Job Discussion Forums

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Newbies about to travel to China for a Sept start will be making their final preparations.
What can more seasoned hands advise them about the teaching task that they are about to undertake?
Mine are based around my tertiary public sector (not language school) experience and are:
Be prepared for large class sizes
Be prepared to create situations for the students to speak. Expecting spontaneity to begin with is unwise.
Be prepared by bringing some “tried and true” resources for large class sizes i.e 50 to 60 students.
Be prepared to teach ‘actively’ and engage students and appreciate that you may have to go outside your comfort zone to do this.
Be prepared for unmotivated students who have “turned off”

Alien abductee · Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 527 Location: Kuala Lumpur

IWTFanAT · Joined: 02 Jul 2014 Posts: 36

Alien abductee · Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 527 Location: Kuala Lumpur

Be prepared to hear pointless criticism, which you can ignore, and take heed of constructive input from people who are willing to be helpful.

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

Alien abductee · Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 527 Location: Kuala Lumpur

There's a lot of advice that crosses all types of jobs here, nothing says it has to be specific to any one of them. I'm sure people will add to the list eventually.

Songbird · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:52 am Post subject:

Bring photos, pics, even supermarket catalogues (!) from home- they can be used as an icebreaker for the first week's lessons, and even later when you get homesick after the honeymoon period of 3-ish months. The first year is always the longest....now, after 10 years it goes WAY too fast!

Good luck, hang on and enjoy the wild ride awaiting you!

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

likwid_777 · Joined: 04 Nov 2012 Posts: 411 Location: NA

If you play a musical instrument, bring it along. Also, I think it's a great idea to do more study by distance education, to give you something to do while there. Also, if you choose to flee China and do something different when you return home, a non teaching qualification will be very handy. Oh yeah, study Chinese as much as possible, too.

Taking along a small professional library about grammar and other facets of English will be helpful. Don't know nouns and verbs from your left buttock? Bring a few quality books. You may look more professional if you have these items, or if you do it wrong, look as much of a charlatan as you actually are.

Know some games! Chinese kids love them. Even eighteen year old Chinese teenagers love them. In "The West", kids that age already have estranged offspring, pickled livers and collapsed lungs. Chinese kids are relatively innocent. A fourteen year old Chinese student (male) asked me what the English word for pregnant was, I told him and later got a few stern words. That was without even mentioning at all how the pregnancies actually occur. In "The West" I recall getting the graphic birds and bees in sex education at about ten years old.

Make handouts! It will give students something to look at, and it will make you look more professional. The pseudo gangster owner of your language mill can whinge about paper usage all he wants, the kids' parents are paying a veritable poop load for these courses, so give them handouts.

If you do end up with the massive classes, once they start getting too talkative, just grab a thick text book and slam it on the table. I did it with classes of seventy or so. Remember, their Chinese teachers are such psychos that we Western softies don't have to do much. The Chinese kids know that the real disciplinarians aren't too far away.

This site was helpful for older students in a pinch- http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

When you arrive, be cognizant of the fact that you are a long way from home and are living among people who think much differently from the way in which you think. The Chinese have the same needs and desires as westerners do; they express those needs and desires in a way that is largely foreign to most westerners. The sooner you accept this fact, the better you will adapt to life in China.

Be prepared for changes in your own behavior, thoughts, emotions, etc.. This is one manifestation of culture shock. My first foray into the masses was quite an experience. I was giddy for the first hour, and my senses were distorted. Your experience will probably be different from mine.

You will probably meet other foreign teachers who have been in China for a long time and should have gone home a long time ago. They will complain incessantly about everything and everyone. Listen, but don't join the b*tchfest. Try to avoid them for your own sake.

Be prepared for the fact that not all westerners feel drawn to other new westerners. You may pass other English-speaking westerners while you shop. If they even make eye contact, acknowledge their presence, but don't expect the same from them.

Choose the personal information that you share with other FTs (especially the ones with whom you work) VERY CAREFULLY, just as you would at home.

You will be asked for your phone number frequently. Many (myself included) cannot remember a string of numbers that are a block long, so print up several strips of paper that have your phone number on them and give them to those with whom you wish to share your phone number. Many Chinese will ask you for your number. Be prepared for that. ninety-nine percent will never call you. Those who do call will call you the week before the end of the school year to tell you good-bye.

Before you display displeasure in public, ask yourself, "How will this look to a bunch of people who don't understand a word I am saying?"

likwid_777 · Joined: 04 Nov 2012 Posts: 411 Location: NA

mambawamba · Joined: 12 Jun 2012 Posts: 311

The first couple of weeks will be a frustration of health checks, visas and -if you're not in school/uni accommodation - looking for a flat. You'll be tired, annoyed and generally talked about like you were a retarded child.

Take a deep breath, remain calm and be patient.

Do not lose your temper over missed or badly communicated appointments and instructions.

Double check everything. Repeat stuff back to people to clarify what you've been told.

Choose your battles carefully and don't go off half cocked until you can differentiate between cultural difference or being jerked along.

Listen to your instincts, if a situation feels weird or dangerous then it probably is.

To quote Mr Kenny Rogers, "you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run."

Babala · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 1303 Location: Henan

A good way to get your students involved in a first class is to have some activities that allow them to give simple short answers like the alphabet game (say a food that starts with A, B, C....) it will get all students to participate and it also gives you a chance to begin to get an idea of their individual levels.

Juice · Joined: 09 Jun 2014 Posts: 66

My advice is do three things before you leave for China...

1) Make damn sure you have a z visa or don't go

2) Make sure you have a signed and chopped original contract in English in your hands that is signed and chopped on every page and that you are in voluntary agreement with your contract.

3) learn about 500 words of survival Chinese and bring a pin yin phrasebook with you. Communication in a foreign countries comes in handy.

All the other advice already given above is valuable AFTER your arrival and right on target.