C&T 491 Weekly Journal #2 Hazara Leon

Dr. Cho
June 7, 2017
Already the second week of the practicum I began to feel how fast time was going by. At
the same time, the tiredness began to set in with EB getting a full weeks class schedule,
English Club meeting everyday during lunch, and our practicum courses being packed
with assignments and readings for the week. On Monday we began our schedule with a
group meeting in E1 to officially meet with Dr. Cho and go over the weeks agenda.
There we discussed what was to be expected of us for the coming weeks in terms of
excursions, course work and class observations/involvement. That day we began our first
full day by attending refection and English time in the teachers lounge. Initially we had
decided to drop by and formally introduce ourselves (finish our formal introductions)
with all the teachers present, but since there were other things going on at the time, we
were told to attend the teachers meeting and given the chance to fully participate in the
morning activities with the teachers. For me, this was a great opportunity to learn about
the Korean work system and to take part in the teacher activities in the morning.
Following Monday, we were able to take part in the morning reflection/English
Broadcast exercises and get to know our superiors. After Morning Prayer we then had
plenty of time to study and were finally able to spend a full day in the office. On our first
full day in the EB office we were able to meet students who would stop by to simply say
hello or to chat for a few minutes. By leaving our door open and walking around during
passing period we were able to interact with the girls, and began to get those who would
ask if we remembered their names. Apart from spending most of the day studying and
interacting with students in our office, we also had two classes that we observed in the
afternoon. These classes were both repeating the review sessions that we had done mid-
way through our first week so most of what we did during those two classes was
participating during the activities, monitoring, and answering questions. Since both of the
activities involved moving around and reciting a customer service telephone script, our
role was to give the girls practice with native speakers. Right after these two lessons as a
group we experienced our most nerve-wracking experience ever. During the teachers
meeting we (Aiyana, Maya, Elizabeth and I) along with Dr. Cho were to formally
introduce ourselves in front of all the teachers in EB. At first we had just planned to do
our usually introductions in English, but were encouraged to try our introductions in
Korean in front of all our superiors. Unlike the introductions we had done in front of all
the English classes, being in a room full of only teachers, expectantly waiting for you to
make a good first impression, made the experience so much more terrifying. In addition
to the pressure from the audience, we also had to do a good job of conveying our feelings
by putting more effort into our Korean introductions. As we presented ourselves we could
all feel each others nervousness and it was only until we reached the safety of our office
that we were able to exhale and let go of the pressure. Afterwards we were informed of
all the compliments we had received from the faculty, staff, and students at the EB
School during our short week there. This was shocking for us. We knew the students
were always watching us and that we had to represent our country well, but it never
occurred to us that there were eyes everywhere. There were compliments from the
principal, the students, and even the people from the neighborhood. From that very first
week we had learned the importance of respect and had all made a conscious note to
always be on our best behavior and to act professionally on and off campus. We did this
by always having asking each others opinions on whatever it is that we decided to do. As
a community of practice, my fellow student teachers at the EB high school have been a
C&T 491 Weekly Journal #2 Hazara Leon
Dr. Cho
June 7, 2017
great support system from day one. Knowing that we are all going through our own
struggles and are having difficulties adjusting to the living and working situation
environment has created tension within the group. However, when in our own school we
were always able to talk things out and have girl talks where we would get to know
each other and discuss things we had difficulty with in the practicum. In all honesty, I am
very glad to have been grouped with the people in EB. We work very well together inside
and outside the classroom and are able to easily converse with one another our ideas and
thoughts in a comfortable environment. I believe one of the biggest reasons for all the
compliments is the fact that as a community we work well together. There have been
differences in ideas, but the fact that we can talk it out and accept our differing views
really does help.
With the start of our week reassuring us of our presence in the school, Tuesday and
Wednesday were followed by more introductions, participation in activities (customer
service calls and directing customers to the dressing room), and observations. As part of
our observations we were to think about the quality of the lesson, teachers presentation,
student participation, major strengths and questions we had over the lesson. This really
helped me to see how the lessons were tailored, or adapted, to the girls in each class.
Even if I observed the same lesson more than once on the same day, I saw how Dionne
would make sure to make the instructions more clear based on the struggles the previous
class had or she would slightly tweak the lessons to make them more fun and engaging.
On Thursday we then had our first opportunity to carry out an activity on our own. Since
half of the class would be testing, the other half would take part in English conversation.
However, from previous experience we realized that the girls were too shy to speak up
and converse so we came up with an icebreaker. The game was inspired by the Korean
variety show Running Man in which one person would get an English would and begin to
draw it out for only 5 seconds. Each person would then complete the picture within that
5-second limit and the last person in the team would have to guess the word. The game
was a complete hit, but similar to the way Dionne would improve from one class to the
next, we found ourselves leading the students and explaining the instructions better, class
after class. We realized how difficult it was to get everyone focused and the importance
of pragmatics (body language) when it came to explaining the instructions. As we
explained the rules we would mime drawing on the notebook and passing it from one
person to the next. To end our week we then attended the Sports Festival on Friday. In all
honesty, Friday was one of the most memorable days because I got to take pictures with
my students, participate in sports, watch them get competitive, and have fun dancing with
them. I think coming back from our Seoul excursion will show how much closer weve
gotten and seeing our silly and fun sides will make them feel more comfortable to stop by
the office and talk to us about anything and everything.