Sunday, October 25, 2009
Culture in 101
I keep thinking about this question. What is the connection I can establish between my students and i in the beginning level of language class? In the class, there are limited langauge inputs, fewer meaningful contents, and almost no fansy pattern of interation except repetition and drills. If I insist there is possible meaningful culture communication in the classroom, what is it about then?...
Sunday, October 18, 2009
101 and 305, which could be more interactive?
The answer to the question seems to be obvious. Of course it is 305. Students have more vocabulary, better knowledge about China, and plus, the topics are more meaningful. But 101, no, we have none of the above.
However, why do I have the opposite feeling when I came out of each of the classrooms? In 101, I can feel free to ask "do you have a boyfriend? Does he treat you dinner every Friday? Do you want to treat me a cup of coffee? Why don't you have a girlfriend? Is that because you are so demanding? Is your girlfriend pretty? How pretty is she? Do you think your teacher is strange? You don't like your teacher, right? Really?!......" These questions are so personal, close and even very intimate and offending. But I don't have to worry about I will offend any of my students. They are happy to answer. They are laughing, smiling, and feeling relaxed and intending to participate... Yes, they know we are just practicing, acting, and drilling. "Not a big deal, laugh at me, i don't care, as long as I can practice." That is what i can read from their reactions. That is consensus we have have reached for our interaction.
But in 305, I have to be very careful. I cannot ask very personal questions. (Yes, I may have asked sometimes). The serious topics tend to easily separate my students and I, and also separate my students and their lives. They feel like keeping silent in the classroom, or rather talking something totally irrelevant. It is so difficult for me to identify their interests, the points which can click in their head. What can really bridge us? Language practice? no, it is so weak!
As people get older or more proficient, do they also get farther from each other? I cannot help wondering...
However, why do I have the opposite feeling when I came out of each of the classrooms? In 101, I can feel free to ask "do you have a boyfriend? Does he treat you dinner every Friday? Do you want to treat me a cup of coffee? Why don't you have a girlfriend? Is that because you are so demanding? Is your girlfriend pretty? How pretty is she? Do you think your teacher is strange? You don't like your teacher, right? Really?!......" These questions are so personal, close and even very intimate and offending. But I don't have to worry about I will offend any of my students. They are happy to answer. They are laughing, smiling, and feeling relaxed and intending to participate... Yes, they know we are just practicing, acting, and drilling. "Not a big deal, laugh at me, i don't care, as long as I can practice." That is what i can read from their reactions. That is consensus we have have reached for our interaction.
But in 305, I have to be very careful. I cannot ask very personal questions. (Yes, I may have asked sometimes). The serious topics tend to easily separate my students and I, and also separate my students and their lives. They feel like keeping silent in the classroom, or rather talking something totally irrelevant. It is so difficult for me to identify their interests, the points which can click in their head. What can really bridge us? Language practice? no, it is so weak!
As people get older or more proficient, do they also get farther from each other? I cannot help wondering...
Two Chinese Classes
There are two different sessions. One is in early morning, the other is during the lunch time. Same teacher, same teaching method, some topic... but they are different worlds.......
One is warm and energetic, the other is cold, flat, and lack of strength.
One is full of discussion and care, the other is full of silence and indifference.
One is more sharing and embracing, the other is more closing and none-of-my-business...
Why is that? Is that only because of the effect of time, the effect of happy morning or sleepy noon? Is that because of location of the classroom? One is brighter and the other is darker? Or is that because of the demography of student? Yes, of course freshman is more hardworking and participating than those juniors and seniors who have been so much spoiled... If yes, who spoiled them? and what spoiled them?...
One is warm and energetic, the other is cold, flat, and lack of strength.
One is full of discussion and care, the other is full of silence and indifference.
One is more sharing and embracing, the other is more closing and none-of-my-business...
Why is that? Is that only because of the effect of time, the effect of happy morning or sleepy noon? Is that because of location of the classroom? One is brighter and the other is darker? Or is that because of the demography of student? Yes, of course freshman is more hardworking and participating than those juniors and seniors who have been so much spoiled... If yes, who spoiled them? and what spoiled them?...
Sunday, October 11, 2009
I love individual session
I think my individual session of my 305 is such a wonderful time for me to learn. Yes, I enjoy it a lot. Quite different from 101, my 305 class has so many smart and interesting students whose prior experiences are so rich and of course most importantly they have enough language proficiency to speak. Yes, they are lucky girls and guys who have great family backgrounds and opportunities to have all of the wonderful experiences, but why should we blame them for that. Instead, I should make use of them (or, maybe take advantage of them.) Plus, I think they are also like to talk about it. I think they would be amazed to be aware that they say them in Chinese.
Yes, I used different approaches in my 305 class from my previous 101. I was trying to explore more deep and sophisticated topics, e.g., their academic interest, their religious belief, their family history, and their views about love. They are all part of their lives, but more complicated part of life. I want my students to feel cool in speaking about them. Yes, they can speak very cool topics.
Let's see what we have talked about this week: Confucius, use of economy in explaining the world, lucan, the roman poet, the Oresteria by Aeschylus, the Peony Pavillion, NATO, and practical ethnics. Some of them are what they know, but I don't know about at all. If I don't know, does not matter, I can ask them to explain for me in Chinese, Yes, I know how to say them in Chinese at least. Yes, I know what they are talking about, although I may not know what they talked about quite a lot. But that is enough so far. I learned so much from our conversation. And mostly I am also motivated to learn more stuff than Chinese grammar and use of vocabulary. I am aware that each of my students is a resource person I should make use of to improve myself.
Yes, I used different approaches in my 305 class from my previous 101. I was trying to explore more deep and sophisticated topics, e.g., their academic interest, their religious belief, their family history, and their views about love. They are all part of their lives, but more complicated part of life. I want my students to feel cool in speaking about them. Yes, they can speak very cool topics.
Let's see what we have talked about this week: Confucius, use of economy in explaining the world, lucan, the roman poet, the Oresteria by Aeschylus, the Peony Pavillion, NATO, and practical ethnics. Some of them are what they know, but I don't know about at all. If I don't know, does not matter, I can ask them to explain for me in Chinese, Yes, I know how to say them in Chinese at least. Yes, I know what they are talking about, although I may not know what they talked about quite a lot. But that is enough so far. I learned so much from our conversation. And mostly I am also motivated to learn more stuff than Chinese grammar and use of vocabulary. I am aware that each of my students is a resource person I should make use of to improve myself.
I speak too much
After reviewing a couple of lessons I taught, I am aware that I speak too much in my class although my purpose is to communicate with my students and to make them express their opinions. There are always a right answer in my mind and I always keep expecting my students to utter that answer, so i can make sure that "oh, they are learning and they are correct." Although my tone is softer, my posture is more approaching, and my question is more reflective or provocative, how different it could be from the authoritative way of idea imposing if I only expect a right answer. Oh, maybe they are free to think with more space to question. But that is really not enough. ...
I have felt that I always have the tendency to exert effect on people. That is probably part of the human nature. If I as a teacher have this kind of intent, why should I blame students for their self-rightous ideas or consider them not self-reflective enough....
I have felt that I always have the tendency to exert effect on people. That is probably part of the human nature. If I as a teacher have this kind of intent, why should I blame students for their self-rightous ideas or consider them not self-reflective enough....
Monday, October 5, 2009
I am telling her implicily....
"You should drop the class. You are wasting your time. The class is too easy for you. You cannot be here simply for an easy A. I don't like you. I have known why you are here. Getting an A does not mean that you are a good student. You should not be here. Princeton is not place for you to simply get a beautiful transcripts..."
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Am I a nurturing teacher?
No, I have such a stimulating style of teaching. I may not like some of my students, because they lied to me. They want to get a good grade and come to the easy class for an easy A. I cannot accept that. But I don't know how to handle this situation. I spent almost whole night on thinking about the possibility of kicking her out of my 305, but end up nothing but a headache...
Review Class
Today, I had a review class. I set up the class for two reasons: firstly, after teaching of five consecutive lessons, students may some time to reflect and internalize all the new vocabulary or structures; secondly, this week's new lessons are too short. There are not enough content to be covered in four classes. I was once so worried beforehand because i never taught a reviewing lesson which does not have any ready-to-use materials. But now, I feel pretty good, because no materials means that i have more freedom to create new theme to elicit conversation.
In the first two weeks, we have talked about tradition, car accident, arriving China, renting a bicycle, enviromental protection and campus or dorm security. They, although with a common context, which is China, do not have a lot of connections. But today, I used another theme, our college life at PU, to make all the learned vocabulary or structures relevant to each other and moreover, make them all make more sense to my students since their lives are college lives. I put all the vocabulary into their lives, connceting the old with the new. That is how they can internalize them. I have a few subquestions for students to answer and also through which they can have opportunities to use our learned vocabulary in the parenthesis.
1. What is your general impressions of PU? (impression, traditional, conservative, building, safe, pretty )
2. How different between what you imagined and what actually is about PU? (imagine, actuality)
3. How many different aspects does your college life have? (campus, dinning hall, dorm, homework, teachers, classmates, social life)
When we talked about different aspects of their college lives, different topics that are related to what we learned before may be brought about. For example, is PU campus a safe place? have you had expereiced of losing a bicyle? is there any pheonomenon of food waste in your dinning hall? Have you ever involved in social life or have you ever been in charge of anything? And mostly, what do you think about your relationship with your classmates?.... I was expecting to hear more about their ideas about their classmates, their friends, and their teacher... I definitly can also access their ideas about themselves.
The role I was playing in the class is a teacher, of course. But if so, I would always ask questions and expect answers, rather than a mutual communicator with my students. In the 9:00 am session, I tended to ask more questions. but in the 12:30 pm session, I took more position of students to elicit more dialogue. For example, when I asked, "Do you think teacher gave you too much homework which are useless?" A student answer:"No, I think teachers give us good homework." I responded:"No..., I don't agree with your point.". The rest of students laugh. I know some students might want to give me the "right" answer rather than their "real" answer. And I know they may be afraid of saying their real answers. So, I need to help them....
In the first two weeks, we have talked about tradition, car accident, arriving China, renting a bicycle, enviromental protection and campus or dorm security. They, although with a common context, which is China, do not have a lot of connections. But today, I used another theme, our college life at PU, to make all the learned vocabulary or structures relevant to each other and moreover, make them all make more sense to my students since their lives are college lives. I put all the vocabulary into their lives, connceting the old with the new. That is how they can internalize them. I have a few subquestions for students to answer and also through which they can have opportunities to use our learned vocabulary in the parenthesis.
1. What is your general impressions of PU? (impression, traditional, conservative, building, safe, pretty )
2. How different between what you imagined and what actually is about PU? (imagine, actuality)
3. How many different aspects does your college life have? (campus, dinning hall, dorm, homework, teachers, classmates, social life)
When we talked about different aspects of their college lives, different topics that are related to what we learned before may be brought about. For example, is PU campus a safe place? have you had expereiced of losing a bicyle? is there any pheonomenon of food waste in your dinning hall? Have you ever involved in social life or have you ever been in charge of anything? And mostly, what do you think about your relationship with your classmates?.... I was expecting to hear more about their ideas about their classmates, their friends, and their teacher... I definitly can also access their ideas about themselves.
The role I was playing in the class is a teacher, of course. But if so, I would always ask questions and expect answers, rather than a mutual communicator with my students. In the 9:00 am session, I tended to ask more questions. but in the 12:30 pm session, I took more position of students to elicit more dialogue. For example, when I asked, "Do you think teacher gave you too much homework which are useless?" A student answer:"No, I think teachers give us good homework." I responded:"No..., I don't agree with your point.". The rest of students laugh. I know some students might want to give me the "right" answer rather than their "real" answer. And I know they may be afraid of saying their real answers. So, I need to help them....
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