March 1, 2009

• February Classes

  February Classes

  The February classes have come to an end. For me it was the great experiment: how do I work with six-seven year olds who speak little to no English and have varying degrees of knowledge and proficiency? Thank heavens I had the help of Kim, my Korean teaching partner. Whenever the children would get to the frustration level with instructions--not always because of the language barrier but because I would go too fast or expect them to catch on too quickly--she would step in with Korean and help me with the one-on-one. She would also understand the bosses' objectives much better than I would, so she was there to instruct me also. I think it worked. The children did learn a few things. And I learned a lot!

  We had our Little Pig Opera and parent orientation Saturday, Feb. 28th. When we began learning the songs to tell the story of the Three Little Pigs, I thought, “There’s no way this is going to work.” Oh me of little faith! The children did learn the songs--for the most part. Actually, I’m not sure they ever really grasped the words or concept of “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin”, but other lines and songs they truly incorporated into their new vernacular. I was reading The Hungry Caterpillar the last week of class, and on the second reading when I got to the part of the big, fat caterpillar, they all burst into song with the wolf’s song: “I want a big, fat, pig to eat!” In another part they jumped in with the pigs’ song: “No way, no way, no way no way will I let you in. Not by the mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble.”

  I got to meet most of my students’ parents from February and a few who will begin in March. Most speak some to proficient English. For those who didn’t, Kim was there to talk about our class and the student’s progress. A big concern for several of the parents is that school not be so demanding and so stressful that it takes the joy out of learning. My philosophy exactly. Korean schools, from what they tell me, can be very demanding and stressful. I’m not sure if it is the schools or the parents in this highly competitive scholastic environment. But I have heard this concern reiterated since I came here. Even here at Spring (my school) we seem to have an awful lot of material to cover, but I remember substituting in elementary years ago and being overwhelmed with all the textbooks and workbooks the kids and teachers had to deal with every day.

  I mentioned that I think the children in February did learn a little bit. Well, one thing I know they did learn was farm animals. Every day we did flash cards with pig, hen, horse, cow, goat, duck, goose, dog, sheep, donkey, farmer, and tractor. We did the phonics beginning sounds. We made the animal sounds. We did work sheets. We made barns and put animals inside. We sang “Old Mac Donald.” We played “The Farmer in the Dell.” Kim found a book and CD in our library called Down on the Farm. The last two weeks, we read the book and sang the song every day: “There are many sounds that you can hear, down on the farm. The rooster on the fence goes cock-a-doodle-doo. The dog on the porch goes woof-woof-woof. ETC” The last day, the last hour I pulled out the book and the CD. There was a lot of in the ear whispering and giggling, but I just chalked that up to youthful enthusiasm. We sang about the first animal, “The rooster on the fence goes. . .” and the students all burst out with ‘Moo-moo-moo.” Quizzical me goes on to the next page. More whispering and giggling. “The dog goes--cock-a-doodle-do.” We all laughed so hard: conspiracy, collaboration, mutiny! But what I really saw was creative thinking, leadership, and so much laughter. It was fun! Again I learned a lot.

  Trying to make English alphabet letters correctly, staying in the lines or getting out of them when need be--like g and j--counting above ten--really, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fifteen make no sense at all as words, learning phonetical sounds for the letters and the words that go along with them, copying short sentences--how do you make this stuff fun and interesting so they can learn it. I’m learning a lot.

  One of the things I am in a delima over is teaching manners and politeness. I have talked to my Korean bosses and fellow teachers about this. How far do we go? Is our purpose here to acclimate these children to English/American ways as well as language? With the Koreans I am around at school, in the shops, and on the street, I don’t hear “please,” “thank you,” “you’re welcome,” or “excuse me.” There is a phrase for “thank you” but the context seems different. And people always seem surprised when I say it to them--and not just because my accent is so bad! There is no holding doors for people. When someone bumps into you, there is no “excuse me.” The Korean way is just different. There is no right side to walk on. Everyone is all over the place, so there is a lot of bumping and chargning ahead. So how far do we go with the Anglicized version. I am surprised how much I find myself saying things like “please” and “thank you.” It is surely engrained in us. I am, however, losing the “excuse me” and becoming as rude and pushy as everyone else seems to be.

  Well, tomorrow starts the new classes with almost all new students. The students Kim and I will have are the advanced six year olds who have some English. I have no idea what that means or how much they know. I do know that one of the students is probably ADD, and we have been warned of what to expect. I haven’t gone over my textbooks or lesson plans for my multitude of subjects, so I had better hit the books. Yep, I’m learning a lot!

  • 2:41 am
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