I'm teaching in central China, and find a double problem. On the one side, my students are terribly quiet.... afraid to speak English, though many are OK at the language. I am not sure how I can help them to be less shy about actually speaking - many good students speak once, but as there may ge 30 students talking at the same time (usually 28 of them in Chinese and two in English!), I have to ask them to say it again.... then they become too shy to speak!
Also - finding this college terrible (mostly minor contract violations, electric shock from college equipment, pay late, etc, they change teachers every about 3 months!).... my students tell me they wish they could change college. I don't want to go yet and give the students a 5th teacher this academic year (they had 3 in the autumn term!). Any ideas?
Silent students..... and troublesome college!
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Sally Olsen
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It seems that you have nothing to lose if you try something drastic to shape up the college.
You could call a meeting of the parents and outline the difficulties. They must be paying for the college and expect the best for their children. They may have been told that foriegners are flighty and unreliable, not that the college is. You could be fired immediately for doing htis of course, but if you do decide to leave it couldn't be worse.
I think I would first check around with some local elders and find someone to negotiate for me about pay and contract obligations, take the equipment to be repaired and tell the boss where it is so he can pick it up and pay for it. it seems to me that it is better to be out of the school than electorcuting you.
I always bought my own equipment so I would have unquestionable access to it for my lessons and then left it for the school when I moved on. I carried it around in its protected case or locked it in a locker if I didn't need it. Of course, I lent it to other teachers when they asked but delivered it to their class and picked it up afterwards and made sure I arrived right at the end of their class. Everyone appreicated equipment that worked and so soon started pressuring the boss for good equipment.
Of course, you can form a union with the other teachers. I would check always with local elders who are sympathetic but wise in the ways of things - just ask the students who they go to with problems even if it is outside the school and pay them a visit.
You will be told, of course, that this is not the Chinese way but you can say it is a lesson in another way of living and it might work, who knows. I was going to say it can't be worse than what you have, but it might be so have a backup plan of where to teach next.
If you really want them to talk you can give them drills where they say the same thing at the same time. You can get dialogues from textbooks or make up some and have half the class be one person and half the class the other. They will participate in drills except for the ones sleeping but even they can practically do it in their sleep. Jazz chants are fun.
You can then gradually wean them off of this into pair work. The good students expect to be called upon in class and they will demonstrate for you as well.
We had good success with tape recorders. We would give the students a topic and have them meet in groups of four to six. We appointed a captain of the group who made sure everyone talked. They could stop the tape recorder to practice what they were going to say and get advice from the others on pronunciation. When they had the tape as they would like it they gave it to another group who listened and commented on the statements of the first group and added their own thoughts to the topics. We got the topics by listening to the conversations at lunch and finding out what bothered the students or what interested them. Disasters was a favourite - the bigger the better from Titanic, hurricanes, fires, floods, sandstorms which might be relevant to China right now, car, train, bus and plane crashes and so on.
You can get them to comment on how to survive something or what safety issues there are and what provisions they would need if they were in that situation or First Aid and so on. First Aid is great course to teach because it involves a lot of movement as you do CPR and bandage, etc.
You could call a meeting of the parents and outline the difficulties. They must be paying for the college and expect the best for their children. They may have been told that foriegners are flighty and unreliable, not that the college is. You could be fired immediately for doing htis of course, but if you do decide to leave it couldn't be worse.
I think I would first check around with some local elders and find someone to negotiate for me about pay and contract obligations, take the equipment to be repaired and tell the boss where it is so he can pick it up and pay for it. it seems to me that it is better to be out of the school than electorcuting you.
I always bought my own equipment so I would have unquestionable access to it for my lessons and then left it for the school when I moved on. I carried it around in its protected case or locked it in a locker if I didn't need it. Of course, I lent it to other teachers when they asked but delivered it to their class and picked it up afterwards and made sure I arrived right at the end of their class. Everyone appreicated equipment that worked and so soon started pressuring the boss for good equipment.
Of course, you can form a union with the other teachers. I would check always with local elders who are sympathetic but wise in the ways of things - just ask the students who they go to with problems even if it is outside the school and pay them a visit.
You will be told, of course, that this is not the Chinese way but you can say it is a lesson in another way of living and it might work, who knows. I was going to say it can't be worse than what you have, but it might be so have a backup plan of where to teach next.
If you really want them to talk you can give them drills where they say the same thing at the same time. You can get dialogues from textbooks or make up some and have half the class be one person and half the class the other. They will participate in drills except for the ones sleeping but even they can practically do it in their sleep. Jazz chants are fun.
You can then gradually wean them off of this into pair work. The good students expect to be called upon in class and they will demonstrate for you as well.
We had good success with tape recorders. We would give the students a topic and have them meet in groups of four to six. We appointed a captain of the group who made sure everyone talked. They could stop the tape recorder to practice what they were going to say and get advice from the others on pronunciation. When they had the tape as they would like it they gave it to another group who listened and commented on the statements of the first group and added their own thoughts to the topics. We got the topics by listening to the conversations at lunch and finding out what bothered the students or what interested them. Disasters was a favourite - the bigger the better from Titanic, hurricanes, fires, floods, sandstorms which might be relevant to China right now, car, train, bus and plane crashes and so on.
You can get them to comment on how to survive something or what safety issues there are and what provisions they would need if they were in that situation or First Aid and so on. First Aid is great course to teach because it involves a lot of movement as you do CPR and bandage, etc.
Re:
I cannot agree with you more that Chinese students are too polite and quiet. This semester, I asked each pair of students to design a 30-minute warm-up activity at the beginning of each class. They act as teachers and inspire their classmates to take part in the activity they designed by themselves. I found that it worked well.
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orange dave
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Who would this be do you think? Here in the West, this would be something along the lines of a pastor, but in China it would be different. I am not as familiar with these sorts of nuances of their culture.Sally Olsen wrote:just ask the students who they go to with problems even if it is outside the school and pay them a visit.
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Sally Olsen
- Posts: 1322
- Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:24 pm
- Location: Canada,France, Brazil, Japan, Mongolia, Greenland, Canada, Mongolia, Ethiopia next
I am not sure in China but in Mongolia I got to know some of the parents and a monk who seemed to know what to do if there was trouble.
I avoided other ex-pats as they just seemed to complain and got depressed by all the problems. Of course, it does help at the beginning to listen to the ex-pats because you do find out all the problems quickly and what has been tried before. Sometimes you just need to vent too but I found that after awhile, it just got to be the same things over and over with no solutions except for one or two very positive people who keep trying.
I think I would search out a place where senior's hang out and go to visit them and see what they would suggest or try to get in touch with retired teachers.
I think I would try to start a teacher's organization as well - for socialization, discussion of the issues and workshops. We had a branch of the university in our town and they sponsored workshops at least once a year and that provided us with contacts. The professors were a lot of help as they wanted to change things. Most of the English instructors were young and wanted to visit our classes for ideas and to visit us to practice their English. The young instructors often want to come to Western Universities and if you can counsel them on this, how to get sponsorships or scholarships or instructor's positions, it will help to pay back their help in sorting out difficulties.
The more that you get known and respected in the community, the more power you have in your school as well so join in with local cultural activities - walk in the parades, dance in the dances, sponsor a child in a walk, make sure you go to the local stores on weekends, find out where the parents work and try to include those businesses somehow in your activities if possible. Visit the elders in the local senior's home as suggested, attend some activities at the cultural center and the government offices. Get free English books from publishers for the local library.
I avoided other ex-pats as they just seemed to complain and got depressed by all the problems. Of course, it does help at the beginning to listen to the ex-pats because you do find out all the problems quickly and what has been tried before. Sometimes you just need to vent too but I found that after awhile, it just got to be the same things over and over with no solutions except for one or two very positive people who keep trying.
I think I would search out a place where senior's hang out and go to visit them and see what they would suggest or try to get in touch with retired teachers.
I think I would try to start a teacher's organization as well - for socialization, discussion of the issues and workshops. We had a branch of the university in our town and they sponsored workshops at least once a year and that provided us with contacts. The professors were a lot of help as they wanted to change things. Most of the English instructors were young and wanted to visit our classes for ideas and to visit us to practice their English. The young instructors often want to come to Western Universities and if you can counsel them on this, how to get sponsorships or scholarships or instructor's positions, it will help to pay back their help in sorting out difficulties.
The more that you get known and respected in the community, the more power you have in your school as well so join in with local cultural activities - walk in the parades, dance in the dances, sponsor a child in a walk, make sure you go to the local stores on weekends, find out where the parents work and try to include those businesses somehow in your activities if possible. Visit the elders in the local senior's home as suggested, attend some activities at the cultural center and the government offices. Get free English books from publishers for the local library.
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shelleyvernon
- Posts: 52
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Sally Olsen mentions drills. Here is a drill type of game that can be used by a big class, all talking at the same time but it is not too chaotic. The game can be adapted and made harder to suit the level of your students too. Even if it is done as a simple drill at least the students will be getting practise saying English words, under cover of the global noise, and with plenty of this type of activity they will become more and more confident.
The game is explained in full on this web page, with variants:
www.teachingenglishgames.com/games/relayrace.htm
Kind regards
Shelley Vernon
The game is explained in full on this web page, with variants:
www.teachingenglishgames.com/games/relayrace.htm
Kind regards
Shelley Vernon
I would try adding a mix of different types of activities into your lessons - kinaesthetic activities, dictations, role plays, short presentations (by the students), music, etc.
Try this webpage for lots of links to great teaching ideas:
http://www.geocities.com/allhou/lessgames.htm
Try this webpage for lots of links to great teaching ideas:
http://www.geocities.com/allhou/lessgames.htm
Focus on improving classroom dynamics; avoid activism
Perhaps this sounds too cautious, but I would focus on improving my own classroom dynamics and avoid anything that could be seen as political activism in a country where I was just a visitor. Likewise, prudence would indicate some limits on organizing a teacher's union or asking people to attend a public meeting in a nation with secret police and a dictatorship. The government might be changing, but you have to think long and hard before urging young students to take actions that might lead to their imprisonment or worse by paranoid rulers.
What can you do? Make your own classroom a model with vigorous, practical lessons and plenty of writing and conversation. You can share your best practices with fellow instructors, and maybe establish a weekly teacher's gathering to exchange ideas and materials. Encourage critical thinking, within the proper context and without needlessly provoking suspicion, on issues of science, technology, and culture. Will students develop a taste for nuanced discussions and lively conversations? Yes. Will you risk anyone's job, health, or future? No.
If and when China opens up more to European and American standards of free speech and open challenges to authority, then some of the suggestions will be more responsible and appropriate. Meanwhile, recognize the limits and work within those limits.
By the way, I'm no friend of the corrupt Chinese dictatorship. My ESL conversation book, Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics, seems to be essentially banned. Students and teachers can't even access the website www.compellingconversations.com or download the free sample lessons. Yet, recognizing this fact, I discourage former students I've had at UCLA and USC from even attempting to visit the website. Why should they needlessly risk problems? Let Thai and European students and teachers go - it's safe for them.
Likewise, I suggest you avoid doing anything that might endanger your college students.
Just a thought.
Shalom,
Eric
[email protected]
www.compellingconversations.com
What can you do? Make your own classroom a model with vigorous, practical lessons and plenty of writing and conversation. You can share your best practices with fellow instructors, and maybe establish a weekly teacher's gathering to exchange ideas and materials. Encourage critical thinking, within the proper context and without needlessly provoking suspicion, on issues of science, technology, and culture. Will students develop a taste for nuanced discussions and lively conversations? Yes. Will you risk anyone's job, health, or future? No.
If and when China opens up more to European and American standards of free speech and open challenges to authority, then some of the suggestions will be more responsible and appropriate. Meanwhile, recognize the limits and work within those limits.
By the way, I'm no friend of the corrupt Chinese dictatorship. My ESL conversation book, Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics, seems to be essentially banned. Students and teachers can't even access the website www.compellingconversations.com or download the free sample lessons. Yet, recognizing this fact, I discourage former students I've had at UCLA and USC from even attempting to visit the website. Why should they needlessly risk problems? Let Thai and European students and teachers go - it's safe for them.
Likewise, I suggest you avoid doing anything that might endanger your college students.
Just a thought.
Shalom,
Eric
[email protected]
www.compellingconversations.com
I agree with Eric about concentrating on your own classes first and then sorting everything else out afterwards. To start with, when you can honestly say that it is only things outside your classroom that are not working properly that gives you a bit more authority when you want to discuss other problems.
In that situation, I never plan to do an activity that relies on anyone speaking out in front of the whole class. All the activities have a time where that is possible, but the main part is always very structured pairwork and groupwork, mainly language games with limited grammar but where students can use their imagination to compete with each other. Concentrating on pair and group work also increases student talking time.
In that situation, I never plan to do an activity that relies on anyone speaking out in front of the whole class. All the activities have a time where that is possible, but the main part is always very structured pairwork and groupwork, mainly language games with limited grammar but where students can use their imagination to compete with each other. Concentrating on pair and group work also increases student talking time.
I think you should try another way of teaching
I am also a student. And I am kind of shy in class, just like your students. I think we can divide those who always keep silent in class into two parts. The first part are those who are too shy to open their mouth. They are afraid of being laughed or criticized by peers or the teacher. Aother part are those who are usually ignored by the teachers. They are used to be put in the conner, so they don't want to join in others' discussion.