[Mevans]

Hi everyone,

I've been teaching at a hagwon in South Korea for 2 months, and we don't have any sort of curriculum or use text books, and I always find it difficult to decide what I'm going to teach next.

I've been looking at sites like onestopenglish and handoutsonline for ideas, I have used some of their free sheets and found them useful.

Are these sites worth joining? or can I find all I need for free, and do you have any recommendations around what I should be teaching.

I would like to try to add some structure to what I'm doing as at the moment its just random sheets or games or flashcards as I find them online.

I'm teaching a range of ages from 5 to 16 and class sizes range from 3 to 12.

thanks,

Marc.

[jenniferp]

Hi Marc,

I would sit down and try to work out a basic course outline - month by month and then you can break it down into week by week - for the next 6 months or so for each of your class levels. If you don't have access to any text books at the school are there any esl book shops near you for you check out sample curriculum? Usually the books give a structured table in their content pages and with a bit of tweaking here and there you can adapt their ideas into your own plans.
It's an awful lot easier to decide what handouts/worksheets/flashcards you need when you have a structured plan.

I'm in a similar position at my school with not having any books to teach from and setting my own curriculum. I use the internet a lot for research, finding images for flashcards and getting ideas etc. I subscribed to one website for a year because of the range of flashcards and worksheets that they offered and while I have printed from them I found in any case I was rewriting the worksheets to make them more exciting for my classes.
For a lot of people it comes down to time, if you have plenty of it then there is no problem in taking the time to make all your own resources, but having a lot of preparation time is not usually something you hear from a hagwon teacher ^^.

Perhaps you can get the school to subscribe to a few good sites? ;p

good luck
xx jen

[susan53]

I'd suggest that the first thing you need is a syllabus - it's this that will help you decide what to teach, whereas the type of sites you mention deal mainly with the second step : how to teach it. I'd suggest the Oxford University Press site. They publish on-line the syllabuses for all their books( go to the Teacher's Club -you have to register but it's free), and they're undoubtedly amongst the best in the field. It doesn't make sense to try and reinvent the wheel if experienced and qualified engineers have already spent half their working lives doing it for you. Choose one relevant to the age group, type of learners you have and follow it. That gets decision one out of the way, and at that point you can focus on how to present and practise the language points in the syllabus. The OUP site will also provide you with a variety of sample materials, but if you want to invest a bit, why not divert some of the funds to getting the books? Certainly though, at this point sites like onestopenglish will be useful. Onestopenglish is the Macmillan site and although you have to pay a certain amount for full access it has a wealth of information, including tready made lesson plans. I'd say that in your situation it's worth it, even though you can get other similar material elsewhere - no single site is going to keep you going with all your classes for a whole year. Invest in one and get the rest free elsewhere. For flashcards, for example, I always use the ones on this site or mesenglish. For other free sites try Teaching English , eslkidsstuff, and eslbase.
they all have lesson plans, worksheets, activity descriptions etc. That's just a selection, and they'll lead you on to many more if you follow the links they include - and of course the ones featured on this site.

[emile]

You should work out a curriculum as the others mentioned. It's terrible that your workplace doesn't give you any support. Don't they at least provide a mini-library of books for you?

[clivehawkins]

I'd get your school to subscribe to the esl-lounge.com premium site - there are ready made lesson plans \ listenings \ worksheets - the lot.

[Mevans]

Thanks for your replies guys.

I've joined up on onestopenglish, and the worksheets are good.

I'm looking through the oxford university press site at the moment and will hopefully come up with a curriculum soon.

I don't really like the layout of esl-lounge and the free sheets didn't look as good as those on onestopenglish.

We don't have a mini-library of books, I've spoken to the hagwon owners about getting text books and they wont as the students don't want them.

Marc.

[susan53]

Quote Mevans

I've spoken to the hagwon owners about getting text books and they wont as the students don't want them.

Ho ho - now there's a good excuse for not spending any money .... Have you pointed out that a selection of textbooks for reference and ideas might help the teachers do their jobs a bit better? I wonder if they'd like to go to a doctor who had no access to drugs or medical equipment ....

[livinginkorea]

Usually when a student joins a hagwon (private school) their textbooks are provided by the school so I'm guessing that your boss thinks printing and photocopying sheets are cheaper then buying a book. It means a lot more hassle for you and what do you do when the machine breaks down?? I have always been lucky enough that if I want a certain book, I talk to the boss and tell him how great this book is and that in America a lot of students use it..etc and then it's provided by the school in about a weeks time.

By the way who paid for the website? The boss or you?

[mesmark]

Quote Mevans

We don't have a mini-library of books, I've spoken to the hagwon owners about getting text books and they wont as the students don't want them.

I think having some activity books for teachers is really helpful. Even having a few textbooks for the teachers to look at and flip through for ideas is also nec.

I agree with Sue. Any professional has a range of reference materials in their office or at their disposal. While the internet can be a good source, it's also nice to be able to grab a book.

Quote Susan53

For flashcards, for example, I always use the ones on this site or mesenglish.

Thanks for the mention

[clivehawkins]

I don't know how things work in Korea, but isn't there a rep for Oxford, Longman, Cambridge etc where you can request free copies of coursebooks \ resource books \ CDs for teachers? At least that way you've got some lesson ideas and a ready made syllabus.
It's worth a shot.

[mesmark]

I think Cambridge will send anyone a free copy of a textbook, up to three requests. You just need to email them. I'm sure other publishers have similar policies.

I have to do it myself soon, so I'll let you know what I find out.