First Week of Classes

My first round of classes went exceptionally well! My lesson plan went smoothly, and everyone seemed to enjoy the first day!

I was warned that many Chinese students will not immediately participate, and that establishing a comfortable environment that encourages participation is the most difficult task for foreign teachers. So I made my #1 class rule: When a question is asked, an answer must be given. However, I let them know that responses such as "I do not know the answer" or "I did not understand the question" are appropriate - just no silence! 

Moreover, I used a fun ice breaker in which everyone HAD to speak! First, I had them write down three facts about themselves. I then asked that they crumple up their papers into a "snowball." This generated some confused looks. Next, I told them we were going to have a "snowball fight" (In two classes, I had to explain what that is), and I threw my ball of paper at a student. The students' responses were hilarious! Every class just stared at me as if I was crazy, perhaps thinking that I could not be serious because this is not appropriate classroom behavior! I had to shout, "It's OK! Stand up and throw your snowball!"

Everyone thought this was fun, and had a good laugh. Eventually, everyone had another student's paper and they had to determine whose it was, and write down that person's English name. All students choose an English name so that non-Chinese speakers can pronounce and remember them more easily. Most pick common Western names. Others, however, just pick random words that they like, which can be quite funny. For example, in my classes, I have students named Coffee, Bee, Creek, Echo, Snow, Winter and Spring (which is a very popular name).

Lastly, each student had to stand up and read the three facts about their person. Many of the facts were about their hometown, family, hobbies and favorites. A few, however, got the class laughing, such as "I want to marry a handsome American," or "I think Ms. Lindsey has neat hair" The funniest fact attempted to send me a big hint, "I like to attend parties at the apartment of my foreign English teachers!"

After introducing myself and reviewing the class rules, the students spent the remaining 30 minutes writing a one-page paper about themselves that was turned in at the end of class. I hope that these papers will give me a good idea about their writing ability so that I can plan future lessons...