This is how I imagine you saying that:
Why do you hate speaking tests so much?? The way I see it, it's a free week of not having to teach. At least at my schools, my teachers give me the rest of the period off once the testing for that class is finished.
Overall, this is a mentally draining time for me due to both boredom and frustration. I think the speaking tests are a big waste of everyone's time because they don't actually effectively evaluate language abilities as they currently are, and too many people cheat the system anyway.
Korea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.
Quote from: Aristocrat on June 20, 2018, 01:53:30 pmKorea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.The afterschool teacher at my old school could barely string together "Hi, my name is --." Trying to undo all the crap she'd taught my students the year before was terrible. I will never, ever for the life of me understand why they allow people to teach a subject they don't even know. As far as I know, only contract teachers have to pass a certain TOEFL level to maintain their contracts. Regular teachers don't have to do that.
Quote from: tadpole511 on June 20, 2018, 02:02:10 pmQuote from: Aristocrat on June 20, 2018, 01:53:30 pmKorea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.The afterschool teacher at my old school could barely string together "Hi, my name is --." Trying to undo all the crap she'd taught my students the year before was terrible. I will never, ever for the life of me understand why they allow people to teach a subject they don't even know. As far as I know, only contract teachers have to pass a certain TOEFL level to maintain their contracts. Regular teachers don't have to do that.But the qualification requirements for contract teachers are generally much lower and a much less restrictive barrier than the qualifications required to be a regular teacher these days. Note: older teachers are still hit or miss, but almost any teacher under 33-35 (at least in Seoul) is going to be more than proficient in English, because the competition to get into public teaching jobs is savage, and only the highest level people tend to get in. So, while contract teachers have too pass a certain TOEFL level, they don't necessarily have to be of the same caliber that regular teachers are. And those TOEFL tests are a joke, anyways.
Quote from: Kayos on June 19, 2018, 02:22:17 pmQuote from: yirj17 on June 19, 2018, 02:20:55 pmIn the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself Really? lol. Has he sold any?No idea. Didn't stick around to see
Quote from: yirj17 on June 19, 2018, 02:20:55 pmIn the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself Really? lol. Has he sold any?
In the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself
My PoE is having one of its semiannual provincial training seminars this Friday. That alone is reason enough to want to rant and vent, but my school has decided I need to come in and teach my first period class that morning, too. That means I get to make the 45 minute commute in the opposite direction of the training location, teach one class, then make the 2 hour trip to the training, finding some time/place to eat lunch on the way (no food or drinks in the training rooms, of course).
My PoE is having one of its semiannual provincial training seminars this Friday. That alone is reason enough to want to rant and vent, but my school has decided I need to come in and teach my first period class that morning, too. That means I get to make the 45 minute commute in the opposite direction of the training location, teach one class, then make the 2 hour trip to the training, finding some time/place to eat lunch on the way (no food or drinks in the training rooms, of course).Every other time, I've been allowed to just stay home in the morning and go straight from my apartment to training, which allows me to just eat at home, cuts out the morning commute, and cuts the travel time to the venue in half. I don't know why they've decided it needs to be different this time, but I'm... less than thrilled about it.
Quote from: yirj17 on June 19, 2018, 04:05:59 pmQuote from: Kayos on June 19, 2018, 02:22:17 pmQuote from: yirj17 on June 19, 2018, 02:20:55 pmIn the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself Really? lol. Has he sold any?No idea. Didn't stick around to see Oh. Uhh... That's too bad. haha
Quote from: Kayos on June 21, 2018, 08:39:40 amQuote from: yirj17 on June 19, 2018, 04:05:59 pmQuote from: Kayos on June 19, 2018, 02:22:17 pmQuote from: yirj17 on June 19, 2018, 02:20:55 pmIn the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself Really? lol. Has he sold any?No idea. Didn't stick around to see Oh. Uhh... That's too bad. hahaIt's not the first time I've seen him so I do wonder if he's actually had any sales
Quote from: Mister Tim on June 20, 2018, 02:31:18 pmMy PoE is having one of its semiannual provincial training seminars this Friday. That alone is reason enough to want to rant and vent, but my school has decided I need to come in and teach my first period class that morning, too. That means I get to make the 45 minute commute in the opposite direction of the training location, teach one class, then make the 2 hour trip to the training, finding some time/place to eat lunch on the way (no food or drinks in the training rooms, of course).Every other time, I've been allowed to just stay home in the morning and go straight from my apartment to training, which allows me to just eat at home, cuts out the morning commute, and cuts the travel time to the venue in half. I don't know why they've decided it needs to be different this time, but I'm... less than thrilled about it.can't you just go to the seminar, sign your name, then leave? that's what i used to do (and the korean english teachers)
Quote from: oglop on June 21, 2018, 11:43:30 amcan't you just go to the seminar, sign your name, then leave? that's what i used to do (and the korean english teachers)That wouldn't really solve the problem of having to commute to one city, teach one class, then commute to a different city in the opposite direction for the seminar, haha.
can't you just go to the seminar, sign your name, then leave? that's what i used to do (and the korean english teachers)
Quote from: Mister Tim on June 21, 2018, 01:29:03 pmQuote from: oglop on June 21, 2018, 11:43:30 amcan't you just go to the seminar, sign your name, then leave? that's what i used to do (and the korean english teachers)That wouldn't really solve the problem of having to commute to one city, teach one class, then commute to a different city in the opposite direction for the seminar, haha.Would having a friend sign for you solve the problem?
It's a small grievance but it's really starting to grate on my nerves. My school LOVES using the English room as its meeting/presentation room. I don't mind. What I do mind is the fact that they always rearrange the desks for their events and then leave them like that. Could you not take a simple 5 minutes with your group and put the desks back the way they were? Instead, I have to spend the first 5 minutes of my class getting the students to help me put the desks back in order. Maybe it's a sign that I'm ready to leave Korea. I only have two more months here but it seems like even the small stuff is starting to bother me. I think it's good I'm leaving soon.