Teaching ESL, A Shorthand Guide

I wrote a "teaching guide" for the next native English teacher that will be at my elementary schools containing some general and some specific information about teaching in my corner of South Korea. I was so grateful for the letter I received from the previous teacher at Doam and I thought it could also be a helpful blog post.

Contents:
1. Classroom Set-up
2. Class Curriculum Notes
3. Games & Activities
4. Know Your Contract
5. Teacher Dinners
6. Happy Teaching

Badger Blogging Blitz Daily Questions Collection

Here is a collection of the "Daily Questions" from the 2014 Badger Blogging Blitz, where five fellow University of Wisconsin - Madison alums and myself blogged for a week about our lives living and teaching in South Korea. I've updated the "Day Four" answers, and here is a preview of the questions.

1. What has been your most surreal experience in Korea so far?
2. What would you have told yourself before you got on the plane in Chicago, given what you know now? 
3. How does your school experience at the age of your students compare to that of your Korean students?
4. If you had the opportunity to change 5 things at your school, what would they be and why?
5. What teaching methods have you found to be the most effective with your students (What do they respond to?)?
6. Do you think you're making an impact on your student's English ability? 
7. What have you learned about yourself through this experience?
8. What has been the most difficult aspect of Korean life to get used to?
9. What's your favorite part of Korean culture/society? 
10. Have you been able or wanted to keep up on current events in the U.S. - new movies, your favorite TV shows, news, etc.? Also, how do those things differ in Korea? What topics are covered in the news? Are people there as interested in TV/movies? 
11. Do you always try all the foods offered? Have you made an effort to try a variety of new foods or do you tend to stick to the things you've found and like?
12. What plans do you have when the yearlong contract is up? Will you renew? Why or why not?

Day 5: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is FRIDAY, March 29th. The weather today is partly cloudy and warm (high 75, low 50 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Daily Recap

It's Friday and the kids know it. Extra energy, extra laughs, extra enthusiasm for the games!

6:00AM: Alarm clock goes off. NPR's hourly newscast, check email, frozen blueberries, banana, peanut butter with a spoon, toast and jam, coffee, calcium supplement, brush my teeth twice with two different kinds of toothpaste.

7:30AM: Walk to bus stop. Notice a weird interaction between a high school "couple." The boy is standing next to me, drinking a milk box. The girl is about five feet away from where we're standing; she has her school uniform on and I recognize her from yesterday. The boy tosses his milk box on the ground, strides over to her, points down the street, and they walk off together, away from the bus stop. Weird...

Day 4: Badger Blogging Blitz

[Badger Blogging Blitz (BBB) 2014: Ashley ...meanwhile in Korea..., Vicky Outside the Pyxis, Maggie The Traveling Flamingo, Drew The Hungry Partier, Rebecca Rebe with a Clause]

Today is Thursday, March 27th. The weather today is sunny and warm (high 70, low 45 degrees Fahrenheit). The sunshine gives the dirt playground at Doji a dusty yellow glow. 

Daily Recap

This morning's sixth grade classes were painful. There's about 80% more Korean in my classes at Doji than at Doam (my Doji co-teacher basically translates everything I say). The 2nd and 3rd grade classes went really well, which is good, because it wasn't the easiest day.  

6:30AM: Alarm clock goes off. I was up late last night catching up on the BBB posts from the other Badgers; the fresh perspectives and different daily routines are like food to me -- really good stuff. The late night energy surge made it hard to fall asleep. NPR's hourly newscast, calcium supplement, banana, coffee, and packed toast again.

7:20AM: It takes me about ten minutes to walk to the bus stop that'll take me to my second school Doji Elementary. I'm not sure what the bus schedule is, just that it comes every ten minutes or so. It's a reliable bus, too, one that goes to the Icheon E-mart (which is essentially a Target super store), so my morning bus ride is actually quite stress free.

True Korean Teacher Dinner

My first teacher dinner with the Doji staff was filled with beer, soju, sam gyeop sal, mul kimchi, two impromptu speeches, and noraebang. I had a really great time eating (like the best time eating) and after the main part of the meal was done, I was so happy to talk with some of the Doji teachers. I met four teachers who are my age -- How old are you? Twenty-five?! Friends. -- and it was great to chat about twentysomething stuff with them.

Everyone got febreezed on the way out the restaurant door (to get rid of the grilled meat smell?) and we headed to the noraebang, which is basically a private karaoke singing room. It's funny, but this was an obligation. One of the teachers told me that Doji was too small of a school to hope to sneak out of singing and go home. Everyone was expected to sing, especially my co-teacher because he's new and Korean. For the last song, we all stood in a half circle, held hands, and the mic was passed verse by verse down the line. Five hours later, I'm home. Wednesday, you may have killed me. 

The highlight of my day: waiting outside by the front door at Doam. My Doji co-teacher would pick me up for the teacher dinner. While I stood there, one of the little second graders came hopping towards me. "Oh, hello," he always says when he sees me. My teacher friend KH comes out and I dunno, we three just stand there and talk in broken English. Then, one of my fifth grade students joins us and gives me a picture he drew and colored -- "Hero Cookie Man." I was also really happy to receive a very pretty basket of flowers at the teacher dinner. It's the simple things that get me through the social things ::

Korean Elementary Schools, what they're made of

Unlike American elementary schools, Korean schools have a distinct look. "Korean school spotted," is on of my favorite in-my-head catch phrases when exploring a Korean city. It's an insanely easy and comforting game haha. 

A massive, dirt playground is a key feature. Doubling as a soccer field, a track, a performance-dance space, a bus drop-off and pick-up area, and a parking lot for parents on special days, all the Korean elementary schools have one. Bordering its outside edges are monkey bars, slides, swings, and other playground equipment. Doam and Doji also have basketball courts. Trees and statues of various Korean figures, such as King Sejong, line the side of the dirt playground that the main school building sits on.

Doam Elementary School 

First week at two schools, Doji thoughts

[On February 18th, I was told by my employer, Doam Elementary, that I would start working at a second school, Doji Elementary, two days a week. Three days a week, I continue to teach at Doam.]

Happy White Day! Students at my new school kept coming into the English classroom with candy, and I finally made a comment about it to my Doji co-teacher Seong Ho. He told me that it was White Day, similar to Pepero Day. A second "Valentine's Day" where boys and girls give sweet candy instead of chocolates is how he described it. I liked that they were comfortable enough to approach me since I met three of my classes for the first time today - and I'm the first native or foreigner English teacher at Doji in either two or five years. I've been told both so...

The first week (or two days) at my new school went well. It was reminiscent of my first week at Doam back in September, minus jet-lag and culture shock. I had classes, met the principal (who is referred to as the royal director), and was introduced to the various teachers as we ran into each other in the hallways. It was nice not to be completely lost - a sign of growth for sure. I am an expert at what it's like to be a native English teacher in my section of Korea.

Pop sad, then happy

[On February 18th, I was told by my employer, Doam Elementary, that I would start working at a second school, Doji Elementary, two days a week. Three days a week, I continue to teach at Doam.]

I'm revisiting some of the hard feelings the night before I start at my new elementary school. It's not necessarily the extra work, though that is a sore point (eight different textbooks and all these 4-1, 4-2, 3-1, 6-2, 3-2, 5-1, 2-1, 6-1, 5-2 classes to keep bloody straight), but it absolutely is the fact that all the time spent coordinating and tweaking lessons is the result of someone who thought this was a good idea. It's not fair to the students and it's not fair to my co-teachers. I truly don't mind being busy. I've been super efficient with my time and I'm getting it done. I just need to shake the annoyance and I'll be set to go. 

So, to finish off finely wording my complaints about teaching in Korea, let me just say how thankful I am to have two hard-working co-teachers and how much fun I have talking and interacting with my students. Kids are amazing. Also, I'd send a warning letter to the next Doam native English teacher in a heart beat. 

Moving on, I thought it would be fitting to address what makes me pop sad and pop happy. Inspired by NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour segment titled "Pop Culture That Makes Us Cry & Somali Pirates" and a tweet from one of my favorite twitter accounts posing the question and judgement of the question, "how often are you supposed to cry?" here are my lists: