The day started with an English teachers meeting, which went much too long. There was a short presentation of what the lessons for the week would be over. With so many students it is paramount that the teachers are all covering the same information throughout the week. After that were two speeches, all in Chinese. I was quite bored as I could only pick out a few words. The first speaker, who seemed to be a boss of some sort, (maybe a principal of the Junior High, maybe someone higher up) answered a phone call mid-speech. I was certainly surprised.
*A question for those language buffs out there. Is the phrase, “Show and tell who is who,” correct? It came up during the meeting. The presenting teacher had that on a powerpoint slide and some of the other teachers raised the issue, though whether it was the subject/object difference with who/whom or if it was the diction, I’m not sure. I wasn’t confident enough to give an answer. After looking it up online, I am inclined to say “who is who” is correct because “who” is the subject of “is.” The “show and tell” are imperatives to the hypothetical student, with the subject “you” understood. Thoughts?
Right after the meeting I had my first class. I was surprised at how well it went to be honest. I only had 40 minutes to fill, but I covered the the information I wanted to and was able to spend some time on pronunciation of words not necessarily in the lesson. I brought in two pictures that I have had with me for the past couple of years wherever I go (they were with me at college and now they came with me to China). The first is a family picture from Andy and Amy’s wedding with my parents in the middle. I make a point of explaining that while the woman in the wedding dress is standing by me, she’s married to my brother, not me. I held it up and explained who each person was before I sent it around. The second was a picture of siblings: my mom, uncle, and aunt. I’m not sure if they remembered who was who, but they were quite intrigued by the pictures.
I would recount the blow by blow, but I am worn out. This teaching thing is pretty rough, on your feet the whole time, constantly changing tactics should the students not be responding, making sure you cover the necessary information. And today was my light day!
Two of the Chinese English teachers observed me today. I haven’t gotten any feedback, but I’m dying to hear their thoughts. While they may not be really focused on the teaching portion of my lessons, I’m sure they could still give me some pointers. I think they just want to hear a native speaker describing things. The word “water,” for instance. Students say it with a definitive “t” sound, whereas I would pronounce it with more of a “d” sound: “wadder.” It seems so simple, but things like that make the students sound much more natural in their speech. Only one lesson a week is hardly enough time to really make a huge difference, but I must do what I can.
That is all for tonight. I promise I will have more up during this week. Maybe each night I will post a short update like this and give you all some highlights. We’ll see how I feel after having 6 classes tomorrow. Have a great Monday, everyone!
It just so happened that today was “Teacher’s Day,” so a bunch of kids had what I think are carnations to hand out to the teachers. Somehow I wound up with 2 of them from my first class. I was certainly surprised, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy getting them. Now the “Lonely Pear” bottle won’t be so lonely.