Discussion Task #3


Discussion Task #3

I cheered, smiled and felt a nudge of confidence in my teaching methods as I watched the video on circle time. In all most all public Korean Elementary schools it is very unorthodox to sit in a circle to do all most anything: games/activities/warm ups. The teacher stands in the front of the classroom for the forty-minute class as the students sit orderly in their seats. For the following reasons circle time is a challenge for Korean Elementary Schools. First, time and space. We have a very little time to move desks with 25 plus students in a class. We have a very structured lesson plan and curriculum deadlines to withhold. Next, cultural differences in teaching and learning English in Korea we sadly don’t always advocate exploration. As a Native teacher we are expected to be the disciplinarian and authoritative figure. When a teacher sits with the students it would seem the students would lose respect for the teacher, circle time is a great way to ask students how they feel for warm up or a reflective time and space activity. Korean students are very shy to make mistakes or give option. Even for simple questions such as How are you today? or What is your favorite color? I find students think answering “the color blue” or “I’m great today “wrong can cause great anxiety if they have not memorized the answer. Despite, a few cultural challenges I am an advocate of circle time! I am able to effectively and liberally use circle time in my Phonics and English Drama class. I use circle time to break the barrier in English Drama class with myself and other students. I instill team work and trust. When I sit at the same level on the floor as my students I come down to their space. I participate in all of our warm up activities to show an unspoken trust to allow mistakes. “Because English is HARD!” Last, I use phonics to play games and activities. I have discovered circle time as a great classroom management tool. My Phonics students would get overly excited about games when I sat them in a circle they seemed more focus on the task at hand.

Comments

  1. Ayat TawelApril 10, 2016 at 4:59 AM

    I can relate to most of what you're saying Angela Mccloskey . Unfortunately we have the same barriers of place and teacher authority in most schools here in Egypt. Though I am lucky enough to have the freedom to explore as I am teaching in the British council, where students come to improve their language and are always open to new teaching methods and lots of fun, I still feel sad about the situation in most of the schools here !!

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  2. Karen Frazier TsaiApril 16, 2016 at 11:00 AM

    Angela, it's awesome that you have figured out ways to use Circle Time in a teaching environment where that definitely is not the norm! I'm sure your students appreciate having you come down to their space on the floor to do activities in class. Given time, students can definitely adapt to different ways of learning in class once they learn to trust that mistakes are ok and that their teacher is really interested in all they have to share! :) 

    I also faced similar challenges in Taiwan where the norm is to sit in rows and respectfully listen while the teacher is teaching. My students, and their parents, learned over time that I truly wanted my students to express their opinions and feelings. I frequently had them get up and move around the classroom, as well as work in pairs, to engage in real language use. I used a kind of Circle Time in games, but never did use it for sharing opinions and such. Thanks for sharing your ideas. It would be fun to try them!

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