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Post by alexis on Mar 10, 2005 19:13:54 GMT 7
I teach primary. To say the least -I absolutely hate it!!! Anyway, the first semester I tried "teaching". Sadly realizing that they could care less. This semester I just want to do really easy, no prep. lessons-something to just waste 45 minutes with the least amount of talking on my part. I just want to make it to June and then get the hell out of this school. This week (all 18 classes) I watched a disney DVD and then asked a few questions. Unfortunately, I do not think I can do this every week so I am hoping that someone has some additional ideas. Oh, and did I say....I absolutely hate it???
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Post by Hamish on Mar 10, 2005 19:37:16 GMT 7
In the first place, it is nearly impossible to do anything well that ones hates.
Teaching IS very important, however.
I wonder why you took the job?
Now, much can be done that is very valuable with DVDs. I have purchased the entire National Geographic science series. It contains 100 DVDs that can be had for about 800 yuan. They have English subtitles and motion pictures of wild animals and all that kind of thing. Students of all ages love them. Kids get to hear English spoken properly, and see the words go by at the bottom. Great reinforcement!
Go outside and teach them the names of things there.
Give them a book and read it to them as they follow along.
Look on Google for the variety of things available there that help teachers in spots such as you are in.
Consider changing your attitude about the job of teaching and the obligation you have shouldered for the education of your students.
This really is frustrating work at many times, but it is worth your very best effort.
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Post by alexis on Mar 10, 2005 20:36:10 GMT 7
Thanks Hamish, but I am perfectly okay with my "attitude". I am an experienced teacher from the US and did not expect my position to be such a joke. I know how to teach and I know when my position is nothing more than a "token" foreigner. I checked out my school before coming to China and was assured that this was not the case. I feel I have every right to be disillusioned. Regardless...thanks for your suggestions.
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Post by Hamish on Mar 10, 2005 21:23:50 GMT 7
None of what you describe seems to be the student's fault. As long as you stay, you are still their teacher.
I hope it works out for them.
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 11, 2005 1:52:20 GMT 7
I'll couch my advice within the following assumptions: 1. You are a good teacher (you are experienced after all); 2. you like teaching (with all the aggravation, stress and mediocre pay, you wouldn't bother unless you did); 3. you came to China to teach well; 4. you've tryied everything you can think of to teach well; 5. you've tried to get along; 6. you've tried to adapt your methods; 7. you've lowered your expectations as far as you can live with. All, I think, reasonable assumptions. Since Hamish has taken care of the "tough love" angle, I'll cover the rest. If your students aren't motivated, you need a change of strategy; perhaps one or more of the following will help. - Perhaps the school is one of those that feel safe and cozy once the students have signed up, and figure they will stay in class no matter how bad classes are. if so, that shouldn't be a problem for you, since they'd give you free rein in class so long as you're no bugging the school about it. - Perhaps the parents, who after all are paying for this, don't realize that their kids aren't making an effort. It may be time for report cards, and a letter home that outlines what the kids are learning, plus the homework and participation required to get the best return on the HUGE amount of money they're spending. - Perhaps you work for a public school, and the students have to be there anyway. Report cardsw and discipline would be in order. - Perhaps you have to dedicate the beginning of the lesson to games and fun, sacrifice some learning time to entertain the little bastards and get them fired up. - Perhaps you have to start kicking some ass. Enthusiasm, fun and ambition are great, but without a dose of fear, young students can't be controlled. I came to this conclusion reluctantly- discipline was always my weakest quality.
I don't know your situation too well, and certainly haven't visited your school, so my advice is a vague, shotgun offering, but I'd bet that the best avenue for fixing your situation is to talk to the parents directly. The one thing you can count on in this is that the parents care A GREAT DEAL about their kids' education and future. Your expectations in this should be indexed to the parents' expectations: they are, in the end, your customers. If they just want a laowai daycare, that's all you can expect to be; but I doubt this. Chinese parents are very serious about their kids' education, right from kindergarten. Talk to them. Use your teaching assistant, or have someone translate a note to send home to them, or have your T.A. phone them up.
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 11, 2005 1:57:28 GMT 7
I should add that bad schools may be common, but so are good schools. When the time comes to switch schools, you will know what to look for. Courage, sister, you'll get what you were looking for. And even if your classes suck by design, and there's very little you can do about it (a very big IF), at the end you will have taught something. Some of the little buggers are listening, and you are inspiring at least a few of them. To the bad students:
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Post by George61 on Mar 11, 2005 3:54:14 GMT 7
Just discovered the second post of this thread. I tend to agree with Hamish. If you are an experienced teacher, you shouldn't have this problem. Your attitude has gotten ( I hate that word) across to the kids and they know what you think of them. Therefore you are probably doomed, unless you change your attitude. Play games with them, get them motivated, don't just talk at them. Pretend you like them. Raoul, you better combine these two threads into one... I know you can do it. You're a smart cookie.
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Post by ChinaGurl on Mar 11, 2005 6:24:19 GMT 7
con's right - discipline is a big issue. Essentially, if the kids know they can walk all over you, they will.
I'm teaching Junior Middle School (12-15 years old) and until the beginning of this term, the school thought it'd be a good idea to mash 80 kids (minimum, sometimes 120) into one classroom for our lessons together. Needless to say, this led to some frustrating moments for me, and the students actually complained about my 'lack of organization'. What they were really complaining about was my teaching style - in a case when the students aren't listening to what I'm saying, I will stand quietly at the front of the room and wait for them to notice that I'm no longer conducting class. In summary: THIS APPROACH DOES NOT WORK IN CHINA.
You have to literally guide the students through every aspect of the class. Here in the Land of the Red Sun, students younger than Senior Middle School aren't given any responsibility and have no sense of appropriateness when it comes to behaviour during class time. If you've ever watched the students when they have class with their regular Chinese teachers - the teachers keep the students well under their thumb.
I had one class last week who thought I was dismissing them when really I was trying to tell them to sit down so I could lecture them about "If you think you can do it, you can. If you think you can't do it, of course you can't." I heard some students saying goodbye, and other students were standing up to leave, and I kept saying, "No, no no no no... sit down..." Finally I had to shout AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, "Sit down." It got their attention. They sat down and listened to what I had to say.
Another problem is that the kids here aren't given the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them. These kids think it's better to look at the back of the book to find the right answer than say something that might potentially be wrong. The teachers think it's better to just tell the students the answer they're looking for rather than allow the student to stand uncomfortably in front of all of their classmates. I'm slowly teaching my students that this attitude is incorrect, that we, in fact, learn better from our mistakes than anything else. However, I teach 1,000 students out of however many there are in China.
Mind you, I had one primary class (with 90 kids) that didn't listen to even one single word I said. The TAs were useless. I stood in front of the class for about 25 minutes before commenting to the teacher that the students were out of control, and another 20 minutes until the end of class, and then went home, never to return to that school again.
It doesn't sound like this is your problem, though... it sounds like you just need some inspiration.
IN SUMMARY
Chinese teachers tell their students what they need to know. Canadian (or other western country) teachers guide their students through the learning process and hope the students come up with the correct answer.
This fundemental difference is perhaps one of the biggest causes of stress in my personal teaching endeavor. A nation of children devoid of imagination, creativity, or the ability to even step inches outside of the rigorously drawn rectangle that's been assigned to them.
Point in case: Ask any Chinese "How are you?" They will immediately respond, "Fine, thanks, and you?!" But change things up a little and say, "How was your weekend,?" and they are at a loss. It's the same grammar, the same sentence structure, but it's not within the pages of their textbook, so they don't get it.
These kids aren't taught that English (or any other language) is a living thing, which is alive and moves of its own accord, which is always changing, which is more than a textbook and reciting en masse to please their teacher. They aren't taught that English is a language which is used to express thoughts and ideas, they're simply taught how best to pass the exam and get to the next grade.
(Aside: I remember learning core French back in school, from grade 1 until grade 13, not unlike Chinese kids learning English. In just about every singe composition I wrote, I used a monkey. In every oral presentation, there was a monkey. In every group project or partner work, I'd work a monkey in there somewhere. Why? Because I could and because it gave me a giggle. As a result, no matter what French I forget, I will always remember how to say monkey.)
If you can harness this information and use it to your advantage, do so.
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Post by alexis on Mar 11, 2005 7:04:03 GMT 7
Thanks everyone for giving your opinions on what "my problem" might be. I have no problem with discipline and OBVIOUSLY I do not treat my kids bad in any way. I never said that my kids were out of control or anything similar. I SIMPLY asked for some ideas to get through this semester quickly and painlessly without hardly any prep time. I am delighted for any teacher on this board that is treated like a serious professional. I personally got tired of acting like a serious professional and gave in to the FACT that I am just a "token" white face monkey dancer..... P.S. Thanks "chinagirl" you tend to give insightful ideas instead of just loads of *$%!!!! P.S.S. Hamish-I am glad to send you this bottle of syrup for free if you have any way of coping your National Geographic DVD's and mailing them to me.
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Post by alexis on Mar 11, 2005 7:09:17 GMT 7
Sorry Hamish, I meant "copying" the DVD's. I am alo curious what book you have been able to hand out to all of your kids for them to read along? Also, what do you do with the N.G. DVD's in the way of a lesson?
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Post by Hamish on Mar 11, 2005 7:37:08 GMT 7
Copying 100 DVDs, even on my atomic powered Macintosh, will burn up more energy than a quart of maple syrup contains.
As for the lesson's content, the DVD IS the lesson.
It doesn't matter what they watch, as long as they pay attention, and it is in English.
That, in a "nut" shell, is my ESL philosophy.
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Post by ChinaGurl on Mar 11, 2005 7:57:22 GMT 7
My kids haven't got that whole, "Learning through osmosis" thing down yet... if I put on a movie with no Chinese they instantly start whining.
Lao shi, shen me yi si??
God I hate those words.
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Post by alexis on Mar 11, 2005 9:52:33 GMT 7
I was just referring to maybe copying 2 or 3. I will look today at the DVD store and see what I can find as well.
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Post by George61 on Mar 11, 2005 11:28:42 GMT 7
.... Does this mean all other posts were bullpoo? Thanks very much. As an experienced teacher, I know that VERY FEW lessons are successful without preparation. I have had "lead Balloon" lessons, but that only means I have to make changes. It sounds like you don't want to exert yourself. Just get through the week, collect your pay and relax. Not a good thing, IMHO.
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Post by alexis on Mar 11, 2005 11:57:15 GMT 7
Dear "George" DUHHHHH!!!!!!!
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Post by Dr. Gonzo on Mar 11, 2005 12:51:13 GMT 7
Another old teaching hand here. I shudder at the idea of "teaching" 80 plus junior middle school kids. In China, or anywhere. "Teaching", by definition [mine admittedly] requires interaction. I'm still faced with classes of 25-30 here in OZ. Too many, but do-able to some extent. The best big classes I had in China I taught with a mix of lectures and group work. These were tertiary: English only allowed; at least, until I was out of ear-shot. But this clearly wouldn't work in Alexis' situation!
Teach them proper grammar, Alexis. Boring? Yes. Essential? Yes. From my years in PRC, not too many people do this.......probably because they can't. There are tons of websites out there with lessons, exercises etc. for any level. I've been doing a lot of it since I came back. Invariably, after a lesson in articles, irregular verbs, modals etc, some students will thank me, commenting it was something they'd never understood, but were too embarrassed to ask about.
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 11, 2005 14:33:35 GMT 7
In a pinch, every two or three classes you can play Bingo. 30 words on the board they they'll write down, 5 minutes of astonishing entertaining suspense for them, and, best of all, a patch of sweet, peaceful silence while they write English with a speed and industry you'll never get otherwise. If you can't teach them faster, entertain them more. Maybe they're learning as fast as they're gonna. An excellent activity that my kids always loved was arts and crafts. Cigarette machines are dirt cheap in China, as are the cans of tobacco... and they come, if you like, prefumed in a variety of incense flavours. Have a race: they crank a few, they spell out the answer, in English, natch, to the clue on the board. The first to finish gets his very best-made one to take out for recess (Hint: kids are little pyros- light it for him). WARNING: make them wash their hands first.Just in case, next student who misbehaves, eat him in front of the others. I've noted an encouraging trend in their class participation, but you've now got one fewer customer, so only do this once a year.
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Post by George61 on Mar 11, 2005 17:54:48 GMT 7
That's fine, Alexis. I have given you some ideas. If you don't like them,that's fine. No skin off my nose.
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Post by alexis on Mar 11, 2005 18:21:16 GMT 7
Dear Con, I really like the idea of just eating one of them although I think I should bring some type of mustard sauce to dip him in. Also, could you please explain your two game ideas a little more? I am not sure I follow you. I want to try them. I teach (do the monkey dance for) 3rd and 4th grade. Thanks.
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Post by Raoul Duke on Mar 12, 2005 0:21:37 GMT 7
Kids, please get along. We're the "nice" forum, right? Alexis, the folks here don't know you and are taking shots in the dark on your behalf. They really are trying to help, I think. I actually have considerable sympathy for Alexis' complaints. What's served up as "education" here is so alien to what I was always told education should be that I have trouble even recognizing it. Teaching and learning really ARE different here. Some foreign teachers here find a way to roll with the flow; others do not. I'm with the latter camp, myself...I think 99.9999% of schools here are an utter disgrace. I absolutely refuse to pander to what I see as shoddy education. However, the ones who do find a way to function and be effective in this environment have my profound respect. They can tread where I can not. We diverge in perception only- not in principles. Don't blame your school too much for the conditions you encounter in your classes. What you describe sounds like pretty much part of the system, maybe even better than many. Unfortunately this implies that things will not likely improve much if you move to another school. I spent a couple of years chasing this illusion myself- let me save you the trouble. My advice is to listen to the experienced hands here and let them guide you. I solved the dilemma for myself through two actions: 1) Teaching only adults, who pay their own way through classes and have a sincere desire to learn from you. They also don't come with a non-English-speaking, non-teaching Mom who wants to tell you how to do your job. This won't make all the problems go away, but it will make them better. Note that college students are NOT adults. They are children. In some ways they are much worse than the 4th graders because you can't shake off the feeling that they should know better. Jobs teaching adults can be found with careful shopping. It'll be easier now that you have some direct experience here. 2) Dramatically increasing my consumption of alcohol.
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Post by George61 on Mar 12, 2005 6:07:21 GMT 7
...from the literary pages of "the greasy spoon"
I rests my case, m'luds.
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Post by Raoul Duke on Mar 12, 2005 14:10:59 GMT 7
Please elaborate, councillor.
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Post by George61 on Mar 12, 2005 21:03:46 GMT 7
OK, what I said Mar 11...
What she said on "the spoon"
Hmmmmmmm?
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Post by Raoul Duke on Mar 12, 2005 23:35:50 GMT 7
Relax, old friend. Take a deep breath.
If I had 5 yuan for every time I've heard a foreign teacher in China (not to mention Chinese people) express this very sentiment, why, we'd have our own server instead of using Proboards. A hell of a lot of people feel that way.
In this case, it sounds to me more like frustration, which is perfectly reasonable and understandable, than it does lack of commitment.
I'm fond of you both. Please don't put me in the middle of anything.
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Post by George61 on Mar 13, 2005 3:18:35 GMT 7
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