Teaching English

My students are all great and bring a lot of joy to me. It is funny to think that I have already taught "Business English" for about 3 months or so now. I would admit to you that teaching is not necessarily my gift, but something that I am learning how to do as well as adapting to. It challenges me more than most things, and I feel it is something that would keep my attention longer than most jobs.

Teaching English: Who would have thought?!?

Teaching English at a university in China isn't really something I pictured myself doing after college. Plus, it just doesn't look anything you or I would really have pictured if somebody had asked us to come and teach English to university students in China. Sometimes I think to myself "How did I get here?" and who really trusts me to teach some 200+ students English. Mrs. Bjur - my English teacher in high school - would be shaking her head if she knew I was in charge of instructing others about English. Monday to Friday I walk into class and there are 40-50 students who say, "Good Morning Mr. Aaron." My BE1+2 class is the most enthusiastic of them all - 54 girls and all. Not a single boy exists in that class. If he did I would know when he was late or didn't show up everyday.

(BE1+2 in full force)

During this last semester every week was the same old saga for me: Behind and wishing I had more time. I have to admit that I have a slight bit of perfectionist in me and I can drag out some of the most mundane tasks that many of you would balk at me for doing. In addition, I have this obsession with organizing everything that comes into my possession and everything has to be in its place or I just freak out. It's kind of sad. At any rate, the learning curve for teaching is humongous and I have to say that it is going to be awhile before this guy really understands everything that is going on in the classroom. Creativity is not something that i was gifted for and to be honest there are many aspects of teaching that I just don't see unless someone else points it out.

Going to watch my teammates teach can be intimidating and scary. I fear that if I go watch them teach I will find out just how bad of a teacher that I am. Then there is my competitive edge that tries to tell me that it is just better not to know and learn things on my own and overcome all the unknown obstacles that I am facing. The truth though is that I need to watch others so that I can be a better teacher and learn from their strengths and weaknesses. I am hoping to go watch more of my fellow teachers next semester as well as some of the Chinese teachers so that I might learn from them.

(Left to Right: Pauline, Becky, Jody, and Danielle)

Grading is definitely a challenge and I can advise you to pay attention to the importance of assigning homework only when needed and making sure that it really measures what you think it does. I spent the better part of the last month grading some 800 papers that I decided to collect as a way to give my students some accountability and responsibility in studying English. You can't just have your students think that they can come to class, do nothing, never study, and pass your class. However, I am a big push-over and need to make idle threats to keep order.

(Juicy...yes that her name)

My classes are kind of intense and thrive on lots of energy. Sometimes it appear to the outsider that my class in near complete chaos, but that it just the way I like things. However, I have two classes that are a little low on energy and seem to zap mine in trying to get them motivated and excited. I tend to approach everything in life with lots of energy and when it isn't reciprocated I tend to lose heart and be drained of my own energy. I tease my students daily telling them that they don't smile enough and look like they are dead when they are in my class. I tend to use myself as most of the examples and my willingness to make a mockery of myself usually is enough to gain my student's attention, but when that doesn't work I am left to guessing. I must admit that I have given my students lectures and chided them for not paying attention and/or not doing what I have asked them to do. Overall, keeping student's attention and control over a class is a delicate thing.

Chinglish: This stuff is great! I am not even lying.

So in grading my homework and/or tests I begin to notice that my student's attempts to translate their ideas from Chinese to English were running into some slight problems. For the most part, the grammatical structure of Chinese in comparison to that of English is rather different and cultural differences - especially common sayings - do not help. Thus, we have what many like to call Chinglish. So in some of my spare time I started recording many of my students sentences and thought that I might share them with you. Below is a list of the top 10 that I have collected.

1. I’m hot in this field. (a student explaining why he should be hired)

2. I am here waiting for you. (a student ending a Cover Letter)

3. I have wishful thinking that we should study hard at Blue Sky University.

4. You don’t cheat old people. I stand corrected.

5. If you are not high. Your parents also not high. You are runs in the Family.

6. I déjà vu to you.

7. Bad friend wants to have what you have and he is horrible.

8. If you want to change yourself the chance is coming.

9. Is you broken my cup? Yes, I did it. I feel very sorry about it.

10. When I see Lily, I think she is a boy, but she is a girl. That I stand corrected.

Christmas Cards:

During one of the last weeks of school I taught my students about Christmas and traditions that we carry out every year when celebrating Christmas. So I decided to teach my students about making Christmas cards after seeing the amazing results of my friend Jodi with her class. I didn't have much in the way of making Christmas cards, but I was well supplied with index cards and color markers so I thought I would take a shot at it. Making Christmas cards might have been the highlight of my teaching career thus far (I am not sure if that is a good thing though).

I showed my students how to fold the index cards (3x5 cards) in half so that the lines were inside and encouraged them to decorate the outsides of the cards with whatever they wanted. I told them that it would probably be a good idea to say something like "Merry Christmas", "Happy Holidays", and "Best Wishes" and reinforced that idea by writing those common sayings we greet each other with during the holiday season on the chalkboard. I also told them that I had friends back in America that might see these cards and that they should try and write message and/or questions to them. Apparently my instructions were lost in the excitement and out of some 200+ Christmas cards only 25 questions were written. Furthermore, once my students saw colored markers all was lost and near chaos broke-out.

I realized later that most of a Chinese student's education in his/her early years is as intensive as what we might do during college and that most students had never had the opportunity, let alone time to color. As Americans, many of us would just think drawing and coloring are a natural part of growing up, but as a quickly figured in my classroom it isn't. At any rate, here are some of students cards.

(by Jill)





(by Amy & Joana)