English Camps

The school terms in Korea are set up differently than we Americans are used to. The school year coincides with the calender year and begins in March. As in America, there is a summer break before the second term, but the winter break is the big one over here. Right now, Korean school children are on winter break. I hesitate to say 'enjoying' their break, because they probably aren't. I was having lunch at my co-teacher's apartment on Friday and asked his 13-year old daughter what she was doing on vacation. "Homework," she replied. I thought perhaps that she was just saying that because her father was in the room, so I asked her what else she was doing, besides homework. "Umm, practicing piano," she said, after straining to come up with a reply. 

If you ever want to feel bad about yourself, have a conversation with a Korean student. They will make you feel like a complete waste of space. Whenever I found myself on school vacation, I couldn't wait to sit around and do as little as possible. As a kid, that meant playing video games and eating chips all day. In the past few years I have matured to a level where my interests include reading, watching movies, and drinking beer all day. Either way, studying is the last thing on my mind.

Since Korean students are on vacation until March, you might be wondering, "Cooper, does that mean you're on vacation for two months too?!" Well...no. SMOE (read: the Man) decided to establish what is commonly referred to as "English Camps." This is a two-three week voluntary English class for students, provided by us native english teachers, during the winter and summer vacations. Most students eagerly sign up for the classes as it gives them more opportunity to practice their Englishee. Other students (like the ones at my High School) must be forced into it by parents who don't want to see their children lying around the house playing Starcraft for two months.

Today marked the beginning of a two week English Camp at my school. I teach two 90-minute classes in the morning, one for elementary-aged kids and one for middle/high school students. This morning I was excited to get a chance to interact with the elementary students, seeing as how my teaching experience has been with only degenerate high schoolers. At 9:00 am, they started to file in, holding their mom's hand and looking at me as if I was an alien. I had a bad feeling that these little 1st and 2nd graders were going to be hard shells to crack. Oh, how wrong I was...

I started the class with a little 'about me' powerpoint, full of goofy pictures and self-deprecating humor. To my surprise, this was the perfect way to get the kids to open up. They laughed at my jokes, asked me questions about Cape Cod, and made it perfectly clear that I used to have a terrible haircut. Oddly enough (to me at least) their English ability was eons above my high school students, and the class was easy and fun. 

By the time class ended, I had little boys jumping on my back and kids running around tables for no reason. Maybe it was the candy I gave them. Koreans aren't used to sugar.

After a quick rest, the next group of students came in. After the 15 little balls of energy that had just left, the middle/high school group was quite a downer. I showed the same 'about me' powerpoint, told the same lame jokes, and got nothing but blank stares and crossed arms. Only three out of the twelve students seemed to be able to speak in complete sentences. They showed no interest in me, the class, or English in general. All in all, it seemed like a disaster. Luckily, they warmed up to me pretty quickly when they realized I was willing to dish out some candy. We spent the class doing simple and fun activities and, though it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the elementary school class, I made it out alive.

So, two more weeks of this and then I'm freelancing for a week at some Middle School in the western part of Seoul (gotta make that $$). Tomorrow, we will be discussing the history of Rock & Roll and listening to the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Radiohead, Poison, and Pink Floyd. My middle/high school class will leave Seoul Robotics High School having had their minds blown.