(no subject)
We started teaching today. The area where the school is located is not nearly as developed as the rest of the town. The school, itself, though is under serious construction, as most are during the summer, I guess. Mr. Wong, the assistant principal, picked us up at the high school (where we live) and drove us to the middle school where we would introduce ourselves at the opening ceremony for the teacher training program. There was nearly as much ceremony surrounding this as there was at the welcome banquet 2 nights ago. They called roll, the headmaster declared that the training had official begun, people spoke, and we were off and running.
I have 2 classes: one for three hours in the morning, and another for 3 hours in the afternoon. The students are mosty 12 and 13 years old, although I have a 10 year old and an 18 year old as well. On the whole, their English is what I expected, although again, some have next to nothing, and some are astonishingly competent. But that works, and it's nice to use the variety in the lessons. Since the other American teacher decided at the last minute not to come, we decided to combine her students with mine, and for me to have Molly and Rob in the classroom as well. We also have a 15 year old Chinese girl who lived in the US for 8 years, which is helpful.
I had the first class filling out a survey that they would later use to introduce each other and then give to me, when the foreign teacher liason - who I really don't like - walked in to give me the remote control for the air conditioners. On her way out, she looked at what they were doing, looked at the students, and then said to me in her snippy, perky way, "Do you want Wei to come in and translate? I don't know if they know all this." Apparently she doesn't understand the point of this. Of course I don't want a translation. Come on, give the students some credit...give me some credit! I probably shouldn't be so bothered, I think translation is used quite heavily here. Plus, I don't like the woman anyhow and probably would have liked anything she told me.
I'm so pleased with the students. They work hard, stay attentive for all 3 hours, participate as I want them to, are creative and interested and seem not to mind being in school over the summer.
Between classes, we have a three hour lunch break, and in an effort not to be too much of a burden to the assistant principal, we said we'd stay at the school instead of coming back to where we live for lunch. But Wei, the wonderful woman we know from the US, insisted that we come back to her house for lunch. Her mother had been there the night before and had made more good food than she and her son could eat, she told us. So we helped, and had maybe the most delicious meal we've had so far. And it's so neat to visit someone's home, and to see how things are in a different place.
I have 2 classes: one for three hours in the morning, and another for 3 hours in the afternoon. The students are mosty 12 and 13 years old, although I have a 10 year old and an 18 year old as well. On the whole, their English is what I expected, although again, some have next to nothing, and some are astonishingly competent. But that works, and it's nice to use the variety in the lessons. Since the other American teacher decided at the last minute not to come, we decided to combine her students with mine, and for me to have Molly and Rob in the classroom as well. We also have a 15 year old Chinese girl who lived in the US for 8 years, which is helpful.
I had the first class filling out a survey that they would later use to introduce each other and then give to me, when the foreign teacher liason - who I really don't like - walked in to give me the remote control for the air conditioners. On her way out, she looked at what they were doing, looked at the students, and then said to me in her snippy, perky way, "Do you want Wei to come in and translate? I don't know if they know all this." Apparently she doesn't understand the point of this. Of course I don't want a translation. Come on, give the students some credit...give me some credit! I probably shouldn't be so bothered, I think translation is used quite heavily here. Plus, I don't like the woman anyhow and probably would have liked anything she told me.
I'm so pleased with the students. They work hard, stay attentive for all 3 hours, participate as I want them to, are creative and interested and seem not to mind being in school over the summer.
Between classes, we have a three hour lunch break, and in an effort not to be too much of a burden to the assistant principal, we said we'd stay at the school instead of coming back to where we live for lunch. But Wei, the wonderful woman we know from the US, insisted that we come back to her house for lunch. Her mother had been there the night before and had made more good food than she and her son could eat, she told us. So we helped, and had maybe the most delicious meal we've had so far. And it's so neat to visit someone's home, and to see how things are in a different place.