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Ní hăo!
Lucie and I have now completed our third week of teaching at Yihuang No.1 Middle School!
I think I might have mentioned some aspects of teaching in previous blogs, but I thought I would put it all together in one place.
Schools in China are very, very different from schools in the UK.
First off, the basic class - In the UK the average high school class has no more than 35 pupils. My smallest class in Yihuang is 47 pupils, with my largest being 62. I now completly sympathise with every teacher in the UK about the difficulties of managing a class. It can be tough, but also very rewarding. I have 17 different Senior 1 classes who I teach once each every week, and Lucie has 16 Senior 2 classes.
Classes in the UK can be set out however the teacher wishes them, in rows, in groups, in pairs etc. In China, all the pupils sit in rows facing the raised platform at one end of the classroom where the teacher stands. Often 2 pupils, then an aisle, then 5 pupils, an aisle, and 2 pupils. This makes group activities a little difficult, but I am trying to think of ways around this (any suggestions would be gratefully received!)
In the UK, schools have uniforms or dress codes so all the pupils look the same or similar. In the big cities in China, the school uniforms are tracksuits - with trousers, a polo top and a zip up jumper, normally one colour for boys, and a different colour for girls. Here in Yihuang there is a uniform (only one colour, blue), but it seems to be optional. The majority of the pupils wear there own clothes with maybe just the polo or the jumper. I have only seen a few in the full uniform. I have yet to ask my waibans why this is.
Timetables - this is definitely the biggest difference. In the UK, high school pupils attend school Monday to Friday between roughly 8.30am and 4pm. Here in China, Senior pupils are in school 7 days a week. Monday to Friday, 7.20am to 10pm, with a twenty minute break around 10am, 2 and a half hour for lunch (12noon-2.30pm) and then an hour and a quarter for dinner around 5 and 6pm. They also work weekends, Saturday is only a half day, and we're not really sure about Sundays, so far it seems to have been different every weekend! Lucie and I only work Monday to Friday, and any classes we have are between 8.15am and 5.05pm.
(If you wish to skype us our timetables are up above, just remember that we are 8 hours ahead of you. The best day for you to skype me is on a Tuesday as I don't mind staying up late because I don't have a class until after lunch on Wednesday. Fridays or Saturdays are good too :D )
The ability of my classes is mixed, so trying to plan lessons for 17 classes, of mixed ability (between and within the classes) is pretty difficult - any ideas would be very helpful! My favourite lesson so far has been when I have got the students to pick English names and design name plates for their desks. Some of the results have been hilarious! I now teach a Nelson Mandela, Napoleon, a couple of Sherlock's, Dwight Howard, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, an Arthur Alexandria, a Washington, Anger, Tear, Andarrsen, Feyman, Alirl and Big Jim. There were loads of others but these stick in my mind. The most popular girls names were Sky and Alice, and the most popular boy's names were Nick and Kevin.
This week is more of a relaxing week, and I have been showing them an epsiode of Dynamo. They love magic and they - well, most of them - find it fascinating.
So in conclusion, schools in China are very different from the UK, and I am definitely going to do a lesson with them on this some time in the near future,
Until next time,
Zàijiàn x
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