Coffee Helps

I finally made it to the end of my trial period for my Musical class.

This was a new class for the school, and they weren’t entirely sure what it entailed or whether it would work out – so their solution was to give me a book of songs and skits, and a CD of backing music, and say “do something”.

Can’t someone show me what I’m supposed to do? asked poor “I’ve never taught a class in my life” Hails. But it turned out that although training sessions were available, they were “difficult” – which, loosely translated, means “expensive”. Reading between the lines, I deduced that the powers-that-be at the school didn’t want to shell out a fortune to train me only to discover that I was a rubbish music/drama teacher by nature, and that the subject itself would have to be shelved.

Try by yourself for four months, said the director encouragingly. If you like it (loose translation – “if you’re not rubbish at it”), we will send you on training course.

So in I went at the deep end. I really am developing a devil-may-care attitude, you know. I designed my own course and my own classes. I planned out dance routines and vocabulary games and drama skits. I made colourful powerpoint presentations and quizzes. And now, hooray huzzah, I have been watched and assessed and discussed, and deemed acceptable as a teacher of this totally made-up subject. Let the training commence!

Anyway, Musical Class is basically where the kids learn English through practising an actual Musical play. At last, I get workbooks with lines and chants and song words, as well as illustrations and cut-out masks! I’ve come to realise that these things are extremely important when you’re trying to teach kindergarten children. Someone speaking English to them for 40 minutes just does not work.

My trainer is a Korean girl who specialises in teaching music and drama to infants. First, she gave me a lesson plan – introducing the class, a “hello song” and dance, some small talk, followed by the order in which I should do things like reading the story, doing actions, teaching lines and doing roleplays, singing and dancing. Then she did a full “class”, with Jennifer and I playing the part of the pupils. It was a little embarrassing pretending to be a 5-year-old with my boss, but also hilarious watching her do the same!

It was definitely very useful to watch how the teacher kept the children’s attention all the way through, with lots of little tricks and actions to fill gaps when she was doing things like changing the CD (everybody count to ten and shout “cue music!”!) – places where I generally lose their attention and have to spend 5 minutes trying to get them under control again. The CD, the actions, the songs, the colourful pictures, the props… it all worked together to make a fast-paced, fun class that I know my kids are going to love.

Of course, the school being a business rather than part of the education system, they’re still reluctant to spend any more money than they have to, so they won’t buy me props. I’m insisting that I need them, but I rather suspect that I’m going to end up going to an art supply shop and making them all myself.

Stay tuned for the inevitable blog posts about how to make a puppet…!

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