Archives for Category "Teaching"
Flashcards, Green Cards, and Red Cards
When you come to China to teach, it’s not necessary to pack a lot of teaching supplies, because, even though it may not always feel like it, this is still a modern country. Most of what you need in the classroom is available at the supermarket. Except 3×5 cards. I’ve yet to find anything in the store like a good, old-fashioned 3×5. I knew this would be a problem, so I had enough sense to bring several hundred with me. 3×5 cards are a teacher’s best friend, aside from a beating stick.
This week, I put together an activity where each student got a flashcard with a picture of a vocabulary word on it and took turns asking, “Who has…. this?” and replying, “I has…. this.” It turned into one of those things that would have made for a great lesson in any other environment, but in a classroom of 50 Chinese kids, it was about as bearable as the “who’s on first” skit. Yeah. That’s right. Who’s not a fan.
I don’t regret trying to do this lesson, though, because it ended up being a good way to show them just how poor their behavior is. I decided to create a “good/bad bag” based on a discipline idea I got from my mother who used a similar approach to keep my Sunday school classmates in line (because Sunday school students have no incentive to be good). When the class is well-behaved, a green card goes in the bag. When they’re bad, a red card goes in. At the end of class, a card is drawn. If it’s green, something good happens. If it’s red, something bad (or nothing) happens. Simple, right?
My first attempt at this was just to warm the students up to the card system. There were no rewards involved. And I knew they wouldn’t do very well, anyway. One class ended up with only one green card and ten red cards. As we were counting the red cards together, the kids grew more and more excited and shouted hurray on reaching ten. Okay… obviously it’s going to take a couple tries for this to sink in.
Warning: Strong Language
It’s interesting how some words became swears while others, which we use just as often, for the same reasons, and which sound awfully similar to their vulgar counterparts, are, in most company, perfectly acceptable. I say most, because there are people who have scribbled the likes of “heck” and “dang it” into their book of no-nos. We have our cultural swears that are, seemingly, defined by what gets censored on TV, but then there are all the other words that would get our mouth soaped by our parents. Growing up, I couldn’t even say “fart, butt, or shut up.”
And now I pretty much have no limits.
Okay, so it’s not that bad, but I’ll admit that the majority of our swear words don’t bother me anymore. You wouldn’t know this by talking to me, though; I am very conscientious of what comes out of my mouth (and ears and nose). But swearing, as I see it, is inevitable. When you smack your thumb with a hammer or forget to back up your hard drive before reformatting it, sometimes the only consolation available is to reach for the strongest words possible. Or maybe it’s just not as funny to call someone a “penny pincher” as it is to call them a “stingy bastard.” The point is, as you grow up, you learn when it’s appropriate to say, “Shit!” when it’s appropriate to say, “Crap!” and when the only appropriate thing to do is bite your tongue and twist your stomach into a knot.
The reason I bring this up is because it seems like the swear words are an ESL or EFL student’s favorite vocabulary. And this can really throw you off when you hear a sweet, innocent Chinese girl who hardly has the countenance to talk dirty suddenly blurt out, “Oh, shit!” over something silly like a broken pencil tip. That really only deserves a “damn it” at best and a disgruntled sigh at worst. Yet she only says this, because she got the impression from American movies that “shit” is what we all say when something goes wrong.
English teachers have to be careful how they talk, or else their kids students will quickly pick up on all the naughty words that slip out. Of course, you can always follow these accidents with, “You shouldn’t say that,” but that’s about as effective as telling a child not to put tin foil in the microwave. Even then, I think some teachers pride themselves in teaching their students how to swear.
Yes, I know, becoming fluent in a language unfortunately involves recognizing all the bad things you can say, but native speakers know what situations and what company warrant using one word over another. Most EFL students haven’t acquired that level of discernment yet. They just know that certain words get a reaction out of foreigners. There is a breed of teenage Chinese boys who enjoy wandering the streets and randomly shouting, “F—!” instead of the usual, “Hello!” when they see a white person. Real classy…
I’m reminded of the Chinese class I took in college where cussing (in Chinese) would occasionally come up. One guy said, “It doesn’t bother me to swear in Chinese, because it doesn’t mean anything to me.” But then the teacher’s assistant from China would enter the room, and she’d get red in the face upon hearing everyone practicing how to say “shit” over and over in her native language. Boy, those are the kind of impressions you want to send people back home with.
Five Tips for Teaching in China
Now that it’s winter holiday, I can take the time to reflect on my first semester and make a few suggestions for those of you preparing for an EFL job of your own. Obviously, these tips are based on going to China but are probably applicable to other foreign countries, as well:
1. Secure a good location
Ask how close the school is to the main shopping area. This is where all the action happens, after all, and the last thing you want is to get stuck in a place where it takes an hour to get to anything of interest. If finding a school downtown just isn’t an option, at the very least, make sure there is a major bus stop or supermarket next to where you will be living. For me, it takes so long to go anywhere, I don’t even like going out much at all.
2. Come with a friend
This isn’t really a problem if you’re downtown and can meet up with other foreigners easily, but if you’re going to be teaching out in the middle of nowhere (and it’s possible no other foreign teachers will be at the school), bring a friend. Bring anybody. They will keep you sane. It’s important to have people close by who you can be yourself around and who you can share your adventures with. Otherwise, life is going to get very lonely very quickly.
3. Be wary of training schools
Training schools usually have a pretty easy teaching methodology, pay more, and are a great way to meet people, but these extras come at the expense of having to work evenings and weekends. Just so you know. There is an abundance of training schools in China, too, with new ones cropping up every few months. However, many of them don’t have a good rapport with foreign teachers. Unless it’s for a short period of time, avoid signing with a training school before talking to someone who’s already worked for that company.
4. Pack lots of 3×5 cards
Most of the teaching supplies you’ll need will either be provided by the school or available at a nearby supermarket. I know, China always sounds like it lacks modern commodities, but that’s not necessarily true. One thing the stores don’t have, however, are 3×5 cards. Hey, I’m as surprised as you are! These are such a valuable teaching tool, and I’ve always appreciated having them on hand.
5. Remove all preconceptions
No matter how much you research ESL and EFL teaching, the job you end up in is not going to be at all what you thought it was. Really. It’s not. So don’t waste your time putting together a huge book of lessons plans before coming over, because there’s a very good chance you’ll have to scrap everything and start fresh once you see what your students are like, how many you have in a class, and just how little they actually know.
Shengdan Kuaile
Christmas is much more popular in China than I thought it would be. Carols are playing everywhere. Christmas decorations are on display everywhere. Life-size, dancing, robotic Santas are giving kids nightmares… everywhere. The holiday is still kind of new here, though, and no traditions have really been established. Christmas parties are a rarity. Nobody is expected to exchange gifts. Most people don’t even get the day off. I think they just like to recognize Christmas in an attempt to be more “mainstream.” The younger generations will eventually turn it into something bigger once they have their own families.
Until then, it’s business as usual. And I expected today to feel less like Christmas and more like another day of teaching. Which it did. But when I stood in front of the first group of students and said, “Okay, let’s sing,” to start class like we do every every every day, instead of singing “Hello, How Are You,” they unexpectedly started singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Then the school gave me a present: a set of combs (as strange as it sounds, Changzhou is actually famous for its combs).
Last night, I also went out for a French dinner with other foreigners. It was nice to be somewhere where we could eat turkey, drink wine, and share stories about how we usually celebrated Christmas. It’s a little hard to be away from home for the first time during the holidays and not being able to spend it with my family, but, thanks to a package my parents sent me, I still got to eat a couple chocolate-covered marshmallow Santas. And that’s the true spirit of Christmas.
Sick Teacher Needs an IV
I’ve had a miserable cold for the past many days. Coincidence would have it that the book’s dialogue this week is about having a stomach ache or a headache or just being plum ill. As difficult as it is teaching with a sore throat, it’s been kind of amusing, too. I play Tic-Tac-Toe with the students to help them build sentences like, “Amy’s got a cough,” or, “Sam’s got a sore foot.” I always throw myself into the game as a joke, so the kids end up saying, “Mr. Nielsen’s got a headache,” and I nod and smile and say to myself, “Yep. I sure do. I sure do…”
When I admit to others (or they just notice; it isn’t hard) that I’m sick, though, their first suggestion is to go see a doctor. I’ve noticed the people here are very quick to run to the hospital whenever something is wrong, even if it’s just a cold. Back home, you would never bother a doctor over a cold, or if you did, all he/she would tell you is that you need to drink more water and get some rest. In China, the answer to everything is an IV. You have a cold? Here’s an IV. You have food poisoning? Here’s an IV. Your leg is caught in a bear trap? Here’s an IV.
I’ve had this miracle IV before when I was sick in Wuwei, and while it probably played a big part in my speedy recovery, I don’t particularly like sitting in a dirty, smelly hospital room full of sick people who all have a needle stuck in their wrist and a bottle hanging over their head. I’ll take my chances with my own immune system, thank you very much.
Four Times a Day
You wanted more video. You got it.
Right after I took this footage, I went into reviewing other things you can say besides, “I’m fine” (because, you know, they have a serious problem with that). I asked several students, “How are you?” and I got responses like, “Good. Great. Not Bad. Okay. Alright.” Then I asked the funny, little girl in the bright green coat, and she blurted out, “TV!”
Lather, Rinse, Repeat
If you had attended my class earlier today, wearing a wire for whatever reason, you would have gone home with the following recording:
“I want us to sing a different song today. A new song!”
“A new song.”
“It’s about a fire truck.”
“It’s about a fire truck.”
“Shhh, shhh, shhh. Quiet…”
“Shhh… Quiet…”
“And this fire truck…”
“And this fire truck…”
“No, no, no. Listen to me.”
“Listen to me.”
“No. Don’t talk. Just listen.”
“Don’t talk. Just listen.”
“Stop repeating after me!”
“Stop repeating after me.”
“Shhhhh! Stop! No talking!”
Sadly, the kids don’t do this to be funny (their solemn faces prove otherwise). It’s merely a regression into an obnoxious habit they no doubt picked up from their Chinese English classes where verbal repetition is king. Since they can’t really differentiate between when I’m trying to drill something or just explain something, though, they assume everything I do means repeat after me. And then I go home with a serious headache.
From the Students’ Point of View
I don’t really like seeing pictures of myself or even hearing recordings of my voice, though I’m well aware this is not a unique problem. I remember my friends being pretty discouraged after watching the commercials we made in an 8th grade English class, because they realized their voices were nothing like how they sounded in their heads. In our own eyes, we come across as very awkward individuals whose approachability is truly baffling. Now consider living in a foreign country where the people find interest in you to annoying lengths, and you start to dwell on these insecurities a lot more.
Possibly all teachers go through this, but I find myself (more frequently as of late) wondering what I look like to my students. Do I even have a teacher’s countenance, or is my nose too distracting to garner the necessary respect? I guess what’s really brought this to my attention is that some of the kids have started making fun of the way I say, “Quiet!” As you can imagine, I have to say it a lot. Boy, teaching can sometimes be hard on the self-esteem.
Luckily, this week’s lesson has been a successful one, and that helps. I’m doing a picture puzzle where the students have to rearrange the pieces on the board by telling me which ones to switch or flip (remember: these games are detailed on the Teaching Ideas page). They really like it and always applaud at the end when the puzzle is complete. Of course, they aren’t very tolerant of each other and constantly shout, “Baichi a!” (Idiot!) when a classmate switches the wrong pieces.
Their insistence on blurting out Chinese is actually kind of useful to me, though I wouldn’t dream of letting them know I’m secretly learning their language. Nonetheless, the word for “chimney” (yancong) is ingrained in my memory, because the students always forget the English when I ask and just use Chinese, instead: “It’s a yancong!” Well, that’s a start.
