One, two, three, and then the time of day

The journal follows a beginning Korean class for foreign learners, watched from a seat in the room. What the hour was for, the writer says, were expressions people use all the time: numbers, the time, a count of things, and a person’s age.

When the students read the simple count — hana, dul, set — the teacher did not leave it there. The same numbers were turned into “one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock,” and into “one of this, two of that,” so the range of the lesson widened in place. Questions came next: “What time is it?” and “How many are there?” Midway, the class said “one year old, two years old, three years old,” and asked one another their ages. People joined in readily. Pronunciation was corrected with care, and praise was not held back, so that a small success could be felt.

October, the twenty-first, and a book on the desk

The teacher used the body, and hand movements that were easy to follow, and from time to time caught a student’s eye, so that attention stayed in the room. When an answer hung in the air, the teacher came closer with a smile and offered courage; a wrong reply was set right, gently, without a sting. Pairs were formed so that people could talk and question one another, and could speak without being afraid of a mistake. One practice that stayed with the observer was a birthday: “When is your birthday?” or “What month and what day?,” and then the weekday of that date.

Sounds that sit awkwardly in a new mouth were said again and again: October, which in Korean does not keep the p a learner might expect; December; and the twenty-first, where the days stack. Students put their own names and birthdays into the sentences, and that, the observer says, was especially well judged. The coursebook on the desk was Korean and Korean Culture, Beginner 1, and the practice was aimed at language a person can actually use. Watching the repetition, the observer began to see that it was not empty drill; it was a way for the language to settle.

A later hour on the passive, and what the visitor would keep

In another hour the aim was the passive, and the grammar people use in ordinary life. The writer found the way a hard idea was made easier worth learning from, and noticed that the teacher marked how often such points appear on a test — a small push to the will to study, not a threat. No student is named in the journal; the blanks on the form are left blank here as well.

By the end the observer, who is preparing to teach, had a clearer sense of how to encourage a class and how to get a lesson ready. Repeating a difficult sound, done with care, looked like something that would help in the observer’s own classroom. The same Korean journal, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.

Sources

1. A classroom observation journal from a beginning Korean lesson for foreign learners, covering numbers, time, age, and birthdays, with a later hour on the passive.
2. The coursebook named on the page: Korean and Korean Culture, Beginner 1.
3. Pronunciation practice as the journal records it, including October, December, and the twenty-first.

Last updated: 14 November 2026