Anyways, I must say I am pretty well settled in here. I have been teaching for about a month now and have really enjoyed it. This week I will be starting lesson 5, meaning that we are already half way through the book. Boy does time fly. Midterms are coming up in about 2 weeks, so I am going to start writing my first midterm exam this week. The midterm should only take about 40 minutes for the students to complete, so the test should not be too difficult to write. I will let you all know though how it went afterwards.
My students are really good. I know this class is a little difficult for them since everything is in English, but they are working hard and coming along. They are finally feeling comfortable enough to shout out answers in class. The first few weeks I had to pick people out individually and have them answer questions. These days though students are willing to take a risk. I still have to call on people though sometimes ; ) In about a week and a half they will have their first essay due. I am looking forward to reading their responses.
As for Korean, many of you know that I am at a higher level than I should. Right now I am at about the higher beginner level. Unfortunately there is no higher beginner level this semester. There is only the higher intermediate level, level 4. Being in the class has its ups and downs. Obviously it has pushed me really try hard to understand what is being said in class. I have actually learned a lot of new vocabulary words and am able to understand about 50% of what the teacher is saying in a given class. What is difficult though is that I have a hard time expressing myself and making complete sentences. I feel like such a baby at times, spitting out any words I can to help get my message across. I realize the good in it though, because it has definitely humbled me and it helps me to understand my students. I reflect back on my experience in Korean class and think about how my students must feel the same way sometimes when they are listening to me or trying to express what they want to in English. Anyways, there is about a month left before the class is over with, so until then I will keep persevering, keeping a positive attitude, laughing at myself, having fun, and trying my best : )
Well I have a cold, so I am gonna wrap this up for now. Hope you enjoyed the update : ) Feel free to comment or ask any questions!
