Foreign teacher speaking Korean in class

[notinKS]

Just curious...I told my students from the beginning that I wouldn't speak Korean with them because I was an English teacher. I will throw in the occasional vocab word when I know the Korean word and they don't know the English word, but other than that it's English only.

Anyone else have this rule?

[Paju Leigh]

 I only use korean if after everything else fails, miming included. And I only ever do so with CT blessing..

[Morticae]

Pretty easy for me not to speak it, considering I only know some basics.

I translate words on my ppt for them.

[wafflebunny]

The students at my first school, a little because they are low-performers and there is just no hope for them. 

At my second school, though, it is restricted. Besides they are more eager about learning English. 

[AshleyTeacher]

I caught onto what the homeroom teachers used for getting attention: "Ya!"

Then I got reprimanded to stop using Korean in the classroom since "ya" is considered "Korean." Now when I say "Yo!" to grab student attention, and I haven't had any more complaints.

[karenology]

I try not to since they laugh at my pronunciation, the brats :P  I do like to show them that I am making an effort to learn Korean, just as they are learning English.

[Darkeru]

Rarely and usually only if all else fails. Sometimes I'll accept answers in Korean though, if I want to move the lesson along quickly and no-one is answering in English. This week is my introduction to the new first graders, so often someone asks if I can speak Korean, then I'll speak a tiny bit.

[peasgoodnonsuch]

I do my absolute best to avoid using it.Usually I'll leave it to the CT to translate. I will try stick figures, miming, and repetition if there is no CT to help me out. As the last resort I might write the Korean on the board, but I try not to say it out loud.

Outside of class and outside of school, I will say small things in Korean. They know I'm studying it and I only reveal my Korean to kids I already have a good relationship with.

I have multiple reasons for this. One, you lose face when you make a fool of yourself trying to speak a language you can't. Now, I know this is what we're asking them to do, but you must understand we judge our students by western "it's ok" standards and they judge us by Korean "die before suffering embarrassment" standards. It's easy to lose their respect by speaking Korean in the classroom, and you're opening yourself up to ridicule.

Two, if the CT is there and you're speaking Korean, it's like you're rendering them useless. In my school, their primary job when co-teaching is to translate.

Three, students often assume you know more than you do. They will assume you understand them and will begin speaking to you in Korean more often than English.

[swizzle]

I teach most of my classes in Korean.  I'm at a public middle school, but their English is worse than when I taught at public elementary.  The Korean teachers can't really say anything to me because they don't teach or speak at all during my class even when I ask for help, and most of them don't speak much English anyways.

[bmsteacher]

I find using some Korean words expedites the class and saves precious time.  Simple words like, start, read, write, again, etc., although most know these words in English, work well and act as good attention grabbers. 

[jkang]

i used it once. jUst to get their attention. We were learning "here" and "there" "this" and "that" and the kids were getting so bored. I said those four words in Korean like i learned it that day, in the heaviest American accent i could imagine. I got a good laugh out of the students and i also got their attention.

[marchingocelot]

It depends on the situation. In the hallways I allow my students to speak Korean to me, because if they say "Hello," I'm now forcing them to stop and answer a question or two in English.

It can be useful in the classroom. Sometimes, if some students are having real difficulty with the concepts, or if they need some prompting for a request being made of them, I will bolster it with a little Korean, though I try to avoid. When I explain games and activities now, I use almost exclusively English, backed up with some of the most acrobatic miming and charades I have ever done in my life.

Usually, I will explicitly tell students (I've also made a sign) on when it is English-only time, and when some Korean is okay.

[dostoevsky_21_81]

While I hardly speak Korean in the classroom, I do listen to them in Korean.  That may sound funny, because don't we do that all the time.  But if they can't explain themselves, I allow them to explain themselves in Korean.  And I'll only respond in English. 

If that makes sense.

[karenology]

For those of you who avoid speaking Korean - does that apply to names, also?   Do all your students have English names?  Only a handful of mine do, and even the ones that have English names love it when I call them by their real names.  The downside of this is when I mispronounce their Korean names, or if I don't in fact remember a particular student's name (there are far too many "Yoons" and "Bins" in Korean names, so it's hard for me to get those straight).   Even so, I still think it's good to show that I've made the effort to learn their actual names.   

[sweet_potato]

When I explain something to the class, and about half of them do that "aha!" thing... I ask one of those kids to explain to the class in Korean. I don't necessarily understand everything, but the KT is there to confirm whether or not it's right. I'll confirm things if they're younger students, but I don't actually speak in Korean, only in English.

[lion11]

It depends on the class.  For my better classes I keep korean to a minimum, though i still use some of the basics.  But for my lower level classes (most of them) if i didn't use any korean it would just be unbearable.

[JamericanTeacher]

When I explain something to the class, and about half of them do that "aha!" thing... I ask one of those kids to explain to the class in Korean. I don't necessarily understand everything, but the KT is there to confirm whether or not it's right. I'll confirm things if they're younger students, but I don't actually speak in Korean, only in English.

I do the same thing.  When I bring up words and expressions I ask them what it is in Korean to confirm they understand what I'm talking about and the KT confirms whether or not they're correct.  If not, she corrects and explains in Korean.

I dont see the benefit of insisting on 0% Korean  100% of the time.  You can talk and mime all you want.  If the students dont know what the hell you're talking about or reached the wrong conclusion based on your mimes and exampes, then what have they learned?

[travish65742]

I've used a couple of simple things like close the door and sit down, but I don't know that much Korean. Whenever I'm outside of school and see students on the street I'll try to talk to them in Korean. I think it shows them that I'm struggling with a language as well. I also think they understand the separation between classroom and outside the classroom. They always get a laugh when I talk to them in Korean and I want to be taken somewhat seriously in the classroom. That is why I don't use what little I know.

[notinKS]

I should explain a little more: when they see me in the hallways or if they come into our office for something, I still want them to speak English. They're very interested in my Korean studies and I'm more than willing to show them what I'm working on. I'm also lucky enough to have fantastic co-teachers, so in the classroom choosing to not use Korean is not a problem. But because my goal is to get them to speak more English and listen to more English, outside of the classroom, I try to get them in English mode.

[jiaowokuaile]

My Korean language skills are pretty minimal, but I'll use Korean in the classroom sometimes. Usually its to tell students to speak, repeat, hurry up, etc. Sometimes, if I know the Korean phrase for the target language we are learning, I will use the Korean phrase and ask for an English translation.