This is gonna be a bit lengthy. Sorry.
I've been teaching English in Korea for almost a year now and I really feel like I've come a long way. I still have a lesson bomb every once in a while, but for the most part I feel more confident in my ability to teach. When I first started, every day was a series of anxiety attacks and frantic e-mails to my mom (my teaching guru). Sometimes I look back at those early days of teaching and feel my face go red. What was I thinking back then? All those ridiculous powerpoints and topics that went way over my students' heads? Activities that took longer to explain than to execute and did nothing to supplement what the kids were learning?
I think sometimes I got so caught up in wanting the kids to like me and seem like a cool teacher that I missed the point of teaching English. I often would scramble to come up with complicated games and and rush through boring parts of the textbooks to get to what I thought was interesting. This wasn't really helpful for the kids and it wasn't until I got to know my kids better and learned to relax that my lessons really started to shine.
Nowadays, I hardly lesson plan. I have a stock pile of games and activities on my hard drive that have been tested and I know are effective so I always have something to fall back on if there's time for a game. I've learned to slow down when I'm explaining something and to reinforce everything to make sure the kids are getting it. I've also learned to take time to coax my low-level students into trying a little harder. I've seen a lot of them come a long way and it's the best feeling ever.
I'm still learning to work with Mr. Hwang. Sometimes we have very different ideas of where the lesson should go and it's been something we've just now started to work on. He's a little intense and sometimes intimidates the students and I look like a goofy pushover in comparison. But we've started to have a good dynamic. Sometimes he'll quiz me on my Korean in front of the students and, while it's embarrassing for me, it helps me to relate to the students and their language woes.
It's still a little weird to have adults and students bow to me. Sometimes when it's a student, I'm compelled to bow back but then remember it's not kosher to bow to someone younger than you and end up doing an awkward head-bob and wave instead. Most of my kids just yell "hello" and wave now, I don't get bowed to as often anymore. I don't know if that's a bad or a good thing,...
It's still a little weird to have adults and students bow to me. Sometimes when it's a student, I'm compelled to bow back but then remember it's not kosher to bow to someone younger than you and end up doing an awkward head-bob and wave instead. Most of my kids just yell "hello" and wave now, I don't get bowed to as often anymore. I don't know if that's a bad or a good thing,...
I also adore my students. Even the bad ones. I've learned most of my student's names so I can greet them in the hallway and call them out during class. Each student is such an individual and I love their different personalities. We've reached the point where we can converse and joke around whether we're in class or outside. I don't know how the jokes work with the language barrier but somehow we manage to understand each other. I've picked up a lot of Korean since I came here so that helps a little.
KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS:
Here are some of my favorite interactions with the kids:
(Doing an activity where we assign names and countries to people in the textbooks. One student puts the name "Lucas" on my jacket and the French and Korean flags).
Me: But Lucas is a boy name.
Nejin: It's okay, teacher. You can be a boy.
Me: So, I'm Korean now?
Nejin; Your father is France and mother is Korean.
(Talking about future tense)
Junsu: Teacher! In future I will be Obama. You will be Korean!
(later)
Me: What will you do this weekend, Junsu?
Junsu: I will go to hell.
Me: Oh.
(After reading a Thumbelina story about Thumbelina being kidnapped by the toads and rescued by a butterfly)
Junsu: Teacher, butterfly is killer!
Me: What??
Junsu: Butterfly will knife and - AAAUURRRGH! *gestures slashing his stomach open* and take liver! Get money!
Me: Oh, so this is a horror story. I never knew.
(We put together that he was suggesting the butterfly wanted to harvest Thumbelina's organs and sell them on the black market).
(Sometimes when the kids get bored, they ask to go to the bathroom to get out of sitting through the lesson)
Jaehyuk: Teacher, bathroom!
Me: Okay, you can go.
*Jaehyuk starts to leave the room*
Me: (to the class) Now that Jaehyuk's gone, let's play a game!
*Jaehyuk comes sprinting back*
Me: What? No bathroom?
Jaehyuk: *shakes head* No, teacher.
(Learning to talk about food and different tastes)
Me; What is a food that tastes sour?
Hyunwoo: *points at his classmate* Kwon Joon is sour!
Dawon: No, I think Kwon Joon is salty.
(after a long debate about what Kwon Joon would taste like, the whole class decided we should cut his arm off and have it for lunch. Kwon Joon had no comments.)
(Asking about food again)
Hyunwoo: My favorite food is dog!
Me: Uh... I don't like that.
Myeongso: I like bondegi! (silkworm pupa)
Dawon: I like cat!
Me; Ah man....
(the kids were just trolling me. Dog and silworm pupa ARE things people eat here (not often) but the kids know foreigners are wary of them, so wanted to mess with me).
Here are some of their favorite food assignments:
The overachiever child-prodigy
The Mupen. (To be fair, that's the Konglish way of saying it so she's not wrong.)
Well, the apple tree bit WAS a nice touch...
Gotta get that 4th sentence in.
This kid put his name down as "Dakgalbi" (Spicy Chicken). Ironically, he's the one the whole class wanted to eat. I went ahead and wrote his name in for him.
I've also had a student, Joonki, who gave me a really hard time last school year because of his temper and bad attitude (During a winter camp, he had actually threatened me with a small pocket knife). But he's suddenly started behaving ever since we bonded over computer games and cartoons. He and his classmates like to visit the English room during lunch or free periods sometimes so we'll draw on the board together, watch youtube videos, and they'll show me their favorite computer or phone games. One time it was a pair of goggles that you attach to the phone and anywhere your turn your head, changes the viewpoint of the game. You use the movements to steer and aim your gun when zombies jump out. It was really fun. When Joonki mentioned he likes Dragon Ball Z, I told him I know about it from my cousin. So now I only have to make a DBZ reference during class to get his attention. I even told him my hair is yellow because I'm a Super Saiyan. One of the girls told us we can't talk about DBZ anymore because she doesn't like Japan (this is a really common attitude in Korea) so we have to keep it on the DL. Sometimes when Joonki comes into the room to chat, I'll message my cousin for more DBZ references. I'm such a fraud.
This girl was crazy-strong.
One of the teachers at my small rural school is really lax. Sometimes if a lesson is boring, she'll decide to play random games or hold random contests (like arm-wrestling, some kind of leg version of arm wrestling, and cards). I always look forward to this class because the kids are high level and we can get away with more tomfoolery than most classes. The girl in the picture was the reigning champion of the class and I barely beat her. The kids were really into it and one of them was coaching me and giving me shoulder-rubs during the competition, it was great.
Some of my students actually live in the military apartments next to me so we ride the bus together a few times a week.One day I was bringing groceries back to my apartment when I heard "Teacher!" and didn't realize it until they started screaming "Hwi-tu-ni teacher!" When I turned, I saw a handful of kids running towards me with a tiny kitten they'd found abandoned in an alley. Thankfully the kitten was still alive when they brought it to school the next day. But then all the teachers started grabbing it by the scruff and passing it around. I think the kids were gentler.
I'm disturbed by how many students know exactly where I live though. Sometimes a mix of my students from all three schools will pass by in their Hagwon bus and start screaming at me. Scares the crap out of me every time.
My 1st and 2nd graders have been a huge challenge. They have no former knowledge of English so I have to rely on what little Korean I know to keep them on task. And that doesn't always work. The 2nd graders have some serious behavior issues - even for the Korean teacher. And the 1st graders just have no clue what's going on. They're adorable though. And the younger kids are really eager to play and get to know the weird foreigner.
"Teacher, I played well!"
My attempt at transcribing English for my 1st graders who just can't handle the English alphabet. Went pretty well and afterward we had a serious discussion about how teacher can only speak a little Korean so you have to talk SLOWLY. Finally, a breakthrough. I've been nodding through so many 1st grade stories because the kids don't get that I'm NOT KOREAN.
I don't even know what my name is anymore.
My name has mutated overtime as more kids and teachers attempt to figure out the pronunciation. "Whitney" doesn't seem like it should be too hard to pronounce. But Korean lacks a solid /W/ sound as well as /tn/. So when my name is transcribed into Korean, it comes out as "Hu-i-tu-ni" or "Hee-du-ni" or some similar version. One of the teachers at my Tuesday school speaks English really well and is probably the only Korean I've met who can say my name perfectly. So, she doesn't get why her students call me "Hee-du-ni". Truthfully, that's how their teacher last year taught them to say it and I was too polite to correct her so I just got used to answering to it. Korean names start with a single-syllable family name usually followed by a two-syllable given-name. So most Korean names are 3 syllables. Because of this, my kids think my last name is "Hui" and often call me "Ms. Hui".
For some kids, my name has eventually morphed to just "Toon":
This was one of those really complicated folding jobs that contained candy and a tiny highlighter pen.
THE PERKS:
Teachers are really respected in Korea and we get tons of awesome benefits. These include random field trips, which are paid for by the government as well as "Hweshik" or teacher dinners.
One of the perks that Koreans probably aren't aware of is school lunch.
School lunch in the states sucks so it might be hard to believe how much I look foward to lunch every day. But, it's almost always delicious and healthy and the lunch ladies always give me as much as I want. One elderly lady who mans the kimchi station at one of my schools once asked me if I wanted to skip the kimchi. Ever since I told her I actually like kimchi, she loads it onto my tray. If you like something here, they decide you REALLY like it. Lunch usually includes rice, kimchi, marinated vegetables, a meat entree or fried tofu, and soup. The veggies sometimes look like weeds because they're grown in the mountains around Chuncheon. I'm convinced the lunch ladies just go hiking every morning and pick whatever plants they find and boil them for lunch. The soups are always really good but sometimes they look like boiled pond water.
As much as I love lunch, it can be a challenge sometimes. I'm pretty okay with using chopsticks but sometimes I'm given food I don't recognize or have no clue how to go about eating so I end up watching the other teachers to see how they eat it. This often results in trying some really tricky chopstick maneuvers and, usually, simply dropping food in my lap.
Koreans always have candy in their pockets. I get handed candy almost constantly by students, teachers, and Ajummas and I have no idea where it comes from.
Sports Day:
Twice a year, the kids have Sports Day. It's a huge event where families are invited to participate in games and relay races. Some events are just for the kids, some are for parents and kids, some are just parents, and one only involved grandparents. It was hilarious to watch some of the events. One involved dragging a bag full of balloons across the field, making a circle, and then stomping on the balloons until they all popped. I have a pair of twins in 1st grade who lose their little minds every time they see me so they were screaming at me and getting distracted anytime they were doing an event. I felt a little guilty.
One event with the 1st and 5th graders, two 5th graders would help one 1st grader onto a teeter-totter and they'd jump and try to vault a ball into a basket. So many kids getting hit in the face....
I only have the two pictures because the other teachers caught me lurking off to the side and dragged me over to hold the finish line for some races. Then they had me help stamp hands. It was fun to hang out with the kids outside of class.
Teacher's Day:
Teachers have their own holiday here and it is awesome. Shortly after children's day and parents day, we get to have a half-day of teaching followed by a field trip. Students will make little paper flowers and other gifts for their teachers. Here are a couple I got from Minji and Choyeon:
Minji was really stressing about whether she'd spelled my name and everything right. It was really cute. She's a perfectionist and also one of my highest-level students. Her handwriting is better than mine :/
For our field trip, we got to go to "Garden of Morning Calm" in Gapyeong followed by dinner:
Patbingsu, my favorite thing.
I love hanging out with the other teachers even though our conversations are short and confusing.
Anyway, teaching in Korea is awesome. I never know what to expect but I love it anyway. It's come with so many frustrations and stress but it's taught me so much. The Korean system seems really unorganized and I'm never notified of any events or changes to the schedule until the moment of (partly because of the language barrier). Because of this though, I've learned to be patient and flexible. I can seriously roll with the punches now. I've also learned to relax and accept myself as kind of a weirdo. No matter what I do here, I stick out and come off as strange because I don't always know the customs. My kids seem to like me more for being a weirdo anyway, so I've just learned to embrace it.
