first week teaching pictures!

The first week of teaching has certainly had a few ups and downs!! Here are photos that can tell a couple of stories. 

This semester, I got desks and chairs for my classroom:

The structure this provides for the students has helped considerably in class discipline issues.

Much of my first couple of days was spent preparing my classroom for the year. Arranging the white board:

Creating posters:

And printing/laminating/cutting the flashcards to use for the first couple of units:

 

(On a small tangent-these flash cards are from mes-English.com, an incredible site for flash cards, BINGO boards, phonics activities and tons more. English teachers, check it out!)

I have also been having tons of fun with my students.

Here are some first graders playing a "make-the-letter" game (gotta love TPR):

My first through fourth graders all made name tents where I helped them write their English names. I then took pictures of the students with their name tents so that I might be able to learn my kids' names.

Some cooperated for the picture:

And some did not:

 

 This week has been incredibly productive compared to my last semester teaching. So while there have still been rough patches, I am better equipped to deal with them!

I have even had time to make a paper flower bouquet for my desk (thanks for the lesson Alanna), although my students keep asking if they can have the flowers...

Happy Friday!

back in the classroom

March has come and with it my second semester of teaching at Galsan Elementary School! After a glorious two month break during which I went home to Montana for a couple of weeks, ran an English camp, traveled in Korea, and participated in a Korean language class, I have come back to a school filled with changes. To begin with, I now have a new principal, vice principal, and coteacher. Approximately fifty percent of the school staff has changed, so while I miss some of the old teachers, it is exciting to see new faces during lunch at the school caf.

I finished last semester a little burnt out on teaching and running low on creativity for my lesson plans. For the last several weeks, however, I have been brainstorming new activities and games and have been antsy to see my students again. This only intensified as the school start date approached. In Korea, students change grades at the beginning of the calendar year instead of in the fall. This means that all of my second graders from last year are now third graders and so on and so forth. My goal for this first week of teaching has been to maintain a firm and strict attitude, keeping a very controlled classroom environment. Now, I had this same goal at the beginning of last semester, but at that point I did not know what to expect from my students (or myself!). Accompanied with my newly enhanced Korean language skills, my confident teaching persona has been met with success.

The greatest teaching change this semester will be working with a coteacher. Last year, the homeroom teachers were occasionally in the classroom to help with discipline, but the responsibility for planning and executing lessons fell to me. Now I will be teaching six classes a week (my fifth and sixth graders) with Mr. Lee. On hearing that I would have to "share" my students, I found out how possessive I am of my teaching time. However, this will ease my lesson planning burden and give me an opportunity to try a new style of teaching. I hope we can teach together successfully.

Even though the administration may have changed, my students have not. Stepping back into the classroom and seeing their faces has reinforced my desire to teach. The first day back, I loved having students run up to give me a hug or shout, "Hello, Miss Joelle" from down the hall. I enjoy the feeling of potential that the start of a semester or a new class of students brings. (Not to mention the excuse to shop for school supplies...) It has also been relieving to find that the whole concept of "teaching" and "teaching in a foreign country" is now a relatively familiar idea. After 239 classes completed, I can anticipate how these classes and this semester will run. Sure, there will be surprises, but I am better equipped to effectively meet them. I can't wait to see what will happen this term!

room 503

The month of February consisted of me taking a second swing at learning Korean. While the classes I took during my six week orientation gave me a grounding in the language, I wanted an opportunity gain a firmer grasp on conversational skills. So filled my suitcase and headed back to Jungwon University (the original orientation site) along with forty-two other ETAs. Not only have the last three and a half weeks helped my language ability, but in them I have deepened friendships with other Fulbrighters and created friendships with Korean university students.

I was nervous entering the CLEA program. I did not feel confident in my Korean, especially my speaking, and this course was daunting. Korean language for six hours a day, six days a week, totaling 126 hours of class seems like a mission of insanity. But the anxiety dissipated as the classes began. Life became a strange timeless routine of waking up, going to class, eating, studying, sleeping, and repeating. I brought games and activities, thinking I would have a couple of free hours. That thought was a little too optimistic. Instead of playing games with friends every night, I grabbed my books and notes and headed to study room 503 for three to five hours of reviewing/practicing the material covered in class.

The study rooms were one of the few places that students could actually hang out at Jungwon. Room 503 had a consistent group of five to eight students every night. While the focus was primarily studying, we had our share of conversation, goofing off, and ordering pizza throughout the weeks. Some of the best evenings were when we invented games to learn the different Korean concepts. Not only were there American students, but we had a couple of  Korean students who came by to work on English (and were more than willing to help me with my Korean homework!!).

Leaving at the end of CLEA was tough. There was an odd mixture of relief that the class was over, excitement to go back to my students, and sadness that I was leaving some incredible friends.

On the whole, my second attempt at learning Korean was a huge success. Not only did I understand what was happening during class and on the exams (!!), but I was able to use my newly developed skills as soon as I got back to my homestay, and when I started teaching again. It was definitely worth the investment of twenty-four days of class with only three days off!!

 

here is a class photo

  some of the primary 503 members

 with my two instructors