Job Discussion Forums

[maj0915]

Hey everyone, I'm going to be starting at a university next week, my first job in China, and am a little bit nervous because all I've been told is that I'll be teaching Oral English, and that there's a book I'll be receiving upon arrival which I'll be able to use in my lessons. My first job in ESL last year involved teaching English here in the United States to non-native speakers, but most of the students either didn't speak any English at all or had only been speaking it for a year or two, so the emphasis was more on introducing grammar, vocabulary, etc. Some of the classes were conversational, where I'd just engage the students and help them improve their pronunciation, etc., but I get the feeling that teaching in China is going to be quite a bit different because the students are more advanced and, from what I understand, there's not as much emphasis on introducing new concepts as there is on getting the students to participate in conversations.

It's going to take me about twenty-four hours to fly over the China, so I figured I could use that time as an opportunity to get a bunch of lesson plans done which will carry me through the first week or two of classes, just so I have some material prepared on arrival. Would any university teachers mind sharing what their typical day is like with me? I'd really like to get a better feel for what I'll be expected to do so I can reduce my anxiety a bit. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide!

[johntpartee]

[maj0915]

Thanks John! Have you found that the students prefer to be correct thoroughly (this being the impression I've gained from reading about teaching in China), or that this can kill their confidence and make them more reluctant to participate in class? How "off" does something have to be in order for you to point out their mistake? Typically I try to let the students finish speaking without interrupting, then try to discreetly correct pronunciation or phrasing errors by paraphrasing their response to include the proper pronunciation/phrasing.

[roadwalker]

OP chances are that you will be given classes where (most of) the students can understand you and have some grounding in grammar (for recognition) and large vocabularies. For some students it's a matter of getting over shyness and no, you don't want to kill any budding confidence with too much correction. For others, they just need to put it all together orally and they appreciate more correction. You'll just have to get a feel for it and do what you think is best in a given situation.

Your first week will vary depending on how much welcoming you get from the administration (I think there's a thread somewhere about hangover cures.) Also, in many schools you will be an object of intense curiosity, especially for your students. Introduce yourself as much as you are comfortable with, mindful that you are there to get the students to talk. You will probably find the vast majority of students to be friendly.

The book will undoubtedly be full of errors of every type. Still you can use parts of it often. Your lesson plans may not be an exact fit, but it's good that you will have ideas ready to go if the lesson is drawing blanks. Typical oral English textbooks explore greetings, the environment, technology, films, music, other leisure activities, transportation, romance, travel, family etc. A typical format is: text; questions; dialogue; questions; possible grammar point questions; unrelated text such as a fable; comparisons between Chinese and foreign sayings. You will no doubt be free to use whatever you find useful and ignore the rest. I used to correct the text and dialogs for glaring errors in grammar, spelling or usage. Now I write my own texts and/or dialogs to match the topic and make them available to the students. You will be able to do what you think best in most universities. Good luck.

[roadwalker]

Sorry, I just re-read the topic of this thread:

Typical day will have zero, one, two or three two-hour (90 or 100 minute) classes with a break in between hours. Daily life really depends on the individual teacher. You will be living on or very near campus in most cases. Some teachers enjoy hanging out with the students on off time. You won't have any trouble finding a basketball, soccer or volleyball game in most cases, if you care to join. Some teachers eat at the cafeteria with students (sometimes there is a teachers-only lounge in the cafeteria) and others don't. I either cook for myself or eat outside the campus, sometimes with teachers and sometimes with students, or both.

You may be close to more interesting parts of town, a nice park etc. and you might not. After classes are over and I don't want to spend the day in my apartment, I'll take the bus downtown sometimes just to walk around or to shop for things that aren't found near campus. Or I'll ride my bicycle around for the exercise. Some teachers study, some do more sports or who knows what. Bottom line is that you will have free time to deal with, as productively or as unproductively as you care to do. First week or two that won't be a concern as you acclimatize to your new surroundings.

I've taught for a few years now, so preparation time is very little, depending on the class. It won't be that long before you are comfortable going in with what you have and will need to find more things to occupy your time. Fellow foreign teachers (can be a mixed bag), some of the Chinese teachers, and many of the students will often be happy to show you around. Have fun.

[johntpartee]

[mw182006]

I think a lot of it just depends where you end up. I went in with low expectations, but still thinking that students would have a basic grasp of the language by now. Unfortunately I was mistaken and spent the semester trying different approaches that mostly fell flat. I initially thought it was shyness but quickly realized that was not the case. I don't want to be the shmuck that half assess it and collects a check each month, but a lot of my students have no motivation so I'm going to have to figure out how to change that.

My average day was 2 90 minute classes with 30+ students. Other days had only one or as many as three classes. Usually a morning class, 2 hour lunch break, then an afternoon class. English corner once a week in the evenings (a whole 'nother can of worms). I don't mean to make it sound worse than it is, it's just been an eye opening experience for me haha.

[doogsville]

I would guard against making assumptions about students levels. The first thing you want to do in any new class is find out where they are and adjust your teaching accordingly. I usually do this with questions. I write or PPT some questions on the board, then get the students to ask each other a question or two. Then I have the students tell me/the class what their partners answer was. Questions range from 'what's your favourite food' to 'if you won a billion Yuan what would you spend it on' or 'should education be free', 'are men and women treated equally in China' etc. This will give you an idea of their ability, as well as getting them to talk, at first to each other, which they often find easier, then to the whole class.

Once you know what they know, you know that they don't know and can start to plan teaching them that.

I think your previous experience will stand you in good stead, but in any case, nothing you read or hear about will adequately prepare you for the reality of teaching in China. It'll help, but there's no substitute for experience. I think the biggest difference you'll encounter is the Chinese students reluctance to speak, or indeed to have any active role in the class. It's not what they're used to in many cases. They are used to being spoken at by teachers and writing down or remembering the information for regurgitation during exams. Not all students are like that though, some will already have been exposed to western teaching methods through other foreign teachers, and others will be willing to open up and give it a go.

Beware the textbook, especially for an Oral English class. The quality varies widely, and sometimes the school will give you a general English textbook, like New Interchange, which I like, but has a lot of reading and writing exercises which are not relevant to an Oral English class. With those kinds of book you have to cherry pick the relevant stuff for speaking, and try to adapt the other stuff to speaking where possible. You can always introduce your own material too. Find out straight away who writes the exam though, and what format they take. If the uni sets the exam, which is unlikely, then you'll need to follow their set syllabus more closely. If you write the exam then you have free rein.

Don't spend too much of your travel time planning lessons is my advice. Plan one introduction/evaluation lesson that you can use for every new class in the first week, then spend time after you've arrived, unpacked, looked around and taught those first lessons planning week 2 and so on. If you want to do something constructive while travelling, learn a few key phrases in Chinese' 'How much', 'that one' (used while pointing to order food from pictures or buy anything that is behind a counter), 'hot', 'cold' (for ordering drinks), the numbers one to one hundred, easy once you've mastered one to ten, 'hello' and 'thank you'. Try to get audio to listen to and practice the tones from. There are some good apps for smart phones that will help.

Lastly, practice answering the following questions with a smile on your face. 'Do you like Chinese food/girls?' 'How long have you been in China', 'can you use chopsticks' and 'do you have a girlfriend'. Practice the smile because it will slip after you're answered these same questions a few hundred times. Welcome to China, and have a nice stay!

[mw182006]

[Non Sequitur]

If the book has dialogues of any length (5 or 6 speeches per actor) spend the first 45 min spell getting the students up and reciting the dialogue.
I call this supported speaking and as I grade from day one it is a good barometer of progress.
Draw the names from a hat so no one knows when they're going to speak or who with.
Over time introduce independent dialogues and this leads you to your final assessment at semester end which should be totally without notes.
The 2nd 45 should be something different as dialogues are just too turgid and boring to sustain for the whole class.
Cocktail and similar games work here.
Over time I've developed resources which are oral and suitable for even large (to say 60) classes.
As another has mentioned, having these resources in my room on a 'grab and go' basis makes planning a breeze.

[Javelin of Radiance]

[Mandrews1985]

Hey there!

So typically I teach 2 x 90 minute classes a day. Each 90 minute class is split up into 45 minute periods with a 5-10 minute break inbetween. Within Oral English there are a few different types of classes you may encounter. English majors or non English majors, and small class size (20 kids) or big classes (40+).

I teach 'Oral English' to classes of 20 non English major freshmen and it has been the best ESL job I've had.

As with the make up of your class and what to teach, the students will have a Chinese teacher doing the other aspects of the language so focus on getting them speaking. I personally try to touch on grammar, reading, writing, introducing new vocab and listening, but the focus is perfecting spoken English.

I teach the lowest level upto the highest but there isnt a great deal of difference, most have basic understanding and what they lack in ability, they make up in enthusiasm to learn.

I've only completed one semester so far in China but i've had a great time and these forums have helped!

[Non Sequitur]

[Bud Powell]

When i am given free reign in my university class, I find out students' level. If they're majors and complete maniacs about speaking English (those students actually exist), I give them some leeway in the subject matter.

And I throw out the book.

Generally, however, I make up several new situations for them to create original dialogue every week. I tear them into strips and allow them to form small groups to prepare their dialogues. Then I pass out business card sized strips of paper for EVERYONE to record comments while others are performing.

The situations that I create usually involves solving a problem successfully, but I leave a lot of room for the students to be creative.

I save them from week to week until I have pages of prompts. I give out the collection of prompts and allow the students to pick out situations from the collection. The students may repeat a prompt that they received a few weeks earlier. Usually, if they repeat a prompt it is much better the second time.

Sometimes they have almost no time to prepare. They must create on the spot. The idea is to get them to use their own vocabulary, however limited. I augment the situational dialogues with lists of idioms which they are asked to explain.

Every few weeks, I give each student a slip of paper upon which several grading criteria appear: vocabulary, volume, clarity, pronunciation, expression, confidence, and CREATIVITY. When they stand before the class, they give me their slips with their names on them, and I either check the area or make a short comment. The rest of the class also makes comments on their paper.

This has always worked for me. The 40+ size classes usually enjoy making comments as well as reading the comments of their classmates, so chatter is kept at a minimum.

I suggest that the FT continually add to his bag of situations so that he doesn't run out and that there is a wide variety of topics from which to choose.

There's another way to stretch these situational dialogues by changing characters out with new students.

Example: The situation is that the daughter has brought her much-shorter boyfriend/fiance home to meet the parents. A boy and a girl are the parents; another boy and girl are the couple. When the students run out of things to say, I change them out.

I've had entire classes go nuts over this sort of thing because they were given the opportunity to challenge themselves. It works for advanced classes and it works for freshmen who show a lot of hesitation and self-doubt.

My mantra is "Think of your message. Forget your fear."

[Non Sequitur]

Yeah you need the odd English major class to leaven the other majors who can't see the sense in learning English.
Many vocational ie hotel and tourism majors do really well in dialogues and are very enthusiastic. They of course see English as the passport to international hotels and tour companies.