Job Discussion Forums

[anjinholuis]

I'm finally arriving in China on FRIDAY!

The next Monday will be my first day in front of a class of 45 (maybe) at a Normal University in Linyi and I have know idea how to make a strong impression!

That is, how to get their attention! NO ideas on materials or such.

Any good people out there that could give me some tips?

CAN YOU REMEMBER BACK TO YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCES?

CHEERS FOR THE INPUT!

[happigur1]

I did a self-introduction, gave out a syllabus and had students introduce themselves (ice breaker). One way to kill time was to have students write two secrets (have to tell them to be unique because they will all put "my hometown is...") put it in a hat, re-distribute them so that students get someone else's secret and had them find the owner of the secret. For this to work, you have to demonstrate how students should ask one another (by approaching each other) because I ended up having students yell, "WHO LIKES TO EAT PIZZA???!?!!" across the room.

The second way (if time is limited) was I gave each student an m and m. The color of their m and m correlates to a specific question that I wrote on the board. I made the questions interesting like "How would you like to die?" etc.

GOOD LUCK!

[anjinholuis]

Thanks a million.

I'm picking up the class mid term they've had previous teachers or teacher.

I'll start from scratch.

[Rob Aston]

A good icebreaker I have used in those big university classes is to go around and get them to answer one by one "if you were any animal, which would it be and why?" you get quite a lot of "bird so I can fly" then you can ask where they would fly and keep repeating "why?". Gives you a good insight into the English level of the class for future planning.

[anjinholuis]

THANKS HAPPI AND ROB

What about stuff, like DISCIPLINE and getting through the first week?

Am I to avoid smiling too much and telling humorous stories?

Looking forward to your pearls of wisdom!

CHEERS.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[alter ego]

Talk about getting your feet wet/trial by fire! I remember my first EFL classes at a Hagwon in South Korea. Primary ages, small classes (5-10), etc. I too had no idea what I was doing. OP, smile as much as you want. Have FUN. Play a lot of games. The Internet is filled with thousand of ice breakers, games, and fun speaking activities. Learning how to manage and control large classes takes time, and even seasoned pros have their bad days at the office when nothing seems to go right. Use any textbooks and workbooks the uni provides, and read and follow the teacher's book. When all else fails, watch an American TV show like Friends or Hollywood movies like 2012. Don't forget the popcorn!

[sui jin]

What type of class is it? Conversation or something else? First year students or second years, or higher? If they are mid-term I would limit the self-introductions. They don't need to break the ice with each other, also you are never going to remember 45 names in one lesson.

Get them to tell you (first discuss in small groups) exactly what they have been doing during the term so far. As well as maybe getting some useful information you can find out their level. This could take time or could be over very quickly ('we can't remember') so have a back-up general topic for them to discuss, or talk about (again start in pairs or small groups then in whole class). Circulate while they discuss so you can chat one-to-one.

On discipline, in my experience the Chinese teachers are disciplinarians so the students expect FTs to be much more relaxed and friendly ( and "interesting"). Start by assuming you won't have discipline problems. Did your Uni teacher have discipline issues , or class rules? We are dealing with young adults after all.

Of course the previous FT may have messed up and ruined the class rapport , but that is even more reason to smile and be friendly from the start. FTs in China are a real mixed bunch (Duh!). Let the students know you are one of the responsible, helpful, normal ones!
Also try to adopt a teaching style that does not copy the Chinese teachers. Ration the powerpoint presentations! My students groan when I mention PPT because that's what the Chinese teachers always do.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[anjinholuis]

YOUR ADVICE IS SO GREAT!

Thank your for your time and interest!

CHEERS.

[jeahbaby]

Yeah, make sure your "FLY" is zipped up. Happened to me and I couldn't figure out why everyone was laughing...I thought i was a super teacher or something...until one of the students whispered in my ear.....!!!!!!!!

[nickpellatt]

As above, laying out some class rules is a must in the first lesson. These rules can be simple things like no mobiles/mp3 in class, punctuality, etc etc.

I have done an introduction in large classes, but rather than making it a simple task of me talking ... I wrote a number of items on the board, which included my name, childrens names, hometown, country of birth, age, month of birth, languages spoken, hobbies ... all kinds of things.

I then asked the students to guess what they thought each thing meant. This naturally meant I had students who assumed my name was Eastbourne (my hometown) and that my son was called bodybuilding. This does actually happen in China, and can be fun or interesting.

When I had a consensus of opinion, or at least a few correct answers ... I would then go from the statement of fact eg, 'my teachers name is Nick', to asking the class a question along the lines of ... 'so what would you say if your friends asked you my name?' and then had the whole class repeating in a drill, 'my teachers name is Nick'.

I repeated the same kind of thing over my age, nationality, hometown. It works quite well in the fun/interesting factor ... especially over things like age as I usually point them towards saying 'my teachers age is 18', when I am clearly more likely to be 40. (My son is 18 so I can write that number of the board)

This idea worked well for me, and it did engage the students well and get me through the first lesson. With a list of rules laid out as well, the students can maybe know that their lessons with me will be engaging, but that I do also have a set of rules that must be followed.

A final point...do not let class descend into a Q&A session ... I think this is a fatal mistake that many fall into. The reason I say not to do this, as they will invariably ask you lots of stupid questions, but also some that may mean giving away material you may use later.

For example. It would be common for students to ask about the countries of the world you have visited. However, I would prefer to keep this information up my sleeve for use in a later lesson, ditto for things like hobbies. Dont give them too much too soon. And good luck!!

[alter ego]

[anjinholuis]

ONCE AGAIN! Cheers to all of you who has been so helpful in building my confidence and providing excellent ideas on getting started.

Students will be a varied bunch, some shy and some grabbing for attention.

I have been advised that in these cases it is positive to make notes on possible groupings of 'weaker' and 'stronger' students so that they may help each other overcome personality and confidence barriers.

Would you good people consider this a good strategy?
Would it be asking for trouble?

Most grateful. CHEERS.

[happigur1]

I always did group students myself when it came to group work or partner work. Students are more likely to speak in English when they are not working with their friends. Plus, they get to meet their classmates. Students really like to cling to small groups and sadly, don't meet other students in their class.

Plus, I secretly hope that a male student and female student will eventually hook up and get married one day- all thanks to me making them work together in class!