Chi-Pa-Moo = Scissors, Paper, Rock & Other Teaching Tips

Chi-Pa-Moo (Ki-Pai-Bo) is the official decider of everything Korea. Young children will bust out their rock-paper-scissors for anything ranging from getting to say an answer to who gets the last piece of candy. I have even see groups of old drunk men use their rock-paper-scissor skills to decide who gets the first cab after a night of soju and megju. I have used this tactic against my students if they want to use the restroom or get water.

A very popular game I play, which my students have so lovingly called, is Eye Fight. Basically it is a staring contest between me and one of the students. However, there is a catch--No Blinking & No Smiling. My record is perfect. It's quite funny watching my students try to Eye Fight with me because their eyes are already so small, so when they are struggling, their eyes seem to disappear, but are in fact still open! This is a very good tactic for bathroom and water requests or to just get off on a tangent from teaching and play.

At the end of the Memory lessons, there is a module called Writing Check where the students have to place 8 out of order sentences in order. The book will provide 2 answers. When we come up to the ones already given, I will call out, "Who is the genius? Who wants to be the hero?" The students jump out of their seats, yell, and wave wildly. Lately, they have become bored with the titles, so I have had to become more creative. I have used, "Who can jump the highest?" and "Who can jump the farthest?" creating a long jump pit in the middle of my u-shaped classroom.

Now that it's Week 13, the last week of my first term, I have done a considerable amount of reflection on my first term. As this last week ends, the head instructors have been forcing loads of information on us at workshops. Although they seem to be tedious and irrelevant, I have been impressed with some of the mock teaching done by veteran instructors. Teaching is one of the most evolving professions that thrives on being copied and then revamped with a twist of personal style. I have taken pointers from watching my fellow colleagues and their "performances" have really helped me. Being a teacher is not merely pushing concepts and finishing modules, but also being able to connect students beyond the academic realm. One of my HIs had a end of term meeting with me to go over my strengths and weaknesses. He said I have done well with the class (70%), but the other part (30%) is getting that "Zzsa Zzsa Zsoo"--Sex & The City reference. It's about being ON, getting the kids excited about the material, and overall just being a crazy. He referred to this aspect of my job as being a "teacher-tainer." For someone who is usually a lot of energy, I have had to really grapple with this aspect of myself. I have discovered that I am a teacher who cares more about accomplishing my objectives, finishing modules, and getting that satisfaction from students from them getting their "Eureka!" moments. I want that light bulb to go off in their heads and be able to go further with their ideas and apply them critically.

The Chung Dahm motto is: Passion for Teaching. Compassion for Learners. As a teacher, these concepts are what I and every other teacher should strive for. It is the balance between being a conceptual and relateable teacher. My second starts next week (11/24). Although this is the term where I am considered for a salary raise, being a better instructor is more than just the extra 1,000 won/hour reflected on my pay stub. I really want to be able to connect. I want my students to be at the very least not yawning or looking away. Most of my classes this term have been above average. The students have been quizzical, intrigued, funny, and at the very least tolerable. I am sad to see that our time is over, but as a teacher, I could not ask for anything more than to see my former students level up and move on in the English language. I hope that when I see them in the hallways, they recognize me and wave at least. One of the worst things that could happen is when a student rushes past you although they know you are there.

My last classes this week have been met with both gratifying satisfaction and annoyance. Each class has bugged me about having a pizza party or watching a movie. My FM stated that we could only give 2 parties that include food and an hour and a half movie. Two other classes may have a 45 minute movie and 1 class my have 25 minutes of a movie leaving the last class with nothing. These rewards are based on how well their E & M learning rates are. E & M learning are online homework components done in addition to workbook homework. It really is insane what Korean parents will put their child through! I took pictures with each of my classes. For some odd reason, all the boys were begrudging yet willing to take pictures. The girls completely refused and would hide under the hoodies or arms. These are the middle schoolers. The elementary, on the other hand, were willing to take pictures! One of my elementary school students, Amy, gave me a bag today and said, "From my father's factory." Guessing her father was a higher-up in the company because you'd have to be if you can afford Chung Dahm, I took the bag with surprise. In the bag was 4 knit tops and a long wrap sweater! A student actually gave me a new wardrobe for my end-of term-present! I was not expecting any gifts, especially since I am a brand new instructor, who could have met with mixed reviews from the students, but I am definitely not complaining. Grrr, I wish I could teach her next term!

After I took pictures, I told the students how I much I enjoyed teaching them and that I'd hope to see them around next term although I am not teaching any of their classes next term. They gave me such blank looks, but I'm hoping they think my words are sincere. All I can gage this by is how I'm received when I do see them in the hallways or what they tell their friends. After waving goodbye and saying goodluck to them, I am satisfied and feel accomplished in this term. I've had students tell me personal anecdotes, ask for love advice, and even hugs! I did my job and got a lot of new pupils/friends.

Next term, I will be teaching Eagle Reading & Listening, both very high levels. In addition, I will be teaching 2 courses of Memory Giga. I taught Memory Giga this term and they were my worst class because of behavior. I'm getting more comfortable with Memory classes because they are so high energy, fun, and need virtually no prep. However, I am frightened of teaching these high level reading and listening classes. They require tons of prep and also require that I play devil's advocate and create debates by eliciting responses out of the students. Although, at these high levels, the students should almost be like native speakers, I am scared that these students are going to read right through me and think I'm a chump. Tomorrow, I have more workshops and training on listening, which I have never taught before. I am still so perplexed as to why my FM would schedule me, an inexperienced listening teacher, to teach one of the highest levels of listenings. I'm sure it'll all be fine in the end. All I can hope for is that my icebreakers go well and I am handle a whopping 30 hours of work/week. I can already tell I am going to be a hermit this winter. PS It snowed for the first time in Seoul today! (11/20/08)--I am very bittersweet about this.