New interactive practice segment: Sam's Solutions in Life...

Dear a Promising English Teacher..

I think i know what you are talking about. I did the same work, felt the same way you do now. I couldn't utter or pen any English sentence unless i have seen it before in the newspaper or well-typed English literature. Everything from my head seemed to be just a literal translation from Korean to English. I was so embarrassed and puzzled as you may feell now that it sometimes took me an hour to jot down three or four sentences. Somehow i could have a chance to talk with some native speakers and ask them to proofread what i tranlsated. Thankfully, they pinpointed what's wrong or inappropriate in my composition and encouraged me to move forward. Then, i regained some confidence and pushed myself harder and harder. Even now i feel my tongue twisted when i meet a foreigner and my finger crooked when i am ready to interpret Korean to English. However, i think i can make myself understood in Englihs not fully but satisfactorily. DJ.. We are not born in an English-speaking country, but we have come this far. Let's keep up the good work.^^

jangdj wrote:Dear sam ..


Well. sometimes I ask myself what is going on around my head. "Puzzled", "complicated" , "annoyed" those words don't seem appropiate to define the situation . To express and deliver messages clearly in the target language I do not have native-control, is too much burden to me. I must confess that yet I still can not write in english . I am doing translating job as matter of fact. I do build a sentence and translate it into target languge.I do not think in english and wirte simuntaneously. Interval between two process just got much shorter than it was long so sometimes I make people think I am functioning in english rather than translating.
As a M.A STUDENT and in the graduate shool of education, I frequently feel I am simply not good enough to be a prospective teacher. I fully aware that there is no migic for this sort of problem. However , I hope to see lamp's Genne

Compared to other middle or high school subjects, English is worth putting efforts to improve its score. So, i humbly suggest to you that if your student is in middle school, i think you first check that he is a really hard-working student. If so, make him show his efforts to you every other day or every week. We often confuse diligence with modesty. Second, if your student is in high school and you are sure of his industry, then you have to wait and see. If you have enough patience to wait for more than 3 months while encouraging him to study hard, you will see the result. If his score doesn't improve much, it is very likely that he is not that diligent guy.

kurt wrote:Dear Sam.

I have one student who have studied English so hard, but his performance has not improved yet. Whenever he took tests, his score remained the same. To see him disappointed is too much for me. What should I do for him?

jangdj wrote:Dear sam ..


Well. sometimes I ask myself what is going on around my head. "Puzzled", "complicated" , "annoyed" those words don't seem appropiate to define the situation . To express and deliver messages clearly in the target language I do not have native-control, is too much burden to me. I must confess that yet I still can not write in english . I am doing translating job as matter of fact. I do build a sentence and translate it into target languge.I do not think in english and wirte simuntaneously. Interval between two process just got much shorter than it was long so sometimes I make people think I am functioning in english rather than translating.
As a M.A STUDENT and in the graduate shool of education, I frequently feel I am simply not good enough to be a prospective teacher. I fully aware that there is no migic for this sort of problem. However , I hope to see lamp's Genne

Dear the Puzzled
In all around world, we are looking for some magical tool to improve our English skills, but sooner or later, we are aware that there is none to do so for us. Ironically, in an incredibly, scientifically fast world we are getting nervous about what you haven't got yet, but more. I think you are great, awesome. You are doing right now writing some lines without any hesitation, I suppose. And one more thing, you will be getting better at using English. How incredible you are! Be more patient for a year or so, and you will know what your ability is quite well.
Cheer up!
Sam

kurt wrote:Dear Sam.

I have one student who have studied English so hard, but his performance has not improved yet. Whenever he took tests, his score remained the same. To see him disappointed is too much for me. What should I do for him?

Dear disappointed teacher
Let me say you should wait and wait.
One of my friends who have a crazy idea was trying to study very hard, but it took long time for him to have a good remark, so that you should give your student motivation not to give up with his result at the moment.
Keep helping him and encourage him.
And I would like to give my hands to you due to your effort and passion to student. Awesome!
Best wishes,
Sam

jangdj wrote:Dear sam ..


Well. sometimes I ask myself what is going on around my head. "Puzzled", "complicated" , "annoyed" those words don't seem appropiate to define the situation . To express and deliver messages clearly in the target language I do not have native-control, is too much burden to me. I must confess that yet I still can not write in english . I am doing translating job as matter of fact. I do build a sentence and translate it into target languge.I do not think in english and wirte simuntaneously. Interval between two process just got much shorter than it was long so sometimes I make people think I am functioning in english rather than translating.
As a M.A STUDENT and in the graduate shool of education, I frequently feel I am simply not good enough to be a prospective teacher. I fully aware that there is no migic for this sort of problem. However , I hope to see lamp's Genne

Hi Jangdj,

Sam here. Thanks for posting your heartfelt issue. You've already received some replies and I think they pass on very relevant and useful advice. Most of all, it appears you need to go easy on yourself in terms of expectations. Be patient. English is not a river to be crossed. It is a river to swim in and enjoy, to let the current take you gently downstream to bigger and better things.

To make a more practical solution, I heard from my friend Jason (he teaches your course at KNU) about how he increased his fluency in thinking and writing in his second language (Swedish). He kept a private diary in a small notebook that he could carry around with him on a constant basis. Even though he was really pathetic at Swedish at first (and had to have a dictionary on hand to spit out even the most simple thoughts on paper), he kept at it, writing anything and everything he could in that diary whenever he had a chance - on the train or bus, sitting waiting for classes, etc...

At first, of course, it was all basically translation between the two languages in his head - and usually pretty poor translation at that. But two years later, his diary entries had become much more fluent, and he had in fact "trained" himself to think much more directly in Swedish. This was possibly partly due to the progression in language proficiency, but mostly because of the general habit of doing the entries regularly, and eventually doing them without a dictionary on hand. He basically became used to expressing ideas with whatever Swedish he had at his disposal rather than thinking things through in detail in English and then trying to translate. The key thing was that he had to be willing to be patient and not fussy about his expression - he had to accept that he would not be able to think or express himself as elegantly in Swedish as he could in English. Being a private diary, this was not a big issue once he got used to the idea. He would even experiment with Swedish in playful ways, coming up with sentences that would have caused Alfred Nobel to turn in his grave with horror at seeing his beloved language being twisted and deformed in such ways.

However, it worked. Three years after commencing Swedish, he was fluent enough to be awarded a scholarship by his university (The University of Melbourne in Australia) to spend a year at Uppsala University in Sweden (the most prestigious university in Northern Europe). There he studied all his subjects in Swedish, and came home a year later almost completely fluent. The personal 'play' diary was a major facilitator in that process, and in the general process of teaching himself to 'think' in the second language.

I hope Jason's experience can inspire you. He's short, ugly, and not all that amusing, but he does have some good ideas from time to time...

Best regards and best of luck with it,

~ Sam Solution


***

Oksun wrote:Dear Sam,
I'm a woman in trouble. Fifteen years have passed since I got married. We have children. My husband is a sports nut.-he is crazy about all kinds of sports. My family rarely went anywhere for a vacation or a holiday, since he didn't want to miss a football, baseball or basketball game on TV. Whenever we are in the car, he insisted that the radio should be tuned to a game. Conversation was allowed only during commercials. My children who are not interested in sports have nothing to talk to their father. I asked my husband to do things with me and my children for a recreation but he ignored!! I thought I could change him but I failed. What shall I do ?

Frustrated

Dear the frustrated laday
Thank you for your sharing here. Your story isn't easy to discuss. I am sure it is the time your family have to be changed in time. As a married man, I don't quite well understand about Korean men, espeically who live in Kyoungsang area.
First of all, I don't think your husband has any chance to hear or see husbands who is kind enough to do some nice things at home. That means you should find out some seminar for married couples who have not good relationship between them. Therefore he might hear some ideal or factual behavior in his house. I am not talking about that your husband is so wrong that he needs some corrections from others. I mean it is time for him to see his married life in a different way to go. I hope it will work for your family.
And secondly, you need to tell him what will happen in the future. Nowadays children don't like to talk or play with their father any more, if so, it is not kind of ture thing to the children. If he doesn't play with children, it may happen to your husband. I am sure you and your children have a good relationship one another. That's more essential fact than the first reason here.
I do know your situation right now, but who else can understand your feelings? I am always supporting your idea that you try to keep your family warm and happy and if you don't give it up, it will gradually and finally work.
Best wishes,
Sam who is on your side.

Dear Sam

Now i have a newborn baby, a little over a month now, who doesn't sleep well.. i mean he barely sleeps for more than 2 hours at a time. When i am in school, my wife and my mother-in-law takes care of my baby. But, at night i am the one who is in charge of hugging, feeding, and making him sleep, which means i have also barely slept for more than 2 hours at one time since he was released from a nursery center. Sometimes i feel i can't stand this any more and i really would like to quit my MA study right away(^^). What should i do? Help me, Sam!

How eagerly do you want to be a teacher, especially middle and high school?

In my case, since I was a middle school student it has been my entire dream. BUT now.. frankly speaking, i don't know well.

After failure in teacher's exam, I wonder what I want to be. Now, I just teach kindergarten students and 1st/2nd grade elementary school students English. Through this experience I could learn something which I've never learn teacher's college. Compared to preschool education, secondary education is really different one. I think, now I'm learning what education is. general concept.. It's really interesting to hear my students' English saying, "good-bye", "brush your teeth", etc.. Even they are humming in English! When they call me smiling on their face, they hug me, and their mothers send me text-message "My child is really like this English class. Teacher, thank you very much.", I think, it is worth while to keep on this work.

However, because most friends around me want to be/are teachers, sometimes it seems to me that it is the way of failure not to be a real teacher(i mean "real teacher" = pass the teacher's exam). um.. just.. confused.. nowaday...

BUT I have a dream that every children who want to study can do it without financial difficulty. the truth education.. I mean Cham education.(참교육) Someday I will make it. I expect the day and train myself now...


p.s. ; my writing.. it's a little long~ and it seems serious story. If this makes you feel down, I'm sorry. I just want to say.. Sometimes telling something gets rid of stress. hahaha... ^______________^;;

Kyeong-im wrote:How eagerly do you want to be a teacher, especially middle and high school?

In my case, since I was a middle school student it has been my entire dream. BUT now.. frankly speaking, i don't know well.

After failure in teacher's exam, I wonder what I want to be. Now, I just teach kindergarten students and 1st/2nd grade elementary school students English. Through this experience I could learn something which I've never learn teacher's college. Compared to preschool education, secondary education is really different one. I think, now I'm learning what education is. general concept.. It's really interesting to hear my students' English saying, "good-bye", "brush your teeth", etc.. Even they are humming in English! When they call me smiling on their face, they hug me, and their mothers send me text-message "My child is really like this English class. Teacher, thank you very much.", I think, it is worth while to keep on this work.

However, because most friends around me want to be/are teachers, sometimes it seems to me that it is the way of failure not to be a real teacher(i mean "real teacher" = pass the teacher's exam). um.. just.. confused.. nowaday...

BUT I have a dream that every children who want to study can do it without financial difficulty. the truth education.. I mean Cham education.(참교육) Someday I will make it. I expect the day and train myself now...


p.s. ; my writing.. it's a little long~ and it seems serious story. If this makes you feel down, I'm sorry. I just want to say.. Sometimes telling something gets rid of stress. hahaha... ^______________^;;

Dear puzzled
I am impressed that you have your own idea about Cham education. And it sounds desirable. Since I came here I have been keep asking myself ,what cause me enter this course ?am I doing right thing ? how about the job stability ? It's pretty nerve breaking time for me. But this piece of writing really encouraged me
You doing well and you are doing right thing. Teaching is more than a delivering knowledges right? Based on what you did write , it sounds you truly interact and communicate with your students.


And about what you mentioned about true education particularly on the money issue. You can say that again.
Today this competitve country located in Far-East Asia seems making things worse especially after Lee adminstration has established. Trying to build more top- notch private high schools and harm the level playing field, It seems that they want to close the window of opportunity for students who came from low income- family.

kurt wrote:Dear Sam.

I have one student who have studied English so hard, but his performance has not improved yet. Whenever he took tests, his score remained the same. To see him disappointed is too much for me. What should I do for him?

Sometimes hardworking does not not pay off and that makes peole frustrated. When it comes to test score , especially in language it really does. Having a ggod command of language and getting a satisfactory result do not go together somtimes. We need to be a little tricky and clever at this point. Putiing aside genuine lingustic proficency for a while, your students need to learn how to be a " test wise student through test driven learning". I am sure you know some know-how and you share it rihgt away.

Oksun wrote:

Lee yujin wrote:Whenever I try to concentrate on something, I find myself easily distracted by everything surrounding me.
I want to get useful tips to help me concentrate from Sam!!!

To my shame,I used to be the person who was distrcted easily. I loved daydreaming. I used to find myself just spending doing nothing particular even if I had something to do .I asked people around me to give some advice to solve this problem but I failed to find the proper solution. I kept thinking and made up my mind to get used to writing the memos. I wrote the title on top of the memo -"Things to do today" and every morning, I wrote the things I had to do,giving them priority. I put those memos on my desk and on the screen so that I could easily go back to work . It paid off . I'm wondering if it will be beneficial to you as well. Anyway , how about giving it a try?

I also think I need to wirte down something to remind me of what I have to do.
I try to do likt that. I really appreciate for you to read and reply my problem.

Lee Hye Jin wrote:I think I am a badly organized person. I want to do things as planned and I want to keep my belongings as the way they were. I always forget the place where I put my belongings or document. It always happens. I don't want to waste my time to find things any more.

And I really like to learn or do something new and I easily fall into something. However, it doesn't go long. I easily get bored with things I sarted with passion. That is my problem too. Once I was so into how to bake cookies and cakes, which didn't go long. And then I started to learn balloon art, and I started to watch videos related to that on the Internet . Now I really fell into cooking. I know this passion doesn't go long. What am I supposed to do? I really want to stick to one thing I really like.

I have the same experiences like yours.
My room is always messy and I can't find where my belongings are...
I thought I must be the only person who are not good at organizing in this class.

Anyway we have to make the habit of note-taking, which would help us a lot.
Any whenever you start certain task, do remind you of the ultimate goal to achieve.
That may help you not to give up.

jangdj wrote:Dear sam ..


Well. sometimes I ask myself what is going on around my head. "Puzzled", "complicated" , "annoyed" those words don't seem appropiate to define the situation . To express and deliver messages clearly in the target language I do not have native-control, is too much burden to me. I must confess that yet I still can not write in english . I am doing translating job as matter of fact. I do build a sentence and translate it into target languge.I do not think in english and wirte simuntaneously. Interval between two process just got much shorter than it was long so sometimes I make people think I am functioning in english rather than translating.
As a M.A STUDENT and in the graduate shool of education, I frequently feel I am simply not good enough to be a prospective teacher. I fully aware that there is no migic for this sort of problem. However , I hope to see lamp's Genne

Nowdays I often feel like you. it seems like everybody is better than me. Everybody in the class is good at speaking and writing except me.
However I decided not to be frustrated even though my English is not so good. Because that means I have much room to improve my English. We are here to learn ,not to show perfect English. ^^
The thoughts we have also can be what our future students might think. Then we can understand better them and show them that is not the end.
You can be the best teacher!!!

After reading your article, I am a little ashamed of what i am currently doing and how i approach my students as a teacher. I don't think I have seriously thought about being a teacher in college or even right after graduation. I just belived that it was natural that i would beomce a teacher since i was a studnet of the teacher's college. But, once i got to work in high school, i had to face a lot of troubles. I always felt inadequate for teaching something to seemingly grow-ups, and had a few experiences that i taught something wrong and made corrections next class. Oh... it was really difficult to even find my own identity as a teacher. Unlike you, being a teacher has never been my dream. I had to re-define my life as a teacher.

I think this confusing time is sure to helpful to you as a future teacher. Give yourself enough time to think about being a real teacher and, above all else, like you are teaching kids, have as many experiences as possible. I think you are right on the track of being an inspirational teacher. Good luck to you!

Kyeong-im wrote:How eagerly do you want to be a teacher, especially middle and high school?

In my case, since I was a middle school student it has been my entire dream. BUT now.. frankly speaking, i don't know well.

After failure in teacher's exam, I wonder what I want to be. Now, I just teach kindergarten students and 1st/2nd grade elementary school students English. Through this experience I could learn something which I've never learn teacher's college. Compared to preschool education, secondary education is really different one. I think, now I'm learning what education is. general concept.. It's really interesting to hear my students' English saying, "good-bye", "brush your teeth", etc.. Even they are humming in English! When they call me smiling on their face, they hug me, and their mothers send me text-message "My child is really like this English class. Teacher, thank you very much.", I think, it is worth while to keep on this work.

However, because most friends around me want to be/are teachers, sometimes it seems to me that it is the way of failure not to be a real teacher(i mean "real teacher" = pass the teacher's exam). um.. just.. confused.. nowaday...

BUT I have a dream that every children who want to study can do it without financial difficulty. the truth education.. I mean Cham education.(참교육) Someday I will make it. I expect the day and train myself now...


p.s. ; my writing.. it's a little long~ and it seems serious story. If this makes you feel down, I'm sorry. I just want to say.. Sometimes telling something gets rid of stress. hahaha... ^______________^;;

You may feel sorry for him.
How about telling him the effective way to study? Some students try hard, but don't get good scores due to their lack of strategies. One of my students also have the same problem. I diagnosed that she didn't understand the scheme but stuck to the details strongly.
And you should encourage him not to lose patience. He may be disappointed and frustrated with his failure. But I think it's when you have to stand by him.
Cheer up!

kurt wrote:Dear Sam.

I have one student who have studied English so hard, but his performance has not improved yet. Whenever he took tests, his score remained the same. To see him disappointed is too much for me. What should I do for him?

You may have much difficulty dealing with the situation.
Sharing time with family is valuable.
How about showing or pretending to show interests in sports that your husband is a real fan of? You and your son can watch the sports game with him. That may lead you to love the games. On a beautiful sunny day, your family members can go to the stadium to see the baseball game. All of you might enjoy the sports game.
I think that can change your husband. Your husband can be moved by your interest in what he likes. He will try to show interest in what you and your son like.
After all, all of your family members can have something to share.
I really hope that this could happen.

Oksun wrote:Dear Sam,
I'm a woman in trouble. Fifteen years have passed since I got married. We have children. My husband is a sports nut.-he is crazy about all kinds of sports. My family rarely went anywhere for a vacation or a holiday, since he didn't want to miss a football, baseball or basketball game on TV. Whenever we are in the car, he insisted that the radio should be tuned to a game. Conversation was allowed only during commercials. My children who are not interested in sports have nothing to talk to their father. I asked my husband to do things with me and my children for a recreation but he ignored!! I thought I could change him but I failed. What shall I do ?

Frustrated

Oksun wrote:

Joo Un-jin wrote:You may have much difficulty dealing with the situation.
Sharing time with family is valuable.
How about showing or pretending to show interests in sports that your husband is a real fan of? You and your son can watch the sports game with him. That may lead you to love the games. On a beautiful sunny day, your family members can go to the stadium to see the baseball game. All of you might enjoy the sports game.
I think that can change your husband. Your husband can be moved by your interest in what he likes. He will try to show interest in what you and your son like.
After all, all of your family members can have something to share.
I really hope that this could happen.

Oksun wrote:Dear Sam,
I'm a woman in trouble. Fifteen years have passed since I got married. We have children. My husband is a sports nut.-he is crazy about all kinds of sports. My family rarely went anywhere for a vacation or a holiday, since he didn't want to miss a football, baseball or basketball game on TV. Whenever we are in the car, he insisted that the radio should be tuned to a game. Conversation was allowed only during commercials. My children who are not interested in sports have nothing to talk to their father. I asked my husband to do things with me and my children for a recreation but he ignored!! I thought I could change him but I failed. What shall I do ?

Frustrated

Never did I realize that marriage is based on mutual interest. Right. I didn't know that there woud be a simple way I could change him- by showing my interest in what he likes. I tried to change him but I wouldn't try to change myself. Actually I'm not a sport person and I'm reluctant to go to the ball park. However , I will try to pretend to get to love baseball. Good luck to me .^^

Bae Sung-han wrote:

Oksun wrote:Dear Sam,
I'm a woman in trouble. Fifteen years have passed since I got married. We have children. My husband is a sports nut.-he is crazy about all kinds of sports. My family rarely went anywhere for a vacation or a holiday, since he didn't want to miss a football, baseball or basketball game on TV. Whenever we are in the car, he insisted that the radio should be tuned to a game. Conversation was allowed only during commercials. My children who are not interested in sports have nothing to talk to their father. I asked my husband to do things with me and my children for a recreation but he ignored!! I thought I could change him but I failed. What shall I do ?

Frustrated

Dear the frustrated laday
Thank you for your sharing here. Your story isn't easy to discuss. I am sure it is the time your family have to be changed in time. As a married man, I don't quite well understand about Korean men, espeically who live in Kyoungsang area.
First of all, I don't think your husband has any chance to hear or see husbands who is kind enough to do some nice things at home. That means you should find out some seminar for married couples who have not good relationship between them. Therefore he might hear some ideal or factual behavior in his house. I am not talking about that your husband is so wrong that he needs some corrections from others. I mean it is time for him to see his married life in a different way to go. I hope it will work for your family.
And secondly, you need to tell him what will happen in the future. Nowadays children don't like to talk or play with their father any more, if so, it is not kind of ture thing to the children. If he doesn't play with children, it may happen to your husband. I am sure you and your children have a good relationship one another. That's more essential fact than the first reason here.
I do know your situation right now, but who else can understand your feelings? I am always supporting your idea that you try to keep your family warm and happy and if you don't give it up, it will gradually and finally work.
Best wishes,
Sam who is on your side.

Thank you for your advice,Sam. As you said, I had better find a sort of semiar that could provide a good example of family relationship . I feel relieved to hear that you are on my side . Thanks for your suppot . I won't give up. When things are looking up , I'll let you know right away.

Kyeong-im wrote:How eagerly do you want to be a teacher, especially middle and high school?

In my case, since I was a middle school student it has been my entire dream. BUT now.. frankly speaking, i don't know well.

After failure in teacher's exam, I wonder what I want to be. Now, I just teach kindergarten students and 1st/2nd grade elementary school students English. Through this experience I could learn something which I've never learn teacher's college. Compared to preschool education, secondary education is really different one. I think, now I'm learning what education is. general concept.. It's really interesting to hear my students' English saying, "good-bye", "brush your teeth", etc.. Even they are humming in English! When they call me smiling on their face, they hug me, and their mothers send me text-message "My child is really like this English class. Teacher, thank you very much.", I think, it is worth while to keep on this work.

However, because most friends around me want to be/are teachers, sometimes it seems to me that it is the way of failure not to be a real teacher(i mean "real teacher" = pass the teacher's exam). um.. just.. confused.. nowaday...

BUT I have a dream that every children who want to study can do it without financial difficulty. the truth education.. I mean Cham education.(참교육) Someday I will make it. I expect the day and train myself now...


p.s. ; my writing.. it's a little long~ and it seems serious story. If this makes you feel down, I'm sorry. I just want to say.. Sometimes telling something gets rid of stress. hahaha... ^______________^;;

Dear the eager teacher
I don't know how many teachers give you tips, but there is one thing I can tell you is you should keep your idea in your heart. I am not sure it will be done by whom, but I hope that will come soon as you wish.
I have been thinking that matter since in college. I want to say to you not to give up that your dream comes true. The more people think about the matter, the educational problem, the sooner we can make it. That's what I am thinking. I am on your side. I didn't talk to you at all, however, while reading your thought, I can feel you are going to the exactly same place I am going to.
Once again, never give up your dream.
Best wishes,
your Sam

Bae Sung-han wrote:Dear Same,
As you know, I am a teacher who teach in Girls' high school. I have a problem not with students, but with a teacher.
Actually I'd like to teach students with efforts and enough time. You might not understand it with the latter one. I have to finish three chapters until the mid-term exam, which is definitely difficult for the students to catch up with what I am going to do right now. In fact, they have only maxium two hours for self-study at night after the class. Furthermore they have others to stick with, such as three other English books for the coming exam in May.
I really want to give them some time to overview what they learn from me.
Howeve, the teacher is always pushing me to finish the chapters before at the end of this month. I am not here to blame him to be wrong or something else, but I don't know what to do with him and studnets. I am actaully between them, so I am perplexed a lot.
The thing is surely that I will meet what he wants, but how about the students who do not get enough chance to do what they are supposed to do in the school. I am probably saying to you about the educational system as well, which is that I don't like to talk about right now.
Are there anyone to give me some tips for me, please?

Best regards,

Hi Sung-han,

This is a difficult one, probably the most challenging problem I've seen posted here so far. Unfortunately there are no easy answers. There may, however, be a range of options for you to try.

1) Do your preparation in relation to the textbook materials, and highlight the pages or exercises which appear to have direct importance for the test. Find ways to skim or quickly go over the less important parts, helping students to complete them if necessary. You might then be able to free up some more time to explore the more difficult parts that have direct relevance to the test.

2) Be careful not to challenge your senior too directly, as you will probably end up creating an insurmountable brick wall in the process. Ask him for advice, as to how he managed to cover so much material in such a short period of time and yet target the needs of his learners. He may give you some wishy-washy explanation, but the important thing is that you asked him and showed an appropriate measure of respect 'within the system.'

3) Think about your teaching methodology more carefully. Are you spending the right amount of time with the different parts of the book? Can you make some parts 'more efficient'? For example, you could apply a page as a speed activity and encourage students to do the answers as quickly as possible, just as in a test. Then distribute a pre-made answer key and let them self-correct. This is a good way to cover material quickly, give them valuable test environment practice, and yet still access correct answers and models, and go through the very valuable process of self-correction. Your teaching style may be what is making the material difficult to get through in a timely manner. Some teachers spend so much time explaining and rationalizing, speaking and lecturing up at the front of the class, and not enough time actually letting students "get on with it".

4) This won't be possible this time around, but could be valuable next time you end up in a similar situation. Go through your entire textbook at the start of term and take a couple of questions from each unit or language area covered. Put them together to create a pre-test, and apply it during the first week of class. Based on the pre-test, you'll be able to see which areas are more familiar to the students as a group, and which ones aren't. This becomes a basis for targeting your class time as you move through the textbook. If you ever find a senior chastising you for not covering each page in detail, you can pull out your pre-test results and analysis and show him/her the evidence (and hence rationale) for your decision-making. I actually did this once for a massive grammar book called "Grammar in Use". There were so many units it wasn't remotely possible to cover the whole thing in a term. The pre-test showed me that, statistically, there were only about 12-15 units that the students as a class really struggled with. They became the focus of my classroom instruction, and as many of the other units as possible became homework application, which I supported with pre-made answer keys for them to self-check.

5) Remember that you are teaching a group of students, of mixed ability, and it is just not possible to give every student the particular attention they need as individuals. It's unfortunate to admit that, but it is the reality of our profession at this point and can't change all that much until teacher-student ratios improve. By the same token, however, think about more effective ways to apply group work, so that weaker students can still benefit and learn from the stronger ones - or, students are grouped together according to ability and the weaker groups can then get more of your attention in class.

6) Remember this experience and learn from it. You may not be able to change the situation a lot now, but I have little doubt that a man of your drive and talent will eventually end up in a senior position just like the senior you talk about. Think about how you will handle the same situation as the senior, to have the best impact on a junior teacher and his/her classes. We can't always 'win' in the current situation, but we can store the experience away in our back pocket as a series of acorns - which we will grow into better oak trees later when we have the opportunity...

I hope this advice heartens you. At the very least, keep your chin up and don't let the situation drag you down too much. Just learn from it and keep on moving onwards and upwards.

Your friend,

Sam Solution



***

Liz wrote:Dear Sam
Hi, nice to meet you.
In my homeroom class, there is a boy.
He is such a nice student who is kind and has a good personality and I like him a lot. Nowadays, it is very difficult to find a student like him. One day, he came to me and said 'I am really poor at English. Although I'm a middle school second grade, I don't even know ABC.' I asked him whether he is getting a help from somewhere else like an academy or tuturing but English classes at school were the only source. I'm sure that he wouldn't understand a bit of the class. He must be so bored! I don't know how I can help him and where should I start. Do you have any suggestions?

Hi Liz,

This kind of problem is unfortunately common, but there may be a lot more to it than you realize. Part of it is undoubtedly a result of the Korean English education "industry", which brainwashes students into believing that unless they have some kind of private tuition and 1-1 attention from a teacher, they are hopeless at English and will never stand a chance. What a load of rubbish that is!

You also need to think carefully about this boy, and his approach to you. It's a negative thing to say, but some students can be quite lazy and yet manipulative - especially when they hit the teenage years. In approaching you like this, he *may* be setting the scene to ensure he doesn't have to try too hard, and that you will be sympathetic to him even if he doesn't do much in class. Did you actually apply a very quick test to see if what he was saying was true? On the positive side he could be just vastly underrating his ability. On the negative side, he could be 'pulling your leg' (tricking you).

It's a very undesirable situation when students come to the conclusion that their ability (or lack thereof) comes down exclusively to their teachers, and that what happens from there is also the sole responsibility of their teacher. To be very honest, the first thing I would have said to this student is "Well, you know what you don't know... Tell me what you've done on your own to try and fix the situation." If the answer was limited to "I told you I don't know ABC" I would say, "Come back next week and tell me again what YOU have done to fix this situation." It sounds hard, but one of our primary responsibilities as good teachers is to facilitate active, independent learners. I would wait until the student had shown at least some sort of independent action, then start to make suggestions to help him. The first thing is changing his mind-set.

In terms of active suggestions for fixing this sort of problem, I would recommend some basic books for self-study, programs on EBS or something similar, and even some websites. There are also thousands of simple handouts and resources on the Internet you can download and print for him. Once he is working on something on his own, you might be able to dedicate 10-20 minutes with him each week during his free time to see how he is progressing. But absolutely under no circumstances should you be handing out this kind of 1-1 attention until he is showing positive independent action to do something.

If this boy is behind the rest of the students and his grade level in general, and there are no particular learning disabilities, there is no reason why he can't catch up to even a basic minimum standard. What he (and you) have to come to terms with very quickly is that this is very much up to him, and it is very much possible to do.

Also realize that this will not be an isolated problem in your school. Talk with other teachers, and see if you can make a group of students with similar problems or a very low level of proficiency. These students could meet for a remedial class each week after school, with teachers from the various classes taking turns leading it. This is a very efficient way to handle a problem like this, sharing the workload around, and at the same time reinforcing to the students involved that they are not alone and not abnormal. Teachers, however, often say they want to help these kinds of students, but just as quickly opt out of doing any extra work or remedial classes. They need to put their money where their mouths are (as in, prove through action that they mean what they say), and learn to collaborate and share work as a team to get the maximum benefit for the most number of students.

The advice sounds a little hard and unsympathetic in parts, but it's part of being a good teacher to make the right decisions for the long term, not just an immediate problem or issue.

I hope it helps!

Your friend,

~ Sam Solution

Kim Jin-Young wrote:Dear. Sam
Hi. It's good to meet you on-line here.
I have a problem about my first impression. I didn't recognize how first impressions were important to make friendships, especially to newcomers.
My face and attitude look a little cold, so some people think that I'm that kind of person. Sometimes, I blamed my uplifted eyes for that reason. At other times, I blamed my shyness that resulted in misunderstanding.
I have tried to express positive action to others since I was advised not to make a stony face. However I don't want to pretend to be always happy. Actually it's comfortable for me to look at somthing without any thought for the time being. Like this.

Hi Jin-Young,

You're a pretty young lady with a very kind heart. Just be your natural self and act the way you feel most comfortable. That is your right, and no one has any right to tell you to act differently. If you have a shy first appearance, that makes it all the more special when people come inside the first impression and get to see the real you. I get the impression that your friends adore you and are very loyal to you, as they can see the real you. That is special in itself, and is the wonderful part of everyone being different in their own way.

Pay it no more attention, okay?

Your pal,

~ Sam Solution

Lee yujin wrote:Whenever I try to concentrate on something, I find myself easily distracted by everything surrounding me.
I want to get useful tips to help me concentrate from Sam!!!

Hi Yujin,

Does this happen all the time with everything, or just with particular things? For example, are you able to drive a car even in heavy traffic - but then have problems focusing in a listening activity in an English class?

A lot of it could come down to confidence. If you are not confident, you find yourself easily distracted. What you need to do is channel your attention in different ways. One thing I find useful is looking at one thing around me very fiercely in order to pay attention clearly. I also pretend that I am alone in a room, or doing whatever activity it is in a very isolated place like a desert or polar region. Open and empty, but still beautiful and impressive... That helps me to focus.

I hope the ideas help...

~ Sam Solution


***

Oksun wrote:Dear Sam,
I'm a woman in trouble. Fifteen years have passed since I got married. We have children. My husband is a sports nut.-he is crazy about all kinds of sports. My family rarely went anywhere for a vacation or a holiday, since he didn't want to miss a football, baseball or basketball game on TV. Whenever we are in the car, he insisted that the radio should be tuned to a game. Conversation was allowed only during commercials. My children who are not interested in sports have nothing to talk to their father. I asked my husband to do things with me and my children for a recreation but he ignored!! I thought I could change him but I failed. What shall I do ?

Frustrated

Hi Oksun,

This kind of problem is more common in marriages than you think... Even though I have only been married for five years, I experienced a similar situation with my wife. However, I needed to analyze my own weaknesses carefully before trying to engage my wife about her 'annoying hobby', and I also had to be very clever - almost like a lawyer or something!

My wife has a massive problem with television. She watches it every chance she can get, an unfortunate habit since her childhood. Even if she's busy with something, she instinctively needs to have the television on. At first I wasn't too concerned, but then I noticed her habit was affecting our son as well. We started to argue a lot about it, actually...

Realizing that I wasn't succeeding through this approach, I started to have a good look at myself. Personally, I am a bit of a workaholic. I pretty much work seven days a week, and for some time I was working at least 10 hours a day even on weekends. This has always been a source of aggravation for my wife. So I changed my ways as best I could. I made sure there was at least one day per week where at leasy half of the day would be dedicated to doing something she wanted to do - so long as it didn't involve television! I expanded this to include at least 3-4 days during the week where I would dedicate 2-3 hours to something that was good for us as a family. I also took over the responsibility of putting our son to bed at night, which freed up a lot of time for her to do her own thing (usually television dramas or Cyworld stuff, but at least this wasn't affecting me or our son - it was her own private time). These actions did horrible things to my available sleeping time - I now sleep at most 4-6 hours a day. But it did bring a lot more happiness to us as a family, I must admit.

Having changed myself in a positive way, I now had grounds to assert an opinion about my wife's addiction to TV. She was receptive to it and tried to change her ways. At first she did great, but then quickly settled back into her old ways. That's when I went into detective mode, and went with hard evidence.

Every time my wife settled in front of the television or just had it on in the background, I documented how much time this took up (secretly). I made tallies each day and each week for one month. I then showed it to my wife, and she was really shocked (although she accused me of exaggerating the figures of course...). She didn't realize just how many hours in a whole month she was losing to television. I also made some alternative suggestions (like yoga, cooking classes, other things she had always wanted to do but never got around to).

My wife has improved a lot since then, as have I. It's still not perfect, and there are times where I get too lost in my work again, and she gets too lost in television. However, we're aware of our mutual weaknesses, and can remind each other of them in a considerate and non-argumentative way.

The absolute essential is give and take, and an attitude that in order to ask someone else to change their ways, we have to be willing to change ourselves first. That and an understanding that there are no perfect solutions, just a variety of ongoing improvements.

I hope this example gives you some ideas on how you might handle this situation...

Your friend,

~ Sam Solution


***

Dear Kyungim and Jinyoung
I also believe your saying.
Believe yourself, then you will get it! HaHa
This comment would feel personal but adding to her I want to mention more.
Did you read the book "Secrets" ?
This is somewhat bestseller in the bookstore, and it is easy to read!
The book says, there is a unique theory which people do not know.
People tend to think they are loosers whenever they have failed. But actually it isn't!(according to that book)
Everything accomplished what you were thinking~!( I doubt it carries right meaning or not) Anyway, if you believe you are right, then the world and everything goes like that.
So the book suggests us believe what you are want to be, and believe what you want to get, then you will get it ! because there are specific power to trigger.
Isn't it wonderful? I can remember Professor Bae also mentioned about this. I don't know whether it comes from the same book or not. If you want to read that, I can borrow you ^^

Sincerely Sam

Kyeong-im wrote:

Kim Jin-Young wrote:Dear. Sam
Hi. It's good to meet you on-line here.
I have a problem about my first impression. I didn't recognize how first impressions were important to make friendships, especially to newcomers.
My face and attitude look a little cold, so some people think that I'm that kind of person. Sometimes, I blamed my uplifted eyes for that reason. At other times, I blamed my shyness that resulted in misunderstanding.
I have tried to express positive action to others since I was advised not to make a stony face. However I don't want to pretend to be always happy. Actually it's comfortable for me to look at somthing without any thought for the time being. Like this.

Hi, Jin-young
I read your problem.
Have you ever heard the song "I believe I can fly" sung by R.Kelly. I like it very much because of its content. It is the time(when you believe) that you can fly and touch the sky. Besides, it starts inside of you. So, I just say to you "BELIEVE YOURSELF".

In my case, when I was an elementary student(6th grade) I stood near crosswalk to control traffic wearing hat and hanging flag written "Stop". It was our duty for 1 week. One day, one university student came and crossed the street. The next day, he also came and asked me. "Are you punished by your parents?" "No..." "Are you in the trouble?" "No..." "Then, why is your facial expression like that? When I see you I'm very scared." At that moment, green light is turned on and he left. ^^;

After that I had tried to change my facial expression. Finally I found that it is love and understand myself as I am. Have a confidence! Jin-young, you are the only person in the world. So I want you not to compare with others. You are so attractive now!

sincerely,
Sam