Complete Newbie with no co-teacher!

[BGrimes]

Hi everyone,

I'm just starting as an elementary school teacher in Pohang and found out yesterday that I will be teaching 3rd-6th grade for all of their english classes- only help I get is from a 'home teacher' who'll stand down the back and assist with discipline if/when required, not even going to translate and these kids are very very low level.

As such I'd really appreciate anyone who can help me with this in any way. I don't mind if you're experienced or otherwise, if you have anything from good tips to already tried and tested lesson plans I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks in advance,

Barry

[Ryan]

Having the home room teacher in the room with you is very important for discipline and the kids usually are very disciplined for their homeroom teacher.  So DON"T let this slide.   It will be the most important thing.   Otherwise it will be hopeless. 

The lessons will suffer a bit with no translator for the kids.   But don't worry about it.  It's the schools problem not yours.   Just do your best.  Use the material on this site and other links and you should good.

[sbbaas]

I have the same situation. Since each lesson is four periods, the homeroom teacher does the first period. Basically they just play the CD and translate the key phrases (all in the teacher's guide book). Maybe your school would be open to this suggestion? It has worked very well. While I teach the remaining three lessons, there is NO Korean. The content of lessons is fairly easy for all, so don't worry. Homeroom teachers monitor behavior and participation which is very helpful.

I was stressed at first not to have the support of a co-teacher, but the times that I have had one, it was actually more stressful. The teacher constantly made errors and pronunciation was poor. Not to mention, many times they speak more Korean than English so I felt like a fool standing there having NO idea what was going on. This situation will be okay 

[complex303]

If you plan on using the CD you should be ok.  If you need help disciplining the class I would use your co-teacher.  But if there is no co-teacher here are some things I do:

1. For 1 or a few kids disrupting class - stare at them, stand next to them, ask them to stand up, call out their names, and if that doesn't work, tell them "One more time and I will move you." while pointing to a chair in the front of the classroom or away from their friends.

2. If you want to quiet down the class - Clap 3 times rapidly saying 1,2,3.  Then teach them to mimic you.  After clapping there's a nice period of silence.  I've also used "If you can hear me, clap once." Usually one or two students knows the word 'clap' and I use hand signals to say 1.  I say "Thank you" to those that clapped, and go on to say "If you can hear me, clap twice." etc..

Here are some games I play to supplement the CD.
1. Please game (Simon Says) - works well with most verbs. 
2. Mime game - also works well with most actions.
3. Pictionary - works well with nouns like food or clothing.
4. Racing game - works well with dialogues.  For example: Split the class into two teams and choose a student to be the runner.  The students stand up. Practice the key phrases, and then say "Go!" The runner says "What's your name?" to a student on their team.  That student answers and sits down.  The first team with everyone sitting down wins.
5. The Bomb/Typhoon/Banana game - PPT game
6. I say You say - Using flashcards or a PPT.  Have 5 or 6 pictures up.  Point to one and say what it is.  For example "Tiger", and the students repeat.  But if you say the wrong word for that picture, the students should be silent.
7. Pass the ball - PPT game
8. Speed writing - Split the class into two teams lined up at the board. Say a word.  For example "Saturday".  One student from each team writes ONE letter.  Then the next writes the second letter, and so on. 
9. Songs - Many lessons have better songs on Youtube that other teacher's have made up.  For example, for '6th Grade Lesson 10 I'm taller than you' you can use Daft Punk's 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' song.

Good luck teaching and I hope this helps.

[Ashlea]

You will be okay, after some lessons failing miserably and others being the best thing since sliced bread, you will find your stride. Also games for children are the best, there are plenty under the elementary section on here..remember what works for some people wont work for others, as with classes, I've totally bombed a lesson with 2 of my 5 classes I was teaching too...use a lot of pictures, and A LOT of body language with kids...repetition and speaking slowly is important!!! also, you should talk to your home room teacher after the lesson and see if she/he can offer any advice, or you can show them in advance and tell them what you expect of them..that's worked for me. Generally, the teachers dont want you to fail...I mean if the class is bad, it's bad for them too..

[derekh]

Barry,

Don't worry. In the first year, we all seem to get this same story.

I work in a Middle School, so obviously my students are a little better than yours ... and I stress "little".

Anyway, one trick to get them learning fast:

1. Teach the basics of the subject. repetition. repitition. repitition
2. Next session, have a quiz on it.
3. Get one volunteer out from each table. The volunteers face their teams.
4. Behind the volunteers, show pictures of your keywords / phrases
5. The teams can use korean and/or English to get give a hint to the volunteers about what they can see.
6. The volunteers have to tell you in English ... they get a point for correct answer.

It really sets up a competitive streak in the kiddies. You'll find that your quiet class quickly turns into a English-speaking frenzy ... rather good fun for me!! Haha!

Hi everyone,

I'm just starting as an elementary school teacher in Pohang and found out yesterday that I will be teaching 3rd-6th grade for all of their english classes- only help I get is from a 'home teacher' who'll stand down the back and assist with discipline if/when required, not even going to translate and these kids are very very low level.

As such I'd really appreciate anyone who can help me with this in any way. I don't mind if you're experienced or otherwise, if you have anything from good tips to already tried and tested lesson plans I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks in advance,

Barry

[worldteacher]

FLASH CARDS ARE YOUR NEW TRANSLATOR!!!

Lots of other advice has already been given but get comfortable with powerpoint and the printer.

[Paul]

Lucky bugger.

Think of it this way. How good your work environment is is ENTIRELY up to you. Once you get on top of things, enjoy the luxury of being able to plan ahead - no crunch time rubbish, knowing exactly where your students are in their studies and being able to better cater to them, as much respect from the staff and students as you command. Lay down class rules ASAP and stick to them.

Furthermore, you now have complete control over lesson planning. That means you'll deliver nearly the same lesson to each of your classes of the same grade, no messing around with catering to maverick co-teachers. Thats a serious relief.

To get the students to respond well, try to include the home room teacher in the class. Give them defined roles, but include speaking ones. Use them to model language targets. If the kids see their precious home room teacher respond to you, they'll be motivated to try themselves. Incidently, along these lines, don't fear if a home room teacher doesn't know much/any English: if the co-teacher borks up, doesn't matter, they tried and the students will respect that. Praise the home room teacher to show it clearly (but careful not to accidently do anything that could be misinterpreted as speaking down to them, they are your colleagues not your students!) Big barrier to language acquisition is the fear of failing: and learning from mistakes is language acquisition its all about.