Dora in Korea

I’ve mentioned before very briefly that I teach in a private, after-school academy in South Korea.

The school has always been trying new things to either attract new students or keep the students they have here. Several months ago, a committee of the Korean and foreign teachers went into our meeting room to watch various children’s TV shows. The modus operandi being: Let the kids watch a fun show to keep them excited about coming here.

What show did we decide upon? What show was the best to help keep 1^st through 3^rd graders excited about coming here? What show had the best combination of flashing lights and pretty colors with educational value? What, dammit, what?!

Dora the Explorer.

Let that sink in a moment. I’m teaching English to grade-school aged children in South Korea, and we’ve decided to use Dora the Explora’ to help them with their English. It’s a good show for that age group, a good choice, except these children have nearly no exposure to Spanish.

But, that’s not it! We’ve got to also come up with questions and give them a pop quiz on what they’ve seen in the episodes. After all, wouldn’t the mothers complain if we just. once. a. week. let the kids relax and have some fun?

Who was given the arduous and mind-numbing task of sitting through the episodes and writing quizzes? Who lucked out on the workload lottery? Yours truly.

I watched five DVDs of Dora during planning time over a period of a few weeks, then typed up quizzes based on their academic levels. After slogging through it, I completed a great many quizzes for all three levels who’d partake in the weekly activity.

I even developed how the class is to be taught, allowing time to pause the show to ask questions from the pop quiz, and check answers at the end of the class.

When the first class came around to actually use my project, it was given to a class that I didn’t even teach.

I was nervous that everything would go alright. I did my best to instruct the others on how to do the “movie class”, I made sure to print out the syllabus for it and copy for everyone.

Where’d the rubber meet the road? The class went by fairly well, but with a few complaints from the kids.

a) The language on the quizzes wasn’t simple enough…

b) Do we have to learn Spanish too?

In addressing the first point, it must be said that it is supremely difficult to dumb down one’s word usage. (Especially when you’ve spent 16 years of your life learning the language and honing your vocabulary skills well enough to be considered well-learned.) It is difficult to dumb down language to an understandable level to the lowest skilled students without making what I liken to “caveman” English. Caveman English would change a sentence like:
“Where do they find the ball?” into “Where is the ball?” into “Where ball?”

In my revisions I’d choose sentences which were more like the central one. But, for the low level classes, even that is too difficult for them. (And certainly had me ask why we’re showing them a video if they don’t understand what’s going on…)

A decent work-a-round was decided; I’d simplify the questions AND my Korean co-teachers would provide translated questions written in Korean right along the English questions.

For upper level classes, providing Korean along with the English would detract from the challenge of learning. With younger students, even if their own skills with Korean weren’t good it’d at least give them a chance.

To answer the second complaint, No. It was just left at that as well. No further explanation would be given, other than, “Enjoy the class.” There have been episodes that we’ve used which have been nearly been Spanish lessons with little English. Too late to change now?

Now that a few quarters have passed, I finally get to “enjoy” the fruits of my labor and teach the class. For being a class revolving around the adventures of Dora and pals, the students are super psyched every Wednesday.