We’re a quarter of the way into the second semester, so I thought I would talk about the teaching and my students today. First off, I can feel a marked difference between how this semester and last semester kicked off. This is for several different reasons: I’m now familiar with some of my students, I have some lesson plans stocked up, I know my environment much more than I did when I first began; but mostly it boils down to having that first semester of experience under my belt. On the first day of classes, I already felt more confident and in control. Not that this was an issue last semester, but setting a precedent for how class with proceed from the first day makes an undeniable impact on how things will unfold. So this semester started off as well as one could hope. I was well rested, more seasoned, and looking forward to new students and courses.
Though some of my courses are similar to what I taught last semester, there have been some interesting additions. One is my Thesis Writing course to prepare juniors for the writing of their bachelor’s thesis next year. It is serendipitous timing that I am teaching this class, as I am currently working on a thesis of my own. Many of the same principles and practices apply to the teaching of this course that I learned in preparation for writing my own thesis. I also have some personal experiences and habits that I may impart upon them. I was thinking about doing a class on procrastination this week, but I think I’ll tackle it later in the semester, just too busy right now.
The joys of teaching thesis writing aside, my absolute favorite teaching experience thus far is my Advanced English Conversation Course. They can dress up the title however they please, but really it’s just myself and a small group of students (6-9) sitting around and talking for 30 minutes each week. I have about nine of these classes interspersed amongst my more rigorous teaching responsibilities, but for selfish reasons, these are undoubtedly my favorite classes. It is the best opportunity I have had to delve into the interests, opinions, confusions, and experiences of my students. For me, it is one of the great learning opportunities I have been afforded here. I let them determine the topics, and then I facilitate a discussion. Sometimes they want to talk about Transformers and Kung Fu Panda 2, other times I have had fascinating conversations about a myriad of topics. Though bar rules apply (no religion or politics), if I trust that we aren’t treading on too thin of ice, I’ve let the conversation wander into topics such as Tiananmen or Taiwan. We rarely stay on these topics long, but I’ve been able to glean some interesting insight into their views on these topics. The responses range from ambivalence to cautious curiosity to toeing the party line, but mostly there is an understandable disinterest in these issues. Most students have very little access to, or interest in, the news and what is available to them isn’t exactly coming from a sterling example of free press. Regardless, whatever they intimate regarding these issues is of unending interest to me. I will spare you the regurgitation of each of the topics we discussed in these groups, but the opportunity to have these discussions perfectly sates one of my major desires for coming to China.
Another surprising aspect of these groups is that some students who were utterly silent first semester are now speaking in the groups with abandon. I understand this is for a number of reasons: they know me better than they did last semester, they’re less afraid of making mistakes in front of the small group rather than the large class, they are in control of the topics discussed, etc., but it is still shocking to see some students who I assumed could not speak for medical reasons (I seriously did not see some kids talk at all in a couple of classes I had last semester) all of a sudden chatting away gleefully and uninhibitedly. Seeing this really accentuates certain facets of classroom and social dynamics I have come to notice here.
I think I’ll end there for this week. I could go on about this topic for a while, but I should save some things to share with you all when I’m back in the summer. Just know that teaching is going swimmingly right now, and I’m enjoying my time on campus more than ever.
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