First post and a little anecdote about sarcasm in the ESL classroom.

+Tom Randolph +Adam Boothe +Sookmyung TESOL Global STG +Corinne Thomsen

Hi, this is my new blog. Please add it, link it and link me to your own blog as well.

I entered the ESL (or EFL) field five and a half years ago, starting first at an institute in Hanam City. For four years between 2009 and early this year I taught in the SWELL program at Seoul Women's University (SWELL= Seoul Women's English Language License). I taught reading, writing, oral communication skills and my own original content-based class (I chose creative writing) to undergrads and post-grads in an English immersion environment. Previously, teaching for a year at an institute, I felt more like a babysitter than a true educator. Transitioning from that to a real university environment was jarring and I was unprepared. Despite the fact that this TESOL class is my first professional training as a ESL teacher (not counting the odd slap-dash orientation or two), through trial-and-error (and the occasional biting evaluation comment) I exponentially grew as a teacher over the years. When I started my evaluation average was mired in the mid 70's, but by the time I left I consistently received evaluations in the mid to high 90's. It was a wonderful job and I only have great things to say about it. I unfortunately had to leave at the conclusion of my fourth contract and go home for a few months due to quite serious family issues, or I'd still be there today. However, I digress...

Humor in the ESL classroom doesn't always translate into laughs. Occasionally, you're greeted with a chorus of awkward silence and bewildered stares, and you're left feeling like Michael Richards at the Apollo theater (hopefully that dated reference didn't provoke your own bewildered stare). I have an unusually deadpan delivery, so even in the states people sometimes mistake one of my jokes for a serious observation. On the other hand, I've made terrible jokes in class or even REAL serious observations that resulted in uproarious guffaws, but I have a strong suspicion a lot of said guffaws were forced. I've found the most perilous minefield in the classroom is sarcasm. The art of sarcasm is not widely practiced in the ole' ROK and sometimes people will take a sarcastic comment or joke at face value.

On one occasion early on in my university job, a female student reached out and plucked a bit of lint off my shirt collar. I kinda arched an eyebrow and asked, "what are you, my mother?" The students seated around us chuckled a bit at this, but her face drained of color and she immediately replied "no" as if my query was serious. I forgot about this until a few weeks later when a particularly strong student comment on my evaluation reminded me. Sometimes evaluations are totally based on a teacher's ability in the classroom and other times they're used to express personal grievances. This was an example of the latter. Paraphrasing it, it was something like "I find his nature very cold and I think he hates me T.T" I was taken aback and since evaluations are anonymous I wasn't completely positive it was this particular student, but I was certain enough.

I don't believe in reacting to evaluations or confronting people based on them. If a comment is critical of my teaching ability, I try to figure out how I can improve. If it's critical of me over something that I perceive to be a personal issue, I try to be friendlier (on the rare occasion I find it especially immature or unfounded I just ignore it. One heavily pregnant teacher was advised by a student that "she should just go home and have her baby already!"). In the end, the student brought it up herself when I was walking around doing a weekly journal check and one-on-one chat. She explained that she felt really embarrassed when I asked her if she was my mother. I apologized and told her it wasn't intended to be serious, and that I thought she was a great student, a greater person and not at all like my lovely, but elderly Jewish mother. We both had a sigh of relief and from then on our relationship in the classroom greatly improved. She did her work more enthusiastically, asked more questions and even laughed at my terrible jokes. At the end of the semester, my evaluation average for that class improved by about 10 points and I didn't notice a single "T.T" anywhere.

However, I learned a lesson from that situation and it encouraged me to modify my behavior in the classroom. From then on, I kept the sarcasm light and mostly confined to self-deprecating humor instead of taking a jab at a student. I think it's important we remind ourselves that we aren't teaching in a  Western environment. Compounding this is the fact that cultural differences aside, any comment in a second language is much more likely to be interpreted literally rather than facetiously. It's true that many advanced ESL students understand sarcasm, or at least on a situational basis, but it's extremely hard to teach, because it's so based on subtle shifts in tone and cues that are easy to miss. We all hate nasty teachers that are deliberately insulting towards their students and unfortunately this country has no shortage of them; both Korean and (sadly) Western. However, sometimes with no intention behind it, we also cause offense towards our students and a bit of instropection on how to prevent this goes a long way towards winning the respect of your students and being the kind of teacher who's remembered fondly.

Sorry for the long-winded first post. I intended to make it shorter, but too much coffee gives me the shakes and the only way to exorcise it is to tap furiously on a keyboard. I invite anyone to leave comments about similar situations or insights or even to tell me I'm completely wrong.

All the best,
Andrew