Job Discussion Forums

[ResearchID]

I have yet to vote because, as a newbie, I don't think I've been here long enough to put my final stamp on anything yet. So far my schedule and new school rules has meant two things: work all day, try to find time to sleep. The school I'm at has so many versions and examples of bad English that it is no wonder why some struggle. I think some of the other teachers, most knowing Chinese, fall back to using Chinese as it is simply easier. Other teachers, and let me remind you this is coming from a new teacher, simply don't know how to teach.

My biggest complaint so far is the workload and sometimes the stares from people come at the wrong time. There are more teachers being hired, so I want to wait before making a final verdict on the first couple of months. I came in with the mind set that whatever I expected here would be completely different from the real thing, so I try to keep an open mind. We'll see where the next couple of weeks take me.

[johntpartee]

[BlueBlood]

@ ResearchID, Are you working at language mill or private "international school" for kids?

[Harbin]

[muffintop]

[Non Sequitur]

I find each semester pretty well repeats itself as far as willingness to speak.
I start with reading from the playlets in the text book which I call 'supported speech'.
I stand close to the two students and quietly correct them or supply a difficult word when they falter. The students know that I will never embarrass them and I know this is a big issue for teenagers.
If there is movement implied in the playlet I insist that they act this out. Matching movement to speech relaxes the whole thing and pretty soon the students start hamming it up and that makes it more enjoyable for everyone.
After about 6 weeks they get to write and perform their own dialogue which they can read if they want to.
By the end-of-semester assessment I have prised their fingers off the props and have them forming unaided speech. Sure it's rehearsed but I'm generally pleased with what has been achieved and I tell them so.

[teenoso]

Chinese culture itself- the students are down right unwilling to do the single most important thing one should do in an oral English class: speak.

Students are students, and they don't want to do something difficult . They hear about how some FTs play the guitar in class, or chat about movies, or the NBA, and think that is a fun and easy way to pass 90 minutes.

But some students, who want a job in an international company, do want to practice their spoken English.
I always try to organise pair or small group work , to increase S-S talk time, but when you monitor , the liveliest groups are often chatting in Chinese. However, you can only give them the opportunity to speak. I sometimes ask such groups to present their discussion to the whole class, which concentrates their minds on English.

There is one basic , underlying flaw in spoken English teaching here , which messes everything up, and that (IMO) is the size of the classes: 30 or more in a conversation class is crazy.
If I was studying Spanish (for example) in a Uni in England and the oral class was so big, I would never attend.

[Denim-Maniac]

[Non Sequitur]

Yeah.
The so-called lesson plans downloadable on the interweb that state:
'Form the students into small groups and let them discuss the topic in English' are the biggest load of codswallop perpetrated.
The dudes that promulgate this stuff have clearly never taught in China.
(vent over )

[Denim-Maniac]

[Contradicto87]

I will be setting foot in the middle school class tomorrow. I had posted on this forum questions about work permits and everything, but haven't had a chance to respond back. I'm teaching in the Guangdong province.

Of course, I haven't been given a curriculum yet, only told to prepare for an introduction lesson that has to be fun and what not.

Anyway, I have a question. I'd like to prepare a course outline for my classes, but since I don't have any curriculum from the school, I don't know where to begin. I'm going to go ahead and plan for some things anyway until I do get an actual heads up on what they want me to teach.

Anyway, I wanted some advice on devising course work. I was thinking at least two group projects/presentations, daily activities, etc. Any advice?

[Denim-Maniac]

[choudoufu]

middle school? 10-12 year olds?

first class - introduction, getting to know you.

talk about (in really simple sentences) hometowns and families.
get a feel for their levels. maybe have them do some easy dialogs
in pairs. how about a simple fill-in-the-blanks quiz?

hard to plan all your lessons for the semester without meeting them.
middle school kids might be at the "how are you" "what's your name"
"that's all" stage.

[Contradicto87]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm going down the common road of self-introduction activity to a work-in-pairs-interview.

Like you said, hard to say where they are at without asking

[Non Sequitur]