Do kids behave better for a Gyopo?

[Yu_Bumsuk]

As a gyopo [who has a pair] the answer is, "Yes."

Fixed it for you.

[alljokingaside]

As a result of temp. shock, the kids might behave better, but it usually fizzles out unless the gyopo NET keeps on with the iron fist in the classroom. Essentially, if the students can't distinguish between the Korean teachers and the gyopos, then yeah, the chances of better behavior are better than not. Other classes, however, will do what they do. But this is me talking about a tech. high school and discounting corporal punishment, illegal to both Korean and non-Korean teachers. (A kid actually called the cops and threatened to sue a Korean teacher for this.) Hell, even including corporal punishment, it's only little better than a crap shoot

[money55]

As soon as my Korean Teacher walks into the room. The kids are quiet but when i try to get them to do something. No.  The classes i like teaching the most is 3-4th grade because the 3rd graders are respectful so are the 4th graders. I hate teaching with my 5th graders and sixth graders. I don't understand why their always hitting each other though.  My co teacher shrugged. I'm like good. :(

[Aventine]

I've had fluent gyopo coworkers who were still tortured by the same bad classes as I was.  You have to have decent classroom management skills because the kids smell fear and frustration.  Some students will be bad even to their Korean teachers.

[lorabora]

I think it doesn't matter regardless whether you are a gyopo or not. Being a gyopo myself, I still have trouble managing my middle school boys but that's more because of the gender issue . Boys tend to be more disrespectful to female teachers than male teachers from my observation. They fear the male teachers more. Also the fact that I look younger than my age with my  5'2'' height doesn't help either.

It's challenging to continue pretending that I don't speak korean so it would force the kids to speak in english in the classroom. But when I'm teaching a class by myself, like after school or summer classes, it helps a lot with managing and translating.

[yostliketoast]

If you can speak Korean well, you can call home to their mother... and there is no greater fury than that of a Korean mother who finds out her son is not behaving in a hagwon.

So true. I am also having a lot of problems with one of my middle school classes. Completely ignoring me as I tell them over and over again not to speak korean and to not talk while i am talking. I got so frustrated last week I walked out of class and literally shut the lights off on them. I know this was a horrible idea and only showed that i let them get to me.

So it is clear that many of us have trouble with this. Has any one found a way of disciplining the students that works? So far i've tried various things including: making them change seats, staying late through lunch, writing lines/vocab workds over and over again, kicking them out of class. Next time i'm gonna make them put their nose in the corner and go on time out. That seems to work with the 2nd amd third graders i teach.

[ajs233]

I am a gyopo who will begin teaching in a few days and one of my biggest concerns is that students will stop trying to speak English with me if they know I can speak and understand Korean. As a teacher in a classroom, this qualifies as a huge behavior problem -- has this proved to be much trouble with other gyopo teachers?

[Davey]

I am a gyopo who will begin teaching in a few days and one of my biggest concerns is that students will stop trying to speak English with me if they know I can speak and understand Korean. As a teacher in a classroom, this qualifies as a huge behavior problem -- has this proved to be much trouble with other gyopo teachers?

Possibly. If you're not fluent and stern with your Korean, definitely pretend you don't know a thing. Trying to reprimand students in broken Korean will only make them laugh.

I suggest you pretend you know nothing, unless you're going to be teaching by yourself and disciplining them in English is fruitless.

[j20kiminsk]

It's all about being able to communicate with students in their native language (and, of course, knowing how to control a class).

I am a gyopo who speaks Korean fluidly but never ever speaks Korean in the classroom.  On the first day of classes of my first semester, I made clear that I could not speak or understand Korean.  I was new to teaching high school (in Korea) and had problems with student behavior.  Now that I'm in my third semester, I've learned a lot about how to manage classes and don't have many problems with classroom management -- but I believe this is the case not because I'm a gyopo but rather because I've worked on my management skills.   However, there are still students who are complete jerks... as well as the students who aren'y jerks normally but end up jumping on the band wagon -- especially students who are uninterested in English... and thus have low proficiency levels.  The students who know very little English don't respond when I ask them to shape up in class because they really have no idea what I'm saying.  When I studied foreign languages in middle and high school, I would never act out but definitely would check out during lessons when I could not understand the instructor.

I have spoken to students in Korean only twice in my two years in Korea -- once with a then-current student at an elementary school and once with a former student at my current high school -- because the students were so utterly disrespectful.  I was furious (but not yelling), and they sat up straight and shaped up the second I began speaking in Korean.  I had no problems with the elementary school student thereafter.

I know of other gyopo NETs who have had problems with a few students.  They also did not ever speak Korean in the classroom.

[j20kiminsk]

I am a gyopo who will begin teaching in a few days and one of my biggest concerns is that students will stop trying to speak English with me if they know I can speak and understand Korean. As a teacher in a classroom, this qualifies as a huge behavior problem -- has this proved to be much trouble with other gyopo teachers?

My personal opinion is that if you were hired to be a native English teacher, you should not use Korean in the classroom unless your employer asks you to. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm a gyopo who has told students that I do not know Korean.  Few students suspect that I'm lying, but I just put on my I-have-no-idea-what-you're-saying face when they speak to me in Korean.  I speak in English with all of the Korean English teachers at my school but use Korean with any non-English teacher who does not want to try speaking in English.  All of the teachers I communicate with know that the students think I don't speak Korean, so they are not surprised when I suddenly switch to English when students appear.

If the students know you know Korean, some students will rely on Korean when English is difficult, and therefore will not be challenged in the same as they would be in a truly English-only dialogue or lesson.  I also think it is especially important for you NOT to use Korean in class if you have Korean co-teachers, regardless of the co-teachers' English proficiency. 

My ability to understand Korean has been a huge advantage in class.  I know at all times what exactly they don't understand.  I know when the students say "Yes, we understand" but really have no idea what I've just said.  Or maybe I ask a student a question, and the student understands but doesn't know how to answer.  Most students in this situation will mumble under their breath or ask their friends in Korean, What's ____ in English again?  If nobody knows, I can --discretely-- help them find the words to express their thoughts.  So there are definitely ways to use your Korean in the classroom to help the students learn a lot, but they don't need to know you know Korean.  Tip: practice your HUH?! expression and don't crack a smile when the students are trying to get you to speak in Korean.  Instead look confused and ask them what they are saying.

If your school/hakwon wants the students to know you speak Korean, that's its decision, but you can always say, "I don't know that word," when students default to using Korean.

Good luck!