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[baijioubloke]

My new employer has got me all nervy today- being late for this morning's lesson didn't help at all (sampled a chinese brandy that tastes like rum last night & my *new* alarm clock must have stopped in the wee hours ....no honestly )

Anyho - I'm not sure what my university department wants!!

2 weeks ago I was given the mandate to develop speaking & listening courses for the next 18 weeks, make the lessons relevant to the students' majors, use VOA recordings in listening classes AND use TBL (for a class of 45......!?!!).

I've only 6months teaching experience & never done this before but I'm trying to plug away albeit in a bit of a vaccum, being the only FT here.

How have you approached developing a course for undergrads?

I've.......
asked for sight of the last teachers course outline & was assured that I wasn't to worry "my lessons will be different" (yeah- but are they better?)

asked to see the end of term exams so I can ensure I cover necessary language areas & was told the oral test "could be speaking about anything" (helpful)

asked to observe some of their lessons after 2 teachers dropped into one of mine last week (OK I was being a little provocative)- no dice.

I got some extremely shifty looks when I suggested that we're here to help the kids pass exams & I see that as the priority for myself & the department & the college. (foot?- say hello to mouth!)

I want to use web based realia, audio & DVD's desipite not having speakers on my PC & being unable to hook my minidisc recorder to the language labs - (something else I requested) I figure the students would appreciate it.

Well today she asked how much material from 'listen this way' I'd get through in 2 periods & how do my listening lessons differ from my speaking lessons - probably 'cos the kids didn't have their headphones on (gulp!)

I had decided to kick LTW into the bin as the audio that comes with it sounds like Kenny from South Park with a bad head cold!
The kids hate the tape & prefer me to read the transcripts in class where they hear some 30% more even if it's about the digestive system & diarrhoea.......hmmmm I have this voice in my head....."language relevant to their majors" nope! it's gone!

I suspect I'm the first to raise this shortcoming as it seemed to be unwelcome news to my 'supervisor' who looks like an 60 year old trapped in a 27yr old's body and clearly has difficulty understanding my "very clear English" despite (or because of) having done a linguistics MA in Luton.

Do I trust her? - do I heck!

I'm completely rewriting the outline right now & suspecting that it'll be received with nods and positive sounds yet I'll be catching flak 2 months down the line for something I'm not doing.

Does this sound paranoid?

[Ludwig]

[Jolly]

[Roger]

Yes - this is rather normal in China, and as for tests or exams - they are farcical in the extreme! Your tests won't matter one jota - Chinese decide whether Chinese "know English"...

In my classes, students have to produce English that's relevant from my perspective - I must be able to communicate with them, and they don't really know what's going to be important for them in their future!

Therefore I establish first of all what they most badly need.

Usually, it's LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING rather than SPEAKING.

Today, for instance, IK explained to my university students that in Western countries a FIRST NAME is also called a GIVEN NAME; if they have an ENGLISH name and another GIVEN NAME, they have two names beside their SURNAME; "now, please, you...andyou come in front and put your FULL NAMES on the blackboard."

Well, the two guys (one a gal) stood there, scratching their heads, then asking me: "Shall I write my English name or my Chinese name?"

So, what was their problem?
That's right - understanding! It works better if they have to make fools of themselves in front of their peers than if someone provides a Chinese translation - whose meaning will fly out their ear the me the speaker goes quiet!