It's official, we are teachers. We have our own classrooms, own students, we give tests and correct them. So this is what it is like to be on the other end of crazy children's antics....
E Bo Young Talking Club is very small. There are 6 classrooms, each with one large table and 10 chairs. We have small classes, anywhere between 3 and 9 students. There are a range of levels starting with Phonics (which we don't teach), A&B's (low level) all the way to Talking Master Juniors (high level). We both have Korean co-teachers who teach half of the material in the units. We teach the conversation and listening aspects of English and our co-teachers teach grammar and writing.
On Wednesdays we have weekly meetings at E Bo Young. This week's Dave and I were told that we need to make lessons plans before every class and hand them in to our Director. We also have to start listening to the students dialogue that they record in the computer lab. In the beginning of each unit they gave a cheesy dialogue they must listen and record it. We must listen to their recordings to make sure they are pronouncing the words correctly. The funny part of Wednesday's meeting was that our Director conducted 1/2 of the meeting in Korean! Dave and I just sat there not having a clue ha ha
Oh! I forgot to mention that we do not wear shoes in our school. WE WEAR SLIPPERS ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that?!?!
As for whether or not we like it so far...Dave enjoys it. I, on the other hand, am not enjoying it as much as I had hoped. I am getting very frustrated with several parts of the job. First, Dave and I have 2 different schedules. We both work at E Bo Young from 1-6, teaching lessons from 2:30-6. At 6 all of the teachers get a dinner break. From here Dave has 1 more class at E Bo Young from 6:30-7:15. This is not the case for me. I have an additional break from 6:30-7:15. At 7:15 I have to go over to Easy Academy and teach 2 additional classes. I get out at 8:45 every night. Dave gets out at 7:15. I find this incredibly frustrating because I have little to no time to get anything done. On Friday's though, Dave teaches 2 classes at Easy Academy until 9:30. This is the one time a week in which I get an hour and a half to get some work done.
Another reason why I am frustrated is because Easy Academy is a totally different system, in turns, ends up being extra work for me. The classes are harder to teach because they are middle schoolers and naturally do no want to be there. Also, there is even less structure than E Bo Young so I have no way of keeping on track, or assessing how the students are doing. I just teach from the book and hope for the best. The students are placed in levels that are far beyond what they should be in. The material that I am teaching them is so over their head. The are not comprehending anything I am saying. (language barrier aside) Im finding it mentally taxing because for and hour and a half straight I talk and talk and talk but nothing is sinking in. I need goals in order to be motivated. I find it mentally draining not having standards, assessments, or even any feedback. It really gets me down. I'm sure things will get better when I get used to the system and figure a few things out. I really enjoy the kids and I think there are a lot of positives to the job too. It could always be worse!
On Friday we had to accompany our Director to the immigration office to fill out paperwork. First, on our way over, she told me that they found something wrong with my heart when they took my physical. I said "WHAT?!" and she said, "yes, your heart, there is something wrong with it," So I got worried! She then ended the conversation with, "it was a joke." Veryyyyyy funny Director! hahahahahaha I could have had a heart attack (pun very much intended)
After the joke session we got really serious, real quick....she asked me if I would like to join her in a traditional Korean bath house on Sunday. I asked her if I had to get naked and she said yes! hahahah I'm going to do it! It will be an experience.
We have decided to end every post with funny things our kids say
-They like to joke about dying. If a student is missing in class and we ask where they are, a typical response is either, "they died!" or they went to "sky town"
- We were reviewing a picture of a park with a few people walking about. When I asked a boy to explain what was happing in the picture he told me that a man is stalking the girl. I don't know where he got the word "stalker" from, or even the idea of a man stalking a woman.
-Dave was teaching likes and dislikes in his class and he asked a student something he doesn't like and his response was "I don't like beer"
-One student told me that I looked like her aunt. I asked her where her aunt was from and she said Korea. I asked her if she was from Korea and if she is Asian. She said yes. Hmm....I usually get "you look like someone I know" but this is a first....an Asian look alike!
- I asked a girl in my class to explain a word to me and she told me in Korean. I said to her, "I don't speak Korean!" and her response was "I don't speak English!!!!!" haha
P.S. we are looking into a vacation for the winter. Our options: China, Japan or Hong Kong. Any suggestions?
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