Its been a pretty 'normal' last couple of days, for living in China, that is. So we thought we would share with you about some of the teaching we have been doing this week. On Sundays, we usually plan out our lesson for the week together, and we only have to create one, 1.5 hour lesson, and we each teach the same lesson nine times to nine different classes. Well, this week, we decided we wanted to encourage the students to talk about something they knew well, so we decided that one of the topics would be movies! Also, because we realized while being in the hospital here in China how hard it is to explain when you are not feeling well in a foreign country, we thought we would also talk about 'seeing the doctor'. We planned our lesson and it was pretty packed, but we thought we would give it a try. So on Monday, the first lesson is always a little sketchy, because we're not sure how long certain activities will last or how the lesson will go. Without knowing it, Kealy and I started our lessons on different topics. We each have a slightly different teaching style, so we talk about the lesson but then plan/adjust the activities to fit our style. Well she had started talking about 'seeing the doctor' with the students, and by the half-way point, a ten minute break where we get to say hi to each other and see how class was going, she hadn't gotten very far because the students were so interested in the topic. I, on the other hand, had started with movies on accident and was having an equal amount of success. So we decided to teach our lessons entirely about the topic we had started on and we discovered a great strategy. Why not perfect a lesson on two different topics during the same week, and then the next week, we could switch topics and the other person already had an ironed out lesson that would work well. Brilliant! So during my movie lesson, I start out with asking questions that they in turn will ask each other: Have you seen any good movies lately? What kinds of movies do you like? What is your favorite movie? If you could be a movie star, who would you be? Pretty basic questions but it gets them talking English. We make a list of different kinds of movies and I imitate the genre. For example, with action, I play James Bond and get down on my knees and shoot a gun. For horror movies, I scream really loud and surprise the heck out of my students, its fun to watch their faces knowing I'm about to scream at them. I do a pretty good Kung Fu impression too that they laugh at. We then make a list of popular American movies in China; Titanic, Harry Potter, King Kong, Crash, etc. and a list of popular Chinese movies. I have them write the titles on the board in Chinese and then they have to explain the movies to me, what they are about, how old they are, etc. Then they have to discuss the major differences between Western and Chinese movies and they have some interesting responses. Then, at the end of class, they play a game where one person has a movie in mind and the other person has to ask questions to figure out what the movie is. We try to design our lessons to get the students speaking comfortably in English and also having opportunities to listen to us speak English so they get used to hearing a Native English Speaker. Finally, at the end of class, I write HOMEWORK on the board in huge letters and I wait and listen to them all groan! Its great! Then I write, 'practice speaking English'! And tell them in order to improve they have to practice outside of class. They all laugh and giggle and then I tell them to go away! Its been my most favorite lesson so far. Tomorrow, Kealy will tell you about 'seeing the doctor' on the blog, another great lesson.
Tonight we also went to English corner, a one night a week event where students can show up and speak English with us. Sounds fun, right? 30-40 students crowding around you bombarding you with the same questions over and over and staring at you trying to hear you talk. Its a little wierd. We both feel a little shy. Everyone is staring at us, not because we are skilled at something or famous, but because we were born white and in America. We, however, are getting used to it and learning how to concentrate on specific students and are having some good conversations with them. Tonight, some of my students even asked me about American politics, history and religion, so we had a good discussion and I think they understood the majority of it, so that was cool. They are all very polite and very eager to learn, but sometimes we feel a little overwhelmed.
We went back to the movie store and bought the first season of Prison Break for $1.50. It is very popular here and all of the students like to talk about it, but we've never seen it, so we bought it to catch up, and to have a way to relax and something to watch. Please pray for Ryan as he goes back into the hospital tomorrow for a check up to make sure the infection is gone in his sinuses. Check back tomorrow for Kealy's lesson! Talk to you soon.
Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson
A view from one of our classroom windows
A view from the patio where Kealy and I take our breaks and talk
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