Student Blooper

In class the other day, a student created a rather embarrassing situation for herself.

Some background.

All of my students attend at least two classes, one with a Korean teacher and one with a foreign teacher. That's the norm at English academies in Korea.

In my classes they only speak English (or are supposed to; the actual practice is another thing, depending on their skill level). Their classes with Korean teachers are essentially bilingual education, as English grammar is explained to them in their native (Korean) language.

The classes run back-to-back, so either they have me for an hour and then they have a Korean teacher, or vice versa.

Sometimes it is a bit hard for them to make the switch if they have the Korean teacher first, and I try to be a bit more lenient in that case. As a rule, I would always prefer to teach the students first, and have the Korean teacher follow up.

In this particular class, the students have been at the academy for two years or more, so they speak basic functional English. Currently they are working on language like, "What does he do?"

"He is a mechanic. He fixes cars."

So it's not basic stuff. They know the class routine, they know what is expected, etc.

Anyway, I was in the middle of a lesson with these 8 kids (4th-5th grade), when, as my back was turned, one of them called out "Teacher!" as if to ask a question.

Now, normally this isn't a big deal, even though my boss prefers that they address me by my surname (Mr. __) instead of "teacher." However, in this case the student used the Korean word for "teacher" instead of the English one.

That is kind of like being in a meeting with a male presenter and calling him "Mrs." instead of "Mr." It just isn't done, and it is a glaring mistake.

So this student called to me in Korean, and I was about to make a witty remark, when she, completely unaware of her first gaffe, repeated the error.

She called me "teacher" again in Korean, only this time, the second time, she raised her voice, as if I hadn't heard her the first time.

The rest of the students in the class were doubled up, laughing, for it was indeed a funny and perhaps unprecedented mistake.

I am not Korean, I do not look Korean, and, for the most part, I do not speak Korean. To call out to me in Korean is simply strange.

I turned to the student and said, with a smile, "Gabriella, you are the only student I have ever had who has called me "teacher" in Korean two times!"

The poor girl was so embasassed, so red-faced, that it was hard not to press on, but she is a good kid and it wasn't intentional, so I let her off the hook.

Oh, the little things you don't expect--I like those humorous situations.