Kids arrive for an 'English experience week'

Monday

There were 32 of them. Some excited, some nervous, others nonchalant. They had come to the all swanky brand new teaching centre here in Gongju for 5 days of...I'm not quite sure what. They have all been hand-picked from various schools in the province, and are supposed to be the 'best students from each school'.

I said 'hello' as I walked though the small crowd gathered in the lobby. I got some 'hellos' back, but was stopped in my tracks by one girl who stood right infront of me. She said 'hello', immediately followed by 'I love you'. Now, that's a nice way to greet someone you have just met...and I do approve of it strongly. But these students are 15 years old. Someone somewhere between the age of the old lady I met last night and this little girl would be perfect. I reacted to this one by not reacting, as I thought she might have said it just to get a reaction. I tried to act cool, as if I hear that kind of thing all the time (thinking I might be able to pull off a kind of swarve 'James Bond' kind of teacher image, as these kids don't know me at all).

The image I thought I was creating was shattered a few hours later, as the same girl and several of her friends told me I look just like Ron Weasley in 'Harry Potter'. One of them even said 'he's ginger'...which is never funny. My hair is coloured...I got it done two weeks ago, but not ginger. If it had gone that colour then I would have worn a cap. I just think their English wasn't good enough for them to express themselves clearly. I'm not ginger.

The 'lessons'

The kids are split up into 3 classes of 12. I was asked to observe, as I guess it's all too complex for me to deal with still.

But the first event was a 'welcome talk'. Everyone went to the brand new, very nice auditorium. One of the leaders of the Centre spoke in ok English for a few minutes to welcome them, before completely out of the blue and seemingly mid sentence saying 'now look at the Korean flag' (that was on the stage). The national anthem was suddenly blasted out and we were all beckoned to stand. Maybe this is normal here.

Next up was the leader of us foreign teachers, Ellena. She went over the 'teaching centre rules' which flashed up on the swanky new big screen that appeared. One rule that sticks in my mind is 'You must have fun'. It kind of gave me that sinking feeling of what was to come over the next 5 days. If this rule is really necessary, then it seems the 'travelling freaky show' has come home and is about to thrill these lucky kids.

Luckily, the 'Smeallarella' show is reserved for when we visit poor kid's schools in the countryside. So the first activity here was 'ice breaker', where I assumed all the kids would get to know one another via fun games. They all went into the indoor 'sports' room (big classroom with no desks), and took part in 2 activities that were neither fun nor ice-breaking, and where the foreign teachers chatted among themselves while a Korean teacher did all the work. Great start.

When the kids looked really bored they were taken to the classrooms. I followed the crazy USA/Korean girl/woman teacher, as I was curious to find out what she is like on her own as a teacher. I soon found out.

As we walked down the corridor, the first word the poor kids heard screeching from her mouth was 'DON'T'. She shouted to them don't do this and don't do that...and ask me if you want to do anything other than breathe. She sat on her chair with wheels and said don't do this, and then pushed herself around the room and out into the corridor. Unfortunately she came back after a few seconds, still on her chair, and pointed to a sign near her desk that said 'No students allowed near the desk!'. She spoke quickly, and not to anyone in particular (except maybe the ceiling and wall at the back) as she told the kids about herself. There was no way she could know the English level of the kids, as they hadn't spoken. Amusingly, she asked 'do you understand?' when she had finished...and nodded her own head in an attempt to get the students to do the same (because they weren't). Just then, I noticed in the corner where I was sitting was a desk with a notice on it. It read 'Angie's Fan Mail'. Here the kids were invited to write fan mail to her. I read some from previous weeks and all said things like 'Angie we love you' and 'Angie you are so cute'. I really think she IS the kind of person who would write these notes herself. I wonder if she is a tad insecure?

The events that followed I won't go into, but it left no doubt that she was completely useless at: teaching; speaking to kids at a level where then can understand; communication in general; being quiet; not freaking everyone out.

Bet the kids were really looking forward to Tuesday.