beginnings

Here for you finally is an update on what it has been like starting the new semester with my new co-teacher.

Amazing!

That is the word I will use to describe this transformation. Let me break down the experience so far.

First Day of the New Semester:
My new coteacher arrived and we said hello. We went to our desks and got set up for the day. She found out we needed to go to the opening ceremony and so we did.

Back at our classroom we started to chat and she offered me to have a seat. Her English was really good, with full sentences and a high level of comprehension.

Unfortunately, I was in a somber mood because I was so fearful of what this new semester was going to be like. So I didn't really know how to be or act. But I tried my best to be open and conversational with her.

We got to talking about ourselves and our experiences. It was going along well, except for when she asked me "Is there anything you want to know about me?" And I was stumped. I could tell I made my first-day mistake right there.

However, she immediately moved past that and we talked about other things.

She said that it was very important for her to create a warm relationship and that was her goal.

I felt the same way so I was really relieved to hear that.

We talked more but it was mostly general stuff. Had lunch and then worked on our planning and called it a day.

First Day of Classes:
On Tuesday we had our first set of classes. It was with grade 5.

Before everything got started we discussed what we would like to do.

• Do the normal checklist: how are you? Date? Weather?
• Practice giving a different answer to How are you? (usually the answer is "I'm fine thank you and you?")
• Coteacher introduced herself.
• Coteacher prompted students to close their eyes and visualize why they study English. Then they were assigned to write down their thoughts (in Korean).
• Coteacher taught them her method of quieting down (using a clap and respond method)
• Notebook assignment
• Goodbye

Let me just say that she is way-way far ahead of my old coteacher. Which brings me to some revelations I had.

Apparantly my ex-coteacher didn't really want to be the English teacher. Meaning she was a teacher here and then put into the role of English teacher. After realizing this, it all made a whole lot of sense to me why she seemed so dispondant sometimes.

The new coteacher engages the students in a friendly and cognitive way. Although, we haven't clearly defined who does what in the class she has been revealing my role more and more with each lesson. So far it is my job to do the introduction in the class and then she calls on me for certain parts during the lesson. A cooperative kind of deal.

Other Realizations:
My ex coteacher was given some kind of really complicated assignment for the English program here. She could have received help for it, but the Principal denied her the assistance. (I found this out through my new coteacher). So my ex-coteacher was really busy on that assignment.

I have concluded that because my ex-coteacher didn't really embrace her role as English Teacher that her and I had a somewhat surface relationship.

But I do praise my ex coteacher for getting through one year of a job she didn't want to do. All I could have asked for is that she had found me a better home back when I signed up for this job. Next time, when faced with a new contract, I will make sure my new home is something worth taking the job for.

Conclusion:
I am enthusiastic about this new semester and the following 8 months I have left on my contract. My new coteacher shows concern for my well being and has experience working with foreigners. Although, I will still err on the cautious side due to that she is Korean and there could be some office-gossip created if I get too friendly with her.

Here's to new beginnings!

Introduction to the Stars of GEPIK

Just what the heck do we teachers end up teaching out here in Korea?

As for GEPIK we are given a set of books for each grade. There is the teacher's guide (in Korean and English) and the student book, which is full of pictures and writing activities.

But there is one part worth mentioning, and that is the star characters inside the book. I did not take pictures of the books due to fear of copyright blah-blah.

However, we don't just use the books in class. Accompanying our lesson are videos.

To get an understanding of all this let me break down what a typical lesson looks like:

Sample of a Lesson:

1. Each lesson is broken down into 4 parts. So day 1 of class goes over the first part, and so on. Here for you are those parts.
2. Look and Listen: Children look at the video screen. A cartoon is shown where there is a dialog of the lessons main point. For example: "I Can Swim." Lesson will feature the characters swimming and speaking the lines.
3. Listen and Repeat: Students look at a still screen and repeat the dialog. Usually the lines refer to what was said in the the "Look and Listen" section.
4. Let's Chant / Sing: There is a chanting session or singing session. Chanting turns out to be more fun than singing due to that songs are very cheesy.

5. Look and Speak: This is where the characters come to life. But often the English that is spoken is not clear and is spoken fast. Also the production of these videos comes out very cheezy. A lot of times the kids and myself laugh at the videos. I found this blog that seems to poke fun at these videos, but I still give the government credit for trying. This part is also the most important because it is where we find our stars.

6. Let's Write: This part is just writing exercises that are usually very quick.

7. Role-play: Here students watch a short cartoon that has a cute story and then are asked comprehension questions afterwards.

The Stars of GEPIK: Taken from the 5th grade book, most of the characters live throughout the whole series.

• Jinho
• Nami
• Mrs. Smith
• Bill
• Ann
• Joon
• Peter
• Zeeto (my favorite but is in the 3rd grade book.)

Look and Speak: Live action English at its best!

• You don't have to take off your shoes. This video lesson highlights a cultural difference between Korea and the West. And that is indoor shoe-wearing. It's a big no-no here in Korea. When I went over this lesson with the kidlets, they had shocked faces at the thought we westerners keep our shoes on. Featuring: Nami and Ann.

• Mismatched Voices: What should a kids voice sounds like? High pitched and cute right? But maybe not for all kid's voices, especially if that character is a male. Take a look and see how not only do the high pitched voices sound wrong, but also at the placement of the words. Featuring Peter and Nami.

• Adults using English: Often times you see the characters parents having conversations. They got the voices right, that is they sound like adults. But again the voice over is totally off cue. Hey does anyone think the Dad isn't bad looking? (just kidding) Featuring Jinho's parents.

• Awkward Moments: Speaking a foreign language is awkward enough, but hey let's make it more awkward by creating moments that are strange. In this clip Joon (boy on the left) talks about Peter's sister and there is an awkward feeling between them. Featuring Joon and Peter.

I think you get the gist of it all after watching those videos. As a teacher you end up seeing these clips about 4 times a day and in some cases 8 times a week. Sometimes I go home and I find myself singing the song of the day.



What always leaves me wondering is where they picked of the western actors. Because they shot these videos in Korea, so I wonder what these kids are doing here.



And remember this is Elementary school level. I don't know if Middle or High School kids get the same stuff but with older actors / characters?


There you have it the characters that I get to know here at school. I hope this introduction gave you a light hearted feeling. Sure the government has room to improve with the quality of their material but for the meantime it makes for good culture shock.

An Essential Video

If you are considering entering Korea and being a part of the education system here, whether public or private, then please watch this video. Which I originally found out about through Kimchi Icecream.

It highlights the education "culture" and business here and how intense it all is.

Let me remind you that the children, the younger ones, do not really want to be bussed around and going to school at all hours of the day. I would bet even the teens, although may benefit their test scores, probably would rather be doing teen stuff than being stuck inside a classroom.

According to the video Korea's English ability is the worst amongst Asia.

Who is responsible? The students or the teachers?

Which leads me to my next point about this video. That there weren't too many foreigners pictured, I mean Foreign teachers. I think it would have been beneficial to get our opinions and experience listed within the context of English education in Korea.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Caught the pop star Rain on a recent video from TIME saying in well spoken English: "You must be a good cook and be kind and pretty". Found the video through the DISGRASION blog.
From what I know Rain is a pop star that has a controversial background in South Korea. Mostly because, I guess, he didn't go to military service. But the boy seems to be getting more popular over here in the States. He is in Speed Racer and even sings in English.

Anyways, I think most of you on the blogosphere know about the Rain controversy and so I don't really need to mention more.

But I will examine one thing I find interesting and that is Rain's English. I have to say it isn't too bad. However, he does say "um" a lot and pauses here and there. But overall there is a quite a good flow to his speech. Maybe this is because of the amount of time he has spent here in America.

From what I have seen when Bo Kwan watches Rain whenever he pops up on Youtube is that he gets that face of disapproval.

Anyways, back to what I was saying. Perhaps for Koreans learning English can end up being a pretty competitive endeavour. This could be so because to get a really good job in Seoul, it sounds like you need high scores on your English tests. So I guess when someone like Bo Kwan sees Rain speak English pretty well, he may feel a little anger. Because he has been working his ass off to learn English but Rain just parties and becomes a pop star. Not that Rain doesn't work hard (I don't know).

Anyways, all I can say is that having Rain's popular presence in America may actually be good for Korea. But I don't know if every Korean would agree with me on that. So I guess it will be just fun to watch and see if Rain's popularity will just ring in America as another "Exotic" thing from Asia or actually prove to be a foundational start to a wider view of Asia's stars.