I hope this will be of some help to English teachers


Eddy Stern

Teaching Speech in School
Some tips for teachers to get their students speaking
This article has to do with the teachers role in dealing with the difficult problem of getting students to speak English in the classroom. It suggests that by the teacher taking on a new role,
better results are possible.

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For anyone teaching English in either China or Korea the problem of speaking on the pspd.doc (32.0 KB, 20 views)

[quote=Eddy Stern]I hope this will be of some help to English teachers]


I like the article! Thanks Eddy, and welcome to our FORUM!

Hi....Nice to meet you.
I'm Korean and I'm not speaking egnlish yet.
I hope to very well sepeaking english but English is very difficult language me.
Bcoz of your language is perfectly different with our language such as the subject, a verb.
So, we feel very difficult about learning english.
But English is very important us. Bcoz of it's international language.
So, I always envy u. Can u understand me ?
I think that your file is very good data.
Thanks....

That's a nice program, but it means a bilingual teacher is available. I only wish I were team teaching because that Confucianism seems to be going out the door. My middle school students want to play with electronic computers or talk and my elementary school students just want to play. I admit I came without teaching training or experience, but I figured they were actually going to try and talk with me in class as they do outside class. I came thinking Confucianism made them docile. English is fine for working with international people, but then you have manners.

I am not a disciplinarian, but I can assure you that if I got angry, they are not going to want to speak English any more than they do now. I don't know if we really have a bite, even if we bark. I have threatened not to do games or not to give them chocolate, but they still play. I have tried to be silly and bought fun things, but they still play. I tried a game or two, but they only want to do bingo and hangman as far as class games go. If I have a student by him/herself, then, we can accomplish something academically.

I think there should be an American society and manners class in schools and hagwons. They are nice people here, but kids need to know how we think in the West. We need classes to learn how Koreans think, especially children of various ages, because I really don't know what motivates them to want to know English. Adults would probably want to learn English, even if their boss makes them. I don't know enough about the kids' minds to empathize or to accuse them of being just plain rude. I think having to speak it only, when they know the basics, is a healthy start. You know what they say about necessity in America, anyway.

The problem is, the Korean English teachers obviously speak enough English to have an all-English class. That is what the president must require. A half an hour to an hour and a half with me ain't gonna solve nothin'. I used that writing because this is not a class.

As the last poster said, the education system has a big problem (ours does too, but in a more opposite direction). My take is that they shove all this information into their heads, but they're not going to remember most of that stuff. That's why we have "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader" in America. Now, if there were nation-wide homeschooling, the parents would have to remember most that basic stuff and that would make it worthwhile.

Besides, America has had the greatest scientific minds working for it (and before it, Europe--China did not have cram schools when it had its braniacs) and they were not from cultures (if not American, like Einstein) that stuff facts (mostly facts; some liberal propaganda from school book writers like modern-day Scholastic) down their kids minds night and day (though idleness for kids is no good either). They made amazing things because they thought laterally. But, if you just want a lab rat (no offence to scientists in the trenches as we need you too, unless you work on mad science like Merck's) contribution to society, you can cram details into your kids' heads.

Note Eddy's Article (And Mr.Song's reply) Was Written Over Two Years Ago,but Still Is Current.

("Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" is my favorite show.)

I hope my comment wasn't offensive to anyone, but I was pretty much on the verge of a near nervous breakdown. I still stay up late to unreel. I hit the coffee and pop pretty hard in the 2 1/2 hours before classes. More than kind "Hellos", I need it realized that I have no idea what I'm doing. I could read all the book about teaching, but that won't make me be experienced or a good manager. I enjoy team teaching, though. I'm really missing having the older students who at least were not noisy and sat in their seats. I just have one hyper class, but it's enough for one with an easily upset composition. I start understanding Mr. McVickers on Beavis and Butthead (though he's the principal), though I'm more like the hippie teacher when in class, except he could give penalties with real consequences.
How would military people prefer to run a classroom, like Buzzcut (laughing)?

I may have missed where you are teaching. I'm guessing in a hagwon teaching conversation. If that is what you were hired for, there may be no specific structure which you are required to teach, and perhaps no guidance from the owners. Is that the case? If so experiment until you get a working class. If the school gives a lesson plan, as dumb as it may be, they probably only expect you to roughly follow it. They make money anyway.
Tell us whether or not you have guidelines from the staff...