Jeongsu
Firstly, I still haven't done the video review with the grade 1s yet, and after Yeongshin, I have quite high hopes for them. I've learnt that apparently 14 years old is the most sensitive age for most children, so I'm hoping that the response will be higher than that of the grade 2 and 3 classes, although I can already feel that the response will be disappointing. In the grade one class, the girls are quite confident in their English abilities, and I believe that they will be quite fast learners if nurtured correctly. The boys on the other hand, I believe a few of them have potential, though the majority probably don't really care that much. Their interest may not be sparked by talking to people unlike the girls, so perhaps I should get them started playing English computer games. Definitely something to consider for future lessons.
As for the grade 2s and 3s, I'm still not quite sure how to handle them. The level is quite vastly different from the highest to the lowest in both classes, therefore limiting what I am able to do with the class as a whole.
Possible ideas for future activities include:
Research papers
Computer games
More "Describe a picture"
More reading comprehension activities
I will probably use the book given to me by Mr Park for Monday's lesson, and attempt to photocopy a few pages of that before we start.
Yeongshin
Hmm, how should I describe the situation at Yeongshin...
Well, on Tuesday with the grade 3s, I took them through Cheat for a bit of a break. The first two classes were quite noisy, though the last two were quite ok, except for perhaps one or two students who made things extremely difficult. I think I'll need to get into more difficult subjects fairly soon, as I can't do games with them forever. Next week I'll do the video response, and see how the level is. I should probably stop judging level and start creating appropriate materials to actually teach the class something, though the testing itself sometimes can teach quite a lot.
The grade 1-2s are quite a handful. I'm still not quite sure how to treat them, especially because the classes are so much bigger. Perhaps I can take them thorough some more of the Jeongsu activities, such as the word scramble and the fables. Either way I'll have to think about it and make a decision before Friday, though this week I should have plenty of time because of the supposed lack of private tuition, although I have a sinking feeling that it will resume sooner than expected.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
6/11/2009 - Friday
Yeongshin
Class 1-1, 1-3, 2-2, 2-4
Material
Video response (Piano, Kiwi, Twinkle Twinkle)
So, what can I say. Today was extremely unexpected. 1-1 and 1-3 were fairly decent, even comparable to the godlike standard of 1-4 last week. Not quite as good, but still within ballpark range. 1-1 had a significantly more standard level compared to 1-3, which had some of the highest highs, but also a bigger number of lows. 1-4 still comes out on top, but it seems that 1-2 was more the exception rather than the standard.
Grade 2 on the other hand was an entirely different story. 2-2 had 5 out of 30 responses that were decent. 2-4 had a few more, however the level was much much lower. It seems I've overestimated the grade 2s, either on maturity level or English level. Mr Kim suggests that their emotions are quite deadened compared to the grade 1s, but I'm not so sure. I'm still working out whether it is an age thing or whether it is the students within the classes themselves. The gap between the 1 year is astronomical, to the point where I cannot believe that the current grade 2s were as good as the current grade 1s last year.
With class 2-2, Mr Kim had to dish out some corporal punishment to a student. I have a feeling that this negatively affected the class response to the videos, as the first play through was quite silent. The second time through got a bit of laughter, so I assume the shock had worn off by then. Either way, that was the first time I'd seen that type of punishment used before, and I have no desire to see it repeated again.
On that note, I'm not sure if I like Mr Kim's teaching style, as he seems to spoon feed the students rather than letting them think for themselves. I believe that that is the reason the classes today weren't as good as the grade 1 classes.
Furthermore, I found out that Mr Kim teaches all of grade 2, but only 1-1 and 1-3 in grade 1. Ms Cheon is the opposite, teaching all of grade 1 and only 2-1 and 2-3.
Overall, extremely disappointing for the grade 2 level, though grade 1 seems to have potential.
Class 1-1, 1-3, 2-2, 2-4
Material
Video response (Piano, Kiwi, Twinkle Twinkle)
So, what can I say. Today was extremely unexpected. 1-1 and 1-3 were fairly decent, even comparable to the godlike standard of 1-4 last week. Not quite as good, but still within ballpark range. 1-1 had a significantly more standard level compared to 1-3, which had some of the highest highs, but also a bigger number of lows. 1-4 still comes out on top, but it seems that 1-2 was more the exception rather than the standard.
Grade 2 on the other hand was an entirely different story. 2-2 had 5 out of 30 responses that were decent. 2-4 had a few more, however the level was much much lower. It seems I've overestimated the grade 2s, either on maturity level or English level. Mr Kim suggests that their emotions are quite deadened compared to the grade 1s, but I'm not so sure. I'm still working out whether it is an age thing or whether it is the students within the classes themselves. The gap between the 1 year is astronomical, to the point where I cannot believe that the current grade 2s were as good as the current grade 1s last year.
With class 2-2, Mr Kim had to dish out some corporal punishment to a student. I have a feeling that this negatively affected the class response to the videos, as the first play through was quite silent. The second time through got a bit of laughter, so I assume the shock had worn off by then. Either way, that was the first time I'd seen that type of punishment used before, and I have no desire to see it repeated again.
On that note, I'm not sure if I like Mr Kim's teaching style, as he seems to spoon feed the students rather than letting them think for themselves. I believe that that is the reason the classes today weren't as good as the grade 1 classes.
Furthermore, I found out that Mr Kim teaches all of grade 2, but only 1-1 and 1-3 in grade 1. Ms Cheon is the opposite, teaching all of grade 1 and only 2-1 and 2-3.
Overall, extremely disappointing for the grade 2 level, though grade 1 seems to have potential.
5/11/2009 - Thursday
Haksan Elementary
Grade 3, 4, 5, 6
So, today was fairly boring. Lots of students sick, not a lot for me to do. The teacher usually works through the lesson plans, occasional tests. Because their English lessons are only once or twice a week, there is very little room for me to interject my own material. I can usually only help by expanding upon what is already there, aka shopping I can add expensive or cheap.
Once again, private tutoring was canceled, so I got to get home early.
Grade 3, 4, 5, 6
So, today was fairly boring. Lots of students sick, not a lot for me to do. The teacher usually works through the lesson plans, occasional tests. Because their English lessons are only once or twice a week, there is very little room for me to interject my own material. I can usually only help by expanding upon what is already there, aka shopping I can add expensive or cheap.
Once again, private tutoring was canceled, so I got to get home early.
4/11/2009 - Wednesday
Jeongsu
Grade 1, 2, 3
Material
Taboo
Definite success. Grade 1 had 6 people, so two teams of 3. Grade 3 had 9, so teams of 3. Grade 2 has only 4 people, so did round robin style. It seems that they associate easiest with cultural references, eg Rain the singer and pizza and chicken. Funny enough, they weren't familiar with the words Bicycle and Square, though that was only the grade 1s.
The game could probably be used again once I improve my vocabulary list. Also a definite contender for Yeongshin, possibly private tutoring.
Private Tutoring
Canceled until Dec 1st.
Grade 1, 2, 3
Material
Taboo
Definite success. Grade 1 had 6 people, so two teams of 3. Grade 3 had 9, so teams of 3. Grade 2 has only 4 people, so did round robin style. It seems that they associate easiest with cultural references, eg Rain the singer and pizza and chicken. Funny enough, they weren't familiar with the words Bicycle and Square, though that was only the grade 1s.
The game could probably be used again once I improve my vocabulary list. Also a definite contender for Yeongshin, possibly private tutoring.
Private Tutoring
Canceled until Dec 1st.
3/11/2009 - Tuesday
Yeongshin
Grade 3
Material
Cheat (Cards)
Classes 3-3 and 3-1 were quite noisy, there was one group up the back that had students who simply didn't want to learn until Mr Kim talked to them and made them hold their hands in the air for 5 minutes. The classes after lunch, 3-2 and 3-4 were definitely a lot quieter, and they seemed to enjoy the game more maturely than class 3-1 and 3-3.
Overall the response was as expected, although Mr Kim seemed oddly disappointed for some reason, perhaps tired or perhaps my material.
Grade 3
Material
Cheat (Cards)
Classes 3-3 and 3-1 were quite noisy, there was one group up the back that had students who simply didn't want to learn until Mr Kim talked to them and made them hold their hands in the air for 5 minutes. The classes after lunch, 3-2 and 3-4 were definitely a lot quieter, and they seemed to enjoy the game more maturely than class 3-1 and 3-3.
Overall the response was as expected, although Mr Kim seemed oddly disappointed for some reason, perhaps tired or perhaps my material.
2/11/2009 - Monday
Jeongsu
Classes: 1, 2 ,3
Grade 3
Material
Fables, Semi word scramble
Today there were only 6 students in attendance, so I covered 2 fables and the word scramble game.
The grade 3 class was surprising this week. It seems fables are at too high a level for them, though it might just be the limited vocabulary. I would really like to get each student an English Korean dictionary, although I might have to teach the class in the computer lab for them to do so. Surprisingly, the word scramble wasn't nearly as successful as I thought it would be compared to Yeongshin group 2, but that may have been because of the number of students in attendance.
Grade 1, 2
Material
Word scramble
Surprisingly enough, the grade 1s were a lot faster than the grade 2s, though that might simply be an indication of how many students are in the class, as opposed to the overall level. Both grades were fairly knowledgeable in the vocabulary used.
Private tuition
Today there was a 4th student who joined in. 2 of them forgot their books, which left 1/4 who actually had a text book. In the end, I gave them the word scramble, however it was definitely too high level for them. I supposed I'm expecting a bit much from grade 5s who still haven't gotten basic spelling mastered.
I ran a small team comp to name the most animals they could in 5 minutes. That 5 ended up being 10 minutes, as 5 minutes was much too short. That was fairly successful, though the skill level between the highest students and the lowest was quite apparent. I might need to change how I teach them, as their English level simply isn't high enough. Perhaps I should teach pure vocab to prep them for higher learning later.
Classes: 1, 2 ,3
Grade 3
Material
Fables, Semi word scramble
Today there were only 6 students in attendance, so I covered 2 fables and the word scramble game.
The grade 3 class was surprising this week. It seems fables are at too high a level for them, though it might just be the limited vocabulary. I would really like to get each student an English Korean dictionary, although I might have to teach the class in the computer lab for them to do so. Surprisingly, the word scramble wasn't nearly as successful as I thought it would be compared to Yeongshin group 2, but that may have been because of the number of students in attendance.
Grade 1, 2
Material
Word scramble
Surprisingly enough, the grade 1s were a lot faster than the grade 2s, though that might simply be an indication of how many students are in the class, as opposed to the overall level. Both grades were fairly knowledgeable in the vocabulary used.
Private tuition
Today there was a 4th student who joined in. 2 of them forgot their books, which left 1/4 who actually had a text book. In the end, I gave them the word scramble, however it was definitely too high level for them. I supposed I'm expecting a bit much from grade 5s who still haven't gotten basic spelling mastered.
I ran a small team comp to name the most animals they could in 5 minutes. That 5 ended up being 10 minutes, as 5 minutes was much too short. That was fairly successful, though the skill level between the highest students and the lowest was quite apparent. I might need to change how I teach them, as their English level simply isn't high enough. Perhaps I should teach pure vocab to prep them for higher learning later.
31/10/2009 - Weekly Reflection
Jeongsu
I believe I should work on their sentence forming ability still. The vocabulary is ok, the weakest point is that they can't form sentences. Perhaps I should do more "Describe the picture" activities?
Grade 1 still needs to do the video response, so I'll have to see how the level is.
I think next week I'll cover fables as a reading activity, possibly with question response.
Yeongshin
I still haven't had the grade 3s in ages, so I still have a backlog of activities to do with them, including Cheat and the video response. It will be interesting to see how the grade 3s respond to the videos, considering the level of class 1-4.
I'll need to go over the video response with group 1 still, though I'm doubtful of the response I'll receive. A point to note, the more laughter you hear in "The Piano", the less mature the overall response seems to be.
I believe I should work on their sentence forming ability still. The vocabulary is ok, the weakest point is that they can't form sentences. Perhaps I should do more "Describe the picture" activities?
Grade 1 still needs to do the video response, so I'll have to see how the level is.
I think next week I'll cover fables as a reading activity, possibly with question response.
Yeongshin
I still haven't had the grade 3s in ages, so I still have a backlog of activities to do with them, including Cheat and the video response. It will be interesting to see how the grade 3s respond to the videos, considering the level of class 1-4.
I'll need to go over the video response with group 1 still, though I'm doubtful of the response I'll receive. A point to note, the more laughter you hear in "The Piano", the less mature the overall response seems to be.
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