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Published: April 18th 2010
Every month Roy and I give the students Oral English exams. We assign a topic a week beforehand, post it on the school web page, pass the information on to their other English teachers, and then--Viola!--we test them the following week.
They memorize 4 sentences for the first part and then answer questions for the second part. This method allows weaker students to really study and practice and learn the vocabulary if they don't already know it. Chinese students are strong memorizers, and this gives them the chance to shine and show-off a bit. For the first half, I tend to grade on variety of vocabulary (is it "interesting" or do they use other words), fluidity, and if they make sense. I obviously don't grade on their choice of topic. The second half gets graded on their ability to listen and answer--we're trying to emulate a conversation. As I said earlier, Chinese students are great at memorizing--it's actually pretty impressive. But real-life conversations are never memorized and some students have difficulty grasping that they can't just give me a few key phrases and have it make sense.
Over the past two terms, Roy and I have selected the following topics:
1. Why is National Day important to you?
2. My favorite...
3. Would you rather be rich or famous? (This got us many altruistic answers.)
4. My best friend...
5. My favorite music....
and last, but not least,
6. My dream
I had noticed over the course of the testing that many students would mention that they dreamed about something. I thought it could be an interesting topic since it would get a wide variety of answers. My students may look similar, and act similar in many instances, but they all have different dreams. Plus, I want to encourage dreaming as a good thing, rather than a waste of time. The Chinese education system does have its strengths, but teaching creativity is not one of them. Students could talk about a dream they had while sleeping, a daydream, or a dream for when they are older. I was expecting few of the last category since Now-ism tends to rule things still more than long-term planning, at least in my experience.
Here are some of my favorite answers from the week:
1. I had a student tell me that when she grows up she wants to be a, "moneybag."
2. "I want to be a scientist so I can invent things, like cars, space ships, and gods."
3. "... and I want to have a handsome son, just like me."
"What if you have a daughter?"
"I won't have a daughter."
"Really? Why?"
"I don't want a daughter."
"Why?"
"I don't like daughter."
"Uh-huh..."
At this point he figures out that everyone is looking at him like he's an idiot for saying this to a female teacher while surrounded by female students.
I was trying so hard not to laugh that I actually ended up tearing up a bit.
4. I had two students tell me their dream was for gay love to be okay and not have their families against it. They both used the word lesbian and I was sure I'd heard the first one wrong at first. I was totally taken by surprise! Happy that they feel comfortable enough to tell me this, though. In China, for the most part, it is not okay to be gay.
5. Had another student tell me she wanted to be a teacher because her mom used to beat her and her teacher came to her home and took her to the hospital and saved her. He has had a profound impact on her life and she wants to be like him and help people.
6. Two students just want to be ordinary people. One wants to be an office worker. They want a relaxing, stress-free life.
7. One of our top students wants to be an English teacher. I was surprised--thought he'd go for something in government. As a member of the Young Pioneers, and all the leadership he's been given, this was not the direction I expected.
8. One very short student wants to be an actor... nevermind that he doesn't act now. But at least he didn't say basketball player My understanding is that was his dream in the past. He's as tall as my shoulder.
9. One student wants to win the lottery so he can not work for money but rather spend time doing things he enjoys. He wants to move to northern Europe because he hears the people are very nice there. He plans to buy a sauna.
10. One wants to open a school with no homework and where students' "destinies aren't decided by one test. Do you know what I mean?"
"Yes."
"I just want the students to be happy and not have so much .. uhh, press, press..."
"Pressure?"
"Yes."
"And no one telling us, 'your hair is too long, you must cut it.'"
11. One boy wants to be a computer engineer so he can create games and make people happy and also help his father (another computer engineer) so he's not so tired.
12. There were many students who wanted to be singers or basketball players so they could make a lot of money and then give it to the poor people. There comes the altruism again. While I think many of them would like to help, this was a clever way to avoid answering the question. (More time was spent talking about buying books and sending money than was spent on why they want to do something.) I also had a lot of doctors and a few lawyers with the same sentiments. None of them wanted the job because they thought it would be rewarding, but mostly because they could earn a lot of money.
13. Quite a few want to be scientists or astronauts. I asked one boy what his favorite part of science was. I could see him turning it over in his head, trying to figure out how to express it. After some muddling I finally make an explosion noise and gesture. His excitement level indicated I had guessed correctly.
14. Lastly, many boys wanted to be Superman. They wanted to fly and save people. They would be strong and not afraid of anything. Some days, that sounds nice.
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dorothy Q
non-member comment
Great job Kris. I'm really glad you like what you're doing.