Job Discussion Forums

[MissDVLA]

I'm going to China to teach 13-16 year olds - it's my first teaching job and and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to get through the first day.

Do you have anything that you traditionally do to warm the class up or settle yours and their nerves?

Also coming from the UK, where I think we have a history of mahem in the classroom, I'm nervous about maintaining law and order. Is it true that Chinese students are more inclined to behave well or am I clutching at straws?

[kev7161]

Not knowing what their English levels are will determine what first day activities will be. Here's a couple of ideas:

1. Have the students ask you some questions, but don't answer them (right away). Instead write the questions on the board as they ask them. I mean, don't even tell them your name (that should be one of the first questions they will ask). Once you have 6 to 8 questions on the board, have the students pair up and ask EACH OTHER these same questions. It would be great if you have an odd amount in the classroom as you can team up with one student. Then, you and your partner can model the next part. "This is my new friend 'Betsy'. She is 15 year old. She comes from Hangzhou. She lives with her mother, father and grandmother . . . etc." Then your partner can introduce you and the rest of the class should get the idea.

2. Bring some construction paper, markers, stickers, glue sticks and glitter, etc. and have students make nameplates (construction paper is a bear to find here and what you do find is quite expensive). It's a great ice breaker. It doesn't include much English (but later they can show off their art and tell/show everyone their English name if they have one). They fold the paper into thirds so it makes a 3-D triangle (like folding a letter). On one side they can write their English name in nice, big block letters, on another side they can write their Chinese name and, on the third side, they can write their Chinese name in Pinyin. They can then festoon their nameplates with stickers and drawings and glitter - - whatever you have provided them to use. Again, this idea doesn't have much in the way of using English, but it loosens the kids up with you and they aren't so nervous and you aren't so nervous. You can certainly walk around the class while they are doing this and have little one-on-ones with some of the students. Also, they park these on their desks every class so it's easier to call on students as opposed to consulting a seating chart all the time. Eventually you won't need the nameplates, but it's a nice souvenier for your students to have. Be sure you have one already made so they can get the idea and then also model the project - - most kids of this age will get this right away, so don't worry.

3. An idea that will get the kids talking and getting to know you is have them provide you a Chinese name. You can group them up and they can discuss a name for you. Then, at least one spokesperson from each group can present their idea and explain to you what it means. Be careful though because each group will want you to use the name they come up with. You could put the ideas in a hat and draw one or get some other teachers to come in to "judge" the names and choose the best one . . . whatever you want to do. This is a good little project once you've met with them 3 or 4 times. You could have one "nickname" for each class (but it will be up to you to keep them all straight) or just choose one ultimate name from all the ideas.

Hope these ideas help - - good luck!

[Roger]

Coming from the U.K., you may cling to some more traditionalist methods that will stand you in good stead here in the PR of C: Make your students respect you from day 1, don't put yourself down to their level!

- Expect students to stand up & greet you when you enter the classroom!
This is a tedious little ritual that they are used to with their own teachers; adopt it too!

- Make sure the rules are set in stone: disruptive behaviour earns them
opprobrium (to be defined with their Chinese teachers: sometimes
punitive measures cannot be meted out at your own initiative!). I
suggest a warning that you would complain to the principal and he to
their parents!

- Identify their monitor! He or she will be your go-between.

- Don't write too much on the blackboard; it is more instructive to rope
them in for such jobs! That's a good way to make them aware of
mistakes that you can ask their peers to name and to correct.

- I would even give them my rules in a dictation rather than in
photocopies.

- Self-help is the most effective help! Instruct them to bring along
dictionaries and to check new words on their own rather than
you having to bring lists of new vocabulary for them to memorise!

[Talkdoc]

[rickinbeijing]

MissDVLA,

There's an old rule of thumb in teaching: "Don't smile until Christmas." The rule itself must have been laid down by either some control freak or very paranoid individual but the impetus for the rule is worth noting. "Always begin the term with more strictness and gradually loosen the reins." I think this maxim has universal application.

On the other thumb, however, mainland Chinese students of every age, level, and inclination are notorious for their practice of jiang hua, or idle chatter with Chinese characteristics. It varies depending on the teacher's competence and interest (same for students and that of their Chinese EFL teacher) and the class size (i.e. teacher's ability to use proximity).

One thing about most Chinese students, as a positive point of contrast, is that they will "settle down" much more quickly than Western students. The din can go from a roar to a whimper that would please even T.S. Eliot. Of course, it can increase just as rapidly without proper disciplinary brakes.

But if your students are serious or in a key school they are more likely than not to value competence more than anything. Indeed, they expect more enthusiasm from their FT's too.

[bendan]

I think it depends enormously on the level of the school. If it's a good school, the students will be well disciplined in the beginning. What follows will depend on you, but if you are well prepared and knowledgeable/interesting you should do fine. If it's a poor school, you'll be facing ingrained, tolerated poor behaviour from some of your students. I don't think there's a simple answer to the question of how to handle these classes, because there are so many factors to consider. If I were you I'd try to observe the students before you teach them, as the first class often sets the tone for the following term.

I'd be wary of any advice that makes generalisations about Chinese students. Just imagine the difference between teaching at the best and worst secondary schools in the UK. The difference is just as great here (without the violence, though.)

[rickinbeijing]

bendan,

I concur with nearly all that you said and the spirit in which it was said. However, the practice of jiang hua has been noted by a number of both Chinese and foreign educational researchers. Let us not forget that generalizations are not inherently bad any more than stereotypes are inherently inaccurate. Social psychologists make these points quite clear. Unfortunately, the current PC climate (and please note I'm not accusing you of this personally) has obscured these long-held observations.

Jiang hua is generally detrimental to the learning environment unless it is triggered by a need to explain some unfamiliar word, phrase, idiom, or concept to a classmate. In time, you should be able to discern which is which even if you cannot speak a word of Chinese.

[Old Dog]

It's all been said but posting will give me the opportunity to quote my favourite "hate".

Whatever you do in your first lessons, ensure that you learn more about the students than they learn about you. Get their measure.

Fashion yourself, if you are not already so fashioned, as a person of substance, with self-respect, with vigour, with something to teach and possessed of some degree of humanity and kindness - and maybe, further down the track, with a sense of humour.

For goodness' sake, don't let anyone hear you exclaiming in a few months' time, "I love China. I'm treated like royality. The Chinese people are fantastic. I love my students but they just won't listen to me. They get so excited." My God, when I hear 20-something debutantes mouthing this dreadful litany, I could cheerfully strangle them with their chiffon. For this reason, I always refuse absolutely to go to those regionally-organized "welcomes" for the ft's of the district since it is this very litany that is mouthed by speaker after speaker as they soar, compulsively apparently, into their Chinese rhapsodies. Where's the chunder bucket? I think.

And as an aside to give food for thought about just what it is that ft's take up students' time with:

One of my old students has just left. He spent some time during his visit inveighing about those ft fools, young 6-month tourists, who have first-year students from his high-class university singing children's songs and playing games. The Chinese students are not impressed. Another who visited yesterday from another Nanjing University said his ft lessons were just a waste of time. The students have worked out what the attendance arrangements are - 3 consecutive lessons missed supposedly not tolerated - so they have all worked out a timetable of one week present, two weeks away. These students are not fools. Each is intelligent and fluent and the content and shenanigans that they are subjected to from their ft's they find intolerable. I doubt if they'd be voting for a pay rise for their ft's.

[bendan]

rickinbeijing,

I hadn't actually read your posting when I wrote my response, so I wasn't in any way referring to what you said. I agree with what you said entirely.

Generalisations are very often precisely what we want to hear, I just feel a teacher new to China should be wary of them. To the OP, I'd say it's best to prepare for a variety of situations, irrespective of what you've been told by your employer or posters on this forum.

[rickinbeijing]

bendan,

Your point about being prepared for different eventualities is well-taken and sorry for getting a bit defensive in my last post.

Old Dog,

Maybe I'm foolhardy as I engage in humorous interaction almost from the get-go with students but then it's an irrepressible part of my personality. Not that I get students to guffaw, mind you, or slap their knees and hold their bellies but as we all know Chinese students are not so jaded and therefore quick to laugh. I suspect they get very little with most Chinese teachers and so appreciate even a corny joke you could make popcorn with. Vigor is most important: Chinese students, especially at the tertiary level, appreciate hard work and dedication.

And Miss,

By all means do not become that kind of teacher that CCTV-9 loves to interview who sounds like a modern day version of Lawrence Welk, as in China is always so "wunnerful, wunnerful."

[Old Dog]

Rickinbeijing is right, of course. Humour can be a good thing from the very beginning. My reservation about humour is simply this. If you KNOW you can handle humour and audience reaction to it, then humour is a fine thing. But if you are inexperienced, attempts at humour may be fraught with sad consequences.

[rickinbeijing]

Old Dog,

Yep, that puts it in the proper perspective. Most inexperienced teachers lack enough stage presence or poise to pull it off well and I must admit at times I feel like an organ grinder's monkey prancing around up there for the amusement of my students. Sometimes I carry the humor thing too far but it does keep them engaged.

Yelping Pup

[Talkdoc]

[MissDVLA]

Wow, I never expected to get such a response. Thank you to everyone who parted with their words of wisdom. There are certainly a lot of very experienced teachers out there.

I must admit, I'm not sure whether I feel more at ease or more concerned about my role as a teacher in China. Talkdoc, - I was aware that the regime for children in China was strict and intense, but from your description of an average students day, I am gob smacked. Is this healthy? Judging from the number of suicides (not to mention attempts) that you allude to, I would say no. Would I be right then in thinking that Chinese students see their English classes as light relief? And in which case are we letting the parents down, with regards to their expectations?

[Talkdoc]