A lot of people want to know what classes are like, what students are like, how we talk to the students, so here's a sample video of what a Korean Middle School class is like, from start to finish.
Here in canada out classrooms look similar, I miss the smart boards everyone loved to calibrate the smart board xD and most schools in my area (greater Toronto) have art all over them
+Blindchaos5373 the schools I have gone to in the state of Virginia are rectangle rooms painted white but they have big projection screen and chalk and white boards
You were a great teacher. I think bringing extra pens was a very good idea. Yes students should think of it, but usually they all forget it. I think it's a better idea to help them out, than to be overly strict, so that everyone can participate.
Lol same! I took two years of Spanish and forgot everything immediately after the final. Then again my teacher never spoke Spanish in class, or even required us to speak Spanish.
+S.A Impavido When learning a foreign language it's always like that, you understand most of what people speak even if you can't make proper sentences and speak them yourself :) When I first started learning English I was like that too and even though now I understand 99% of what I hear I can't speak as clearly as Simon here, for exemple.
This is so cool! I never broke down the reason for these types of games in my language classes. It's interesting seeing it from the teacher's point of view!
macs>windows visuals? wtf? youve never heard of a 4k or a 5k monitor? windows>mac :3 always and @david guy around 1 minute theres a thing saying macs are greater than pcs
The footage is from two different days. I ran out of space the first day, so I had to upload and reshoot for a second day. But good for you for spotting the continuity error!
I don't think I could ever be an english (or any other language) teacher; I would be too tempted to speak/ translate everything in Korean (or the students' native language) so they understand better when I explain things... I'll stick to teaching my little brother how to do algebra ^^ lol... you seemed like a fun teacher Simon, the student must've liked you a lot.
I don't exactly want to be a teacher in Korea (it seems really scary) but it seems like a stepping stone for living in Korea. On a funny note, when the girls speak English, they sound like my Korean friend. lawl.
I am SERIOUSLY considering moving to Korea after I graduate college. I'm dead serious. I'm hoping to transfer to a four year school and get my teaching certificate and BA in modern linguistics (they have a full program dedicated to learning Korean and applying basics of Korean culture within the language)! I WANNA DOO DEEEEEEEEZ!!!! GOD, LET IT HAPPEN, JUSEYO XD
Johanna Caba You using UK English? You mean college as in "high school," right? At first, I thought you meant you'd go to uni then go to another uni at Korea xD.
OnlineNamesAreStrange nope lol just regular US English. College is used in our vernacular to refer to community colleges and universities. High school is just high school.
Johanna Caba So...you're gonna get a Bachelors from a US University...then ANOTHER Bachelors from a Korean University? Idk why you just won't transfer...
Noooooooo lol I said I'm transfering from a community college to a four year school to get my teaching certificate and major in modern languages and linguistics, focusing on Korean and that I'd like to go to South Korea to teach.
+Johanna Caba (European here.) I sorta know the difference between college and uni, but can you do a major after college? Because... you said something about a BA and then about a major (MA?) and I just got confused. I'm sorry to bother you with such a question, I'm just somewhat interested in the U.S. educational system. :) And I wish you all the best with your dream! When you're super syked about what you're doing all you need is to learn Korean and work hard, but I'm sure you'll have fun at it and that will help you be really good at what you're doing. :)
Simon, this has to be one of the best keynote presentations I've seen. What an awesome job, I know it must have taken ages to prep too. World's better because of ppl like you. Hope your students realized it
Hi, My students have around 30 classes a week, I think. 6 a day, sometimes seven. Every class is 45 minutes. Only one of their English classes is with me every week, and I teach half of them alone while the co-teacher deals with the other half in a different room. And, finally, yes, I have a teaching license/certificate. I'd write more thoroughly but there's a character limit. Email me if you want to know more...
You get paid between $1,900 - 2,400+ but it depends on your education background (ie: are you a certified teacher, do you have a major in English, etc) and how long you teach in the same school, and where you work. (hagwon vs public school vs university) BUT, they pay for your rent and that's where you save money. Renting in Korea is CRAZZZY expensive.
wow i'm amazed by the fact that you do everything in english, i live in the netherlands and our teacher speaks a lot of english though she still explains a lot in dutch
This is a great video ! Please make more of these. Im now on my way to becoming an English teacher and want to teach in Korea. These help so much with the 'bag of tricks' method. This will help me know what angle to tackle lessons and get students into learning English, Many Thanks.
:( I wanna be friends with Simon and Martina. They have a lot of things in common with me, but I might come off as a creepy fan. But I love a lot of their videos and have always been interested in Japanese/Korean cultures. >_> and anime, video games, etc...
Thank you for posting this video! My husband ( who is Korean) and I are planning to do tutoring in our home here in Korea. We are certainly beginners and do not have much experience. All the information we can gather at this point is very helpful. Thank you again!
Woah! I watched this video months before I found Simon and Martina's channel when I was deciding if I wanted to become an ESL teacher. Now I am a huge fan of theirs and had this big deja vu moment when watching this!
Wow! you are so smart to have thought of this game! AWESOME lesson planning! they are speaking and reading english, they are having fun, and you spend less time in the front of the class talking and can interact with the students more. You were/are an awesome teacher! :)
This is really cool! I'm taking a course to teach English abroad and seeing this gets me very excited! I also can't help but notice that Simon's diction becomes more straightforward (of course) but also he almost seems to pick up a bit of a Korean accent! I was wondering, who did you receive your training through to teach English abroad?
that's friggin genius! when you started I had no idea what was the goal of this game and I honestly thought it was stupid, based on the questions. but when you finally explained what's the idea- to make them talk for half an hour... damn, you are a genius! I'll deff try that with my students! thanks for the idea :)
I know this video is from YEARS ago...but this is BRILLIANT. I'm studying to become a german teacher (teaching other english speakers German language) and this is something I TOTALLY want to do with my students in the future!
That's a lot of questions: 1)Public 2)No restrictions that I know of 3)Yes, I can make them at my will 4)40 per class, divided into 20 5)4-5 classes per day 6)I'm the only non-Korean teacher 7)I prefer public 8)Yes, Martina Eng teacher like me too. Yeah!
It's true. You have to explain each step properly for students to get it. It works much better, makes them less confused, and more confident about what they're doing. I know it helps when I'm learning a new language.
What kind of system is that you're using with the touch screen? That is such a wonderful classroom and it's not too crowded. It's just right. I've been teaching elementary and it's often very crowded and old style, but I do have standard PC and video screen as well as old skool chalk boards. They love icnelly's karaoke videos. They do best in groups provided you have enough room to reorganize the class. Each class is very different. Great lesson and use of tech!
Simon "today, we are going to have a fun game~~!!!" Kids : (sigh).......wa... wa.... waaaa (soulless response, in Korean expression) then waaa~~~~ ;) hehe they are so cute!
That is pretty interesting. I was surprised the classroom looks so new and high-tech for a public school. I doubt many countries have such well resourced schools ! Does anyone know how many english classes a week middle school students have? Are all english classes with you, or do the students have classes with a korean teacher as well? Do you have a teaching license? I worked for a while in Japan, and there always had to be a japanese teacher too, since we didn't have teaching licenses.
Hi Simon and Martina! I myself am a language teacher. I am teaching Malay language in Singapore. I think the approach Simon is using here is the constructivist approach? The idea is good too. Using the battleship game to teach English language is a creative idea. Thanks for sharing guys!
This is so cool haha. It's great how advanced they are in english, considering how it takes us halfway through highschool to be able to listen to instructions given in a foreign language. Plus the game was a great idea because it's not awkward, and they actually have a goal to work towards. I wish our language classes were more like this XD.
thank you for posting this video! that looks like a really nice school. how many different classes of students do you have? do you get to know the students?
WOw. tHIS has inspired me to want to teach english in korea. But just out of curiosity, What are some topics you are not allowed to teach them? Or are yu allowed to teach them about every topic?
I plan on teaching in Korea within six months, hopefully with EPIK. This game seems a bit confusing, especially when it comes to successfully explaining it to the students. BUT, it seems like an awesome activity once you get good at teaching it like you do in this video. I'll definitely keep it in mind for when I have to plan lessons. How hard do you find it to create new and exciting/beneficial lessons throughout the year? I have about eight months of basic experience volunteering with a local organization to privately tutor ESL students in need (ie immigrants to the US). It was a good experience to get my feet wet but we were given only a half-day workshop and then little to no guidance once we got started. So, it was hard at times but it was good in that it gave me something to expect. I plan on shadowing some local ESL classes if possible and I've already applied to get my CELTA certification prior to teaching in Korea. Do think the CELTA certification will be able to provide with the skills and confidence necessary to get started? I imagine that, like any new job, it will take some adjusting but with time it will become easier and I'll become more efficient at it. Cheers!
You seem like you have some nice experience and a clear view, I wish you all the best! :) (If you ever think of this comment again feel free to tell me how it's going! :D)
I'm just curious, did you have to create curriculum straight from your heads, and what sort of education did you go through to get preparation for this? Did you get teachers' certificates? Do they teach you what sorts of currculum to create there?? To me it just seems there's so much creativity involved...
I remember being in 8th grade and the teacher actually did nothing in class, I only had one professor who taught me vocabulary. Then in high school the class was centered around literature and answering simple questions. I'm from Puerto Rico and our mother tongue is Spanish so the only way I learned was through talking with friends that lived in the US and knew English. I'm really amazed at this video If only other English teachers learned to do this kind of stuff. Props to you Simon!
1st- That classroom is so nice. 2nd- Where do you get your lesson plans? 3rd- Something I thought of when I saw this was that in Florida It's illegal to film in the classroom and you can get in big trouble. So is it the same in Korea? I'm guessing not..
This is possibly the best school game I have ever seen... Useful for teaching languages like you have done and it beats so many crap "ice breaking" games. =/
Yo! This is awesome! I actually teach Vietnamese here in Houston and I could actually use this to help the kids with their upcoming midterm! I've always done that thing where the kids come up to the board and I say the word in English and they have to write it in Vietnamese.. but I've done that every Sunday for like the past 4 months. I'm SURE they're tired by now.. this is a great alternative! Please comment below for more game ideas like this if you guys have any! Very appreciated!
haha that was such a cool vid! and WOW I live in NZ and we have touchscreens and whiteboard and touchscreens are mostly used in Maths class. But the one in the video is more dayum flash! I thought it was rich private school....... they're so lucky arg jealous much!
i think it's awesome how you have those english dictonaries (assuming they are) ready at each table for the students in case they forgot a word and need to look it up :)
