Job Discussion Forums

[jedstephen]

In a couple of weeks I will be traveling to China to start my first ESL teaching job. I wonder if anybody could give me some advice to further prepare me for my teaching career. I will be teaching kids and adults at varying levels.

1 - If the kids do not understand the English alphabet, should I write the words on the board? or should I start by teaching them the alphabet?

2 - Should I spend the next few weeks studying grammar? studying teaching techniques? researching lesson plans?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. This happened very fast and I want to utilize the small amount of time I have to best of my ability.

[Malsol]

I just love watching a train wreck in progress.

[nickpellatt]

Im not very experienced myself - but will attempt to help, or make it easier for others to help...

Firstly - and of course it all depends on the levels and abilities of your students....but the blackboard is a fantastic tool......

Sometimes my students didnt understand me whilst speaking, but DID understand if I wrote the sentence on the board.....which mirrored my time in a class learning other languages....

Being able to read, gives you a little more time to think and process the info....so indeed you can use the board to both yours and your students advantage..

DONT write solely in capital letters though....student not used to a romanized alphabet find it hard to read capital letters. (based on my experiences)

And in order for others to be able to help, maybe you could share with us your experience thus far, qualifications etc....

[Malsol]

[jedstephen]

Thanks nickpellatt
I have a degree in History with a Fine Art Minor. This past December I completed my ESL certificate from Oxford Seminars. It taught me a lot, but really not sure what to expect when I get there.

I have worked with kids at orphanages and sporting camps in the past, but this is my first time really teaching.

[nickpellatt]

Regardless I will stand by my inexperience and naivety and stick to my guns on bodly suggesting the blackboard is useful and writing in capital letters can make things harder...

I take it you will be arriving 'in-country' at least a few days before you begin to teach? if so, perhaps you will have a chance to meet other teachers and some of your pupils so this might help...

Before then...can your school or place of employment give you some brief on what is expected from you?

Are their other foreign teachers there who you could perhaps contact? Maybe they could offer some help?

Maybe someone on here has taught where you are going, and can offer suggestions.

Did part of your TEFL/EFL course include lesson plans / games etc, if so, those or variations of those can be used..

It would seem that foreign teachers in China are often (but not always) employed in the role of conversation buddies, so studying lots of grammar etc beforehand may not be right for the role you are going into, hence the importance of trying to get some info beforehand.

Again based on my limited experience as a newcomer, I did find that the vast majority of everyone I encountered at my school was very keen to help, and did brief me and provide books and ideas before my first class.

Im sure you can pick up lots of ideas from here, and can find some help too, but first port of call should be the people you will be employed by.

[movinaround]

[Malsol]

[Steppenwolf]

You just don't have enough time to acquaint yourself with the relevant facts here before arriving in China! I guess you have been hired because they need a figurehead, a white or foreign face, not a teacher. They will put you in your station and you will not be expected to "know" how to do anything except to make your native noises!

It is obvious that you have been accepted by a training centre; they steal everyone's precious spare time with their extra-curricular pseudo-English lessons; in the end you will be modelling English speech, piecemeal work that will never be finished and ensure the training centre future work to do!

Just my advice: no, the blackboard (sometimes a whiteboard) is not really a good idea! They should learn to understand without visual aids because they see too much written English anyway. IN POINT OF FACT, YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TEACH PRESCHOOLERS HOW TO WRITE?READ!

[NathanRahl]

I have to agree with Step, avoid the blackboard if at al possible. Your much better off teaching the children how to sound out words and spell them that way then actually showing them. This will help them remember the word better, having to visualize the sounds and figure out what sounds are associated with what letters. As it is chinese students just don't know how to listen.

I have one student who continually says she does not know a word. She will then proceed to write it down, and then presto, she says "OH, yes, I know what this word means" even though simply from hearing it she did not. Teach them to make that connection between what they hear and the spelling, this will help you a great deal.

You see, chinese teachers don't teach english like we do, they teach english in chinese. Why? Because they are dumb. They don't have the imagination or foresight to understand indepthly that, if you just teach them how to write it, they will only be able to conceptualize and comprehend it in written form. What good is this if they ever wish to speak it though. Don't make the mistake ever that, just because they can read it, that they understand it, this is one of the more common errors ESL teachers make. This little tidbit will help you more then any I think. Do away with the black board unless absolutely necessary, your teaching spoken english, so teach them how to understand it when it is spoken.

[Malsol]

Have you ever seen a monkey grinder working with his pet monkey?

You are the pet monkey but there is no grinder, you are a free lance monkey working for peanuts.

[latefordinner]

Sticking my neck out a bit, I find the blackboard is sometimes a great tool, depending on what you're using it for and just who the students are. I almost never touched it, except for a few impromtu drawings, when teaching little tykes, preschool to grade 3. Now I'm teaching at a college and I use it a lot. (Target questions left side, relevent quote across the top, vocab right side, centre open for whatever comes up in class) Not only does it give the visual reinforcment for what we're discussing, but the consistent (more ore less) lesson structure helps them put the pieces together when (if) they use their notebooks to study. In short, your mileage will vary.
One other small point about the blackboard. Try to print simple, boxy letters at first, don't just scribble out your cursive script. Take your time developing your calligraphy, and your students will adapt to your handwriting more easily. But you know this already.
movinaround:

[Steppenwolf]

[Shakhbut]

Steppenwolf is right on the money. Remember, kids don't learn the way we, as adults, do. You need to, as much as possible, avoid language rules and word visuals. If you want to use the blackboard, use it to draw pictures of nouns and verbs.
One thing invaluable for teaching kids, flashcards! Humorous ones if possible. And be prepared to run around like and a half-wit entertaining them, they learn best with all senses stimulated.
Good luck,
S

[eslstudies]