Teacher notes — Grammar for Korean Speakers
I am boring: the -ed/-ing adjective mix-up Korean students make
- Point first, explain second: point at yourself for -ed, point at an object (a book, the board, a video clip) for -ing, before writing any rule on the board.
- Keep the Korean example (지루하다) out of early drills. Mention it once to explain the "why," then switch fully to English so students are not translating mid-exercise.
- Watch for the five highest-frequency pairs first: bored/boring, tired/tiring, excited/exciting, interested/interesting, surprised/surprising. Most daily student speech only needs these five.
- This mistake comes back weeks later even after a good lesson. Plan a two-minute review every few classes instead of expecting it to stick after one drill.
- For a stronger class: add confused/confusing, embarrassed/embarrassing, and annoyed/annoying, and have students write a short paragraph about their weekend using at least three pairs correctly.