Teachers' Works

This column provides works and articles that I had selected and gathered from my fellow colleaques that are good for sharing. Some of them are very good for your classroom lessons.


Interesting article from the Star Online dated 03 September 2006

No Questions Asked
I COME across cultural differences while teaching every day, some of them funny, most of them frustrating and all of them perplexing! But with every passing day, I am learning that I need to change the way I deal with the students and the situations I face.

The students are keen to learn English and there is a big demand for English language teachers. However, as much as I love teaching and being a teacher, I find teaching in China a struggle, at times. An intense experience, which can sap the energy out of me, leaving me tired at the end of a two-hour class so much so that I find myself doubting my abilities as a teacher.

Did the students enjoy the class? Did they learn anything at all? Are my expectations too high? Why won’t they respond then? As an educator, I believe that lessons must not only be understood but also enjoyed. I encourage discussions, group work and participation from students. I want my students to think critically and be active in class. I like my students to ask questions to show that they've grasped the concept. I appreciate an honest feedback. I like lively, interesting presentations and remind my students that in everything that they do, do it well or not at all.

However, this teaching method is highly unusual to the students who have long been exposed to the Chinese method of teaching and learning which consist of repetition, discipline and punishment.

While I am pleased that my students are good at preparing for class, memorising stuff from textbooks, taking exams, and do not usually question my teaching or my authority, I am often frustrated at the lack of a two-way communication.

The students do not voice out their problems or displeasure so this makes it difficult for me to know if they have understood the lesson or vice versa.

Teacher is always right
Again, it comes from their education system where the teacher is always right and the students invariably wrong (to some degree or other). Of course, the students also fear the exposure of being wrong, which is tantamount to losing face. To receive praise is almost unknown in Chinese classrooms so students regard it as a waste of time, wanting to know only when and why they are wrong.

I had to speak slowly and clearly. Even when I wrote difficult words on the board and explained to them, there was a possibility that at the end of the class, a student will come to me and ask that I repeat all that I had said in a two-hour lecture.

The student had not understood anything I had said! When I explained a concept in class, I found myself repeating it so many times that afterward, one or two of the more vocal students would tell me that I am too long-winded or too slow!

When I gave assignments and projects, I would tell my students that they must submit their work on the agreed date.

Shy and conscious 
But what I found strange was that the students always expect me to correct and return their work almost instantly, with comments written at the bottom.

But as days went by, I found myself learning new things about the students. I discovered that non-native students of English understand more than they can express. Their listening is better than their speaking ability. I realise that for some students, I am not teaching a second language but a foreign language.

They are shy and conscious of making mistakes, hence, the silence and expressionless faces in class. Just as I need time to understand them, they too need time to understand me.

I’ve learnt that there are times when I have unconsciously used my personal cultural background as a guide for judging the actions, opinions and manners of my students.

As a result, I had limited understanding of my students’ behaviour in class. I learned that to have a successful teaching career in China, I had to acknowledge that differences between my students and I exist and work to understand and accept these differences.

An interesting incident happened recently. I had caught a persistent cold and was having an uncomfortable time. After class, Nancy, a modest, shy young lady in my English For Business Study class came up to me and pushed a small packet into my hands.

Life-long friends 
I was surprised when she explained that she had bought this medicine especially for me, from her hometown, a 12-hour train ride away. “Try it, Linda, it’s a sure cure. I want you to get well as you must be as fit as a fiddle to teach us,” Nancy said.

There is a lesson in that for all of us, no matter our vocation. I sincerely believe that some of my students may become my life-long friends in the future.

This brings to mind what a Malaysian colleague said to me the other day. she would be glad to go home at the end of her contract. I looked at her puzzled, for I know her to be a dedicated, hardworking and conscientious teacher. Then, she sighs? “Ah, but the students, now, they are what make it worthwhile.” As I write this, I think about what she had said and I can only agree with her? Yes, the students truly make teaching in China worthwhile.

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