Yesterday was our first day actually teaching in the classroom. I started the day with two fairly similar classes consisting of 10 year olds ( I think? Korean age is a little different, but they were short, so 10 is what I guessed). I basically spoke to them and they answered questions out of workbooks. The english in the workbooks is incorrect and nonsensical at times, but it gets the general point across to the kids. The kids are adorable. The majority seem eager and enthusiastic, and the handful of brilliant students keep the classes moving along even when no one else is participating. My next class wasn't so much a class as tutoring one girl named Rachel. I wasn't left any notes on what to do with Rachel so I asked her what Vernon (the previous teacher) did with her at this time. Oh, he just spoke English with her for 45 minutes. Rachel is 14, so she showed me pictures of her dog, we made paperclip jewelry and talked about Disneyland and being cold. My final class was middle schoolers, which are actually much older in Korea, maybe 16-18 years old. They were tough. They wouldn't talk to me at all. Thank god I only had to administer a writing test for the duration of class. I gave them a topic to write about and then I read The Atlantic. When I glanced up, I'm pretty sure they were all cheating with translation devices. A new term starts Thursday so these will not be my actual classes. Just practice kids.
Love,
E
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