Questions from the fans

Well, my celebrity status (just kidding...but not really) is sweeping the internet and I wanted to share some Q&A sessions with my fan base. This will more of an informative post. For those that are allergic to anything academic, you should stop reading now because you will start to itch and your eyes will water. For those of the inquisitive nature, perhaps you will find this interesting.

Hi Sam,

I am loving all of the familial reply all's to your email, very entertaining. Your blog is great and really enjoyable to read, you are making me jealous that I'm not there yet. It sounds like you have been having a good time so far. Have you started teaching yet or are you still training, if so how is that going; the kids, other teachers, curriculum,schedule etc?

How is the language barrier? I know you were/are studying Korean but how has it been so far? I am doing Rosetta Stone which has been good so far but i know i will be submerged and lost when i first get there. Hope all is well with you. Looking forward to your next posting and eventually seeing you in Korea. Annyeonghi gyeseyo

All the best, Leor
___________________________________________________
I have started teaching. There was no training for me. They just threw me in. I was a little surprised. The first class, my teacher, Kim Shin-suk, said, "Just give an introduction." I told them my name, where I lived and were I studied. I told them why I came to Korea. It took about 15 minutes (I was nervous too). Then I stood there looking around because I thought my teacher had a lesson planned. To my surprise, there was no lesson planned. I was supposed to talk about myself for 45 min! It was so awkward. I just started asking them questions like, who is your favorite actor, what is your favorite movie, what music do you listen to? The other classes went better than the first. It just took a little practice and time to get a routine going.

I believe at the hagwons they will train you for the first week if I am not mistaken. But as an outline to talk about yourself I would include where you live. I also explained how I arrived. "I took a plane from New York. I stopped in Tokyo before arriving in Pusan." Then I asked them how many hours they thought it took. The responses I got were: 7, 10, 12, 24. When I told them it took 20 hours including the wait time, delays, and actual flight time they were so surprised. "WHOOOAAAA" was the general response.

I teach at 3 different schools. SURPRISE! I did not know that going in. They are all public schools though since I am in the EPIK program. Monday I teach at Kon-myeong middle school (the students are 12-15), Tuesday I teach at Kon-myeong elementary school (the kids are 10-12 and are great so far), Wed-Fri I teach at Sacheon Girls Middle School (the girls are 13-15). The teachers have been more than helpful. Like you read in an earlier post, I felt like a prostitute in a suit being picked up everyday by different teachers in the morning, but it was great. I think they want to practice their English with me as well. Everyone apologized to me in the beginning about their English being poor, but I think they speak very well. What I notice, besides the difficulty between R's and L's, is the tendency to add extra emphasis on the endings of words. For example, bus, they pronounce it 'bus-uh' and lead, they pronounce it like 'lead-uh'. You are learning in Rosetta Stone that vowels can stand alone (OI = 'i', O = 'eu'), you just have to put a circle in front, or on top of it. The consonant S has 'EU' on the bottom. This is because in hangeul, Korean, a consonant cannot stand alone. In romanized Korean they would write bu-seu.

My advice for combating the language barrier is to learn how to read and write the alphabet. The students will be impressed if you can write your name in hanguel and say a few things. chun-chun-hi - means to slow down. I told them if I speak to fast to say 'chun-chun-hi teacher'. I also created an email just for the students and teachers to contact me. I haven't received any emails yet from students, but I told them that if they want to practice writing, to feel free to write. In the subject I told them to write their class number and their name. I created folders in my gmail account for each class in order to keep track of who is who. Monday and Tuesday my classes are manageable with no class exceeding 14 students (boys and girls). Wed-Fri at the Girls Middle School my classes are 30-32 students. So categorizing is necessary! I also told them NO SPAM.

I feel silly sometimes that I cannot speak more Korean. Annonghaseyo goes a long way though with everyone at all hours of the day! I am trying everyday and I go through scenarios with my teachers sometimes. It is difficult though because they want to speak English and I want them to get used to different pronunciations. But I try to slip in Korean phrases here and there. In class, I practice writing a bit when I ask the students to spell their names in hanguel. We also have a good laugh at my inability sometimes, but it's good. It keeps the girls attentive. The last teacher that was at the school I was told spoke no Korean. I find that really crazy, but needless to say, they were super impressed with me. Just adding to my celebrity status haha.

I plan some of my own material and I have asked the teachers to tell me what chapters they are on in their books so I can integrate the words and phrases they would like me to work on. I work with five different teachers between the 3 schools: 1 in the elementary, 1 in the middle school, and 3 in the girl's middle school. It'll be a learning process for me so I just have to adapt right now. I tell myself everyday that I am a chameleon. You may find yourself in my blog Leor!

Annongghi gyeseyo,

Samantha or as they say here, Chin SamanDa

I'm laughing at how your students will pronounce your name Leor!