Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

I'm kind of on the opposite side with this name dilemma where I teach small kids and am often tasked to appoint them English names. Some are easy. If his family name is "Li", then he becomes "Lee". Those I can handle. I have two small boys this year, one named Robin (not too bad really, considering Christopher Robin) and the other Rain. As they are 1st graders, I don't sweat it all that much. Robin can later become Rob if he'd like. As for Rain . . . ??? Ray maybe? I tried to give one little boy an English name and his English speaking mother balked at it so he is the only one in class keeping his Chinese name. One of my students last year has a brother who called himself "Joy". I tried to tell him that Joy is a girl's name, maybe he'd prefer Jay instead. He said he liked Joy so I left it at that. The next time I met him, he asked me to please call him Jay.

[arioch36]

Kev

[Buck Lin]

I've had over twenty girls with the name Apple. When they ask me for a name I recommend Rumplestilskin. Seriously they don't know each others English names in many cases so if you ask a classmate about a student they are not sure who you are talking about. I learn their Chinese names and how to write them. When you have large classes it is easy to cheat you if you don't know who they are.

[Voldermort]

I have a rather large list of popular English names dived into male and female, each with a short description of the meaning (If anybody cares for a copy send me a PM with your email). At the beginning of the year, I will hand out a form to the class, on which each student is to write their English name and Chinese name (in both pinyin and hanzi). I will then seperate out the duplicates, plain stupid and those with no name. Hand them my list and force them to choose an appropriate name. At the end of the day, I am a teacher and I am here to educate them.

Instead of trying to remember each students name, I will pick one at random from the list and ask them to do whatever. After a while you learn to match the face with name. If they forget their name, well you have the pinyin in front of you.

Saying that though, I do have some somewhat strange names. A guy called T-Bag, let it slip because it's used in "Prison Break". A gal called Gale, she is about 4 foot tall a Gale certainly would blow her away. A gal called Tichontrius, I have a T-Rex in the same class so it's kinda hard to force a change. The strangest of all has to be a girl called ChuanChuan (串串 is a popular Sichuan dish). I once asked the students to volunteer a word associated with food, all was going well until she took her turn and came out with ChuanChuan. The class split themselves laughing and the name stuck.

[Buck Lin]

I am just a llittle curious why they must have English names. I lived with French people most of my life and they never would call you a French name. For French people a name is important and should be respected.
I lived in Korea for ten years and the same thing. Now here in China I have a Chinese name because it is easier to fill out forms. The space they give you to write your name on bank sheets and other documents just isn't enough if you have more than five letters in your name. Even so my students refuse to call me by my Chinese name. Only my wife and kid and some friends of my wife call me by my Chinese name.
My policy is to call people what they want to be called, but I make an effort to learn their names.
Only the Chinese allow this. Teaching foreigners in Canada for the government of Canada I found many teachers getting into hot water over this. You must call a Japanese person by their given names in most cases.
Koreans also liked to be called by their Korean names. Spanish people also won't take an Engish name.
I know it is a kind of bonding but they don't know each others English names so how can you communicate to them about a missing person in the class.
To repeat what is wrong with calling someone by their name especially here in China where we are guests?

[Voldermort]

[arioch36]

They do know each others english names .. not that that makes it good or bad. In America, in Chinese class we always took a Chinese name, the same for Spanish, Japanese classes. German class we didn't, I don't think, but it wasn't a very serious class.

I do think there are very good reasons for using an english name. Actually, many immigrants in America found success much more easily achieved by Americanizing their name. Obviously a personal choice. English names in class can not be a personal choice of the student, just like all activities done in the classroom. When the student starts deciding which activities tehy will participate in, and which ones they won't, chaos reigns. Schools based on this principle have famously failed in the history of education, except in the Simpsons. where Bart blew up such a school.

Buck Lin, not saying should or should use names (I can think of arguments on both sides, I think practicing english names is a very useful skill). My question for you ... can you think of any reasons why it's a good idea to practice english names ... or are al the teachers and schools and clasrooms that have studenyts take an english name just 100% full of it? No reasons at all it might be useful? Play a little Devil's advocate? If you can't think of any good reasons yourself, then surely you will never be likely to think there are any good reasons, yah?


I do a test my first day of class or so. I give them my Chinese name (it's a "real" CHinese name) and then I give them my English name.

I then later in class ask them "What is my Chinese name?" "What is my English name?" All of them, just about can remember my Chinese name, and almost none of them can remember my ENglish name, nor can they pronounce it well the first couple of times (a very common name)

Dale??? Carnigie wrote a book , "How to win friends and influence people" most important ... remembering names, adressing the person by their name (and title, quite important in China) correctly. I usually have a full class just on how to say hello, greet people. Chinese greatly like it when we address them by their Chinese name and title here in CHina. The vast majority of laowai teachers simply can't. And once you get to know the Chinese teachers, they do care about this. We care when somone pronounces our name poorly. So many laowai actually insult Chinese. Know a laowai who always acalls a teacher Mr. ma, 4th tone
My students even feel bad when classmates mispronounce their english name wrong. Small things matter