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Tuesday, 14 April 2009

Hangman and the little teapot

I grew up with hangman. Even as a primary school student I would play it with my fellow classmates at the back of the classroom while lessons were still going on in front. It was a great way to learn spelling and broaden one's vocabulary.

I decided for Grade 3 students, I would start my lesson by playing hangman. It took a while to explain to them what the game was all about, but once they got the hang of the game (no pun intended), it was quite fun. The students were seated in several columns, so I naturally divided the students into teams according to their seating arrangements. I would give each team a chance to start first, but if they don't guess the alphabet correctly I move on to the next team. If they guessed correctly the next guess stays with the same team, until they win and a point will be award. To help the students on how to start making intelligent guesses, I would give them a clue such as "animal", "colour", "food", "clothes", "transport" etc, things that they've learnt previously.

What was funny was that the students were so afraid to "hang" the "man", that everytime I draw a line on the board they would scream. And the closer it gets to "death", the louder the screams. The class next door must be wondering what's going on - as if they've seen a ghost. Well, hangman was translated into Chinese as "吊死鬼”, or hanging the ghost, so the kids were adamant not to see one!

Then I'd move on to teach them the song "I'm a little teapot". It was a difficult song to sing for Grade 3 nevertheless, but students enjoyed the cute movements and song. I wrote the lyrics on the blackboard, and then highlighted some key words by drawing a teapot. By the end of my Grade 3 sessions, I had mastered drawing a teapot in 3 seconds. Students were also amazed at how quickly I can draw one offhand, that they clapped once I've finished drawing the teapot. That made me felt like an artist giving a performance. Then I'd teach them the song once they've gotten the pronunciation of the lyrics correctly.

Showing the keywords

Even though the children didn’t understand half the lyrics despite me explaining some key words for them, they still enjoyed singing the song as they can be a teapot for the lesson. I also made some students become little teachers so they can stand in front of the class to demonstrate their actions and sing the song. Some were so cute that they even tried to act like a retard with hands sticking out on both ends like a crooked teapot.

Performing the actions with the students

That was really all the time I had to teach the Grade 3 students. In fact I doubt the students would remember how to sing the song the next day, or even when they got back home to their parents (even though I've asked them to sing this song to their parents), but the other English teachers were more than happy to make sing the song with the students again in their next lesson just to get it in their heads.

Wednesday, 01 April 2009

London Bridge is Falling Down

Having observed classes for several days, I noticed that the Grade 4 students were learning about sights in London and sang the song "London Bridge is Faling Down", just like in their textbook. I guess it's only appropriate to learn about the capital of England, the birthplace of the English language (Americans would beg to differ）. If not, it's like learning Chinese without ever learning about Beijing.

I was at first surprised how many students called the “Big Ben” as “Big Buhn” – Ben sounded like stupid “本” in Chinese/ Pinyin, so students pronounced it as “buhn” instead so that makes it a really big stupid clock. I realised that this is a common problem amongst the Chinese due to their Pinyin influence, across the generations (speaking of which, there will be another volunteer, whose name is Ben, who will be going to MY soon. I wish him good luck with trying to disassociate his name with stupidity). The other interesting thing was how they pronounced the Buckingham Palace. It sounded like Beckingham Palace. I think David and Victoria Beckham would have been happy to learn that they're now made royalty in England by the Chinese, although I'd imagine the Queen herself wouldn’t be too pleased with that.

While pronouncing some of these words wrongly would not have been a big problem since I doubt most students would ever have to use those vocabulary again, it would have been embarrassing for people to say something so English so offensively. Therefore I've decided that for my Grade 4 oral lesson, I would incorporate a "Show and Tell" about the time I was studying in London, and hopefully correct the students' pronunciation along the way.

The only problem was, it has been almost ten years since I left university, and in those days cameras weren't digital yet. So most of my own pictures in London were left in my apartment back in Hong Kong. However I had technology on my side, and so I decided to download from the internet some pictures of things very London, as well as the key London sights the students learnt during their last lesson. I also googled some interesting facts about these places, to make the lesson more interesting. I wasn't trying to pass off those pictures as my own, but I think the students thought this was really what I saw and took pictures of.

So anyway, I went through a couple of those pictures during my lesson, and explained to them that I studied in London for 3 years. That took like a minute for students to stop "ooh-ing" and "waaah-ing". I tried to tell them something interesting about River Thames, which students learnt as "long and wide". Honestly, I never really thought much about the river when I was in London, except for the disappointing fireworks along the river during the Millenium countdown. But I did remember that annually that my alma mater would have a rowing challenge with our archrivals, and so I wanted to explain that "My university would compete with Oxford University on River Thames annually for a rowing challenge". But because the students' vocabulary was so limited, and they can't really cope with sentences more than 5-6 words long, the explanation turned out in a much shorter and simplified version, to become "I row on River Thames" and "My friends row on River Thames". Well, sorry kids, it wasn't really true, since I never rowed, and if I ever did join my rowing team I would have been the cox instead, but I was there rowing in spirit, cheering for my uni mates when they rowed against our archrivals in the annual Oxbridge race.

And then came Tower Bridge. It is definitely the most unique bridge I've seen in my life, and I wanted to share with the students how it opens up to allow ships to pass through. Now surely one would have guessed that a ten year-old, non-native English speaker would not be able to distinguish between Tower Bridge and London Bridge, which I have seen sometimes used inter-changeably. Heck even I didn't know that there was a separate London Bridge until I went to London for my undergrad studies. So, there you have it, students singing "London Bridge is Falling Down", thinking that this was the beautiful Tower Bridge they were singing about (poor poor Tower Bridge).

Then there was Hyde Park. I didn't actually want to tell the students about Hyde Park, but I wanted to tell them that London had many beautiful parks, and Hyde Park was the only one in London they knew of. To be honest, I wasn't sure why Hyde Park was in the students' syllabus anyway. I mean, the most significant thing about this park is the "Speaker's Corner", a symbol of the freedom of speech in England. Of course, this would not make any sense to the students there as there is no such thing in China. Even this blog and youtube are inaccessible from there due to too much "political content". So I was lost for things to say about the park, except that it's supposedly really beautiful (because that was what they learnt in their textbooks), although I swear there were more beautiful parks and gardens in London. So, trying to stick to the textbook and not to confuse the poor students, I decided to download a picture of a really colourful garden of tulips, found in Kew Gardens instead, and passed it off as something from Hyde Park so students would immediately recognise the picture when I put it on my screen.

There were a lot of other things I wanted to tell the students about London, but I needed to keep it simple and sweet, such that they can take in as much as possible while reinforcing what they learnt in their textbooks. So I could only choose some simple things like the red double decker bus, the red telephone booth (which I simplified to "telephone box") and the Buckingham Palace guards, claiming that London really loves the colour red, just like China.

The class ended with a game of Chinese Whispers (how appropriately named!), whereby I divided them into 5 groups according to their seating arrangements, and passed down some simple sentences which I had earlier consulted with the teachers to ensure they were manageable. Nevertheless, like any other game of Chinese Whispers, it was bound to end up being distorted. But I enjoy playing this game with the students as you can really find out how they have mastered their pronunciation, as well as work on their grammar. Everytime I hear a common mistake like not being able to differentiate "It is" with "This is", I would highlight it to the kids so they don't repeat the same mistakes again. I would safely say that 100% of students would get it wrong when I passed the message as "It is raining in London", while 75% of students would get it right when I say "It's raining in London", because they are too used to using "It's" instead of "It is". I also had some very funny messages that changed from "The Queen lives in Buckingham Palace" to "The Queen is Buckingham Palace" or "This is Bucking Palace". But either way, all the students have gotten my last sentence correct, which was "I love London very much!", which goes to show they really do like London and enjoyed my lesson a lot!

Monday, 30 March 2009

Where do you come from?

Usually during my classes I would begin by introducing myself, and then walk around asking some students simple ice-breaking questions such as "How are you?" and "What is the weather like today?" to gauge their level of English. I decided that towards the end of my stint, I would encourage students to ask me questions instead. The questions can be quite interesting. Some were so interested to know my favourite food, fruit and colour, that they asked me several times in the same class. On other ocassions, I have been asked for my phone number, "Do you have a telephone number?" to which I answered sarcastically, "Yes, I do. Next question". Another student asked me what day that was. I thought it was a trick question, but I decided to answer it was a Wednesday. I supposed students in English classes have been taught to answer questions as opposed to ask them, which is why they were lost for questions when they were given the chance to ask.

However, I have to say that the most interesting question has to be, "Where are you from?" or Where do you come from?". I find that I usually have difficulty giving a straight answer, or rather end up getting the students really confused. To have grown up in Malaysia, studied in the UK, and then worked in Singapore and HK, and now in living in Sichuan, it was hard to tell them the standard one word answer which most students were expecting. When I tell them that I come from Malaysia, most students had no clue where that country was. So I end up having to explain that it's south of China (assuming that they understand what south is in English). But by then most students have already heard that I was from Hong Kong and I speak Cantonese, so they were really expecting me to say that I come from HK. Hence I needed to explain to them that I am actually living in HK (since I can't say that I'm working in HK as I'm not employed right now). But that's not really correct either, as some students point out, that I'm currently living in Sichuan. So to cut the answer short, I've decided to stick with the standard answer, that I was born in Malaysia and then I work in HK.

The whole conversation about where I come from is so intriguing, that I have actually decided to make it into a lesson for Grade 5 students. That way I can explain thoroughly where I've been living and where I've been to without the awkward moment of trying to present a one-word answer. The lesson would also focus on using the past tense, which was what the students recently learnt in their syllabus. At the end of my presentation, I would ask students where have I been to. It was a great way for students to learn English as most of them have never been outside Sichuan, what more China, so to have met someone so well traveled was an eye-opening experience for them. I would also tell the students that if they wanted to do the same and travel the world, they would need to study their English well as English is really their passport to the world (that holds true for me). Hopefully that adds as an extra encouragement for them to do better in their English classes and pay attention to their teachers more.

Saturday, 28 March 2009

Week 2 – 2-8 March 09

This week was a little more adventurous for me. I started teaching my lessons, which I had to come up with myself, since this is an Oral English lesson. For this week, I was supposed to teach Grade 4, next week, Grade 5, and the following week, Grade 6. Coming up with the lesson plan was quite interesting. I also had the opportunity to discuss with the teachers so that the lesson I did with the students would be in accordance with their level of English.

This week I also changed my host family. It was a little cumbersome, but the more annoying thing was that I was only told of this the Friday before, and by the host teacher, not the teacher in charge of my arrangements with the school. So I wrote to my organizer, Jessie, in Shanghai to let her know of the sudden arrangement. She was quite surprised by that as well, although we were told later that each teacher was so happy to host me that they decided I would stay with a different one every week. Since Jessie had already spoken to the Education Minister, and I felt it was a little troublesome to move my things around, I asked to be placed with one family only. By then I had already moved to the Jing’s residence, where the wife Ms Deng is also an English teacher from the school. Fortunately, their toilet/ bathroom was a lot cleaner, and their washing machine was a lot newer, as they are newly weds. I rejoiced as I didn’t feel like I need to be scared about going to shower or to the toilet anymore. Nevertheless, it is still a squat toilet, and a shit and shower bathroom.

I also managed to visit a rural school this week. It was called Yu Huang Primary School (玉皇小学), located on the Chengdu - Mian Yang expressway. To my surprise, the facilities were actually better than the MY Experimental Primary School which I taught at. In fact, their toilets had doors. It was a sigh of relief for me. The headmaster of the school, Chen Zheng, was previously from MY Experimental, and is a very warm and friendly man. He even had a blog which was mainly used for parents working in other parts of the city, but left their children behind in the countryside with their grandparents. We also saw a lot of beautiful yellow flowers in the fields, which is called “cai hua(菜花)”. The plant itself is meant to make some very fragrant cooking oil. The English teachers there prepared a lesson where I and some other teachers from MY Experimental commented on the style of teaching. We gave some tips and useful advice on how to improve on the lessons, and it was nice to know that the teachers really appreciated our advice, even though I’m not really a teacher by profession.

With the headmaster of Yu Huang Primary School

Beautiful fields of flowers

Observing an English lesson

Students having their lunch

Tuesday was Ms Wang’s birthday. She was the teacher who arranged my stay and classes in MY. We celebrated her birthday together with 3 other teachers who had their birthday in March. After dinner at a very decent restaurant, some of us went karaoke till late at night. I had to come back and finish up my lesson plan which I didn’t manage to the night before.

I started teaching my first lesson on Wednesday in the MY Experimental Primary School. My popularity increased ten fold. I was approached by many students for my autograph. I really felt like a movie star from Hong Kong!! There was even one class which wouldn’t let me go out of the classroom until I signed their books. That was really funny, but yet sad at the same time. Nevertheless, I am glad that the students enjoyed the class I taught, and hopefully benefited from the games we played and the “Show and Tell” I had to offer.

On the weekend I went to Chengdu to meet up with James. It was my first time in Chengdu and I was very excited. I am also so happy that I am finally in a bigger city, and the hotel had a sit down toilet, with a separate shower. I almost cried. The hotel I stayed in was called Celebrity Ruicheng Hotel, or 瑞成名人酒店. I was feeling a little ill on Friday, and James’ flight was delayed, so I slept in for most of Friday night after taking a quick walk around the hotel. The hotel was conveniently located so a quick walk around it was quite nice to check out the city itself.

On Saturday, James and I went around the city. I finally saw my first panda at the Chengdu Panda Research Base Centre. After saying hello to the little ambassadors of China, we went to the Xintiandi of Chengdu, which is called KuanZhai Lane. The place itself mimics the type of style Xintiandi has, except that the food places are more local. However, we feel that the place is still too done up. James and I had lunch at one of the restaurants in KuanZhai Lane, and it was delicious. We had a set meal which gave us a lot of variety, so we could sample many different dishes from Sichuan. After that James and I went to WenShu temple, a temple which was built since the Tang Dynasty. We had tea over there and walked around that area for a bit, and realized that since the hotel was close by we walked all the way back there. The strange thing was we looked high and low for a foot massage place, and there doesn’t seem to be any even as we were walking quite for quite a while. In the evening, we went to ChunXi Road to look at the shopping district, and then checked out the clubbing scene around JiuYan Bridge Road.

Pandas eating bamboo

Another panda during feeding time - they are picky eaters

The red panda - just as endangered as its black and white cousins

Savouring some Sichuan cuisine at KuanZhai Lane

Picture of the old KuanZhai Lane

At WenShu Temple

On Sunday, James and I went to Wuhou Temple. However, the entrance fee they charged was rather exorbitant, we thought, so we decided to go to JingLi, which was Zhugeliang’s place, right next door for free. We also managed to steal a few peeps of the temple from JingLi area. After that we went to have lunch at Chen Ma Po Tofu. The food was delicious and I would recommend everyone who wants to try Sichuan food to go there. That said, I paid for it with a stomach ache the following day as it was too spicy for my stomach to take, even though my mouth felt ok after washing it down with beer. After sending off James to the airport, I decided to take a walk around the hotel. To my surprise, I finally found a foot massages place! It was all along hidden in the tea parlours "茶楼". I forgot that tea parlours are very Chengdu and everything takes place there. Even as I walked into the tea parlour, I could hear some people playing mahjong and playing bridge. I was glad I finally got my foot massage. In the evening, I went back to Mian Yang with Danny. She was in Chengdu for the weekend as her husband was coaching diving to a couple of school children from MY. There were no diving facilities in MY, which was why they had to come over to Chengdu to practice. On the way back, all the kids that came with them to Chengdu were so tired from their diving training that they slept and snored all the way despite a rather uncomfortable journey for them (they had to sit one top of one another to make a seat for me). When I arrived back at MY, Ms Deng went out for karaoke with a couple of friends, so I joined in and had dinner with them later.

Bridge in JingLi

Temple in JingLi

Little shops in JingLi

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Day 7 – 1 Mar 09

I went for a picnic with some of Ms Liu’s students today. Unfortunately it was raining and windy, and hence really cold. We walked up the hill to FuLeShan. The park itself was pretty as it was covered by trees blooming with all sorts of flowers.

Walking up the hill

Beautiful flower tree

At the hill top, there was a pagoda. It was supposed to have a good view of the city, however it was closed due to safety concerns of the earthquake. So we didn’t go up the pagoda. But I did have picnic with the kids around there, where we ate lots of things, played some games and sang some songs. The kids were very nice, as while they were all fighting for their own food during picnic they would ensure that I had a piece of everything they brought for picnic. We sang Edelweiss and Do Re Mi, and played Simon Says, number beeping game and some other alphabet game.
By noon we have to head back but the kids were sad to leave. It was good to know that the kids had a good time during the picnic. I really enjoyed these kind of outdoor learning experience as it is better for the kids rather than be stuck in a boring classroom. They also have more room to run around for the games.

With some Grade 6 students

In the afternoon, I went to play bridge with Mr Zhang and some of his friends. I didn’t realize it was quite a favorite pastime for locals. Afterwards, we had my second sichuanese hotpot dinner. By now, the spice has finally come to bother me. I have been having sore throat for several days now. So I decided to go bland this time by dipping my hotpot items into a bowl of clear soup. It did help that the guests that Mr Zhang had invited was also very courteous and didn’t mind at all. The guest from the education department was also speaking in English the more drunk he got, which was rather hilarious. We got home pretty late and that was my first night having a cold shower in winter since the water heater wasn't working. That was so cold, that it didn’t feel painful anymore, well, except for a little headache afterwards. I just hoped that I didn’t have a brain freeze.