A Hard-Knock Life

Last week I was given the unpleasant task of conducting "performance tests" for all 18 of my regular classes. Generally, foreign teachers in Korean public schools do not give graded assignments, but my co-teachers thought it would be good for me to be in charge of the "speaking and pronunciation" aspect of the school-wide English performance tests. So I spent the entire week sitting in the hallway with no heat, wearing a jacket and scarf, and essentially guiding my students to the correct answers. After hearing from my co-teachers that the average grade on English exams for our students is 36%, I decided to give them a chance to boost their scores a little bit. I announced the test during the prior week by saying, "Performance tests next class (cue groans). Very easy. Do not worry." This seemed to translate well.

The lives of Korean High School students can be summed up in one word: STUDY! For most teenagers, their entire existence is spent in preparation for the college entrance exam. This nine-hour test is pretty much what you would imagine the SAT to be like in Nazi Germany. Failure to do well in the college entrance exam means a failure in life, and it is only offered once a year. In America, if you do poorly on the SAT, the sun still rises. You may not get into Harvard or Princeton, but there are about twenty thousand other colleges in the country that would be glad to accept your mediocre ass. Korea is different. There are essentially two different levels of universities: those that are in Seoul (the good ones) and those that aren't (the bad ones). The pressure for students to enter the "good" universities is unrealistically high given the extremely low acceptance rate. As a result, the reality for many of these young kids is one of extreme pressure, disappointment, and stress. It also creates a culture that lacks much of a teen voice, something that, as an American, seems like somewhat of a tragedy to me.

My generalized and, most likely, unfounded opinions on the Korean public school system are reflected in the way I teach my class. First of all, I understand that, in general, my students despise English. You would too if you were tested on material that is way above your ability. Imagine entering High School and being expected to learn Geometry when you are still struggling to understand long division. Translate this analogy to learning English, and this is pretty much the scene that I walked into way back in September. So I decided early on that I am going to ignore the text book and try to trick the kids into enjoying their education. We spend most of our time in class playing games that are (somewhat) educational. The other five English teachers are forced to teach to the national tests, but I'm pretty much given free reign as long as it appears that the kids are learning.

The result has been surprisingly positive. Other teachers are shocked at the increase in level ability and interest in English. Students approach me in the hallway or in class to tell me that they helped a confused American tourist over the weekend, after a lesson about giving directions in the subway. Students, more and more often, are visiting me at my desk to practice their English and attempt conversation. Many times, they are just trying to see if I like beer or if I will take them on a date for Soju and BBQ. But hey, my motto is, "if they're speaking English, it's fine by me." This motto also works when my students blatantly swear at each other in the middle of class. Until the day they swear at me, I'll let it slide.

Basically, all I try and do is to get these kids to relax a little bit and have fun. If I bog them down with vocabulary, grammar, study sheets, and practice exercises, they will lose interest almost immediately. If I disguise a lesson plan in the form of Charades or gambling for candy, they learn without even knowing it, and there are few things I enjoy more than deceiving children.