Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

Maybe it's because I"m in a small town, but my students CANNOT think outside of the box. They REFUSE to even try to understand anything that is not the Chinese style of teaching.

And they won't admit that they don't understand.

I'm trying to teach cities and countires. So I write about ten of each on the board. We spent 45 mintues going over them, showing them on a map, etc so that they knew where they were. Then I did the Chinese style teaching of "Shanghai is in China. Mexico City is in Mexico. New York and Los Angeles are in America." Listen and repeat three times we went through the list.

yea, I thought that after all this, they would get it.

So I asked them to make a question following the model that I put on the board. Where is/are ____? It is/They are in ____. And I listed the cities and countries below the lines. I had perfect boardwork and everything.

They couldn't do it and refused to try. I wanted to tear my hair out. I couldn't believe it. I really don't think that this is asking to much from a group that's studeid for a year.

And to boot, they are rude and rouwdy, they all speak at once, there is so much Chinese in the classroom. I've tried everything, sending kids out, making them sit in the corner, separating children, nothing seems to work.

Any advise for me? I'm at my wits' end and I've got them everyday for the rest of the summer. There are 15 kids aged 9 - 13.

Thanks

[aaronschwartz]

Have you given any thought to early retirement? No joke!

It is the same all over China.

[struelle]

[Roger]

Dear naturegirl 321,
I am sorry to read of your predicament as I know from experience that Chinese kids can be rude and rowdy. Nothing new under the sky.
You are asking for advice. Please, don't take it badly: I think you should change the contents of your lesson.
Foreign cities andf countries? I don't think that's a very exciting topic for teenagers in China! For most of them, Peking is as far away as the moon! Then, there is the problem of script - you know how easy it is to confuse Austria and Australia? Much easier for Chinese than for us! Besides, what do they know about places outside of China? Next to zero! Nah, drop this topic - I tried it years ago, and even supposedly adult practitioners of English were clueless as to most things foreign.

I try to make lessons a little more personal. CHildren are so self-centered, you must pander to this. Don't go according to the book "How old areyou?" - " I am five!" Teach them to personalise their answers:
Teacher: "When were you born?"
Student: "I was born in 19...!"
Teacher: "Can you tell me your birth date?"
Student: "My birth date is 22 July, 1993..."
Fellow students: "He (she) was born..."
"His (her) birth date is ....."

You can kill two flies with one pebble - English with which the kids can identify, and drilling adequate grammar (here: tenses and pronouns!).

As for more appealing topics: Make them explore the school! Separate them so they cannot communicate with each other in their local vernacular! Give them tasks to perform individually! Here an idea:
Draw a building on the black board, name its parts (roof, windows, balcony, rooms, doors, furniture, kitchen items, bathroom equipment) - a job that requires them to learn to take notes (which you proofread and mark!).
Next: Ask them to "buy" things for their ideal home. Your school is now a department store, each floor has a separate department. On ground floor, you put up a "Directory", on first floor (preferably the first-floor "Information board" is hung in a different stairway), they find furniture, on the second floor household appliances, etc.

Just an idea that worked in my grade 3 class.
I also put them through some physical motions! One by one, I took them oout of the classroom and whispered instructions to them: Count all the steps from the bottom to the top floor! Most amazing the huge discrepancies afterward!

Good luck!

[naturegirl321]

Wow, thanks for so many replies.

Here's the thing, we've got to teach by the book. New Interchange, do you know this series. I just love it . They throw in stupid obscure vocab that's not necessary. it's what the parents want. And according to the rules, if you call them that, the parents should get what the pay for. That's what they believe.

Roger, you've got a lot of ideas. Problem is, I've got to stay in my 20 X 20 foot classroom so there's not much room to move around.

Also, no past tense, because they are beginers. I do do the substitution drills, the how old are you? When's your birthday? What are your hobbies? And have the kids ask each other in rounds. But the problem is they won't do it. it's so frustrating. Everything is on the board, but they won't read it. So you have to spoon feed it. I like ___ and ___. Ok, now say the whole sentence, and they just stare at you.

I'm hoping that it's just this group or maybe this town. But I seem to be getting that blank stare a lot. Even we one student gets it and explains it in chinese. I think it's the chinese indocturation and they can't think for
themselves.

Sorry for being so negative, maybe it's because they come from rich parents. We weren't even supposed to have this class, but promises were made.. . .

[naturegirl321]

aaronschwartz
Is it the same in Taiwan?, becuase that's where I'm going next. either taipei, Koahsiung, or Taichung.

[aaronschwartz]

I have no experience with Taiwan myself. However, they are Chinese so ..... What do you really think?

Post on the Taiwan board and see if I am all wet.

[Brendon]

It sounds exactly like my school. Small town as well. I am the very first foreign teacher to come to the town and school. Ive tried everything and have varied my lesson content quite a bit but it just doesn't work. I really love the kids and find it heaps more benefical to them when I talk to them out side the classroom. The ones that can speak more than a few words anyway.

[NumberOneSon]

[bluey]

NG, I teach from New Interchange as well (adults though, thankfully). I think the Intro book is OK / good on the whole, at least for elementary but in my experience the "snapshot" section at the beginning of most chapters is where it really falls down. It tends to be a dull chart and some stats with a bunch of obsolete, difficult vocab thrown in. If you skip this, or come back to it after warming your little terrors up with something from further down the unit, it might help. Works for me with my grown-up children.

For the unit you mentioned (I think it's "Where are you from?") I just did a choral repetition of the city and country names and then went straight to the "Listen and Practice" conversation + focus q's. I think the snapshot is supposed to be a warm-up, but as far as I can see it just glazes them over. S'bollocks, innit?

[ellenjane10]

I have found that the Chinese students are interested in Sports Stars from around the world. Vince Carter, Beckham, Michael Jordan, etc. Perhaps you could connect the Geography with the hero?

[woza17]

Hi Naturegirl
I have found the flyswatter games on Daves ccokbook amazing in the classroom you can adapt it to anything. Wrtie the capital cities on the board then ask the question. Two teams each armed with a flyswatter they have to hit the correct answer. I hope this is detailed enough.
Good luck
Cai Hong

[Roger]

one more 'sorry!' to you, naturegirl321, for your being confined to a cubicle with a horde of brats!
Have you read sunaru's reply? Very concise! I must say, I have not always acted according to his wisdom, but I am beginning to do it - with GREAT SUCCESS!

One of the things I do with my pupils is to tell them: "See that door over there? You talk CHinese, and there you go - out through the door!" Next time I catch them speaking, I interrupt: "What's that?" - Student: "A door!" - "Yes, very good! Now, do you want to go out there?" Student: "No!" me: "Not 'no!' but 'no, SIR, Min bu ming bai???"
Student, ivisbly impressed: "Ming bai!"
I do walk them out, and it is a great punishment here as the classroom is airconditioned, while the corridor is hot and stifling.

But you might have too many culprits. So here is another approach:
Give them a dictation from their book, just modify some passages so they cannot copy.
Give two or three different versions, one per row of students, so they cannot copy from their neighbours.
At the end of your dictation, collect their papers and mark their mistakes.
I am really impressed with how well grades work! Of course, these grades are not very serious - I offer them a chance of scoring 100, and for a kid to just score 99 is punishment enough!

And for variation:
Do some simple physical exercises in class! Raise arms, lower them, lift left legs, then right legs, jump, touch nose, shoulders, toe tips, belly whatever - great and entertaining for most primary kids!
They don't take your lesson seriously (not your fault and not their fault - it is summer time, and by rights they should be enjoying their holidays!).

Wishing you success,
Roger

[naturegirl321]

Min bu ming bai
What does this mean? And what are the tones?

[Roger]

"Do you understand?"
Rising tones on 'ming', neutral on 'bai'?