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Published: November 13th 2006
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am now a bona fide teacher. I have survived my first day as an English language trainer! I really had no idea what to expect going into the day. After arriving last Sunday, October 22, we were given 4 days of TEFL (teaching of english as a foreign language) training and sent out to face the music.
My first class of the day was an elective for beginners, entitled "Greetings and Introductions". The elective classes are conducted by level, and each teacher is assigned a topic for their particular elective. Other teachers have received topics such as 'plants and you' or 'black beauty (the book)'. Basically, we are given a sheet of information about the topic, and then it is free form creativity to design 90 minutes of lesson, using the internet, other teachers or any source of reference we can lay our hands on.
I wasn't too concerned about teaching a beginning level course because I can speak Chinese. However, it was much more difficult than I expected, because the students were from a Beginning A level (absolute and total beginner) and Beginning B level (3 months of English lessons already under their belts). It was a
Chinese students
Listening attentively to the history of Halloween. My help was enlisted to act out a skit (completely improvised, of course). I'm so happy that was not recorded on tape.... challenge to explain the concepts to the complete novices and keep the attention of those more versed in English. On top of the stress of the very first day, and the different levels of students' proficiencies, the room was unbearably hot. I will be grateful for the warmth when the winds begin blowing in from Siberia during the winter, but it made for a sweaty and unpleasant 90 minutes. I was so glad I'd worn a white shirt!
My next class (after an hour-long break for dinner/preparation, which is a luxury I only enjoy on Mondays) was a core class. THis means that I will see the same students in this class every week, because they are assigned to the level, versus electives, in which they show up if they are interested in the topic. I had 10 students listed on the roster, and only 5 of them showed up. This, I have learned, is completely normal. Many of these students are white-collar professionals. They spend a long day inside at work, and then rush straight from work to our office to study English. It's not abnormal for half the class not to show or for the students to
Fulicheng Apartments
More landscaping in my apartment complex be antsy, tired or bored. What a challenge!
However, my class, at the elementary A level, was a delight. There were 5 women in all: Julia, Anna, Susan, Charlotte and Fiona. Unlike my elective, in which a guy had chosen the name 'Leigh', their names were all appropriate, and quite nice-sounding, at least to my ears. They were very attentive, and kept telling me how beautiful I am (also not uncommon) and wanted to know where I had bought the trendy vest I was wearing. I told them I'd bought it in America, but it was actually made in China, so we all had a hearty laugh. They also found out that I speak Chinese, so as soon as the class period was over, the language switched into turbo-Chinese, bombarding me with questions and exclaimations. I was pleased to find that I was able to follow their conversation and answer their questions perfectly. I'm hoping that this will faciliate some type of languague exchange; English during the class for them and Chinese afterwards for me. Of course, this will all have to fly under the very perceptive radar of my boss....
All in all, work seems to be
going well. I'm trying hard to supplement each lesson with games or other activities to hold the students' interests. It's amazing how much they already know, despite the level they're placed in, and how eager they are to glean any knowledge they can from me. Unlike the United States, in which a new teacher might encounter boredom, indifference or outright hositlity, my colleagues have welcomed me with open arms and the students are incredibly inquisitive, perceptive and motivated to learn. It's very encouraging, and I hope it continues to be so.
In other news, I witnessed my first accident in China. In the past, I've written about the chaotic and hazardous traffic in China-- no attention paid to stoplights or lane markers, no right of way for pedestrians, passing other cars on the left over the double yellow lines in the path of oncoming traffic, and so on. This accident happened on my way to school this weekend. My roommate, May, and I had just passed a busy intersection when we heard the squealing of tires. We whipped around to see what the commotion was, and saw a taxi cab cream a bicyclist. It was unbelievably scary! Unlike the
U.S., we wouldn't be needed as witnesses to the scene, so we continued on our way to work. The woman who'd been hit was able to get up from the ground, but she was holding her stomach, and I was afraid she'd suffered internal injuries. We never found out what happened to her.
As you all know, tomorrow is October 31, and that means Halloween! This past Friday, we threw a huge Halloween party for our English language students at the school. It came complete with decorations, ghost stories, pie eating contests, pin the tail on the witch, face painting, apple bobbing, and more. All of the teachers were required to dress up, but as we new teachers were given about 1 day's notice, we did the best we could. There actually was a tiny Halloween costume store in an area frequented by tourists, so we were able to throw something together last minute.
That's all for now. As always, emails are very welcome.
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