Job Discussion Forums

[hewlettpac]

I work in a kindergarten in Harbin, Northeast China. Been here two weeks and only one out of 5 Chinese English teachers can understand me well in this school. During the week its basicly run as a Kindergarten and during the weekend the school cater's for classes for kids from the ages of 7 to 17 years. When I first meet the owners, the headmaster gave me the impression his wife could speak very little english. My partner did most of the talking before i signed the contract as she was a little warry of the school, as they were only going to offer me 5000rmb for 100 hours of teaching without a house or allowance. In the end I got 80 hours teaching time per month plus 6,000rmb .

My concerns begain to grow after I started teaching due to the fact the Headmasters wife who i can not understand very well because of her poor english, teaching english to some of the classes. Most of what she says seems very smillier to Chinglish, which in my view is very confusing at most.
Today the kids in her class had an exam and quiet by chance i had time before my next class. I sat in her class watching her ask the students to write down some simple sentences she was reciting. Well to my horror she quoted one sentence to was complettly wrong.
(It's angry to meet you) I had no I clue to the meaning and stood up to try and correct her error. She was rather upset at me try to show her error and demanded that she was correct. What was worse was in the class with the kids were there parents but I felt I had to stand my ground and insisted she was very incorrect and made efforts to explain to the students it was incorrect. It was no use as she stood her ground saying she was the owner of the school and it was her class and she could teach them what she wanted. In the end I walked out and started my class which I was waiting for.

On another topic currently I live with my partners family and would like to share my experiences of living with a chinese family as it's open my eyes to some really bad habits and strange behavour but I leave that for another day. But I have found them to be very good in heart and easy going.

[latefordinner]

HP, is this your first teaching gig in the muddled kingdom? If so, then congratulations on getting a very important thing right the first time. You had a steadfast partner help you negotiate a better deal. Well done. Wish I had done as well.
I hope you will forgive this bit of criticism, but it is well meant and certainly not as a slight either against your teaching or your character. When observing another teacher's class, take notes but do not involve yourself in the lesson or correct the other teacher except to save a student (or the teacher) from physical harm. Let the errors play themselves out, and talk to the teacher in private later. The kids mislearn so many things, it's just one more bad habit to correct; and it really helps your teaching relationship if you allow the other to save face.

[no_exit]

latefordinner, I agree completely.

OP, what you did was pretty insensitive, and considering the importance Chinese culture places on face, probably unforgiveable in the eyes of your employer. Of course the teacher would not admit the mistake, as you publicly humiliated her and (in her eyes at least) caused her to lose a lot of respect.

Next time do as latefordinner suggests, and approach the subject in private. I once sat and watched an African teacher as she taught a bunch of kids that the plural of "eye" was "eyeses," but I kept my mouth shut. Her classroom, and her mistakes are for her employer to deal with, not me. If you really want to help, then you can gently take her aside and tactfully speak to her in private -- you'll be surprised at how much more gracefully your advice will be received if it is given in private, and not in front of an audience of students (who probably *loved* seeing their teacher torn down by a foreigner -- entertaining enough to keep even the sleepiest students wide awake and interested!). I'm not even Chinese, but if another teacher challenged me *during* my lesson, I'd probably find it offensive.

Anyhow, good on you for negotiating a good deal with the help of your partner. Don't worry so much about what the Chinese teachers are teaching in their classes -- you are there to help them unlearn the mistakes they learn in their CTs classes! Focus on your teaching and you'll be fine.

[hewlettpac]

thanks for your advice, I will take note. Yes I,m a lucky guy to have Amy( My chinese partner) We will be geting married on Christmas Day so some good christmas cheer to share around.
Thanks again everyone.

[7969]

this type of criticism goes both ways here. i recently held an oral english class outside, and a visitor stopped by on the grass where we were sitting. noone knew who it was, at any rate, it was a chinese female who i assumed was a teacher. after dropping in unannounced and watching for 15 minutes, she stood up, passed by me, and dropped a small note by my side, then she ran away over the hill before i could read it and say anything. the note said (first sentence was in english, second was in chinese):

"you're a good teacher. but you dont communicate well with the students."

i still dont know who this stranger was but if i ever see her again, i'll certainly sit in on her classes (if she is indeed a teacher here).

[No Moss]