Job Discussion Forums

[gmjones]

Hi,

I was just offered a teaching job starting next week, teaching mostly Japanese, Korean, Chinese and some Arab students. However, having never taught people from those countries before I have no idea what to expect: I'm used to bubbly and lively Latin Americans and Spaniards and think that my new students will be quite the opposite (excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong!). Could anyone who has any experience teaching people from these areas give me any tips about what to expect and how to deal with any problems you have come up against. It's an intensive 4 week course, at preintermediate or intermediate level so I don't have much time to play with and want to make as big an impression as possible on their level.

I really appreciate any help you can offer!

[mondrian]

You have given very little information to work on.
I presume it is a summer camp?
What age (and age range) and sex of the students?
What have you been told you are to do in the 4 weeks? Oral? Combined: oral, listening; reading; writing?
Any text book or materials?
Are you going on any excursions; even to the nearby park or garden?
Are you to be a teacher, facilitator or baby minder?
Even answering these questions to yourself should give you clues as to what to do!

[TheLongWayHome]

The problem with speakers of Asian languages is that they have no common basis to work from, as speakers of latin languages do. New writing system, pronunciation, grammar--everything is new. I used to work a lot on word order and spoken production with Asians as these are their weakest areas. On paper they are grammar machines, they'll rip through those gapfills, it's the speaking that gets them.

[gmjones]

Hi Mondrian,

While I thank you for reading my post, I find your response totally unproductive and fairly condescending. I agree I have given perhaps too little information. Aside from the fact that the course runs for 4 weeks and they are preintermediate/intermediate students, they are adults and both male and female. All skills are to be covered but with an emphasis on speaking. I have text books though this has little to do with my query, as I really was asking for ''tips about what to expect and how to deal with any problems you have come up against''.

I am an experienced teacher, only unfortunately not of people from this background.

Thank you to anyone who can give me some good advice!

[Glenski]

mondrian asked appropriate questions. Can't very well give answers without proper background. If nothing else, you should have told us the age of the students and what's expected of them.

In GENERAL, Japanese students tend to be shy and unmotivated. In GENERAL. Young kids can break that mold, but you are mostly teaching them lively things like songs. Mature motivated people with experience abroad (or a strong desire to break the Japanese mold) usually come abroad, and those MIGHT be the ones you face, but who can really say?

You are stuck with less than a week to get your act together. Here's what I will predict (and hope I'm wrong based on what I just wrote, and despite the 8 years I have taught in Japan).

1. Few people will volunteer to answer questions.
2. Students you call on will hesitate dramatically to answer.
3. You might have tons of fossilized stuff in their heads (Ask someone, "How are you?" and you should get a robotic, "I'm fine, thank you, and you?")
4. Intermediate in Japan usually means high beginner in other cultures. Beware.
5. You can get lots of interested, but blank stares, that you can falsely interpret as paying attention and understanding. A call for "any questions?" or even "do you understand?" will often bring silence.

I wouldn't go so far as TheLongWayHome does in saying Japanese are "grammar machines". They are taught to dissect and examine sentence structues, but only to pass college entrance exams. Once that has been accomplished, the air goes out of their heads. You can hardly expect a high school graduate to do better than to answer a simple question, and you probably won't get a perfectly structured sentence.

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions in the short time you have remaining. Don't know what experience you have with this sort of thing, but I highly recommend lots of modeling and pair work and surveys.

[denise]

I agree that Mondrian's questions were relevant.

Something that a professor of mine in graduate school told us that she had done with her students (Korean, I believe) was not to call on them individually for answers--they clam up, don't like to be put on the spot, are afraid of making mistakes, don't like to stand out individually, etc. Instead, she would tell them to check with their classmates first. I've done this several times--get a response from a group, instead of an individual, whether it's an answer to a grammar question or a conversation prompt. The groups choose one representative to summarize for them.

d

[Glenski]

What denise wrote is valid for Japanese students, too...sometimes. It might be even better to solicit answers semi-privately from a small group as you mill around the room. Depends on what you want to get from them. Observing the real understanding of the students may take this, so be prepared to change tactics when you teach them. You may have to present, then see how much actually stuck with some practice attempts, and then present all over again all in the same lesson.

[denise]

[gmjones]

Thanks, that's really useful to know and I will try out your suggestions!

[Glenski]

Anonymous, yes, but when they realize that you have just said something praiseworthy about THEM, you might actually instill in them some pride and/or confidence for the next time.