First Week of Work

So the first week of classes went off without a hitch. The courses I will be teaching this semester are several sections Oral English classes as well as one section of American and British Culture. The classes I have thus far have turned out to be more than manageable. Furthermore, I am really excited to work with the students because of their general interest in the English language, and their interest in Western culture. Since I am a novice teacher, I couldn't help but be nervous entering my first class. Standing behind the podium with 35-40 pairs of eyes watching your every move and being the lone voice for the majority of the class can be construed as being unnerving. However, the more I was able to work out my own personal kinks, the more comfortable I became lecturing the class and conducting in-class exercises and activities.

My Oral English sections have turned out better than I expected. I remember entering the room and watching the students and their reactions; most of the students were quite surprised to see an Asian-American teaching their class; I think they were expecting to see a more typical looking Caucasian assuming the role of their English teacher. But as I soon opened my mouth to give them a brief introduction about myself, the class burst out into applause. I guess they were surprised to see how fluent and competent my level of English was. So after my brief introduction and a lecture about my goals and aims for being a teacher and my experience here in China, I ran an interview exercise that consisted of the students asking their partner basic questions and presenting it to the class. This was more of an exercise to assess their level of English and to see how confident they are in delivering speeches in front of the class. There was quite a disparity between their levels of English; some were better than others, but what this exercise essentially did for me was it gave me a perspective at where they are with the language and what kind of steps I can take as a teacher to help them achieve their goal of become more fluid and confident in the English language. I also posed a question onto the students in an in-class exercise on the topic of why they are studying English. Their replies ranged from a basic interest in the language to some quite ambitious repsonses, for example, studying English to become an international translator, to travel abroad and to see the world, and become international teachers, business people and lawyers. The stereotype of the Chinese having a strong work ethic is very much true; the Chinese tend to have lofty goals and ambitions and I personally believe that most if not all the students have the aptitude to achieve them. All and all, the students were really sweet and receptive, and demonstrate a strong interest in the language. After completing my first Oral English, I received an email from the class monitor (the student who assesses the class and reports back to the university) and she had some warm and encouraging remarks. Apparently, the students view me as their elder brother, I think this has something to do with the fact that I am Asian, and that they are quite excited to get to know me as a teacher, and as a person. Furthermore, the boys in the class want me to go play basketball with them; one of these days I'll have to show them how to play American basketball--of course I'm being facetious but then again, I wouldn't sell my basketball skills short.

Now I don't like to rant or come off as overly critical, but there are several aspects I could see the university improving on in order to make the foreign teachers transition a little more easier. For the sake of brevity, I'll try to limit my suggestions to a minimum. The first aspect is that both parties (foreign teachers and the important personnel who are overseeing us) could improve on establishing stronger networks of communication between each other. I would say that foreign teachers should seek out a strong iniative to get in contact with the important contacts i.e., liaisons, the international department's personnel, and be really inquisitive. One should constantly be asking questions on a plethora of issues: what kind of resources are available, what the university expects of us as teachers, what kind of material the university expects us to cover in our respected classes, and the like. Again, I stress that both parties should put in equal effort in order for the foreign teachers to achieve their goals as teachers and meet the expectations of the university. Another minor suggestion is that the university should strive to help the foreign teachers become more acquainted with the city. Thus far, my fellow teachers and I had to assume a more of a explorative role. That is not to say that isn't a good thing, but I feel that this city has so much to offer and a little crash course on our surroundings wouldn't hurt; I mean we will be stationed here for the next eight or so months.

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