Another interesting week to say the least. Tuesday was Teacher's Day here in Korea. Apparently, about half of the public schools in Seoul were closed for the day. Not sure if that was to give the teachers a break, or to prevent parents from giving money to the teachers. As seen in many 'hogwans', or private language institutes as they're called, this is often the case.
Nevertheless, my school was open, and I worked till 2:30pm, which is not half bad. I'm glad that I got to teach on Teacher's day, as I received a few flower bouquets from my students. What was especially sweet, was getting notes from some of my students. The notes really made my day. I had to laugh at some of them though, because the grammar structure, and vocabulary was so messed up.
It is sad to see that in Grade six, the students aren't given more "English time." I teach the Grade six class for 80 minutes a week, and the grade 3's for 40 minutes a week (not enough). Last year, and for many years previously, these students were taught English from a Korean teacher, who mostly taught grammar, and phonics. The level of conversational English is extemely poor. The students are very shy to speak English, and lack motivation. It is unfortunate that the class sizes are so big (38 students) as well. Anyway, One of the notes I received I will share with you.
To .........
Hello. teacher. My name is (in hangeul).
I'm 6 grade 6's class. Today is teacher's day!!
I'm thanks for you to teach us.
It is fun to learning English with you.
You are the first teacher to teach English that no Korean.
I was surprised to hear this. Now, I am very happy.
Teacher, Thank you
from. (hanguel name)
Sweet letter I thought. Kind of made my day. On Wednesday, I celebrated my birthday. Oh, hum, it was a quiet one this year. But, the staff whisked me into the staff room ten minutes before class, and had a cake with candles on it. They sung Happy Birthday to me in English! The cake was a sweet potato cake. I had never heard of that kind of cake before. I tasted it, and it was very sweet. It tasted like baked pumpkin if you've ever tried that before.
On Monday, I took a trip to Kyobo bookstore. The are a few Kyobo bookstores in Seoul, and I had been to the Gangnam one many times. This time I went to the one that is closer to my area. It had way more English books, and more variety. I had to pick two books up. One for my Grade 3 students, and one for my Grade 6's. As I was asked to teach more hours starting in a few weeks. I will be a very busy girl. I will teach for eight weeks at a new afterschool program. I am very excited about it, as I will have no co-teacher and I can do what I want. I found a workbook that I have heard good things about called, "Gogo loves English." I hope the kids like it too. Read more about 'Gogo Loves English' here:
http://www.gogolovesenglish.com/
Next weekend I'm taking a trip to Seoraksan National park. I can't wait!! I wanted to go last year but never made the time. It'll be nice to get out of this city for awhile.
