Teaching Summary and Reflection by Wesley Guo
Day 1
On the first day for teaching, we taught them some basic introductions in English, and had them practice a little bit of conversation. The games we played were charades, hangman, and Truth or Dare. We also taught them to sing some songs. My favorite part of the day was playing the games with them. Overall they seemed to enjoy them. I would have preferred if we knew a little bit more about what the teaching would be like before we went in, although I understand there was a lot of schedule confusion.
Day 2
On Tuesday we mainly played more games. In the morning, we played 20 questions and a memory game where the kids had to remember an increasingly long list of English words. In the afternoon, we played some more games like Telephone, where they had to pass a message on down a line of people. In the final 30 minutes, we did a little bit of teaching: we helped them smooth out their pronunciation by teaching them about the paintbrush idea (all credit for the idea goes to Mike). Basically, when the students spoke, they spoke very choppy sentences. We wanted them to speak smooth sentences, like a paintbrush painting one smooth line across a piece of paper. To help them understand the concept, we had them draw with an imaginary paintbrush. I felt like this part of the lesson worked well. I would have liked to do more teaching on this day. I would also recommend that future teachers try to connect with the kids as early as possible (learning their names and things). It really helps.
Day 3
I was not present for the debate teaching in the morning, as I went to the English teacher graduation ceremony. I did see them debate in the afternoon however. I thought they debated very well, and spoke fairly clearly. I was especially proud of Breezy, one of my students who debated against me. I thought that the debate overall worked pretty well. Maybe in the future all students could have practice debates so everyone could get to debate.
Day 4
In the morning, we taught the kids more about speaking more like an American and using more casual language. Jennifer did most of the teaching that day, using some of her class notes from an earlier class at the vocational school. We taught the kids common phrases like “what’s up?” and “how was your day?” and also taught them some general responses. The kids responded pretty well to the lesson. All of our students were able to use the new phrases they had learned, and their speaking seemed more natural. I was especially happy with how this lesson turned out. I also really enjoyed the talent show. I just wish we had some more time to teach them more things
General:
Overall I really enjoyed this teaching experience. I feel like I learned a lot about teaching methods, and I believe the kids also got a little bit out of the lessons, however small. In the future, I would encourage the program to continue directly teaching students
Joyce Wang
Over the past couple of days I’ve spent most of my time either frantically planning class activities, teaching, playing and most importantly getting to know my kids. The dawn of the first morning with kids I had no idea what to expect. Not only did I not know the kids but I also didn’t know anything about teaching or my fellow teachers. I went into this program with the knowledge that what I was about to do could potentially leave a lasting impact on these students. During my first day of teaching I began to realize that trying to connect personally with the students was going to take a lot more effort than just interacting through games. As the days passed, the kids began to feel more comfortable with each other and with us.
I think that regardless of how much English skills we actually impressed on them we definitely gave them a refreshing change of pace in their academic lives. Being a Chinese-American, I am well aware of the immense pressure that many Asian children are put under but with my American childhood, I also understand the flaws of the Chinese education system and the power of freedom in child hood that is currently, not present in China. From the first day, it was obvious that the kids were shocked by our teaching styles and I began to feel guilty about all of the games we were playing because I feared that the kids weren’t getting enough out of it, but I realized that maybe what they needed the most was a break from their school.
The kids eagerness to learn, really astounded me. No matter what circumstance they were all eager to practice their English. One of my favorite memories with the kids was the little moments during break when I talked with all of them one on one. I think that in the end of the day merely the act of talking to the kids as friends was the most helpful thing we could’ve done.
While the whole experience was really fun and I definitely learned more how to manage a class and connect with my students. I was a little disappointed with the final state of my relationship with the students. Throughout the days of teaching we definitely all had a lot of fun but I felt like some of my fellow teachers were more focused on having fun with each other instead of teaching the kids. I think that if all of the teachers had felt a responsibility to help the kids then we really could’ve done something amazing. I got the strong impression that a lot of the teachers here had other main priorities than reaching the students.
Overall, I think this program is a great concept. I think that if I could do it again I would love to teach children in more dive situations. Even though it was great fun to teach these children I feel like we could’ve done greater good if we went to more rural and impoverished areas. Everything else was great and I’m so glad I came to this program. I will miss teaching the kids every day.
Lorie Chen
For the past four days, I have learned a lot of new things from the people in China, giving me an unforgettable memory. They are so nice and welcoming that it makes it hard to leave them. Although we have only known each other for a few days, it seems as though we have been friends for a long time. They were so friendly that it was easy to get along with them. On the way to the school, the students all introduced themselves to us and tried to
convince us to go to their classrooms. When we first walked into the doors of the classroom, we didn’t know what to expect. In the beginning, I was nervous about the lessons, but they were all so nice that it made me worry less. They greeted us with water bottles and even y is us performances. The students were all so talented in their own ways that it amazed me. They were all so willing to share their talents and were not shy at all. The students were willing to learn English from us. Besides the lessons, we also taught those things about American culture, IN return, they would share their culture practices with us. We played many games, which allowed us to bond and become closer. It was a lot of fun to get to know them. After the lessons, they would thank us by giving us gifts and warm hugs. The talents show was so fun. I liked when they asked us to join them in the performances because we got to bond. I’m glad we got the chance to get to know them. This activity has been very fun. I’m surprised that these few days passed by so fast. I will always remember the moments I had with them.
Roc Su
When we first went to DJY Middle School, I was pleasantly surprised by their overwhelming welcome and hospitality. The students were so friendly and ready to learn that we made friends almost immediately. E-mails were exchanged; life stories were shared. It was a great experience from the first moment we walked into the conference room.
Du Jiang Yan Vocational School, though peopled by kids far less academically capable, served to be an equally pleasant experience. The kids were the nicest people ever. For the next three days, we learned from each other as we exchanged cultures.
On debate day, Joseph, Mike, and I taught the students how to debate in English. The topic-“Girls are better than boys”- provided a platform for interesting, humorous contentious and rebuttals. The team I coached won, and it was one of the proudest moments I’ve ever experienced.
On the final day, I befriended one of the girls in the class. We talked the entire day and learned a lot about each other. I really hope we can stay in contact in the future because she is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever meet. It was sad to say goodbye after the exciting talent show, but it had to be done. I reluctantly left, but I left with happy moments that I will keep with me for the years to come.