picka name

Trying to build rapport with 340 students that you see twice a week can be a bit difficult.  At least I thought it would be better to call them by names rather than "hey you" so at the beginning of each semester I have them choose an English name or write their Korean name transliterated into English letters.  Some of them, actually many of them, are quite creative.  Here are some of the best name tags from the first semester.

Celebrities

Dwight Howard

Eminem

Undertaker

Jim Cary

Obama

Ronaldo (as representative of many soccer names chosen)

Johnny Depp

John Lennon

Kobe Bryant

Jack Sparrow

Chuckles (Not worth a full laugh but not bad)

Mouth

The North Face

Sweet guy

Feel (I had several students with this name oddly)

Macho

Zero

yeah

Social leader

Environment leader

Headmaster

Prophet

Cartoon characters

Bugs Bunny

Oscar

Pororo

Sponge Bob

Historical Figures

God

Ghandi

Ghandi’s Slave (chosen by the student sitting next to Ghandi)

Einstein

Julius Caesar

Davinchi

Brownnosers

Ben

Small Ben (chosen by one of the larger students I had)

I love God (“then why are you talking in my class?!” lol)

Cecillia (former English teacher at Taesung)

Cigarettes (yes I devoted an entire section to cigs)

Marlboro Red

Marlboro Lights

Marlboro Menthol (the ‘Marlboro gang’ as I called them were all in one class)

Mild Seven 

Funny

Dorothy

Jackie

Hey

You (yes these two sat next to each other also)

Sexy guy

Cool guy

Mr. Pink Pig

Seal Bob

Jun Kyu Super Giant Pig

Spanish names (it works right?)

El Nino

Best of the best

Mr. Big (One of the smallest students I had in any class)

Korean (If you’re looking for a way to blend in with 340 korean boys, this was probably a good name choice.  Ironically I can remember his face because it was funnyJ)

Mr. Bong (funny mostly because I don’t think he had a clue what a bong is.)

Precious hair (enough said)

Pithagorus (like the guy who came up with that triangle formula?  Yeah that’s the one.  Who thinks of that??)