Blog #3 – ITEM China 2010 “From Dalian to Xian, and home again”
Introduction by Catherine Johnson, Faculty Associate
In the ancient capital of Xian, the ITEM China module completed its final phase of its 2 month PDP journey in China. While living and working at the Shaanxi Normal University campus, we experienced a serene and learning-focused environment that was removed from the crowds and congestion found beyond the university gates. The students and professors in the Education Faculty embraced our arrival by creating an ‘international week’ filled with cultural sharing evenings such as a traditional dance performance (Mongolian, Tibetan, ‘chopstick’ etc.), a meal and evening of shopping in the Muslim Quarter, a lecture on the Chinese educational system, a visit to the Big Goose Pagoda’s light and water show (the largest of its kind in Asia) and a social sharing event. We also traveled to the Army of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Huaqing Palace and Hot Springs (retreat of emperors and concubines), which are the local remains of the ‘state of Qin’ – the first ruling Dynasty of China. We cycled the ancient city wall of Xian and viewed numerous historic towers and buildings along its perimeter. Through these experiences, we became friends with our Chinese colleagues and connected to the ancient history here in the Xian area.
Our week of classroom teaching experiences in Xian included a several days at the Shaanxi University Kindergarten (40 students per class, ages 4 to 6, for a school total of 1300 students) and one day at other schools across the city observing primary and middle school classrooms. Our mentor teachers were dedicated to supporting us as we learned how to build students’ phonological awareness using this unique English Immersion curriculum, modeled after the B.C. French Immersion program. This program began in 1997, with 5 schools, and has grown to 17 schools in Xian and Guangzhou - the only program of its kind in China. Combining immersion materials with PDP ideas enabled the student teachers to create various speaking and reading experiences for young ESL learners. The children were joyful and warm in every way, and they helped us learn to be appreciative of the different conditions for learning in schools around the world. Our time here in Xian has been filled with friendship, food, history, fun and learning – all aspects of travel that have enabled us to feel more prepared as future educators in B.C. or around the world.
Teaching in the English Immersion Kindergarten program
By Vanessa Fung and Carol Whitley
Smiling faces with pure intentions
Loving children was not something I mentioned
For I did not know
The joy that they show
Would make me realize my passion.
I know with certainty
The possibilities aplenty
Teaching is an art
Children make the part
Giving us the satisfaction
To put learning in action.
Unaffected by the world
They laugh
They smile
They are...
The future.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from teaching Kindergarten here in Xian, China it is that children are all the same no matter where in the world you are. There is a joy about them that is indescribable. They are pure and innocent. They see the world as a beautiful place. They love unconditionally and laugh unabashedly. It is impossible not to smile in their presence. It has been such a rewarding and eye-opening experience—an absolute perfect conclusion to this ITEM 401/2 journey.
Never underestimate the complexities of teaching early learners. We leave this experience with utmost respect for Kindergarten teachers. They are amazing!
Learning to Teach in a Foreign Environment
By Sheryl Appleby and Ryan Harrison
Being in the ITEM module, we all expected to experience challenges in our teaching based on the ESL aspect of teaching in a foreign country. We certainly found it challenging to explain some North American cultural concepts, from as Kermit the Frog to the Beach Boys. But the biggest challenges often came in making our lessons relevant to our students’ lives and prior experiences because many of our students at the high school in Dalian have been living in boarding schools most of their lives, some from as young as 2 years of age. Others were in their 20’s and had come back to high school to improve their English, to go abroad for university. How can a student teacher create a lesson that is relevant to the range of these students? The level of English language proficiency also varied widely in any given classroom. Some of our students had studied for several years in England or America, while others were having trouble with basic spelling and sentence structure. Not only did the ITEM program allow us to learn how to teach while in a foreign country, with non-Canadian students, this placement it enabled us to teach in gender segregated classes because this year Dalian Maple Leaf International High School has created two separate campuses – boys and girls. We learned a lot about teaching but we also learned about the realities of boys and girls only learning environments.
For female ITEM student teachers teaching on the boys’ campus, one of the major challenges was in creating lessons that were of interest to teenage boys. After one lesson that was a flop and too ‘touchy-feely’, I learned connect to the things that boys were most interested in - the girls (who were no longer on their campus), sports, video games, and cars to name just a few. It became a part of our relationship building time to ask students questions about their lives, at the beginning of each class. We started out feeling hideously uncomfortable and out of place in front of a class of boys but in the end we were really proud of the things we had been able to teach them and even more proud of them for the efforts the students had made in their learning. (Sheryl)
For male ITEM student teachers teaching on the girl’s campus, the hardest challenge at first was getting to know the students on a personal level and being able to gauge whether or not they understood the instructions that were provided. The girls were much more shy than the boys and at times I had to encourage the girls to speak, even when working in partners. To get the girls to converse more, I incorporated a variety of group activities from presentations to roleplays. Although the girls preferred working independently or with a partner, this was an effective way for us to be able to push them to be creative while also working on their oral English skills. (Ryan)
Unlike the boys, motivating the girls in the classroom setting wasn’t a big issue. In physical education classes, however, teachers found it particularly hard to motivate the girls. Many of the girls came to Maple Leaf School with a very limited sporting background. “Confucianism is still strong in Chinese society, in the sports community as elsewhere, with the result that the family is still central to women’s responsibilities” (Jinxia, 2003). Although there is a recent trend in Chinese schools to make Physical Education mandatory throughout high school and University, it is still 'a work in progress' and academic subjects are emphasized often taking the place of any physical activity. Also, the majority of the girls had never played or watched soccer, basketball, tennis, hockey, volleyball, baseball, badminton or ultimate before entering Maple Leaf School. Because of this lack of experience, along with the language barrier, it was difficult to connect and scaffold skill-building activities and relate them to the girl’s (lack of) prior knowledge. In order to overcome this teaching obstacle, introducing one or two skills at a time (such as throwing a Frisbee) and explaining each term was crucial to the girl’s improvement and comprehension.
Bringing energy and creating a laughable environment were also important motivational factors for a successful lesson. Throughout this experience, we learned that creating an environment that was open to mistakes and incorporating students input with activity choices that they found interesting was a critical aspect for success. The Dalian experience enabled us to truly see the differences in learning styles between genders and although we spent the majority of time with one gender, most of us were lucky enough to teach both girls and boys. This experience will help us identify with all our students, both boys and girls, during 405.
The English Arts Festival
(by Davina Lee) The annual English Language Arts Festival at Dalian Maple Leaf School was a major focus during our time there as student teachers. It was an interesting experience as we worked very closely with English Ambassador students who organized the month long event. My role was in the Boys’ campus where I helped coordinate the Music part of the festival. It was a little disappointing for the boys this year because they really wanted to work together with the girls for the festival like they did last year; however, they did their best and had some really amazing and entertaining performances. Although the total number participants on the boys’ campus were few compared with on the girls’, they all joined together for a co-ed grand finale on the last day of the festival – a true reward for the boys. Some of the boys wrote and played instruments. The level of passion they displayed really proved how music and singing can help students improve their English. It showed the importance of how learning a new language can be practiced and made relevant in different, real life ways.
(by E.J. Bugayong) The Speech Competition was one of the activities of the English Language Arts Festival and drew in over one hundred students. Although I am on the verge of becoming a teacher there is something daunting about speaking in public. An endless amount of people staring at you and waiting to see if you can hold their attention longer than a few seconds just by using your words. I can’t even fathom what it would be like to add to the stress and speak in a secondary language; but that is what the students on the girl’s campus did. The students were given three minutes to speak on a specific topic, i.e., magic, plastic, overcoming adversity, and were judged based on their pronunciation, tone, creativity, and enthusiasm. Although pronunciation and tone was difficult for many the girls I was in complete awe in the willingness of the students. None of these girls were forced to participate in the competition, nor were they receiving any extra credit yet they still came up to the platform and gave a speech. The girls didn’t care that it made them extremely uncomfortable and nervous to speak in front of a large group of people, they had one goal in mind: to improve their English. Although there eventually was a winner for each grade that participated, I realized that all of the students were winners as I saw the overwhelming joy and contentment written all over their faces as they all had a sense of accomplishment from the speech that they gave. Many people view teaching as an 8:30am-2:30 pm job but they forget about all the extra-curricular activities that teachers participate in. Just like the students who participated in the speech competition, teachers are not forced to partake in extra-curricular activities. They put in those countless hours outside of the class because we care about the students and want what is best for them. I am, by far, not an excellent public speaker, however, the speech competition allowed me to help create a new environment for the students to be challenged and to succeed.
(by Dustin Neufeld) During our time at the Dalian Maple Leaf International School, the SFU student teachers were asked to volun-teer in the English Arts Festival taking place on both the girls’ and the boys’ campuses. I was teamed up with a group of girls planning and organizing the short plays. Each homeroom was to write and perform an eight-minute play using English, and being judged on their pronunciation and clarity. The level of participation and creativity was astounding; everyone got involved. There were no inhibitions about getting up in front of a large audience and singing or dancing. I asked one of the girls if this came from a culture of KTV (karaoke), and she said, “Yes. KTV is relaxing.” On the down side it was all princesses, fairy tales and love stories. I watched over twelve versions of Cinderella. One of the teacher judges suggested it might be from a lack of life experience resulting from a life in boarding schools. Many of the girls we worked with had been in boarding school since primary school. These students were being raised by their peers, by their dorm monitors, and by their teachers. From this childhood experience I could see why friendship was so important to them. For them, family is this large group of children around them, and maybe that was why they were so close, why they were so supportive towards each other (even to the point of helping each other cheat) and why they had no issues getting up in front of all of their everyone – they were all sisters.
