The highs and lows of teaching english

I have now taught all but two of my classes. I have a good idea of what the students need to learn and how I'm going to teach them. Because my classes are diverse in both the content I'm required to teach and the level of English comprehension of the students, my teaching experience has been similarly diverse.

The Lows

My first class was on Tuesday afternoon (my morning class had been canceled for my health examination). This class was more of a two hour private tutoring session than a typical college class. I had two students, a boy and a girl, who required remedial English instruction in order to keep pace with their major program. Because I know no chinese and they know almost no english, teaching them was nearly impossible. This was also one of the class which the university did not provide me with teaching materials or a lesson plan. Fortunately I will not be teaching this class again until the university works out some scheduling issues. I plan to request a chinese speaking instructor for these students when the scheduling issues are resolved.

My Thursday afternoon class was my first class in the Sino-Canadian program, which I was very excited to teach. When I arrived at the International campus I realized that my teaching schedule did not list the room number for this class. Luckily I was able to find one of my students from an earlier class and borrow her phone to call my supervisor (I still dont have a cell phone). When I got to the right room, I began with my usual introductions, and because the students were freshmen I began assigning them English names. About 30 minutes into class a chinese man came into my classroom and asked me why I was teaching his class. We both stepped outside and we sorted out that he was supposed to teach from 2:30 to 4:30 and I was to teach from 4:30 to 6:30. The teaching schedule had been changed, and he had a new calendar that reflected that. The calendar I had been given (after he had received his, mind you) had me teaching during the 2:30 slot. Together we called my supervisor again. She apologized for the mistake. When I returned at 4:30 to teach my class I jumped in where I left off. When everyone had an English name I moved into teaching a lesson from the textbook (this was a class where I was provided teaching materials). About halfway through my lesson, a student stopped me and said the lesson was not in his textbook. Indeed it wasn't; I had been provided with the wrong textbook to teach the class. I made up a few activities on the spot, but without the correct materials I had little choice but to dismiss class early.

The Highs

Despite the two dismal class experiences listed above, my overall experience thus far has been smooth and successful. Both of my classes on Wednesday were for Sophomore 4-year English majors. Although the level of English comprehension varied in the classes, they were strong enough to understand my instructions and deliver on the tasks I provided. Both classes were roughly 35 students in size and almost entirely female. The classrooms had a blackboard, podium, computer and projector for my use.

Class 2, Grade 2. 8:00-9:50 AM

Class 1, Grade 2. 10:10-11:00 AM

The lesson plan I developed for these classes followed this structure:
-Introductions
I introduce myself (as Mr. J) and tell the students where I am from, and my hobbies.
I ask my students to make plackards with their english names so I can easily call on them.
I have the student introduce themselves one by one with their english names, hometown, years learning english, and hobbies.
-Activities
I choose two or three activities from the textbook for the students to do--usually involving group-work, speaking or listening.

For my Thursday and Friday classes I was not provided with a textbook or class materials with which to teach. I used the introductions to gauge the level of my students and adapted activities from my other textbooks to fit their needs. This has worked quite nicely. I have also ended each class with a questionnaire asking students what they find difficult about English and what they want to take away from my class.

My Thursday classes were for third year students in the 3-year English major. Most intend to find jobs teaching English when they graduate in the spring. These classes had about 25 students. My Friday class was for third year students in the 5-year English major. This program is similar to an accelerated degree in america; students enter as high school students and complete high school and their English degree in 5 years. I have discovered Siyuan is something like a community college or junior college because it mainly offers the equivalent of associate degrees. Students in the 4 year program spend their fourth year studying for an exam that places them into another university. Students in the Sino-Canadian program are the only ones I'm aware of that receive a bachelor's degree (and it is from Mohawk College in Canada).

Class 1, Grade 3 (Five year English major)

Siyuan is structured very differently from universities in america. Students have a very rigid schedule: they begin class at 8 AM, have a lunch/siesta break from 12-2:30, and resume class until 6:30, and then have mandatory study hall until 8 PM. Also, students remain in the same classroom all day every day, with the same students. I dont know how this affects degree specialization, but with 30,000 students I guess they can make it work.