Quiz time!

You have a 10-year-old boy named Arnold. He is likely dyslexic, and has had some English education, placing in at about level 1-4. There is a 1-4 class with students aged 8, and a 2-5 level class aged 10. Where does he go?

You have a 12 year-old-boy, Dan, who speaks absolutely no English, doesn’t know the alphabet, so should be in a Phonics class. The Phonics 1 (0-1) class is all 6 year-olds. There are 2 classes with 12 year-olds; they are in levels 4-6 and 5-8 respectively. Where does he go?

Your answer, of course, is both boys go into the class that matches their AGE, NOT their level. So, Dan goes into the 4-6 class. With Arnold, you have TWO things to do: ignore and deny the dyslexia, and of course put him in level 2-5 with his peers.

When the native teacher asks if you understand but you didn’t, say yes to the teacher. The 8 times she asks the class if they understand and have questions, as a class just sit there and stare, or nod finally when she asks a few more times, saying, “Yes, I understand.” Then, go home and tell your parents in Korean that you don’t know how to say you don’t understand, when your class is currently writing sentences about hobbies, things you and your individual family members enjoy doing together, so that your parents can call the school and tell the owner that your child doesn’t understand… and doesn’t know how to say they don’t understand or know the English word. Most students don’t remember, apparently, most of the words that they learned in 0-1, nor that putting “no” in front of “understand,” a word you JUST USED, conveys just that meaning. Do not look at the teacher quizzically to convey confusion, or use any words at all to say anything.

In Asia, each year of age means anyone younger has to defer to you. So a whole classroom must now defer completely to the one older student, or the young student can never participate at all, because they must defer to everyone else. It’s likely that the older kid’s parents will scream at the school that their child isn’t stupid, so they shouldn’t be in a class with kids even 2 years younger.

Make sure, as well, that all kids move up a level regardless of their understanding and mastery of the current level, because otherwise their parents will probably get mad and pull them from your school. Many Korean parents, who don’t speak a word of English, believe that simply being in a classroom with someone speaking to them in English for a couple hours/day will give them native fluency in about 6 months to a year. Any slower progress, and the parents get upset because the teachers are bad. Make the native English teacher teach a writing class with high beginners who have never learned the different tenses nor how to make a sentence.