New recipes and spices all around- what are the ingredients? (Or how do you put all this together to make it work?- will tell you when I find out!)
I have been away from here as I have been quite busy with getting the hang of things around here, as it is all new. Add to that the teaching and writing my novel for Camp Nanowrimo (summer camp version of National Novel Writing Month, which if you have not heard about is an awesome crazy writing adventure you can learn more about here (ALSO mix in a whole new bunch of spices with starting another blog- a book review blog- be sure to check that out on the sidebar to the right or at the end of the post!) and spinkle some traveling on top of that and you can see why my time has been a crazy new blend of flavors-very jam packed with new things and no time to tell all about them!
Getting ready to switch over to the new curriculum program. I am glad that we will have a curriculum all set up with media and interactive activities for the kids. I need to get to know it more from the inside out and be able to use it in my own way to reach the kids in the best way and keep them interested and engaged.
The main problem with the kids is keeping them from getting distracted. As mentioned in a previous post- (click here-under "Class of Chaos...") Korean students do not fit the quiet obedient student stereotype that many people have. They are the complete opposite to put it simply. The only time they are quiet is if they need to speak English in class ironically. Then they clam up and do not know what to say. Which is actually understandable, as they are not fluent in the language and don't want to embarrass themselves.
It is like a different world as I don't know what they are saying if they are speaking in Korean, so this is why English teachers here are encouraged to not allow Korean speaking in the classroom, as the students are there to learn English and they need to practice it and be able to understand explanations and instructions in English. I can definitely understand that this is difficult, as I obviously experience the feeling of not knowing what is going on around me living in a smaller town in Korea where it is not easy to find someone who speaks English like it would be in a larger city here. This is why I definitely want to learn to speak the language.
The students can very sweet on one hand, saying "I love you," to me which is a normal part of their culture to say to each other and to their teachers. But they can also be quite the opposite of sweet. Then, of course, we have the students who try to get out of trouble by acting cute, so I do not allow this. Although I can never stay mad at them long because they are just too cute! Of course some of them are not as cute and those students I kick out of the classroom when the do not listen! No really, they are all loveable and all very talkative, so it is a constant challenge to rein them in.
Not going to write anymore tonight, just wanted to give a quick update. I have been writing for Nanowrimo, which I need to catch up on, as I started late and also have been reading quite a lot for my new book blog. Check that out here! http://bookwormcastle.wordpress.com/
Next post will be about my recent travels! Please sign up for emails to get updated about new posts, click on the gadget in the top right side of the page. And I would love to hear what you think in the comments below- what do you want to hear more about and do you have any travel suggestions?
1 comment:
Hi Jen :) This Caleb :) I wanted to say that this is well written and informative and also interesting. Seems like you have your hands full with the children. I wish you lots of Luck!
I always am curious to know what language people who are bilingual think in? Do they think in Korean before they speak in English or do they try to think in English also? Maybe that would be something interesting to find out and maybe it can help them if they think in English first when they are trying to speak it...just thinking...that's Free, right? :)
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