After the random ramblings of my last blog entry I thought I would share a typical day in my role as Jo Teacher. As there are rumblings of a schedule change in my not so distant future I wanted to document my early days with pictures of the children and a bit of observation on what my job actually entails.
I start work at 2pm, which of course means lie in galore! I live less than ten minutes from the academy, so it’s a leisurely little stroll into work along the river, followed by greeting my Korean co-workers with hello (in Korean-hark at me) and a little bow each time and fifteen minutes sat at my desk planning my first lesson and searching for flashcards. It would make my life a lot easier if I spent an entire day sorting them all out but other things always come up-for instance, well pretty much anything.
First class: 2.15-3.00. The girls in my first class-Elementary Grade One-are bloody brilliant! The three J’s (there were four when I first started-and no I am not scaring them off!) Jenny, Jane and Joyce. They are all incredibly cute, and all pretty smart-with just the right level of cheekiness. I am trying to encourage the use of full sentences and individuality rather than strictly focusing on spelling and mass word absorption-the staples of Englishee teaching and learning in Korea. The textbooks for Elementary “Fun Fun English” (-read “very random, not so fun, and largely a hindrance English” and you’re close-) are pretty rubbish, but I enjoy working around them and supplementing with games and fun little worksheets. Oh and Bingo, not just number bingo, but picture bingo too! Below is a picture of Jenny, the brains of Grade One.
Second class: 4.00-4.45. There are 14 students in Elementary Grade Five, and they have been broken down into two separate groups based on ability and behaviour. I have class one (the “top” set) Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and class two Tuesday and Thursday. 14 children-and somehow there are two Gharphields….Gharphield I and Gharphield II-yes spelt like that! Class one are a great bunch of kids, see the picture below.-just the right level of rowdiness, but all pretty willing to learn-even Rudy whose main interest is food!
Me: Rudy, how are you?
Rudy: I am very, very, very………hungry! (Everyday!)
The students in class two are more of a challenge, and mixed bunch ability wise. One of the kids is a newbie, and on a different book to the rest of the class which makes planning hard. The saving grace of the class is Ivy, who the rest of the class are horrible to, but she’s a little star and makes up for the rest of them refusing to make an effort, and mocking me at every turn!
Me: Hi Christian, how are you?
Christian: (Stares at me wide eyed until I repeat myself before putting on a baby voice) How are you? How are you? ………..
Fun Fun English!
In between lessons I plan the next ones, drink coffee, and talk to the kids, as well as some of my co-teachers. Especially Fely, who is an absolute gem. I tend to pop up to the kindergarten pretty much everyday to see Rachel and Paul, the other English teachers at my school, as well as the Korean kindergarten teachers who are all really nice and friendly and of course the kiddies-who are so cute and always happy to see me! Now that exams are over, when I am at my desk, the Middle School girls all gather in the teachers section and tell me how beautiful I am (it’s a hard life) and ask me loads of questions.
Dinner break: 5.30-5.50. Time to head down to the canteen and fill up on rice and soup! Still haven’t mastered metal chopsticks completely yet, though I am getting there, and for the most part I really enjoy Korean food. There are days when I would murder for a curry but normally I head down to the canteen and it’s all good! Especially when it’s bibimbap day!
Third class 6:30-7.15 (or 6.00-7.00 on a Friday-and Elementary rather than Middle School) My first evening class is a Middle School class with five great students all aged 14. Three of them (Angela, Sonia and Brenden) are in the Philippines at the moment, so for the next 8 weeks it’s just Jack and Steven-who are very different in ability, but both very fun to teach. I don’t have textbook to teach them from, so I have to make it up myself, which I am finding really enjoyable. The only downside is they have the English ability to tell me that what we’re doing is boring! This is the class where I spend a lot of time correcting “thank you very muchee” and “watch-ed,” but you can have a laugh with it.
Fourth class: 7.15-8.00 (or 7.00-8.00 on a Friday). This is an Elementary Class with four kids, each different ages, but pretty similar in ability. Aron, Angela’s brother (see the cheeky chap above), is the oldest and the smartest. Antony, Jack’s brother, is the youngest, though is pretty good for his age. They all tend to say “Engrish” instead of the more conventional “English” So when we play a game on little whiteboards where they have to write words or draw objects I get a chorus of “Engrish?” each time, which is strangely endearing. The only downside is that by the time they come to me they have been in school over 10 hours already, so they really aren’t in the mood for Jo Teacher and her quest to teach them English.
My fifth class, another Middle School class, was put on hold while the two girls (Merry-who calls me “Teacher Jo” and Stella) had exams. They are best friends and both great girls though, so I am looking forward to teaching them again soon.
The more observant of you will notice I am currently only actually teaching 3 hours a day, which is not a bad deal at all. I am aware though that this will change once the government schools close for summer vacation and the students all come to the hagwon earlier. At the moment though I am taking each day as it comes and find something to laugh about at least once a lesson, even if the kids don’t know why I am laughing.
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