I teach at Beijing Foreign Languages School (BFLS) which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this Christmas. It is closely linked to Beijing Foreign Languages University. Many of the students here will go on to the university. Quite a number of local well known personalities have graduated from the university and both schools have excellent reputaions in Beijing. English, German and Spanish are taught at this school. It has a student population of 1200, most of whom stay in residence all week long. On Friday it is a regular sight to see many suitcases lined up outside classroom doors as students prepare to go home for the weekend.
My teaching assignment is Grade three English which I teach to four classes. Each class is divided into two groups of about 16 students, which means I teach eight different groups each week totalling 140 students in all. I teach each group three times a week for a total of twenty four classes. Each class is forty minutes in length and my job is to do mainly the oral component since the Chinese English teachers teach the written part. A Chinese English speaking teacher accompanies each group and stays in the room to assist me. Speaking as an experienced teacher I consider this a pretty easy assignment and compared to some of my experiences in Canada it is a working holiday!
Most of my classes are scheduled in the morning but I do have some in the afternoon. The children are in class from 7:45 to 5:30 – a long day for students and teachers alike. The biggest challenge for me is to keep the lesson interesting and moving at a good pace so the children get the most out of it. It also helps to reduce behaviour problems which can occur whether you’re teaching in Canada or China. The children I teach are quite spirited and most are not at all shy. They are mainly a very friendly group of children who love to talk, laugh and have fun with their friends. Each child has a western name which I assume is for the convenience of the English teachers because speaking for myself I think it would be very difficult to remember their Chinese names. I am just getting to know their English names and still bring along my class lists just in case!
I am enjoying teaching here at the school and learning about the Chinese people and culture. One thing I do sometimes get annoyed about is not always being given enough notice about things. In Canada at the beginning of the school year I would have been given a calendar to inform me of everything scheduled for the year. As well, each week I would be continuosly updated by the principal or school secretary. That has not and does not happen in China. I went to the school this morning for a scheduled class and waited around for about ten minutes for the children, who did not come. This kind of thing happens all the time. I have been told by friends who have been in China longer that is just the Chinese way. However the people themselves have been friendly and helpful, and sometimes I remind myself that this is an amazing experience and I can’t believe I’m really here!!!
We love hearing from you guys, keep the posts coming and Have Fun!!!
Paul
Hi Kathy and Paul,
I LOVED hearing about your day, Kathy, and seeing the smiling faces of your students. Kids are “hams” all over the world! You said most of your work is oral but I saw them working at their desks. Do you have workbooks, or do you photocopy work? Is the internet helpful to your planning? I’m sure you couldn’t have taken resources with you, but do you have access to any professional resources there? Keep the posts coming! I really enjoy reading them.
Judy
Paul,
Always happy to hear you are reading the posts! We can’t wait to see you guys in 13 days!!
Judy,
You are so right about the children being “hams”.Like children everywhere they love to get attention and approval.
You asked some good questions about the lessons and I am going to make another post to give more details of how I do my job. We will have to do lunch when I get home in January and talk more about it. I have a very long winter break from December 25 to March 1.
Thanks for the input.