Comprehension Questions
As you listen, decide if, according to Eun-Kyung, the following statements are true or false:
1) Eun-Kyung lives near Seoul.
2) At the time of the interview she had recently graduated.
3) You have the chance to teach before you graduate.
4) Eun-Kyung is looking for a part-time job.
5) On her training course none of the students were motivated.
6) The lesson she described went exactly as planned.
7) She was happy with the way the lesson went.
Transcript
Hi and welcome to this week’s podcast from Splendid Speaking. My name’s Pete Travis and this week I’m interviewing Eun-Kyung from South Korea
Eun-Kyung is about to graduate from her studies in Education at University and plans to become an English teacher. In this interview we looked at responding to questions and I asked Eun-Kyung several questions about her studies and plans for the future.
Being able to describe a personal achievement so that you showcase your strengths and abilities, as well as your grasp of English is an invaluable skill for an interview, whether it’s for a job or during an English Language examination.
When an interviewer like myself says “Tell me about a time when…” it’s the interviewee’s opportunity to tell a story which showcases their talents, strengths, and accomplishments. You can do this with the aid of the STAR technique, which we look at in Unit 3 of the Splendid Speaking Self-Study Course.
A little while before the interview took place Eun-Kyung was asked to think about how she would answer the following question:
“Can you tell me about a time you had a problem in a lesson and how you resolved it?”
and she was given some suggestions to help her respond with a STAR story. She was allowed to make notes but told not to read from a pre-written script.
Before listening consider what kind of problems Eun-Kyung might have faced in her lesson during her teacher training. Then when we come to this question in the interview, listen to find out what the problem was and how Eun-Kyung dealt with it.
Finally, make a note of her Use of English, which we’ll look at in the feedback session.
Let’s listen to Eun-Kyung.
“Peter: OK so I’m speaking to Eun Kyung from South Korea. Where exactly in South Korea are you from Eun Kyung?
Eun-Kyung: You may heard about the capital of South Korea. It’s in Seoul and where I live is quite close to the capital Seoul.
Peter: OK, and what do you do?
Eun-Kyung: I’m a university student and this is my fourth year and I study I major in English Education so I’m actually graduating next year … er next month.
Peter: And when you graduate what will you be or what do you want to do?
Eun-Kyung: To be a teacher if I pass the examination.
Peter: And … and this is to be an English teacher is it?
Eun-Kyung: Yes, English teacher.
Peter: OK, so how much training do you need to become an English teacher in South Korea?
Eun-Kyung: Actually, you need to go into a certain university … not certain university but you have to major in Education so you have to go to the school of Education and you need to train … you need to be trained for four years and at the end of the er at the last year you need to have a teacher training for a month at a real public school. Yes and then if you pass the exam you can be a teacher.
Peter: OK, so what is it about teaching that appeals to you?
Eun-Kyung: Teaching … I think I really like being with my students and I really value … the teaching is one of the most important things in the world so and …
Peter: Have you … have you had … have you had much chance to do any teaching practice?
Eun-Kyung: Yes I did some part-time jobs … yes … for two years.
Peter: OK, OK. And did you enjoy it?
Eun-Kyung: Yes I did enjoy it but sometimes it was very challenging.
Peter: Tell me about a time you had a problem in a lesson and you … and what you did to resolve it.
Eun-Kyung: OK, so at my last year school I had a one month training and I was in charge of the three different classes and one of the classes the students were not really motivated. So at one class the topic was about cooking and the plan that I had was first we covered the content of the text book and then I was planning to show the recipes that I brought from England the Sainsbury recipes. But at the first … at the beginning of the class the students were not really listening and they didn’t really concentrate. So instead of showing the pictures that I brought from home at the end, but I actually showed the scanned pictures at the beginning of the class. And I asked some questions about recipes, for example what they would like to have or what ingredients the recipe might … might have. And the students showed some interest and they did ask me some questions and I could maintain there … maintain their motivation. And after I showed the pictures they also concentrate when we even do the content of the text book, so the class went well. So after this experience I realised as a teacher it’s really important you figure out your students’ interest and their motivation and then try to use the different approaches. So that was my experience.“
Feedback
First of all I’d like to thank Eun-Kyung for agreeing to be recorded. You can comment on her interview at the Splendid Speaking website.
This was an excellent interview from Eun-Kyung, who was more than capable of taking part in conversations of this kind. She gave full answers to questions, and showed that she could respond to questions without undue hesitation.
Did you manage to hear what the problem was Eun-Kyung had in class? It was of course that the students seemed to lack motivation at the beginning of the lesson. Eun-Kyung’s STAR story made it clear what the problem was and how she dealt with it successfully. It also shows Eun-Kyung has the ability to deliver long turns well, developing her anecdotes clearly and coherently.
Eun-Kyung’s use of English was excellent and she had a very good command of grammatical structures and was able to use a wide range of vocabulary including some useful collocations such as:
cover the content of the text book
maintain motivation
and figure out your students’ interest
Eun-Kyung’s pronunciation was also very clear although one point is worth mentioning. Eun-Kyung doesn’t have difficulty pronouncing ‘ed’ endings of verbs correctly as the following prove:
“…I actually showed the scanned pictures at the beginning of the class and I asked some questions about recipes …”
However, there were a couple of occasions where this wasn’t so clear:
“… and after I show the pictures they also concentrate …”
So, very good use of English from Eun-Kyung, but can you spot the mistakes in these extracts:
“…You may heard about the capital of south Korea it’s in Seoul …”
“… have a teacher training for a month …”
“… I had a one month training …”
“… at one class …”
“… and I could maintain their motivation …”
“… they also concentrate when we even do the content of the text book …”
OK did you spot the mistakes?
“… the first place that visitors could go is ancient Royal Palaces …”
“…Joseon dynasty started from late 14th century until early 20th century …”
“…contours if I’m right … the lines they are very gorgeous and beautiful …”
“… And in this place I’d like to highly recommend for visitors to go the Korean style restaurants ….”
“… Especially this place is very beautiful at night …”
Did you spot the mistakes?
The first one:
“… You may heard about the capital of south Korea it’s in Seoul …”
This should be: ‘You may have heard about’.
“… have a teacher training for a month …” “… I had a one month training …”
In both cases the indefinite article was used incorrectly. It should simply be: ‘teacher training’ . ‘I had one month’s training’.
“… at one class …”
Not ‘at one class’ but ‘in one class’.
“”… and I could maintain their motivation …”
This should be ‘I was able to maintain their motivation’.
“… they also concentrate when we even do the content of the text book …”
and here this is a word order problem. It should be: ‘’even when we do the content of the text book’.
OK, That’s the end of this podcast. If you’d like to find out more about the STAR technique then visit us at www.splendid-speaking.com to discover more about the Splendid Speaking online course. So until next week it’s bye from me Pete Travis.
Answers to comprehension questions
1) Eun-Kyung lives near Seoul.
Ans: True
2) At the time of the interview she had recently graduated.
Ans: False
3) You have the chance to teach before you graduate.
Ans: True
4) Eun-Kyung is looking for a part-time job.
Ans: False
5) On her training course none of the students were motivated.
Ans: False
6) The lesson she described went exactly as planned.
Ans: False
7) She was happy with the way the lesson went.
Ans: True