Phone Teaching

Part of my contract is that I have to phone teach once a month. This means phoning each of the kids in any class I have above a certain level and asking them simple questions for about 3-5 minutes, just as a way to show the parents that their kids can actually speak in English on the phone.

Anyways, most of the kids dread it - most are way quieter on the phone then they are in class - and I struggle to fill 3 minutes talking to them. I had one girl to call today and I was really worried about talking to her on the phone - in class she is very quiet and I get the impression that out of my class of 10 kids, she never really knows what's going on. So in class today, she is looking at me and saying, with a big smile, "Teacher, you me tonight." Finally I figured out she was reminding me to call her tonight...

So after the day of teaching, I pick up the phone to call her. Usually I have a list of several questions to ask the kids, then I say good bye and hang up.. So Ruth gets on the phone. I'm about to ask her some questions, and she says, "Teacher, how old are you?" Then she cycles through my family -"Teacher have brother? How old? How old is your father?" Etc. Etc.

Then she is asking me if I like pizza.. and hamburgers.. then she asks me if my brother likes hamburgers. And I tell her he'd eat hamburgers for every meal if he could. And she says, "Me too!" Then she asks me if I like apples. Then potatoes.

At this point, I'm ready to go - I've been on the phone for the requisite 5 minutes and beyond - so I tell her that that's all the questions I have for her and I have to go. She says "No. Now speak Korean!" So I ask her what she wants to hear - (hajima - stop it). So I oblige, and I say, "Goodnight Ruth - I have to go call some other children now." And she keeps saying no, no matter what I say!! At this point, all the other teachers in the staff room are in stitches as I try and get off the phone with this girl!!

Finally I end up hanging up on her! I can't believe I had to hang up on a student, I feel quite bad - I think she'll take it in good humour, right?? But MAN I just couldn't get her off the phone! It turned into about a 10 minute long conversation... But it was quite funny!!