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* References & Materials
In Korea
a good library is hard to come by. There are too many
people, and not enough libraries in Korea. In addition,
most libraries are privately own. They don’t allow
the public to use their facilities. Not like abroad,
where the good places all have a library full of materials.
So you better be able to scrounge around or get materials
from other teachers, but it is always a good idea to
own a little material of your own. It is advisable to
bring some useful references or study material with
you from back home. EnglishGo.com, plans to publish
our own references and materials for the teachers and
the students learning English.
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Discussion Topics
Good
discussion topics are best because they are hardest
to come across when you arrive in Seoul but other material
are useful too. Best way to teach your students is there
gather materials from American newspapers, magazines,
or novelty stories. Try to avoid anything that is too
much to handy. Anything that is heavy duty isn’t necessary.
Remember, the English you may know might be simple enough
for an eight year old, but Koreans are not familiar
with American culture, and will struggle with colloquialisms
and idioms that we take for granted. Also choose subjects
that might be interesting, fun and enjoyable. Sports
may be an interesting topic but might not offer much
scope for discussion. Different classes have different
group dynamics and will be suited to different subjects.
University students may enjoy talking about dating,
drinking, smoking and partying, while salary men might
clam up when approaching the same topic. News articles,
try to include a couple of good photographs or illustrations
to help them understand the writing. Students are always
interested in learning new expressions and terms. Jokes
and slang are popular among the older students. Be careful
in teaching the younger children. Foul languages will
draw-up complaints from parents.
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Songs
If a cassette recorder
is available, then music is a good way to break up the
many grammar sessions and the dying atmosphere of your
boring class. Liven up your student’s mood. The music
you play depends on the ability of your students. Young
children just starting out to learn English might have
difficulty with anything more than the alphabets "ABC".
Older students may enjoy Pop Songs. Soft music and ballards
may be popular. Even though you have the class singing
your music, remember to go over the lyrics and have
the songs explain to your students. They will need a
full understanding of each song. Warning! If you cannot
hear what the music is about, then do not expect some
poor Korean to understand either. Stick with the easier
songs and you should have some fun. Just because you
are being paid well, it does not mean that you cannot
have fun.
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Videos
Feature length
movies and animations are invariably too long to hold
students attention. Even though, the foreign films available
in Korea are subtitled in English. Showing movies should
be done as an extra curriculum activity, and try not
to make it a regular thing. This will disappoint the
students because it will lesson their practice of spoken
English. But some are sometimes useful. Some movies
and TV episodes is sometimes practiced by describing
the different tenses, jokes, idioms of English. Unfortunately
some may be little old now and some are wearing thin.
Remember to use the American NTSC VHS system over there,
not PAL VHS. A good alternative is to record news and
documentaries from local television. And never over-estimate
the listening comprehension abilities of your students.
Videos recommended by EnglishGo.com, Disney animations
are fun and interesting. It will enlighten students
of all ages. In addition, all the videos are subtitled
in English.
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Business English
Company
students may well appreciate working through a few Business
situations and job advertisements that you could cut
from the newspaper or magazines. Business English ranges
from learning to write resumes, sending faxes, answering
telephone, meeting foreigners and more.
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Games
Many teachers have their own versions of Scrabble
and some Institutes have their own board games. Students
appreciate something new rather the same tired old Scrabble,
so you might want to invest in something before you
arrive to Korea. Games to be avoided: Games like Trivial
Pursuit should be avoided, because the Korean students
have a limited knowledge about anything that goes on
internationally. Games recommended by EnglishGo.com,
games like Boggle, Monopoly, The Game of Life, Jenga,
and Uno are old games but unavailable in Korea. These
games will keep your students very interested in learning
English. Try to play games that will help them practice
their English speaking skills and fun to play.
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Computers
Interactive
educational software and cyber English education has
not really taken off in Korea. Most places do not have
the facilities to cope with the expenses. But, we at
English.com will invest all of our power and interest
in running cyber English education and have computers
available to the students at our schools. On the other
hand, if you have your own Multi-Media Pentium powered
laptop, complete with CD-ROM and active matrix color
screen, and then it may be a very useful tool for teaching
private students. Laptops are very popular among expat
workers, so if you have one invested in a networking
program and leads so that you can add to your software
library.
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Puzzles / Cartoons
Simple crosswords from children's
books are useful as are word searches for vocabulary
lessons. Cartoons and Comic Strips, some of the words
or phrases from them like Hagar the Horrible, Garfield,
Snoopy, and Peanuts is quite popular in Korea. It is
a fun way for students to practice their English recognition
skills.
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Practical Jokes
A few
well-chosen practical joke can make your classes much
more fun for everybody involved. Do not use dirty or
nasty jokes to your students. Introducing practical
jokes can add a bit of relaxation, less formal attitude
to your study session. So, check out your local novelty
store, newspaper or magazine before you leave home and
gather up on anything that might be a bit of humorous
in your lessons. |
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