Teaching in China

So you’ve got the job. You’ve signed the contract, unpacked your case, and now you’re standing outside the classroom door. You are an officially designated Foreign Expert, and up to 50 souls are sitting inside, waiting for you to bestow your wisdom upon them. What the hell do you do?

Firstly, if you’re just asking that question now then you’re doomed to fail, or at least have a tricky first lesson. Preparation is key, so make sure you’ve got a plan before you open that classroom door.

Once you’re over the threshold, don’t be surprised if your class is not forthcoming in conversation. Your students may lack confidence in their English abilities, or fear looking stupid in front of classmates. You might also find that although your students have studied English for years, their spoken and written work is weak: it’s common for English courses in China to focus on vocabulary, grammar and reading.

So no matter how vivid your memories of scathing schoolteachers, don’t be tempted to emulate them. Make it safe for students to answer, and encourage them even when they get it wrong. If yours is the only voice that ever sounds in your classroom, split your students into groups, and ask them to reach an answer collectively and then share it with the class.

If people are too shy to volunteer their real opinions, simply assign them imaginary ones. So tell group A that they think WTO entry will be a disaster for the Chinese people, while group B are instructed to be all for it. Get them to discuss the topic in English before presenting their arguments to the class.

Your school may tell you to focus only on spoken English - it’s up to you whether you comply, but you might find that including short reading or writing sessions helps to keep the students’ attention.

Above all, always have a written lesson plan. Not only does it make it less likely that your class will go off the rails and leave you wondering what happened, but they can also be re-used, saving you time in future. There are plenty of resources to help you: www.owdc.org has links to inexpensive teaching resources and lesson plans. The British Council runs the excellent www.teachingenglish.org.uk/, which offers lesson plans, activities and homework suggestions. Surprisingly, the BBC offers similar services at www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/ - swallow your reservations about this odd use of licence payers’ money and just be glad it’s there.