Adjusting to teaching in Korea has been a long process and continues to change daily. From the beginning we were given the friendly advise “every situation is different.” We were told not to compare our school situation with our friend’s school situation. So, with that in mind I was expecting nothing. I ran into my school with my arms wide open ready to embrace any situation. I am a teacher with experience and was ready to apply my knowledge to the Korean school system. Uh, bad idea.
I am not a teacher in Korea. I am an aid. I co teach. I speak English so the students can repeat after me. At times I feel like a talking robot. I don’t practice any of my classroom management skills because Korea has a different system of punishment. I respect that, even if I don’t agree, I am willing to follow what works. It is very difficult to plan lessons with my co teachers for multiple reasons. I have three co teachers and finding time to plan with them is almost impossible because our schedules conflict. So, we resort to what we know. We use the same routine every time.
The hardest thing for me is to sit back and watch teachers teaching mistakes. Sometimes they will pronounce words incorrectly or have students playing a game before they understand the sentences. I have told my co teacher my thoughts and concerns, but she does not listen. Maybe because she doesn’t understand my English or she simply refuses to try something new.
After months of struggling with this system, I have stopped. Now, I just sit back and stay out of the way. I don’t want to make enemies, so I will try to make suggestions while keeping mind they may not be used. I don’t feel like a teacher and the students don’t view me as a teacher. So, now I will enjoy the students. I will teach them as much as I can about my culture. My goal is to make them comfortable when talking to a foreigner. And it’s working. I am much happier with this method. Maybe I am not a classroom teacher, but I am still teaching the kids confidence and helping them practice their English outside the classroom.
So, through this process I have learned something about myself. Even though I was told not to expect anything I still expected something. In the end I was let down. I am proud of myself for overcoming it even if it took a few months. But, even though I think I understand the school system, I am ready for any possible changes.
Extra Class
During my after school classes is when I feel my biggest achievement. Every day I teach 2 classes of students. One advanced class for one hour and a beginning class for another hour. I do not have a co teacher. The students have to understand my directions in English and my goal is to teach them conversational English. This was a challenging task at first. The students didn’t understand me, they just gave me that lost puppy look. Overtime, the students develop enough English language knowledge to understand me. I also developed a routine that is easy to follow.
Even though this class is an extra two hours of work a day, I look forward to it. I have developed a relationship with these students and I look forward to teaching them everyday. Each day focuses on a different element of English; conversation, reading, writing, and listening. I stick to the same routine so students know what is expected of them each day. I put a lot of effort into my lessons. I want the students to be engaged and have fun. This means a lot of visual aids and games. I know I have said this before but, youtube and powerpoint are my best friends.
During the day I am a teacher’s aid and in the evening I am a real teacher. In both cases I have learned so much in the process. I have a lot of tools to bring to my classroom in California. In the past I have had a handful of English Language Learners in my class. ELL students are very challenging for teachers. But now, I understand the process of learning a foreign language as a child. I understand what helps them learn. I also completely understand what it’s like to live in a foreign country.
I have about 4 more months to learn more techniques and grow. I am learning so much about myself as well as teaching tools to use in the classroom.
