HOGWANS (PRIVATE ENGLISH INSTITUTES)

I don’t know how many students go to Hogwons, but my estimate is maybe 5 per class, higher in the higher classes. And now with the inexpensive multi-media English classroom in the school, which is a private Hogwon too, 15% of the entire school goes here. These students are usually very enthusiastic about learning English. Too often it seems I am only teaching to them. It’s tempting to let only the best students do the role playing, etc., but I try to be as democratic as possible, keeping in mind, foreign language learning is very difficult for some students.

There are several students who can converse in English in this school because they have overseas and Hogwan experience or because they lived in the Philippines. Often these students can act as assistant teachers, explaining meanings, teacher instructions, and so on. But they will generally be bored by the “slower” English lesson given to the rest of the class.

Three months ago a multi-media English Hogwon was opened in an empty classroom in this school. Using CD_ROMS and sometimes videos, about 40 students from 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, a potential total of 120, can study English 3 times a week, very cheaply. There is a Korean-Canadian native speaker teacher here for the summer, but the actual Korean teacher does his best. I am beginning to feel the increased awareness of English comprehension this has caused. All the students are learning more. Maybe in my classes, I am just reviewing for them. Therefore, I should try to make some classes more challenging. All the students have textbooks and work books to go along with the video, so even first grades are learning some reading and writing.