TEAM TEACHING
Korean teachers are aware of the Team Teaching method and about 80% of my classes use this method. It comes in many forms and styles. There grade 3 teachers, because they received English in elementary school training are more or less self-sufficient. I am asked to help with pronunciation and grammar points. Sometimes I do some substitute teaching. I do not like teaching classes under grade 4 alone, from experience. I can and do teach many grade 5 classes alone. For some reason, grade 6 teachers are always helpful with Team Teaching. Without their kind assistance, I could not do nearly half as good a job. They are responsible for a lot of order and quiet in the classroom. They help repeat sentences and choose volunteers for role play. They show an interest in learning English and that is reflected in the students. Students will mirror a teacher’s attitude.
Most Korean teachers let me do the lesson planning, although some, who have had experience teaching English, are eager to participate. It’s not too often, but sometimes I am just asked to sit down while the teacher takes over the lesson. Sometimes I have planned lessons in advance with teachers, usually teachers with whom I give private instructions. Grade 3 teachers already have a planned curriculum.
Team teaching definitely does make my job easier. If I am teaching in a noisy classroom, and the teacher steps in for a moment from outside, there is immediate silence, with some exceptions. Students want to please the teacher ( and their parents). They can take advantage of me because I am a foreigner and English is not important for them yet. No wonder I want to make the classes fun for them.
Even if the Korean teachers do not speak English they can create a good class because they have years of teaching experience and they know the student’s abilities. For these reasons, a Korean teacher, with even limited ability, will try to teach the lesson. I usually do not intercede because my role is primarily as an assistant to them. They must realize of course that their student have an opportunity to hear “native pronunciation” of English, For this reason, Korean teachers teaching flashcard English pronunciation, when a native speaker is in the classroom, is a very wrong approach, and thankfully, this does not happen often.
As more Korean teachers take Elementary English training and begin to teach classes, their confidence in teaching English will increase. It would be great if they continue to study and upgrade their English, as many of them never study it after they graduate from High school, where English is very, very difficult. The role of team teaching with these types of teachers will shift toward the Korean teacher experimenting with lesson plans and delivery of the class lesson. By the time these kids get to High school, English structure will be crystallized in their minds, and I think, they will have a greater appreciation for future study.