Long time, no see
Sorry for not posting very often. I realize I say that almost every entry, but hey, at least I am reliable in some ways.
Lots of things have been going on here since my last journal entry. My semester is now over and all I have left to do is post my grades online and have the students come in to beg for higher grades. Yes, that's right, I have to sit in my office for the next two days while my students come visit me with bribes to petition their grade. Fun stuff. However, since every other prof here has to do the same, we've planned to highjack an 46" lcd tv from the MM room down the hall and watch movies all day:-)
The semester went rather well. I've learned a lot about teaching and language acquisition. First, continuity is really important. I've got to be so careful to tie everything together - even one unclear jump from one grammar point to another and I have just wasted a whole class. Second, teaching language takes so much more energy than lecturing. There is certainly less prep time involved but at the end of a class I'm just wiped from having to be so on the ball and outgoing for just 50 minutes.
On language acquisition, it's all about visuals. I used to try to connect English words and grammar to their Korean counterparts directly and let me tell you, that just doesn't work. Now I use pictures for all but the toughest vocabulary. Explaining grammar is a little more tricky and I still haven't quite figured out how to move away from direct correlation. What I've been trying to do is use examples from Korean and English, although not the same examples in each language, to explain the concept behind the grammar and syntax. I'll see if I can post some examples of what I am talking about in the near future but I don't have anything in the correct format at the moment.
One thing I certain of is that the ways I learned Latin and Greek just aren't effective enough. Certainly, learning a living language and a dead one are quite different, but the age of sitting in class translating Latin sentences into English have passed. I really believe now that all classical linguists must move outside the classical world into modern linguistic theory and philosophy of meaning to become effective teachers. I honestly don't blame my teachers for using the current method (we've known nothing else for at least 100 years) but change has to come - stop fighting it.
I have the next 10 days off, then I have to work for 3 weeks in the university's childrens' program. It'll be nice to get back to teaching 6 year olds again. Korean kids are cute and I like nothing better than teaching the ABCs to a bunch of adorable little kids with pig tails and bowl cuts. After that, I'm hoping to spend a week in Taiwan at the end of January. Following that, 3 weeks in an intensive Korean program, then a week in Japan. More on all that when I actually have a plan.
Christmas. I'm spending Christmas Eve day with my friend MiJin in Daegu. I think we are going to watch some old Christmas classics at a DVD room (You can rent DVDs and watch them privately on a big screen tv). After that, something Korean for dinner (she's picking, so I am a little afraid), then I am off to Gumi to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my friends there. Not sure what that will entail yet, but the plan so far is a sleigh ride, presents, BBQ (guess who got volunteered to do that in the cold) and lots of Soju.
For New Year's, it's a tradition in Korea to either climb a mountain or go to a beach on the East Coast to watch the sun come up, so I think I'm going to Ulsan to do just that. I'm still trying to find someone to tag along with me but everyone thinks I'm nuts because the weather is unseasonably cold here (that means I actually have to wear a jacket when I go outside).
I hope everyone is doing well. It's nice to read all your livejournals to see what is going on with y'all, although I'm a little surprised by everyone posting privately. I guess since so few of the people I know can speak English now that I have little to worry about but it is surprising nonetheless.
Lots of things have been going on here since my last journal entry. My semester is now over and all I have left to do is post my grades online and have the students come in to beg for higher grades. Yes, that's right, I have to sit in my office for the next two days while my students come visit me with bribes to petition their grade. Fun stuff. However, since every other prof here has to do the same, we've planned to highjack an 46" lcd tv from the MM room down the hall and watch movies all day:-)
The semester went rather well. I've learned a lot about teaching and language acquisition. First, continuity is really important. I've got to be so careful to tie everything together - even one unclear jump from one grammar point to another and I have just wasted a whole class. Second, teaching language takes so much more energy than lecturing. There is certainly less prep time involved but at the end of a class I'm just wiped from having to be so on the ball and outgoing for just 50 minutes.
On language acquisition, it's all about visuals. I used to try to connect English words and grammar to their Korean counterparts directly and let me tell you, that just doesn't work. Now I use pictures for all but the toughest vocabulary. Explaining grammar is a little more tricky and I still haven't quite figured out how to move away from direct correlation. What I've been trying to do is use examples from Korean and English, although not the same examples in each language, to explain the concept behind the grammar and syntax. I'll see if I can post some examples of what I am talking about in the near future but I don't have anything in the correct format at the moment.
One thing I certain of is that the ways I learned Latin and Greek just aren't effective enough. Certainly, learning a living language and a dead one are quite different, but the age of sitting in class translating Latin sentences into English have passed. I really believe now that all classical linguists must move outside the classical world into modern linguistic theory and philosophy of meaning to become effective teachers. I honestly don't blame my teachers for using the current method (we've known nothing else for at least 100 years) but change has to come - stop fighting it.
I have the next 10 days off, then I have to work for 3 weeks in the university's childrens' program. It'll be nice to get back to teaching 6 year olds again. Korean kids are cute and I like nothing better than teaching the ABCs to a bunch of adorable little kids with pig tails and bowl cuts. After that, I'm hoping to spend a week in Taiwan at the end of January. Following that, 3 weeks in an intensive Korean program, then a week in Japan. More on all that when I actually have a plan.
Christmas. I'm spending Christmas Eve day with my friend MiJin in Daegu. I think we are going to watch some old Christmas classics at a DVD room (You can rent DVDs and watch them privately on a big screen tv). After that, something Korean for dinner (she's picking, so I am a little afraid), then I am off to Gumi to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my friends there. Not sure what that will entail yet, but the plan so far is a sleigh ride, presents, BBQ (guess who got volunteered to do that in the cold) and lots of Soju.
For New Year's, it's a tradition in Korea to either climb a mountain or go to a beach on the East Coast to watch the sun come up, so I think I'm going to Ulsan to do just that. I'm still trying to find someone to tag along with me but everyone thinks I'm nuts because the weather is unseasonably cold here (that means I actually have to wear a jacket when I go outside).
I hope everyone is doing well. It's nice to read all your livejournals to see what is going on with y'all, although I'm a little surprised by everyone posting privately. I guess since so few of the people I know can speak English now that I have little to worry about but it is surprising nonetheless.