Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Kind of a shame...

I've found myself getting really frustrated, lately, with the type of English I'm forced to teach my students in my English classroom!  Korea is paying me a lot of money to teach their kids English, yet the book my school was given by the government wasn't even written by a native English speaker.  For instance, I will spend the next 4 weeks teaching my 6th graders key sentences that are NEVER used in English speaking countries!  Why don't I scrap the book you ask?  Well, because Korea is TEST CRAZY and the government tests match the textbook to a tee, so I have to teach straight from it!  Are you feeling my frustration yet?  If not, maybe this will do the trick!

These are the sentences I'll be teaching my 6th graders for the next 4 weeks straight!

A: What will you do this weekend?
B: I'll work for my pocket money.
A: Oh, what will you do for it?
B: I'll walk the dog and feed it.
A: Good for you.

Can you imagine having that conversation with one of your friends during recess when you were in 6th grade?
A: What will you do this weekend?
B: I'll go to my uncle's farm in Daejon.
A: Daejon? How will you get there?
B: I'll go there by train.
A: Good!  Have a good time!

I'd be lying if I said I didn't cringe teaching this stuff... If I had it my way, it would be native English teachers writing the English books, and there wouldn't be government test.  Unfortunately, that'll likely never happen.  With that said, tonight I'm meeting my friend Meagan for dinner in Centum city and I'm excited about that!  How will I get there you ask?  Oh, I will go there by subway of course!   lol