Happy Summer!

Today marks the end of the first semester. Like most teachers I am ecstatic.  Don't get me wrong, I love my job but to be effective in the classroom we as teachers deserve a lot of rest and relaxation.  Being an ESL teacher in Korea limits this time to 8 days during the summer vacation (as per our contract) and we are required to teach a summer camp for 2 weeks prior to our vacation.  But, the upside of the camp is that you have complete control of how you use your time.

 Summer in Korea is HOT and HUMID and the last thing the students want is to sit and listen to me lecture on. So, keeping that in mind I have planned a series of interactive games which doesn't require too much prep work and will allow for time to pass swiftly.  


One of my favourite games is "Stop the Bus"  It's excellent to review vocabulary or parts of speech.  

How to play:   Write 5 categories on the board, for example: 

1. Animals

2. Sports/games

3. People

4. Places

5. Food

Then choose a letter. Get them to write one word for each category that starts with the letter. I also place a time limit which makes things a little more competitive but the students have a lot of fun.

You can put the students into teams if you're working with a large group.  

Variation:  Instead of the categories mentioned above you can get the students to write down a noun, verb and adjective beginning with a certain alphabet.  

The first team to fill in all the categories shouts "STOP THE BUS!" and all other teams must stop writing. Points are awarded for every correct answer. 

The students get really into this game and even when I say "game over" they beg to continue.

NB: Take a look at my post on games for more ideas. But, above everything else, have a SUPERB SUMMER!!!

Laugh out Loud

I love to laugh, even in a difficult or awkward situation I will find a reason to crack a joke and laugh.  Being in Korea has certainly contributed to my need to laugh out loud all the time.  My students have a very low grasp of the English language but they try really hard and that brings me a lot of joy as fulfilment. Through their valiant efforts in trying to study English they manage to make me laugh.

I am required to conduct interviews with the students every year and grade them on their speaking ability.  It's usually difficult to keep a straight face because their answers are out of this world funny.

Here are some highlights from my classroom.

Me: What job would you never do and why?

Student: I don't want to do any job that uses my body because I don't want to get tired.

Me: What job would you like to do?

Student: A job that only uses my mind.

Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Answer:  I want to be a mathematician because I want to have smart brain. My favorite subject is math. Especially I love numbers from zero to nine, numbers can make lots of various problems. So in the future I want to be a mathematician like Euclid.

Task: Write a travel diary about a trip you took with your family or school.

My Travel Diary

Hello, I'm Kim-Dohyun. Now, I'm going Igidae with my family.  The place is very dark at night and a lot's of warm. But it is very funny.  Next time, I'll come again.

My Travel Diary

When I went to Seoul I was very excited but I felt dissopointed because we were going Everland again!  At first night I slept with 'Lee Hyun' I thought he didn't take a shower because he smelled very dirty but I slept because I was tired.

This trip was tied but very exciting! but I didn't want to go Everland again.


The next conversation took place during the 3rd lesson of the day.  It was a Tuesday morning around 11:15 am. So my students shouts from his seat, "Teacher, what time is it?"
I reply, It's 11:15. Why? Do have an appointment?" 
He responds, "No, I'm hungry! My stomach alarm is ringing."


There is never a dull moment in my class.  I could publish a small book if I wrote down every little thing my students say or do.  I love them to bits!^^

Vacation classes

One of the first things I learnt about Korea was that they are passionate about education.  Their passion is so great that you will find students returning from a learning institute at midnight, and getting up early over the weekend to go to school.  As a guest English teacher we are expected to go with the flow and teach during the vacation. As predicted the students don't want to be there and us teachers would much rather be spending our summer at the beach or travelling to some inexpensive yet exotic location.  Thus, to make the 2 longs weeks move as fast as possible I turn my classroom into a cool vacation hang out.  

Day one usually begins with a short introduction lesson.  I also assign nicknames to the students (it makes it easier for me to remember).  To keep the atmosphere light I play a game of pictionary or charades and I dish out candy.  Fortunately we only have to be at school for 3 hours so by the end of it the students are "hypnotized" into believing that the rest of the 2 weeks are going to be just as much fun. And they are not wrong.

I try to theme each day and do activities related to that theme.  For example:

Week 1

Monday: Welcome party

·         Introductions

·         Getting to know each other

·      Icebreakers 

Introduction Lesson

Tuesday: All about summer

•  Summer games
•     Crafts

    

  

Wednesday:  Detectives for a day

·         What are detectives?

·         What do they do?

·         Solving mini mysteries

Thursday: Around the world in 3 hours

·         A look at different countries and their culture, food, clothing etc.

Friday: Going to the movies

·         How we buy tickets

·         Movie genres

·         Watch a movie and complete a set of activities related to the movie.

    Vacations are for having fun so have fun with your lessons and make the students eager to come back everyday.  By the end of the vacation classes they will be sad that it's over.

 Happy teaching :)