RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Can someone please explain to me why the English exam is entirely in Korean? Questions and directions are in Korean. Answers are either Korean or English transliterated into Hangul. How does this test their English in any way?

Cuz the stupid test is listening. And if it's not, there must be a reading passage in English where everything else is in Korean.

Can someone please explain to me why the English exam is entirely in Korean? Questions and directions are in Korean. Answers are either Korean or English transliterated into Hangul. How does this test their English in any way?

What grade are you teaching?

What grade are you teaching?

Elementary. So I can understand directions being given in Korean, but not really the questions and answers because this is stuff they should have learned during the year.

Cuz the stupid test is listening. And if it's not, there must be a reading passage in English where everything else is in Korean.

Pretty sure it's a listening test. I have yet to see or hear mention of a reading passage.

But what grade are you teaching?

3rd through 6th. And all the exams I've seen for all four grades are the same way.

The 6th grade exam has a small section (like 3 questions, from what I've seen) of "give the next sentence in the dialogue" that has English answers. But that's the most English I've seen.

But what grade are you teaching?

3rd through 6th. And all the exams I've seen for all four grades are the same way.

The 6th grade exam has a small section (like 3 questions, from what I've seen) of "give the next sentence in the dialogue" that has English answers. But that's the most English I've seen.

Third grade tests don't feature much English text because reading and writing are not a primary part of that curriculum. In fourth grade, writing single words is introduced to reading and writing tests, while listening and speaking tests use pictures (mostly).

Fifth grade tests usually feature some limited phrase writing sections, and may also mix different types of tests into one test with sections, such as having listening, reading, and writing in one test.

In sixth grade, limited sentence writing may be required, and most tests are no longer segregated into types, and instead feature all three types of test: listening, reading, and writing. Speaking tests are usually still separated, and usually very laxly tested.

The reason you're not seeing much English text on the tests is because they're usually made to rigorously follow the curriculum, and not include any vocabulary or skills which are not directly taught to that grade. Since the words that would be used for giving instructions aren't usually words that are included in the national curriculum, they aren't included on tests.

That said, I don't necessarily agree with how it's done, but there is a reason why tests are the way they are - it's not just arbitrary goofiness.

Okay. I guess that sort of makes sense. It just surprised me because even my 3rd graders have dedicated reading and writing sections in their textbooks, and my co made a huge deal out of them learning to read by the end of the first semester. They're all literate in English, so I was expecting them to actually use written English on their exams.

That, and all I can see is having to go back next year and get them to un-learn the mispronunciations they get from trying to transliterate between Hangul and English.

But what grade are you teaching?

3rd through 6th. And all the exams I've seen for all four grades are the same way.

The 6th grade exam has a small section (like 3 questions, from what I've seen) of "give the next sentence in the dialogue" that has English answers. But that's the most English I've seen.

Third grade tests don't feature much English text because reading and writing are not a primary part of that curriculum. In fourth grade, writing single words is introduced to reading and writing tests, while listening and speaking tests use pictures (mostly).

Fifth grade tests usually feature some limited phrase writing sections, and may also mix different types of tests into one test with sections, such as having listening, reading, and writing in one test.

In sixth grade, limited sentence writing may be required, and most tests are no longer segregated into types, and instead feature all three types of test: listening, reading, and writing. Speaking tests are usually still separated, and usually very laxly tested.

The reason you're not seeing much English text on the tests is because they're usually made to rigorously follow the curriculum, and not include any vocabulary or skills which are not directly taught to that grade. Since the words that would be used for giving instructions aren't usually words that are included in the national curriculum, they aren't included on tests.

That said, I don't necessarily agree with how it's done, but there is a reason why tests are the way they are - it's not just arbitrary goofiness.

Okay. I guess that sort of makes sense. It just surprised me because even my 3rd graders have dedicated reading and writing sections in their textbooks, and my co made a huge deal out of them learning to read by the end of the first semester. They're all literate in English, so I was expecting them to actually use written English on their exams.

That, and all I can see is having to go back next year and get them to un-learn the mispronunciations they get from trying to transliterate between Hangul and English.

Then in high school it goes back to almost completely Korean.

Okay. I guess that sort of makes sense. It just surprised me because even my 3rd graders have dedicated reading and writing sections in their textbooks, and my co made a huge deal out of them learning to read by the end of the first semester. They're all literate in English, so I was expecting them to actually use written English on their exams.

That, and all I can see is having to go back next year and get them to un-learn the mispronunciations they get from trying to transliterate between Hangul and English.

You have a good coteacher, then. Most of the tests or 수행평가 are from the textbook publishers. I've never encountered any which included transliterated English in Hangul, or vice versa. It might exist, but that's not something I've encountered on tests anywhere I've worked.

Despite having a reading and writing section in the textbook, the curriculum explicitly states that the focus for third grade is supposed to be introduction and basic speaking and listening, and the writing is included as a secondary focus. This is not in any way a good idea, so your coteacher teaching them to read is fantastic.

But, what's included on tests needs to follow some very narrow guidelines, or there's the potential for parents or students to complain about fairness, which nobody wants.

The transliteration is more for the open-ended answers. Like they can write "그린" instead of "green".

I was never shown the curriculum, so that's also nice to know about that. I was just handed the textbook and told to get on with it. But they definitely need to learn to read early on, and my co is really good at teaching reading.

Curse my stupid romantic heart. 

Well, guess I've learned yet another lesson.

Curse my stupid romantic heart. 

Well, guess I've learned yet another lesson.

Sorry to hear that, keep your chin up!

Dating here is really hard.  Not sure what went sour for you but in my experience, cultural difference along with the language barrier is insurmountable.

Each year I forget how cold it gets at school and as soon as late November rolls around, I feel crushed by it.

I get that mold is an issue with many buildings here but my question is this:  will mold really grow in the corridors of a HUGE school if the windows are closed?  There's no heating in the corridors so I don't see why we can't at least close all the windows and the front doors.  Mold isn't going to grow in cavernous hallways with no heating is it? 

Each year I forget how cold it gets at school and as soon as late November rolls around, I feel crushed by it.

I get that mold is an issue with many buildings here but my question is this:  will mold really grow in the corridors of a HUGE school if the windows are closed?  There's no heating in the corridors so I don't see why we can't at least close all the windows and the front doors.  Mold isn't going to grow in cavernous hallways with no heating is it?

^^ this. This is why, even though I have a desk in the international office (something I thought I always wanted to have back when I was the elementary waygook and was feeling a tad lonely stuck in a classroom by myself [I got over it lol]) I sit in my classroom alone instead. The gym teachers are sitting with the heat on and all the windows flung open. And even though I have the heat on high in my classroom it's still drafty as heck in here, so I am sitting here with my oversized down coat on lol.

Do you get paid for starting 5 threads a day? Just wondering.

Do you get paid for starting 5 threads a day? Just wondering.

Who? me?

Do you get paid for starting 5 threads a day? Just wondering.

Who? me?

No.

Anyone. Just looking for some supplementary income.

Curse my stupid romantic heart. 

Well, guess I've learned yet another lesson.

Sorry to hear that, keep your chin up!

Dating here is really hard.  Not sure what went sour for you but in my experience, cultural difference along with the language barrier is insurmountable.

Another expat, actually.  I can't imagine dealing with a language/cultural barrier on top of the typical issues.  Seems I was just a rebound.  Feels greaaaat man

Anyone. Just looking for some supplementary income.

Thought you were considering driving a Korean city bus to easy street?

Anyone. Just looking for some supplementary income.

Thought you were considering driving a Korean city bus to easy street?

I failed the bus driving exam yesterday because an old fragile lady got on the bus during my driving exam and I let her sit down before driving off from the bus stop. The examiner said that my actions cost 1.7 seconds of wasted time which meant that Mrs Kim 3 rows back was late for being earlier than early for her trip to the local market where she just sits on the floor and moans about how cold it is all day with her twice removed cousin. He said I should have just stamped on the gas and sent the old bag flying down the aisle like a sack of spuds.

80 days.

Exactly 1,920 hours and 46 minutes from now I shall be leaving this country.

I keep looking at the ticket confirmation...it's so beautiful 

Someone sat down RIGHT beside me on the subway when there are plenty of empty seats all around and I'm kinda weirded out hahahah

One of the phrases I had to teach my students today was, "Here you are!"
I briefly mentioned after they said it a few times that it's a bit more common/friendly to say, "Here you go!"

So ya! Here you are. Here you go. Both OK! Alright, so now...
미국인병 teacher, [points to 'Here you go,'] they don't need to know that, it's just going to confuse them, OK? It just waste time.
No yeah, totally fine, just f()ck me I guess.

Works Cited

CO2, Kevin, "Emoji's to Format Dialogue With Co-Teacher." Waygook.org's Den of Thieves Community Forum 2017. Print.