ESOL and Relationships

As a teacher one is expected to have a certain type of relationship with the students to inspire motivation and trust and to encourage and motivate students to do their best in their studies.

The most common way to accomplish this mode of relationship is to have activities in the first few weeks of school to encourage the students to problem solve together and become one unit.  This is why the first 2 or 3 weeks either make or break you as a teacher.  During this time you assert yourself as the teacher and help mold the students into a "family" type of atmosphere where they feel safe and secure within the classroom to do their best, make mistakes and be themselves.



When the students and teacher do not speak the same language those first few weeks in the classroom can be harder for some ESOL students or ESOL teachers to accomplish.  All relationships need trust and communication to ensure a healthy, strong relationship.  When one or both of these are missing that encourages distrust and miscommunication and is a disaster for any type of relationship.  It makes it more difficult for the students and teacher to understand one another and to understand what the other needs and wants. 

Living in Korea, Joseph and I fully understand better than ever before the affects of all of our years of ESOL training and teaching.  Living in a country where everyone speaks Korean and maybe a few words of English is a fantastic thing when wandering around the countryside and exploring what Korea has to offer.  It is quite another to be a teacher and to do your best in the classroom.  It is a wonderful challenge and as Joseph and I enjoy challenges this is what motivates us to do our best.  We have the knowledge of our years of training to tell us it takes 3-5 years to be fluent enough in a language.  It take another 3 or 4 to fully acclimate one self to that culture.  We won't be here that long so it is imperative that we learn as much as we can with the language.  We already speak enough social (BICS) Korean to get what we need from various places.  It is the academic (CALP) language we need to acquire more efficiently.  

It is important to note that anyone coming to Korea to teach English is not required to speak Korean.  In fact, is is generally preferred that you do not.  However, Joseph and I feel we cannot truly do our best if we cannot speak better Korean in the classroom.  It is imperative to the student/teacher relationship. 

We would strongly encourage any teacher in the United States to learn about your students' background and culture.  Not only would it be interesting to learn about that culture but it would help you in the classroom while teaching them.  For instance, the Korean students have difficulty saying the /r/, /l/ and /f/ sounds.  Also, Korean's feel the need to end a word with a vowel.  If it does not end in a vowel you will hear different sounds at the end of a word: Home Plus becomes Home Plus-uh.  The word dish becomes dish-y (the long /e/ sound).  These nuances are important to know and understand when you have students from different cultures.  When listening to them speak and when helping them with their English.  You may not be able to speak their language but you will speak the same cultural language and that may make all the difference with your students and your relationship with them.  It will help them feel confidant, secure and safe in the classroom environment which, I believe, makes all the difference in each students doing their best to succeed and as teachers, we are here for the students.