Hi! I taught in China for a while too! I remember one Chinese director gave me my book and told me which classes I was to teach 3 days before class was to start. He said, "Why do you need to prepare? You are a native speaker so teaching English should be easy for you!" It is a very common attitude in China. If you have a book, I recommend reading through it bit by bit and making lessons that go with it accordingly, being prepared to adapt as needed. Keep a back up plan and extra activities in your bag!
It is good to have
the students tell you about their culture. Start with the holidays. October 1st is the beginning of the National Day Holiday. You will probably get a week off for
this! What will they do during the holiday? Ask them what other holidays there are and have them expound on the stories
and traditions surrounding each holiday. Have them talk about wedding traditions. Have them talk
about giving gifts - What do you give and why? What do you not give and why?
They will enjoy telling you about their culture and you will learn a lot, too! (Take
notes!)
Do you know the song �Are You Sleeping Brother John"? Hum
the song, ask them if they recognize the tune, have them teach you their words and actions for the song, then teach them your words for the song. There is a big difference
between the two!
For pronunciation practice use Dr. Suess� Fox in Sox. Use the listen and repeat
technique. You read and they follow along and repeat. This works for all sorts
of things and all ages seem to enjoy this. You can do this with tongue twisters
and then have tongue twister competitions!
Celebrating birthdays is relatively new in China. Find out
who has a birthday this month, have all birthday people come to the front of
the classroom, have everyone sing happy birthday to them, and then give each of
the birthday students a lollipop. (Do this every month!)
Play the name ten game using teams. Be careful, they may cheat
because everyone wants to win! :-D http://blog.tesol.org/esl-games-name-ten/
Play the alphabet game: I am going on a trip. I am taking with me an A - apple, B - ?, C - ? All ages like this and find it somewhat challenging.
Have students work in groups or with a partner rather
than individually as often as possible. They will appreciate it.
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