::A Geek in Korea::

I happen to teach multiple classes of a particular level on a single day, all right after each other. Our school organizes mutliple classes of the same level in the "A, B, C, D…" manner, meaning that as you go down the list, the best students are usually in the "A" class, and as you go down the alphabet, the ablity of the students gradually decreases nearly exponentially. I see the same level three times today in different classes, and I teach them in a descending order of ability. Each time I teach the same lesson, and each time my students get worse and worse as I change classes. It’s actually quite a disturbing phenomenon.

When I start the lesson, I define the words we will see in our reading material. I don’t allow for direct translation, rather I force the students to put the meaning into their own words. In my level "A" class, they can either define a word with their own words in partial or full sentences, or know synonyms that mean roughly the same thing most of the time. My "B" and "C" class can usually translate a word into Korean, but lack to vocabulary to express what it means back into English. I give these students extra help and coax an answer out of them by slow reinforcement with words they already know.

My "D" level class wouldn’t even know the word, would translate it wrong, or thinks I’m talking about something entirely different.  They use gestures and shout random words in Korean and English that don’t have anything to do with the topic at all. They hear sounds and see words, but react to them in gut level response that defies all logic and knowledge.

When I give speaking tests, I look for pronunciation, intonation, stress, pauses, hesitation, and volume. In my "A", "B", and "C" level classes, the differences on a twenty five point scale from lowest to highest were no more than five to eight points. The worst student was no more than five to eight points from a perfect score. The "D" level class had students struggling with phonics, reading, and every other skill required to do well. The range of those scores was over fifteen points. The best student in the class was no more than average in another class.

The behavior of the "D" level class was just as bad as all their test scores. Every class clown, disaffected teenager, bully, and smart ass that needed to be tossed out during my intensive morning classes in the summer were shoved into a single class. I suppose we could call it a form of educational triage. Save the resources where they are best spent. Sadly for the students, since they are in a class with nothing but naughty students that like to mess around in class, it’s almost impossible to give them the individual attention they might need to do better. When all the bad kids are shoved into a single class, you can’t help them all.
They are a handful, and I’m glad I only see them only once. It’s my last class of the week, so even though I have to take the gloves off to get anything done, I can at least leave the class knowing I don’t need to see another student for the rest of the evening.