A little about teaching...and a little about running! ^-^*

Annyong everyone!


Instead of writing a lengthy post about one topic, I'm going to write a few stories/anecdotes/updates (??) on different topics!! First up...the best question a student has asked me this year...


Student: Hello, teacher! 
Me: Hello, **! How are you?
S: Good. Teacher, I have a question...
Me: Ok!
S: I play baseball.
Me: Yes, I know! 
S: I use baseball bat.
Me: Yes, that's correct.
S: So...do I use baseball ball?
Me: Good question! You use a baseball. You play baseball. It is the same word.
S: Teacher! So confusing! But ok. Same word. Thank you.
Me: You're welcome! Bye **!
S: Bye.


This conversation made my day!! ^-^


Topic #2: English Festival--April Fool's Day!
The past two weeks I have been teaching the 3rd-6th graders about April Fool's Day. I tell them a little bit about it (emphasizing that we say NICE jokes and everyone is happy and no one is sad), show some examples and we watch a few funny youtube videos. Then, after doing all of that (maybe 20 minutes), I tell them I have a word search handout. The first student to finish is the winner! I say, "Do not write your name. Circle the words. No talking. Ready? Go!" and the class is silent for a couple minutes. As soon as I see the advanced students starting to get frustrated/confused, I start laughing. I say, "I FOOLED YOU! HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!!!" and tell them no words are there. It is a joke. They get mad and tell me so with big smiles on their faces. Then I collect the handouts to reuse for the next class. Soooo funny! If you want to watch the video that was the biggest hit with my kids~go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOrY-nEGaE&list=PLE77CF25A17A69A9E&index=1&feature=plpp_video I always watched the kids watch the video. They were cracking up!!!!! and I was laughing at them! ^-^


Topic #3: Running my first 10km!
So...basically since we returned to Daegu I've been running at the gym trying to get healthy, lose the weight I gained pigging out at home, etc. and my friend told me about the Daegu marathon. Now there was NO WAY I could run a marathon, but I figured...with 3 weeks left to train, I should be able to run a 10km! I registered for the race and researched training schedules (I had only been running 3-5km so I needed to gradually double my distance). Then I bought new running shoes (mine were at least 3-4years old and started hurting my feet), and began running with a purpose!!! I was pretty good about going to the gym 3-4 times/week, but having this marathon goal meant I was running 4-5 times/week without fail. I was SUPER motivated!!! Not only did I want to finish the 10km, I wanted to finish it withOUT stopping. 


The marathon was last Sunday morning. I saw the international athletes warm-up and talked with a few other English teachers I happened to see. We got lined up, I started my cardio app to track my time and distance (just as a reference), and I pushed play on my ipod. I was ready to start the race!!! We ran from city hall up to where the Daegu train station is and back around. It was so much fun!!!! The best part is...I finished it in about 58minutes!!! I don't know the official time yet, but based on my phone, it was about 58 minutes. I had been running it at the gym in about 67 minutes, so I was really happy with my time! The weather was perfect and with so many people running around me and people cheering from the sidewalks, it was a blast. I definitely got tired and my legs were super sore later that day, but I really enjoyed the 10km. Plus I got a "Finishers Medal" which is awesome! Fluke and some friends met me at the finish line and that was really cool because they woke up early to get there! They motivated me too because I told them I would finish between 9:10-9:20... I wanted to be on time! So thanks to Fluke and our friends for supporting me!! I think I will look up more races around Daegu and keep running. If for no other reason than to give myself another goal and keep my motivation up. Maybe the next one I can run in 50-55 minutes!!! ^o^ Here's a pic of me at the finish line!

English Festivals

Hi everyone!
This week was my school's 3rd English festival of the year! Which means... I was very busy!!! So what is an English festival??? Basically, instead of using the textbook in English class, we get to do something more interesting and cultural for one period. For grades 3-6, the other native English teacher (NET) and I plan and prepare exciting activities around one theme. The first English festival was Easter-themed. We taught the students how we celebrate Easter, we did an Easter egg hunt, and we played "pin the tail on the Easter bunny." Most of the students are Christian, but we were careful to say that only Christians celebrate Easter. I was uncertain about this religious holiday theme, but this was the theme chosen by the Korean English teachers. Anyway, it was a lot of fun! The pin the tail game was hilarious. For the second festival, we decided to teach about our manners/etiquette. We taught about "bless you" after sneezes, saying "excuse me," typical table settings, and different styles of food. It was the perfect excuse to show the sneezing baby panda video on youtube! And I had a video of my mom setting the table. Even without sound, the kids enjoyed it. The third festival topic has been my favorite so far...Halloween!!!!

They all wanted to pick an object from my "Color Bag" and say the color!

Making their color wheels!
Based on their reactions, I don't think they knew they could mix the primary colors
to make green, orange, and purple before this lesson!

There were so many different activities and games we had to choose from that are Halloween-related!! We decided to do a short powerpoint, play the mummy wrap race game (toilet paper mummies--except we used ace bandages tied together to be economical and environment friendly ^-^) and make Halloween masks. When the students left the room, they wore their mask and said, "trick or treat!" to get a lollipop. I love my 5th grade students, but it's always fun to teach the other grades too. This week I taught the 1st, 4th, and 6th graders. 

Mummy wrap race!! 

Now, the 3rd-6th graders get one period for the English festival. Grades 1-2 get 2 periods of English!!! They do not have any English instruction in their curriculum, so for 1 period, we teach basic English (i.e. greetings, colors, numbers, body parts) and for the 2nd period, we practice/review the basic English before introducing the cultural part of the lesson. Because of the huge language barrier and their age, we do something basic and plan activities that do not require any formal instructions. For example, we made a color wheel. Following my example and demonstration is enough to do the activity. We played number games where modeling is enough to understand the rules. This week, we showed Halloween pictures, taught a few vocabulary words, and made Halloween masks. 


The English textbook is, for the most part, really boring. Very rarely do I teach any of the suggested games. Very rarely do the students enjoy the textbook part of the lesson. I still do not know why it is called an English "Festival" when it is only 1 period of English that does not follow the textbook. However, I know the students really enjoy it. It is one period where they learn something interesting and new and mostly just play engaging games. It is a LOT more work for me (and the other NET), but I'm always so excited to teach each period. Teaching the same textbook exercise 6 times gets boring...watching kids wrap each other like mummies 14 times--never boring!!