Teaching is really exhausting. I have taught only once before in Korea but it was with 2 American teachers in the class and 4 Korean teachers as assistants. So for the first time I taught by myself. Everything that could have gone wrong did.
I was told that I would have a projector in my room so I prepared a powerpoint presentation. It took about 2-3 hours to put one together because it was really difficult to find pictures to help define market research, executive, business venture and etc. Anyhow, I arrive and the director of the school is conducting a meeting and the assistant is sitting there along side the director. I only have 15 minutes to prep so I take myself upstairs to room 201, I cannot download powerpoint because it was in pptx format and I could not get it to read on 2003 powerpoint. So I try to go online to my email and save it as ppt. I don't have the wifi password and so I run down to get some assistance. Even with the wifi password in hands, I discover that the computer in the room has no wifi and the internet cord is no where to be found.
I go back down and ask him how I can connect my laptop to their computer and he looks at me with bewilderment He realizes I'm in the wrong classroom. You see in Vietnam, in some buildings, the first floor is the ground floor not the first, hence the second floor in now the first floor. I was setting up in the wrong class! It's already 5:45, that's when I'm suppose to start and I have just arrived to a smaller room with a basic dry erase board.
I dive in and start to teach Unit 1 after my quick introduction of myself. After a few minutes I look up and see blank stares. I don't think these students understand anything I'm saying. I ask them how many years of English have they taken and I get more blank stares. Crap, they don't speak any English! I have no visuals I can't draw for the life of me....so I did what any reasonable person would do...I started to play charades. I'm dancing in the front of class and constantly checking for understanding. Writing and drawing and more acting. When I ask them to do an activity the token bright student, who sat right up in front of class, says teacher we already did Unit 1, we are suppose to start Unit 4.
(*&@#*&#*(&@!! When I met the director last week, this man was busy and unorganized, but he had a job to offer me. Anyhow he wanted me to teach communication and explained that this class was on Unit 4 and that I substituting. As for the business class, I'll be starting fresh beginning with Unit 1. He gave me the information the other way around! I can't believe this..... but I learned a very valuable teaching skill and that was to wing it! I told them we were "reviewing" and will eventually get to Unit 4. Anyway the review was much needed.
After 3 hours of dancing and getting the students to repeat after me, class was finally over. I think 15 of 30 students had some understanding of formal and informal introductions and the differences between a job and a company and all the vocabulary in between. It was really strange how I did receive a feeling of reward because of the few students I was able to reach. I just hope I can reach more, but now I only 3 classes left to prove that I am a great teacher.
I talked to the director after class and that's when I finally learned that I was suppose to take attendance and sign in myself. Geez, they are unorganized! I ask him if I could get a projector next week and let's see if that will actually happen. To all my teachers in the world, kudos to you, I can't believe how hard teaching can be.
Oh yea, and guess what! Paul is such a gallant gentleman and drove me to work and waited for me in the lobby. As we were leaving the director says, hey Paul since you're here, maybe you should teach too....Paul got a teaching gig again and didn't even try.
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