Job Discussion Forums

[norwalkesl]

The school I teach at had its first laowai teacher leave last month and I am the replacement. They were here for years and the only teacher many at the school know. My assistant mentions to me that I am serious and the other teacher was funny, entertaining, sang songs, the usual DWM routine.

I was out shopping today and ran into a 3rd yr student. We struck up a conversation and she asked me if the old teacher was going to come back. I said maybe in a few months. She tells me that 'he was very cute' and that 'you are too serious'.

I am wondering if this will be a difficulty at the school and with the Directors, Students and Parents. I do not care on a personal or ego level - my concern is purely professional. My assistant tells me that she thinks I will be well suited to teach at Uni. I will need some experience first before I dive into Uni teaching.

So I ask the more experienced China teachers if being perceived as a bit too serious is a bad thing for ones career.

TIA.

[senorfay]

You don't have to be a clown, but I have found that a few silly puns, jokes, or short, amusing anecdotes interspersed throughout a lesson will keep the atmosphere light and open and the students on their toes. If I'm having 'fun', they will want to have 'fun'.

This depends on the kind of place you work in. Perhaps you specified in the past the type of school you're at, but I don't remember.

When I was in public schools, I was a serious hard ass. There was very little fun because a lot of the class was spent dealing with disiplinary issues. Students HAD to be there by law so there wasn't so much curiosity or playfulness.

Now I'm at a mill and I'm way more loose and chilled out, though still completely prepared for class, ready and able to answer questions, and professional.

At a private school, especially when you're working with adults you need to remember that they are paying to be there and that it's voluntary. They want to be there, so if you have a nice, light classroom mood, they will continue to like being there, continue to buy classes, and hopefully continue to learn.

Whether you like it or not part of our job is 'edutainment'. Whether you want it to be high brow or low brow is your decision.

[theincredibleegg]

It depends on what you do.

How students perceive you has little do with how you are, it's more about what you do.
It really boils down to how your plan your lessons. If you manage the planning part, you will simply be taken seriously because you're being serious.

Same thing with "entertaining", if you manage to plan well and at the same time entertain your students, you will be perceived as entertaining. If you don't manage your planning, you will just be a clown.

Advice: Don't start from the wrong end.

[mat chen]

What I have been doing since being here is painting a smile on my face with lipstick. Bozo the clown style. And remember life is too serious to be taken seriously.

[LanGuTou]

Perhaps you are too similar to Li laoshi or Wang Laoshi?

Chinese teachers are allowed to get away with tedium and monotony because that is being a serious teacher in China! The students expect us foreigners to be different. To bring new variations in language teaching to the classroom.

But then you are faced with the students that really have no interest in learning English. In the Chinese education system, even many English majors can have little or no interest in learning. Unfortunately, for all but a few of them, it is not about acquiring knowledge, it is only about getting through examinations by hook or by crook.

The perception is that the foreign teacher should be a soft touch who gives everyone a high grade because he/she is such a nice person. This attitude has arisen because of the general quality of FT's who appear in the Chinese classroom. As long as you keep people entertained and refrain from failing those who deserve to fail, you can get by in China as a "competent" and "well liked" teacher.

[therock]

You need to bring out the guitar and play your greatest hits.

[norwalkesl]

[norwalkesl]

[thefuzz]

I think China is the wrong country for teachers who just want to focus on the pedagogical aspect of their job...the schools here, to put it simply, are looking for foreigners who are able to teach English in a fun and relaxed environment and if you can't meet their needs they will find someone who can.

I've met teachers with your problem before (no being fun in class; being too strict; teaching too much) and many of them had to change their teaching style so they could keep their jobs. Apart from a few schools in China, most are not looking for the equivalent of a Chinese teacher with a foreign face...they already have a room full of academics who specialize in preparing the kids for exams...I guess they just want your class to be more fun and stimulating for the students and have them actually enjoy coming to school...they already hate most of their other classes.

So I suggest that you either seek employment at a university or international school (where you will be regarded as a real teacher and not a dancing monkey). If you continue to teach in the public / private school system and at language training centers with your current strict style you will not last long.

PS: From someone who has been doing this for almost a decade, I suggest you start putting in a few fun activities into your lesson plans right now...your point of view of waiting until you get more comfortable is wrong...once you get comfortable teaching you will find it hard to change your style later on...start doing it today.

And if you don't know what activities you can do in the classroom...just Google "ESL games and activities" and you'll find a bunch of ideas. Even doing one a week is going to make the class more interesting for the students and you'll be able to keep your job.

[norwalkesl]

Thanks for the tips.

I teach 20 classes a week, different class of 50 or 60 learners each time. This makes many games difficult, and the prior teacher was (indeed) a clown.

I see no reason why I cannot have a lesson plan and have fun activities within that framework.

[thefuzz]

[theincredibleegg]

[zootown]

[Teatime of Soul]

I think zootown is right - you have already been given notice.

Get you resume in to unis now before you get the boot.

meanwhile, prepare, soon, to give friendly notice to your employer.

This is as good as it is going to get.

[norwalkesl]