Thursday, September 2, 2010

Live from the DaeSung Elementary News Room!

Hello, hairy fish, scary fish!
As a Guest English Teacher (GET), it is common to be asked to perform a wide-variety of tasks as part of your contract to fulfill the 22 weekly required teaching hours. In the classroom, I teach 5th and 6th graders 4 classes twice a week each. Then I hold a teacher's training in English language twice weekly (2 hours). And as my final duty, I perform a live weekly English broadcast on school TV every Friday morning. This week's top story: Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

As 8:35am rolls around on this steamy Friday morning in Daegu city, my co-teacher, Jin, and I head upstairs for the Broadcasting Room. Storybooks in hand, we pass by the impressive array of electronic video and editing equipment (remember, this is an elementary school, someone must have some deep pockets). As we head into the news room, a set-up that would trump that of any small-town network studio, I see a 5th or 6th grade girl adjusting the settings of a small digital video camera (I half expected to see a camera crew, mini booms, and lapel mics). I take my seat at the middle of the table with the main anchor on my left (who expertly rehearses her intro lines) and Jin to my right.

8:40am and we are LIVE from DaeSung Elementary Broadcasting Room, ready and eager to bring you an English experience you will never forget! A short introduction is given, then I bumble slightly as I introduce myself and where I am from (no, it's Kentucky, not Kenturkey). Then the real magic begins. I begin to read the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, complete with varied voices for each character (somehow I managed to make Mama Bear sound like she was from Savannah, it seemed fitting). I selected the story from the extensive library of the DaeSung English Village because of it's ability to teach contrast English words. As I read the English, Jin followed with the Korean translation. Following the story, we reviewed key words from the book: big, small, hot, cold, hard, soft. I stumbled about for examples at first but then found my legs.

8:50am brought the end of our allotted time on air and it seemed the broadcast went off without a hitch. I yielded my chair to the Vice Principal who discussed the upcoming 2nd period school elections (on my way into campus today, I was met with chants and slogans being shouted out by the perspective candidates). I don't believe there is a broadcast next week but I am sure to be hopping back on the air fairly soon, perhaps with a stunning rendition of "Goodnight Moon" or "The Musicians of Bremen." We shall see.

Until next time, signing off from the English Village classroom at DaeSung Elementary School, Seo-gu, Bisan-4dong, Daegu, this is Erin Teacher.

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