Teaching English in Guiyang

Natalie and I just finished our first week of full-time teaching at Guiyang No. 4 Experimental Primary School. I (Lizzy) am teaching English to all of the 4^th and 5^th graders and Natalie is teaching the 2^nd and 3^rd graders with some supplemental lessons for the 6^th grade classes.

The structure of a public Chinese school has some similarities to a public elementary school in the US. The students are grouped by age and move as a group from class to class. They study Chinese, English, math, science, art, music, and social studies. Students work in classes and sometimes have homework. They goof off, they play with friends, and they work very hard.

Drums for music class

Students walking to morning exercises

In many ways the Chinese system differs based on the sheer number of students. Lessons are not differentiated based on skill and ability. All students are mainstreamed. Children with disabilities go to a different school. Due to a large population space is at a premium, so the student desks are smaller than American student desks. Because children move from classroom to classroom they take their backpacks with them to each class and carry everything they might need during the day. At every grade level they are responsible for all of their personal belongings from books to notebooks to pencils. I was surprised that almost no personal items are left behind in classrooms.

The students are learning speed skating during PE and also participate in 30 minutes of exercises daily. Every student wears a uniform, which is useful because it helps one to recognize students when they are away from school. Twice each day students perform eye strain relief exercises. The Chinese use loudspeakers to broadcast information to everyone in the school. All schools play specific songs over the loudspeaker to signal when to end class, when to start class, when to read a daily passage, etc. 

4th grade students in English class

Teachers also regularly change classrooms, so they plan efficiently to avoid schleping many materials up and down five flights of stairs. The each classroom has desks, chairs, a chalkboard, and fluorescent lights. We are is considered a smaller size school with more than 1,000 students. Another elementary school nearby has several thousand students!

Standard Chinese elementary classroom

View of the neighborhood from the school

Natalie and I spent last week observing lessons and getting familiar with the curriculum. The government decides which curriculum schools will use so that all Chinese students learn the same information. Students prepare for standardized tests just as we do in the United States. The British curriculum is accompanied by a set of audio tapes with native English speakers, which teachers play on small tape players that they carry with them. Some teachers prefer to use a microphone when teaching so that they don’t have to shout to be heard in a room with 50 excited children. My voice was sore by the end of the week.

A typical class is started with an introduction.

“Hello! How are you today, class?”

“I’m fine. Thank you. And you?”

“I’m fine. Thank you. Today is Thursday. It is sunny and warm.”

“Yes!”

“Today we will learn English. Open your book to page six.”

Here's a special thanks to my mom for talking with me at length about teaching English as a Second Language (ESL).

Students practice both reading and speaking English. Choral reading is an effective way of having 100% participation, but it is also challenging to assess for understanding and correct pronunciation. I often break students up into table groups of about 10-12. Forty-minute lessons are focused on learning vocabulary and using vocabulary in short sentences. 

For example students learned the opposite words big/small, long/short, round/square, and red/green. They used the words in the following substitution dialogue:

“Do you want both apples, Kenny?”

“No. The green one, please.”

“Do you want both hammers, Katie?”

“No. The big one, please.”

Natalie and I are both making use of the projectors by creating supplemental PowerPoint presentations to go with the lessons. We also have many scanned books to share with the students to teach them about American culture, animals, food, etc. Our presentation about Montana was a big hit! This area gets very little snow and the kids hit the roof when they saw images of Montana in winter.

Lizzy giving a presentation about Montana

One of the goals of this blog is to help prepare future UM student teachers who will come to Guiyang in the coming semesters. Here’s some helpful information:

• You will need a VGA plug to connect a laptop to the projectors. If your computer doesn’t have a port, get an adapter.
• We have only seen two “western toilets” in Guiyang- 1 in our hotel rooms and 1 in a very very fancy restaurant. Tissues and toilet paper are sold at every corner stand and are easy to find.
• You will have planning time during the school day.
• Breakfast and lunch are provided Monday through Thursday. Only breakfast is provided Friday.
• The school day runs from 8am to 5pm. You must arrive by 7:30am for breakfast. The lunch break is from 11:45am-2:30pm, during which you may leave school. Teachers often take a nap at this time.
• Be ready to climb 5 flights of stairs many many times a day.
• Buildings are not heated or cooled. Dress in layers to adjust to changing temperatures during the day.
• You might not have easy access to a printer, copy machine, or document camera.
• Have a sense of humor and go with the flow.
• Trust your hosts. 

Standard Chinese toilet