三年级的两节课

I feel like enjoying teaching 305 classes right now. Yes, if I simply teach, but not write exam, correct homework, and do the dictation, life is much more beautiful.

In today's class, we introduced words, like "tradition, conservative, accept the influence...", we have a little conversation which was a little bit stereotyping. ...

"Did you collect anything this week?"

No, I did not. But hopefully I could collect some next week. So far I can only remember that I once used "Obama's health care report" example to make sentences when teaching and at the same time reviewing the vocabularies, like "medical, reform, insurance..." (医疗，改革，保险）I asked one student, "do you support his health care reform?" in chinese. She answered, "no, i don't like his reform". It is potentially a good topic for discussion or dialogue. However, I was a little bit bounded by my drill thinking and time restrict. Or, maybe I was a little bit disappointed in her answer. I missed this opportunity. I forgot they are already third year students. They can do it.

However, for my first year class, when I taught the very basic phonetic symbols, I tried my best to make connection between the new knowledge and what I know about what students might know. For example, when I teach the sound "ao", I told them: "when somebody punch you or hurt you physically, what is your first reaction? Hurt, right? And you would also make the sound like 'aw" which is very close to this Chinese final sound". I think it may help to memorize it and my performing talent can bring more fun to the class. I really love to see their smiles when they heard that. That means they understand what I told them. Or it indicates what I told them make sense to them. They may think Chinese language, or specifically the pronounciation, is not that difficult. They make it, feel it and identify it in their life. The connections between what they know and what they learn are what i am trying to create in my first year teaching. For me, that is the foundation for all future communication on language and culture.

Another beginning

The fall semester of 2009 finally started. It seems that I have been waiting for it for so long. But when it really started, I canot help wondering why everything is so messed up and overwhelming. Planning means nothing to me right now. What I can do is just to face and handle all the unexpected problems which have not stopped emerging since the beginning of the semester.

But, I am so happy to see those familiar smiling faces again. They are so young, warm, and shining, which affect me so positively. how much I feel like being one of them, how much I am eager to walk their walks, and voice their voices. They grow over the summer and i also wish the same to me. I was lucky to have the chance to meet some of them in my first class. I am so lucky having smiling welcomes from them.

But what about my teaching? I feel a little bit slow to catch up. About three months of flexible life of thinking and writing have made me a little bit retarded in teaching and responding to students. I don't even know how to introduce myself to the students I met for the very first time. Yes, I should have written down my name on the board. Yes, but I forgot. Maybe they are still wondering who this crazy psycho little woman, shouting and making wierd jokes for them, is. Yes, it may take a litte time for them to know that I am their Chinese teacher. And it may take much longer time for them to be aware that I am much more than their language teacher. I hope that time is not for ever.