Teach English in Hengshui Zhen - Baoji Shi

First of all I would like to take a moment to thank The Staff of ITTT for putting together this highly informative and enlightening program. It is well written easy to understand and structured well for the new and experienced ESL Teacher alike. I would like to to Write my summation on Learning Techniques. Learning techniques will vary depending on race, sex ,age,cultural programming , past experiences and several other variables of the Student or Students involved. I will describe my personal past experiences in regards to the subject at hand and share my experiences. Visual VS Audio learners --One of the first things i learned was that children are divided into two basic learning groups Kids that are primarily visual learners and kids that are primarily Audio learners, but on occasion there are children that are a combination of both learning styles. Audio learners are easier to detect in the a classroom setting -This can be done by tapping the blackboard a couple times with a ruler or other hard object to create a sharp sound and instantly watching for a reaction from the ''Audio learners'' . They will instantly zero in on you and usually give you their undivided attention intently focusing there attention and anticipating your next move. They will at this point stop interacting with other Students and listen carefully. What I have found out that works with these particular Students is Chanting and repetition of words of phrases these children really love to hear stories and will listen carefully it is sometimes necessary to elicit a response from these children at the end of the story as they often are eager to listen to another story.-Audio learners also like to relate stories they have ''heard'' from someone else usually a friend or their parents. Visual learners on the other hand are a little harder to detect on the online classroom but usually will position themselves directly in front of the computer screen with eyes focused only on you waiting for instruction intently.- The key to keeping the The visual learners engaged is to keep them visually stimulated where in lies the challenge -I usually utilize the ''chat box'' in the online class room showing them images of what I am trying to get them to learn --For example the word ''chase'' I found this word a little challenging to teach to Chinese Students for reasons still unknown to me -But I will post a picture of a puppy chasing a ball or a photo of 2 kids chasing each other. It is usually best to have props ready to keep the lesson flowing smoothly as I notice that some times the children can lose their focus on you if there is a lull or a break in the visual stimulation stream of events. Boys usually tend to be more visual learners. Gender-- This is a big one, my first observation I have made on the subject is that girls usually speak a lot more than boys and usually at a younger age and also learn much faster-superior linguistic ability comes naturally to them -boys on the hand usually need prodding to speak about a particular subject or experience that interests them -This trend I have come to see continues on to a later stage in life. Culture-I have worked with Spanish speaking Students located in close proximity to the American border -These Students will pick up words and phrases that can be described for lack of better words as ''Spanglish" A combination of both languages retaining a heavy Mexican accent in most cases which has been impossible in most cases to remove-On the other hand Chinese students have very limited access to English speakers are will usually take on either an American accent or a British accent depending on Their teachers and very rarely use slang but there is a growing trend towards ''Chinglish'' Age-- I have found that new Students (children) are much easier to teach and I often have a better learning experience. On the other hand older Students or Students that were taught by Native Chinese teachers are the hardest to teach -They very often have a heavy Chinese accent that is in most cases impossible to break-As an example I usually will ask ''What grade are you in?'' There response which has been ingrained in them from a very young age will be ''I am in grade 2'' this is what has been drilled into them and again it is very hard to undo I have come to find out. Willing VS Unwilling Student-We have all heard the phrase ''you can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink it..." well this certainly applies in the classroom setting as well. There are some children who crave the learning experience while some children loathe it -Some have started out being active participants but have been burned out by demanding Parents and Teachers to the point they lose the drive to apply themselves in the classroom. Summing up my learning experiences in the classroom I would like to say that I really enjoy teaching and plan to make it a life long career -It has been a pleasure working With the Staff here at ITTT and I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year .