Teaching!

I love my students!

I just wanted to start my post off with saying that. Teaching is not the easiest thing. It's been one of the most challenging parts of being here. But it's also the reason I'm here, and it's the most rewarding experience I've had while in Korea. I teach English to kids grades 4-6, Monday-Friday in both curriculum and after school classes. I also do teacher training once a week, so I can help the teachers improve their English skills.

While I don't see myself teaching for life, it's something that I can unabashedly say that I'm good at. Everyday is different, so I look forward to learning something new and it's a skill that I can develop. During my first week, I didn't really know what to expect! I was pretty nervous and had to remind myself that they were just kids! And not little monsters. Well, most of them. :) Over the course of two months I have had kids tear their textbook, slam doors, yell, talk back to my co-teacher, and I had a fight break out in my 4th grade classroom. I'm not fazed by any of it, but I do need to learn how to become better at classroom management. I still need to perfect my reward system because I would like to have 100% control over the classroom. Putting classroom management aside, the kids are really adorable and charming. In South Korea, kids are required to clean their classrooms and take care of their schools, which teaches them a great deal of responsibility. Everyday I see kids mopping the hallways, and cleaning the bathrooms. After the students finish their meals in the cafeteria they go to their homeroom teacher so she can check that they finished their food before they put their tray away. Bowing is also emphasized as a form of respect, so when I walk past a student or another teacher, we usually bow our heads at one another. As I walk down the halls I'm greeted with kids saying "hello!" and I am still welcomed by that everyday! "Hi teacher! How's it going?" I love it when they use language that they learned in my class. :)

Lesson on "directions". Kids are in teams, and one is blindfolded
while the other has to direct their partner to the end! In English of course. :)

My 5th & 6th grade after school class. We did a lesson on St Patrick's Day,
where we made a rainbow attached to a pot of gold. Each student got to write their wish on the pot. 

My favorite part about teaching is my afterschool class, which I do twice a week because I get to be creative and do whatever lesson I want! So we have loads of fun learning English. Curriculum is a bit more restricted because I have to teach by the textbook, but I still try to think of fun activities to replace the boring ones. :P

Let me know if you have any particular questions about teaching kids English in Korea! :)

- Anisha