Started teaching, on a voluntary basis, Kindergartners on Saturday morning. The tykes are exceptionally cute, and I've got a trio of little geniuses in the class. All three speak very well in English, so it's almost like teaching English Kindergarten back home.
We started out by playing Sit Down, Stand Up. Basically, the idea is to have the kids learn basic English words, most of which they already know, and to warm them up. It's also important, since it keeps the kids happy. Jen's mother said, and I think she's right, that teaching kids that age requires almost twice as much work as other classes: its like having 20 mini-two-minute lessons, so that you can keep their attention.
We then went to finish the book, do some drawing, and at one point, I had them hopping around the room (saying the word 'hop' as they did so), to teach them the word, and because we were reading about a frog. The little ones were exceptionally cute.
I noticed that as well: we're using a basic readers book, which, while good, is a bit dry--it's lots of reading.
That said, it's a great idea: it's a pilot program to see if we can start teaching younger children at the Hagwon. This'd be a great strategy if it can work: the younger ones are more interested, and are exceptionally fun to teach. Plus, while it's great to have older kids, the younger ones, if they stay, are a more lucrative source of revenue--they stay longer.
I admit, I've come to enjoy teaching my young classes a great deal. They often get me laughing along with them, and I really and truly genuinely like my students. It's good to know that I can handle kids, especially if Jen and I ever decide to have children of our own.
I don't talk much about teaching on this website, if only because, well, there are a dozen other blogs and websites out there that already do--one of the best is Dave's ESL Cafe, which is expat central online in Korea. That said, if you're going to do this, it's worth trying. It's not easy--there are a host of things that can go wrong, Korean and North American work habits and organizational styles are different, and sometimes, no matter how good your school might be, you might have a bad day or have trouble connecting with a student. All that said, if you go in to a school with an open-mind, and a bit of determination, it can turn out brilliantly.
Like with my little kids, for example.
If I can, I'll try to take a picture with some of them, and post them online. I'm a bit no-nonsense in my class, and forgetful to boot, so I might not have time or might forget, but I will endeavor to do so and have some pictures online by the time I leave this country, since my kids are either: A) very cute; B) fun; C)funny as all get out; or D) just plain neat to be around.
We can probably all tell stories, those of us doing this mad tour in Asia. Some of 'em good, some of 'em bad. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to say that, so far, at least, things are going well.
-----
Went in to Yongsan in Seoul. The electronics capital of this tech-crazy country, Yongsan has anything and everything of a tech nature a geek like me could want. The only problem is money, and that some hardware (say, a Wii, or PS3), is wired for Hangeul, and I don't trust my computing skills to reconfigure it/care to pay the kind of money it costs to buy one. They're cheaper, here, but that doesn't change the fact that they're still pricey.
Or that I have a ton of stuff to do, as is!
Also, if you want to find cheap films, Yongsan is also the place to go. Holy smokes.
-----
On a sad note, we're trying to find someone to babysit poor Amy, our cat. She's a sweetheart, but the trouble is she A) needs attention, and B) needs to be the only cat in the house. Pete, a friend of mine from back home, has been able to take care of her up 'till now, but, well, she's started having dominance issues with his own cat, Penny. Not the cats' fault, really, and I'm sorry that Pete's gotten stuck having to clean up after Amy since she's upset.
I'm hopeful we can find a solution, since we don't want to lose our cat.
----
Later,
Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment