Tips fot Teachers   ● Some Korean students may have difficulty pronouncing sound /l/ and /r/.     Tongue twister practice might help. For example, let the students read this: ‘Red    Lorry, yellow Lorry, red Lorry, yellow Lorry’.   ● In Korean there are many compound verbs, whereas in English there are few.      The students of Korean background may have a tendency to add redundancies in the verb uses. It could be useful and entertaining to quiz the students about what the equivalent of an English verb is in Korean and then have her/him translate it literally into English.   ● Korean students are used to viewing teachers as authority figures in class:      A teacher is a person who leads the class and speaks most; students listen and take notes. To encourage more students¯ participation, teachers may want to talk explicitly about expectations for students.      Teachers need to help students understand that they themselves are the ones who will construct their knowledge and teachers can be facilitators or helpers in the process of students' own knowledge construction.   ● One potential challenge in teaching Korean students may be their shyness in responding to questions.      A Korean student may be unwilling to ask a question or to indicate if he/she has not understood. Comprehension checks by the teachers are important and should be done on a regular basis.  ● Korean students are generally very indirect in expressing their opinions, which is very different from that of Westerns      According to the tradition and influence of Confucianism, most students have become accustomed to saving their words in all situations. Some tips given by Lee (1996) below can help deal with this problem:     Show your concern about interesting Korean events or topics and often contrast them with Canadian ones.     Use interesting articles or textbooks, and avoid ones that are too difficult or too easy. Lessen the time allotment given to grammar. Instead, introduce widely used 'practical' terms. When some students are not confident in activities involving speaking or writing, you should gradually increase the amount of time spent practicing them. Continually try to change their deeply-rooted positional type characteristics to the personal type in order to encourage them to voluntarily participate in discussions. Compliment their active participation.     In addition to the objectives of the English courses, consider the needs of each student. Tips for Foreign English Instructors Co-teaching with a Korean English Teacher  ● Co-teaching and Teacher Roles Generally speaking the native teacher will be responsible for designing and writing lesson plans and handouts. Korean English teachers have an enormous workload, and it is not realistic or practical to ask them to participate in lesson planning and designing unless they volunteer to do so. Also, expect to do a lot of demonstrating and modeling of the teaching styles and methods that you have experienced in your home country, and that you may have training in from your university, or specialized courses like TEFL, TESL, TESOL, and CELTA.  ● Cultural Lessons In cultural lessons, for example “Halloween,” often, the Korean English teacher will also be your student. Expecting them to actively co-teach when they are learning the material at the same time is not realistic. After your co-teacher has absorbed the material, and discussed it with you, they can then take a more active co-teaching role if they (and you) feel they understand the material.  ● Reading and Writing Lessons If you choose to do a reading and/or writing lesson this is a time when your co-teacher will likely take a much more active role in the co-teaching dynamic. NOTE: Teaching writing is a complex task for new teachers to attempt. If you design a lesson for your students I highly recommend trying to find some time BEFORE CLASS, in fact, the week before you will actually teach the lesson, and go over it with your co-teacher. Be open to suggestions about what might be improved or changed.  ● Game/Activity Focused Lessons Korean English teachers generally do not get many chances to use games or activities in their classrooms. They have to be careful with time management, and covering the required materials that students will be tested on. This usually means that there is little time for integrating a game or activity into the lesson plan. However, there are some Korean teachers who do use games and activities in their lesson plans. So, with this in mind remember that you will need to explain clearly and carefully what the rules of the game/activity are, and how to do it. Your co-teacher will need to have a complete understanding of the game/activity, and how to teach it, and what students need to know and be helped with, before they can co-teach with you. Simply put, until your co-teacher has seen you demonstrate how to teach the game, play the game, and what English language you have to use for all of these things--do not expect them to actively engage in the co-teaching process unless you EXPLICITLY ask them to do something simple and small (and even then it may not be possible). Co-teaching Tips Remember . . . Every native English teacher is different. Every Korean English teacher is different. Every school and classroom has different conditions. Therefore being flexible, and adapting to the realities of your school and classroom conditions, is necessary for success. Tip#1 Classroom Behaviour Control The native English teacher and the Korean English teacher should work together to maintain order in the classroom while teaching. DESK PLAN: Arranging the classroom desks in different formations can aid in behaviour management. PROXIMITY: The KET or NET can move to stand near or next to a student/s that are not paying attention, talking, or being disruptive. Moving students to a different seat. Separating problem students/groups. Moving students to sit at the front of the class. Paring strong and weak English students. Tip #2 Translator Role Many native teachers try to explain, demonstrate, and model the English they are teaching for a class. If the students do not understand the English after attempting different things the Korean English teacher can then translate the English into Korean for the students. Sometimes asking one of the gifted students to translate the English into Korean also works very well. It gets the students participating in the learning process. And the way that a student will explain the English is sometimes more easily understood by the rest of the class. The student uses ideas and language speaking styles that Korean teachers do not use. Ask the Korean teacher to monitor what the student says to make sure it is accurate and that nothing is missed or lost in translation. Tip #3 Board work The native English teacher, or the Korean English teacher, can do board work while the other is teaching. Korean English teachers will already be experienced with how to teach English using the white board or chalkboard in your classroom. Ask them to write out vocabulary and definitions, key expressions, cultural ideas, and other things that students need to see on the board. Tip #4 Vocabulary and Conversation Drills Repetition drills are something that all Korean English teachers do extremely well. Ask your Korean co-teacher to run vocabulary/speaking drills while the native English teacher monitors/listens for things that need correcting. If the co-teacher is shy about modeling pronunciation in front of the students then be patient and understanding. Many, if not all, Korean English teachers do not like making mistakes in English when they are in front of 35-40 Korean students. No one likes to be embarrassed in front of large groups of people. It takes a special kind of courage in Korea to not be worried about making mistakes in front of students when you are a Korean teacher. Tip #5 Coaching/Supervising Pair/Group Work/Activities and Games. The native English teacher gives instructions 2-3 times. A demonstration/modeling of the activity/handout work/game is done for students. And if necessary the Korean English teacher can translate the instructions. The Korean English teacher, if they are comfortable with the situation and English, can give the second or third repetition of the instructions if possible. Another option is also asking one of the more talented English students to translate, with the Korean teacher monitoring what is said for any mistakes. Tip #6 Role-plays and Demonstrating Worksheets/Activities/Games When teaching a role-play situation in English the native English teacher can speak and demonstrate/model the English the first time for the Korean English teacher and the class. Sometimes, depending on lesson timings, the native English teacher and Korean English teacher can do a second demonstration with each taking a role in the dialogue. Waiting for the second time allows the Korean teacher to hear the pronunciation and other elements that they may not be sure of about the dialogue and cultural behaviour rules for the situation. Also consider asking one of the gifted English students to do a demonstration of the dialogue and role-play. Or, get two students to do a demonstration. NOTE: Keep the student demonstrations open to any volunteers. Sometimes students are weak in English in one topic or situation, and are strong in another. Also, after some time has passed and students grow more comfortable different students may volunteer who have never done so before. If you always choose the same “gifted” students the other students will never volunteer or try to do something different. Tip #7 Instructions for Handouts/Games/Activities Before the class begins, or while students are coming into the room and sitting down, go over the instructions for the lesson handout/game/activity. When teaching the lesson for the first time you will likely be the one doing most of the instruction, but later on in the week if you are teaching the same lesson again with the same co-teacher you can ask them to do this task as it should be familiar for them. It is probably a good idea to have the instructions written out in the lesson plan so that the Korean English teacher has something to refer to if they need it. NOTE: You should demonstrate how to give the instructions, or demonstration, before asking your co-teacher to do it. Tip #8 Take turns being the Stage Leader in a Lesson Engage  Native English Teacher  Korean English Teacher  Study  Native English Teacher  Korean English Teacher  Activate  Native English Teacher  Korean English Teacher What are some good tips for teaching kindergarten in Korea?    I.e. not losing one's temper and classroom management.  ● start class with a rhythmic activity Say something rhythmic while you slap your knees or clap your hands. That will announce your presence with a grand fanfare.  ● be quiet when you want the students to be quiet Realize it is tempting to yell, "QUIET!" but there are more effective ways. When a faction is being rowdy, whisper "Suzy is being quiet. Karen is being quiet." The members of the faction want to be recognized too, so they will snap into attention. If that doesn't work, hold a picture book or any other prop in front of the rowdy faction and speak in a quiet voice. They will have to become quiet in order to hear you.  ● repeat an utterance until everyone listens "I am going to the market. I don't think Billy heard me. I am going to the market. Billy heard me that time, but I don't think Larry did. I am going to the market." The class will get tired of hearing you "going to the market," so they will join you in pressuring the misbehaving students to behave. If you can turn the classroom clowns from heroes into villains, you will be in a very good position.    ● positive reinforcement It's hard to think about being nice when you're under the gun, but it works. When most of the students are misbehaving, look around the room and identify the students who are behaving. "Thank you, Rodney. Thank you, Stephen." Keep a list so that you can identify the students who behave for the entire class period. These students deserve a special reward. When some teachers hear the words "reward" or "reinforcement," they think about passing out candy, but there are many ways you can reward children without committing dental abuse. You could bring in a stack of picture books and allow each of those children to choose one picture book. Or you could do push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and curls, using each of those students as a barbell. Lesson Plan Format    By Kenneth Beare, About.com There are many different approaches to teaching English. However, most of these plans tend to follow this standard lesson plan format. 1 Warm-up 2 Presentation 3 Controlled practice 4 Free practice 5 Feedback    ● This lesson plan format is popular for many reasons including:    ● Students have a number of chances to learn a concept through various means    ● Students have plenty of time to practice    ● Teachers can give detailed instruction, or students can deduce structures and  learning        points through practice    ● The standard lesson plan format provides structure    ● It provides for variation over the course of 60 - 90 minutes    ● This lesson plan format moves from teacher centered to student centered learning Variations on the Lesson Plan Format Theme In order to keep this standard lesson plan format from becoming boring, it is important to remember that there are a number of variations that can be applied within the various segments of the lesson plan format. Warm-up Students might arrive late, tired, stressed or otherwise distracted to class. In order to get their attention, it's best to open with a warm-up activity. The warm-up can be as simple as telling a short story or asking students questions. The warm-up can also be a more thought-out activity such as playing a song in the background, or drawing an elaborate picture on the board. While it's fine to start a lesson with a simple "How are you", it's much better to tie your warm-up into the theme of the lesson. Presentation The presentation can take a variety of forms:    ● Reading selection    ● Soliciting students' knowledge about a specific point    ● Teacher centered explanation    ● Listening selection    ● Short video    ● Student presentation The presentation should include the main "meat" of the lesson. For example: If you are working on phrasal verbs, make the presentation by        providing a short reading extract peppered with phrasal verbs. Controlled practice The controlled practice section of the lesson provides students direct feedback on their comprehension of the task at hand. Generally, controlled practice involves some type of exercise. Remember that an exercise doesn't necessarily mean dry, rote exercises, although these can be used as well. Controlled practice should help the student focus on the main task and provide them with feedback - either by the teacher or other students. Free practice Free practice integrates the focus structure / vocabulary / functional language into students' overall language use. Free practice exercises often encourage students to use the target language structures in:    ● Small group discussions    ● Written work (paragraphs and essays)    ● Longer listening comprehension practice    ● Games The most important aspect of free practice is that students should be encouraged to integrate language learned into larger structures. This requires more of a "stand-off" approach to teaching. It's often useful to circulate around the room and take notes on common mistakes. In other words, students should be allowed to make more mistakes during this part of the lesson. Feedback Feedback allows students to check their understanding of the lesson's topic. Feedback can be done quickly at the end of class by asking students questions about the target structures. Another approach is to have students discuss the target structures in small groups, once again giving students the chance to improve their understanding on their own. Lesson Plan Format: A Final Word In general, it is important to use this lesson plan format to facilitate students' English learning on their own. The more opportunity for student centered learning, the more students acquire language skills for themselves. http://esl.about.com/ Student Correction Durring Class - How and When?   By Kenneth Beare, About.com A crucial issue for any teacher is when and how to correct students' English mistakes. Of course, there are a number of types of corrections that teachers are expected to make during the course of any given class. Here are the main type of mistakes that need to be corrected:    ● Grammatical mistakes (mistakes of verb tenses, preposition use, etc.)    ● Vocabulary mistakes (incorrect collocations, idiomatic phrase usage, etc.)    ● Pronunciation mistakes (errors in basic pronunciation, errors in word stressing in sentences,        errors in rhythm and pitch)    ● Written mistakes (grammar, spelling and vocabulary choice mistakes  in written work) The main issue at hand during oral work is whether or not to correct students as the make mistakes. Mistakes may be numerous and in various areas (grammar, vocabulary choice, pronunciation of both words and correct stressing in sentences). On the other hand, correction of written work boils down to how much correction should be done. In other words, should teachers correct every single mistake, or, should they give a value judgement and correct only major mistakes. Current Status Mistakes Made During Discussions and Activities With oral mistakes made during class discussions, there are basically two schools of thought: 1) Correct often and thoroughly 2) Let students make mistakes. Sometimes, teachers refine the choice by choosing to let beginners make many mistakes while correcting advanced students often. However, many teachers are taking a third route these days. This third route might be called 'selective correction'. In this case, the teacher decides to correct only certain errors. Which errors will be corrected is usually decided by the objectives of the lesson, or the specific exercise that is being done at that moment. In other words, if students are focusing on simple past irregular forms, then only mistakes in those forms are corrected (i.e., goed, thinked, etc.). Other mistakes, such as mistakes in a future form, or mistakes of collocations (for example: I made my homework) are ignored. Finally, many teachers also choose to correct students after the fact. Teachers take notes on common mistakes that students make. During the follow-up correction session the teacher then presents common mistakes made so that all can benefit from an analysis of which mistakes were made and why. Written Mistakes There are three basic approaches to correcting written work: 1) Correct each mistake 2) Give a general impression marking 3) Underline mistakes and / or give clues to the type of mistakes made and then let students correct the work themselves. What's all the Fuss About? There are two main points to this issue: If I allow students to make mistakes, I will reinforce the errors they are making. Many teachers feel that if they do not correct mistakes immediately, they will be helping reinforce incorrect language production skills. This point of view is also reinforced by students who often expect teachers to continually correct them during class. The failure to do so will often create suspicion on the part of the students. If I don't allow students to make mistakes, I will take away from the natural learning process required to achieve competency and, eventually, fluency. Learning a language is a long process during which a learner will inevitably make many, many mistakes. In other words we take a myriad of tiny steps going from not speaking a language to being fluent in the language. In the opinion of many teachers, students who are continually corrected become inhibited and cease to participate. This results in the exact opposite of what the teacher is trying to produce - the use of English to communicate. Why Correction is Necessary Correction is necessary. The argument that students just need to use the language and the rest will come by itself seems rather weak. Students come to us to teach them. If they want only conversation, they will probably inform us - or, they might just go to a chat room on the Internet. Obviously students need to be corrected as part of the learning experience. However, students also need to be encouraged to use the language. It is true that correcting students while they are trying their best to use the language can often discourage them. The most satisfactory solution of all is make correction an activity. Correction can be used as a follow-up to any given class activity. However, correction sessions can be used as a valid activity in and of themselves. In other words, teachers can set up an activity during which each mistake (or a specific type of mistake) will be corrected. Students know that the activity is going to focus on correction, and accept that fact. However, these activities should be kept in balance with other, more free-form, activities which give students the opportunity to express themselves without having to worry about being corrected every other word. Finally, other techniques should be used to make correction not only part of the lesson, but also a more effective learning tool for the students. These techniques include:    ● Deferring correction to the end of an activity    ● Taking notes on typical mistakes made by many students    ● Correcting only one type of error    ● Giving students clues to the type of error they are making (in written work) but allowing them to        correct the mistakes themselves    ● Asking other students to remark on mistakes made and then explain the rules by themselves.        A great technique for getting 'teacher pets' listening instead of answering each question        themselves. However, use this with caution! Summary Correction is not an 'either / or' issue. Correction needs to take place, and is expected and desired by students. However, the manner in which teachers correct students plays a vital role in whether students become confident in their usage or become intimidated. Correcting students as a group, in correction sessions, at the end of activities, and letting them correct their own mistakes all help in encouraging students to use English rather than to worry about making too many mistakes. http://esl.about.com/ BRAIN Friendly English Learning - NLP   This approach stresses the use of both the left and right hemispheres of the brain and employs information from theories of multiple intelligence, suggestopedia, and neuro-linguistic programming. The underlying foundation (greatly simplified) of this learning/teaching theory is that there are many factors which need to be integrated into the learning process The right brain and the left brain    ● The left hemisphere is concerned with logical and analytical skills    ● The right hemisphere is the center of visual, rhythm, "artistic" abilities The reflex brain    ● Stimulated by activity, the "reflex brain" makes sure the brain has the oxygen it  needs to function well. The limbic system    ● Links memory with emotion and is stimulated by "self investment" i.e. personal  involvement The new brain    ● he new brain is the area of the brain that creates new material Different learning styles    ● The idea that language is best learned when presented and worked on through a combination of the ear (auditory), the eye (visual), and by movement (kinetic) In this style of learning/teaching, any given exercise stimulates many of the above areas in order to involve as much of the brain as possible in the learning experience, thereby producing more effective results. Now, let's take a look at an example of an exercise which illustrates some of the above. Mind Map    ● First draw a map on the board with a picture representing the subject of the  reading in the center and key words surrounding the picture. Have students copy the map on to a piece of paper. (The right brain is artistically stimulated)    ● Place an article you want to read on the floor. Have students get up and walk a cross the room to get the article (in this way the reflex brain is put to work  pumping oxygen into the brain thereby making the students more alert).    ● Have students quickly read through the article. Make sure that they do not stop to look up new words - a quick scan is all that's needed. (The left brain works  furiously to understand and put things into place).    ● Get students to then fill out the map by writing in all they can remember under  the key words. (the limbic system is already investing itself by making a  commitment to go back to the article to find out any missing information)    ● Have students pair-up and share and discuss their maps (new brain activity as students try to come up with explanations to their maps)    ● Have the pairs go back to the article to compare their maps with the information in the article(the limbic system has made an investment and the left brain can not wait to get back and fill in all the holes) http://esl.about.com/ Whole Brain Learning Tools and Tips   This guide links to a number of classroom activities and learning techniques that are based on the concept of whole brain learning. The core concept of whole brain learning and related teaching concepts, such as Neuro Linguistic Programming, Suggestopedia, Brain Friendly, Mind Mapping and more, is that effective long term learning is facilitated when the whole brain is involved. In traditional learning methods, we tend to focus on the use of the left brain only, i.e. charts, logic, mathematical formulas etc. In the concepts and activities discussed on the following pages, not only right and left hemisphere learning is requried, but also other areas such as the reflex brain, the limbic brain and the "new" brain. The concepts referred to will be put into the context of ESL and EFL teaching. However, these concepts are equally valid for any learning situation. Come back often as news ideas, activities and tricks and tools are added. The Brain: An overview A visual explanation of the different parts of the brain, how they work and an example ESL EFL exercise employing the specific area. Brain Gym The brain is an organ and can be physically stimulated to improve learning. Use these simple exercises to help your students concentrate better and improve their learning abilities. Using Colored Pens The use of colored pens to help the right brain remember patterns. Each time you use the pen it reinforces the learning process. Suggestopedia: Lesson Plan Introduction and lesson plan to a "concert" using the suggestopedia approach to effective/affective learning. http://esl.about.com/ http://www.geocities.com/ruger87ca/ Teaching in Korea