The place to ask China-related questions!
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen Chengdu Xi'an Hangzhou Qingdao Dalian Suzhou Nanjing More Cities>>

Categories

Close
Welcome to eChinacities Answers! Please or register if you wish to join conversations or ask questions relating to life in China. For help, click here.
X

Verify email

Your verification code has been sent to:

Didn`t receive your code? Resend code

By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .

Sign up with Google Sign up with Facebook
Sign up with Email Already have an account? .
Posts: 4397

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Q: For the teachers among you, how do you deal with the crippling stupidity of 'face'?

I teach mostly youngsters of between 7 and 11, so this is usually not a problem, just make them laugh and they tend to forget their shyness, but when they reach highschool age they often start to get very guarded against the possibility of making mistakes and getting laughed at (God, I hate the ones that laugh, they're a fucking germ) and it's at this point my job becomes really tiresome. Case in point, two 13 year olds I've just had a private lesson with - they have the ability, but waiting for them to open their mouths is like watching paint dry. I remain encouraging but at times I want to scream. How do you bring kids who've been taught by experience to shy away from making the tiniest mistake, to come out of their shells?

8 years 10 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
Highest Voted
Posts: 19790

Emperor

3
3
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Chinese students are mostly listeners, and to spark a conversation in the classroom one must work hard.

I have Grade 10 students on Oral English with weekly HW: 'They must ask 5 different Qs every week'.

At the start of Semester, I usually spent last 15-20' of the class as 'conversation'. 'Deal' was: 'If they don't ask a Q, it's my turn to ask....'

Soon, they realized it's much better if they have Q ready, because if they let me ask, they always lose  face.

Me 'ping', they 'pong'. I hit them with 'face' right back!

 

Now they always have HW (Qs ready), but sometimes we don't have enough time for it. 

 

I'm in the Public school with some 65 - 70 chaps per class, and classes are alive, but 45' with 70 students is very short time.

mArtiAn:

I don't envy you, icnif, I taught big classes like yours years ago, it bought out the worst in me, I find it hard enough getting two kids to open their mouths, let alone 70.

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse

icnif77:

I generally lecture only when they make mistake. They must talk, so I can lecture.

I'm moving around the classroom. If no English book or student's doing something else (other subject HW), I ask Q. I keep them on the ball all the time.

We have fun too, but lesson first. They suggested I could also call the number instead point to student, when I want somebody reads English lesson. Every student has number.

It doesn't work well, because as soon as I call the number, everybody else relax and chat.

 

I let them sleep under one condition: 'if they come in the classroom with pillow, they can sleep'. If they are in with books, meiyou 'sleep'. It's fun for them, because sometimes I walk around the classroom with broom.

Other way, I'm there for them. If they have Q from any other subject, I'll give them an answer under condition Q is posted in English.

They asked me 'how are you?' yesterday afternoon at initial greeting, and I replied: 'So, so!'. I had to tell, why I'm so-so.

me: 'They tortured me in the morning......'.

I was at the dentist in the morning, and I had to explain meaning of the word 'torture' to students.

As soon as they understood meaning of 'torture' some 5-10 students yelled: 'WHO?'. Same reaction in all 3 afternoon classes.

I had good feeling, because they wanted to protect me. LOL

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
8 years 10 weeks ago
 
Answers (9)
Comments (8)
Posts: 19790

Emperor

3
3
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Chinese students are mostly listeners, and to spark a conversation in the classroom one must work hard.

I have Grade 10 students on Oral English with weekly HW: 'They must ask 5 different Qs every week'.

At the start of Semester, I usually spent last 15-20' of the class as 'conversation'. 'Deal' was: 'If they don't ask a Q, it's my turn to ask....'

Soon, they realized it's much better if they have Q ready, because if they let me ask, they always lose  face.

Me 'ping', they 'pong'. I hit them with 'face' right back!

 

Now they always have HW (Qs ready), but sometimes we don't have enough time for it. 

 

I'm in the Public school with some 65 - 70 chaps per class, and classes are alive, but 45' with 70 students is very short time.

mArtiAn:

I don't envy you, icnif, I taught big classes like yours years ago, it bought out the worst in me, I find it hard enough getting two kids to open their mouths, let alone 70.

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse

icnif77:

I generally lecture only when they make mistake. They must talk, so I can lecture.

I'm moving around the classroom. If no English book or student's doing something else (other subject HW), I ask Q. I keep them on the ball all the time.

We have fun too, but lesson first. They suggested I could also call the number instead point to student, when I want somebody reads English lesson. Every student has number.

It doesn't work well, because as soon as I call the number, everybody else relax and chat.

 

I let them sleep under one condition: 'if they come in the classroom with pillow, they can sleep'. If they are in with books, meiyou 'sleep'. It's fun for them, because sometimes I walk around the classroom with broom.

Other way, I'm there for them. If they have Q from any other subject, I'll give them an answer under condition Q is posted in English.

They asked me 'how are you?' yesterday afternoon at initial greeting, and I replied: 'So, so!'. I had to tell, why I'm so-so.

me: 'They tortured me in the morning......'.

I was at the dentist in the morning, and I had to explain meaning of the word 'torture' to students.

As soon as they understood meaning of 'torture' some 5-10 students yelled: 'WHO?'. Same reaction in all 3 afternoon classes.

I had good feeling, because they wanted to protect me. LOL

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
8 years 10 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2855

Emperor

1
1
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I have a points system, and if I have to talk, everyone gets participation points deducted except for those who have already spoken that class period. 

mArtiAn:

What age group are you talking about though? I use a points/reward system with my younger students but I find once they reach about 10 or 11 they start to lose interest. Does your points system lead to any kind of reward?

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse

Spiderboenz:

yes, the reward is that they pass the class, and do not have to take the make-up class that meets during lunch time and dinner. 

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
8 years 10 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7715

Emperor

2
2
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I just talk in Chinese.

 

By showing how bad my language skills are, and not caring (face-wise), I'm trying to show that they're not really going to lose face in my class.

 

I also ask them if their English is perfect? As they all know it's not, then it means that of course they're going to make mistakes! The idea is to learn from them.

 

(16-22 year old)

mArtiAn:

I've taken these approaches myself at times.

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
8 years 10 weeks ago
 
Posts: 10

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I ignore it.  Face is not a subject I teach. International teaching comes with International teaching methods.

Report Abuse
8 years 10 weeks ago
 
Posts: 10

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I ignore it.  Face is not a subject I teach. International teaching comes with International teaching methods.

mArtiAn:

And with regard to my question, those are.....?

8 years 10 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
8 years 10 weeks ago
 
Posts: 548

Shifu

1
1
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I know it sounds impossible in China, but I enforce respect and honesty in the classroom. Sure, I use various tools, such as points systems that both reward and penalize students. I also like putting them in small groups of 2 or 3. The grades I give are also participation based grades. Using a chart to show class and student participation helps them gauge the level that they are at versus the level that I expect them to be. Classroom management and strong teaching skills are most important. I am always looking at the internet for helpful hints to use in the classroom. I have also found that project based learning helps in classroom discussion and participation. Being a lecturer in front of the classroom is fine for some lessons. But, project based learning gets everyone involved. I also developed raffle tickets. i give them for participation. My classes are highly competitive. So, the more tickets someone has, the more valued they feel. I hold a raffle at the end of the month. Poor behavior and participation means I get to take tickets away. Good things gain tickets. It costs me some money, as the school will not pay for the prizes. But, the results are worth my investment in the kids.

Report Abuse
8 years 9 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7

Governor

2
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
2

Warm up activities such as chanting to remind them of the english, smaller group activties  surveys are great, then bring it together as a class. Correct mistakes gently. A big smile always helps.

Report Abuse
8 years 2 weeks ago
 
Posts: 827

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I seem to be able to deal with the face issue quite well. Most of the students who laugh are the ones who don't know the answer themselves. So when I ask a student a question I will turn my attention to the person who starts laughing. I will patiently ask that person the answer knowing full well that he doesn't know. Yes I said he. I have yet to run into a girl who starts to laugh. The person who was laughing quickly loses face. Something I wanted to acheive. I encourage the students to try. 

Report Abuse
4 years 47 weeks ago
 
Know the answer ?
Please or register to post answer.

Report Abuse

Security Code: * Enter the text diplayed in the box below
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <br> <p> <u>
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Textual smileys will be replaced with graphical ones.

More information about formatting options

Forward Question

Answer of the DayMORE >>
A:  "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "S
A: "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "Shenzhen agent can connect you with an employer, who's authorized to hire waigouren ... and can sponsor Z visa." It's not like every 10th person you meet in Shenzhen's hood can sponsor work visa ...  The only way to change from student to labourer visa is just a regular way by: 1. Finding an employer, who'll apply for an Invitation letter; 2. Exit China and apply for Z visa in your home country's Chinese embassy; 3. Enter China in 30-days after Z visa was stamped into your travelling instrument ...As I am aware, you won't be able to switch to Working permit by remaining in China....,so make ready for a return to your home .... -- icnif77