1. Itinerary
First Contact: Aug. 17
Class Visit & Interview: Aug. 26, 6:20 p.m.~7:40 p.m.
Make-up Interview: Aug. 27, 1:00 p.m.~3:00 p.m.
2. Report
Target Teaching Level: Grade 4~6 - early intermediate EFL
Location: Gwngju Kyeonggido South Korea
Teacher: Kim Seoyeon, Korean
Teacher's Background: Majored in counseling and over 6 years' teaching experience
Grading English Learners
As I asked the teacher about how she grades students, she answered that she uses teacher-constructed test with multiple choices, T/F questions, fill-in-the-blank ones, and matching things. She also said that she uses portfolio and teacher observation. The student's attitude is considered to decide to move up. Students who get low grades will stay on the same level and others move up. It stimulates students to study harder. Whenever she thinks she needs help from parents, she contacts and explains the situation and asks parents for help. As Hakwon is a preparatory cram school for higher level official education, the improvement and preparation of each student must be checked and made sure students have understood and have enough knowledge. To rotate the same level books for repetition is efficient. Still there may be disadvantages that some students hate to do the same theme once again feeling being left behind. That could discourage them to give up learning itself or move out of the school.
Individual management
Individual assignment doesn't seem to be highly related with the grading, even though the teacher gives individually modified assignments. The sincerity or passion of learning is graded by their completion of the assignments. The teacher recorded student attendance, test result, assignment completion, and attitude in the roll book which helps other teachers grasp the situation easily. Every term lasts three month and after that students take test to be judged to move up or not. While teaching students, if the teacher thinks a student is not following the course well, the teacher has the student stay in the same level to repeat the course again with different contents but same level books. This is used as a way to help late-learners to have more time to understand the required English components. For students who need special care, teachers have them stay after school to study more. If that doesn't work, teachers ask parents to make students do individual assignment or make-up assignment at home. When things don't get better, students have no choice but to stay at the same level to do once again. That could be the last intervention.
Achieving School Standards
Everything is considered to grade students from attendance to test results. The school has four levels with nine steps so actually students have to go up 36steps to finish the highest level. In addition, if they don't get good test results, they have to stay at the same level again or maybe three times. The grades of individual students are directly reflected on assessment of their achievement. However acquiring the required test results is not that difficult. Students are only questioned how much they know about what they have studied for one term. Judged by the TESOL standards, the schools standards are mostly focused on instructional purposes for language arts. The other areas are excluded, I think it's because of the limited time and preparation for SAT and qualified teacher shortage.
My Opinion
What I thought while I was watching the class is that everything is going by the rules even though the class I attended was called "debating class", the class had a set of rules to debate which seemed to prohibit students from speaking freely. Learner autonomy should be considered and encouraged to speak up and to lead their own learning. Still most of the lessons are done with direct teaching methods. New approaches need to be attempted to make the class more vibrant.
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