Teach English in Guaier Zhen - Jinzhong Shi

To become a teacher of a topic, one must first become a student of it; only by studying the contents can someone regurgitate it to others. As a recently graduated university student, I’ve been on the receiving end of said regurgitation for many years. I believe having this perspective of a student has both its advantages and disadvantages in the process of learning teaching skills. For example, students often want to learn the bare minimum required to pass an end of term examination; they ask whether something ‘will be on the exam or not’ before deciding whether to spend time reviewing it. The student part of me wants to satisfy such a demand as I once sympathized with them, while the teacher part in me strictly opposes doing so, because in doing so I promote an unhealthy attitude of only remembering what’s taught for the sake of passing the course, which is more easily forgotten when the course is finished. The aforementioned method of ‘teaching topics that match the exam questions’ is somewhat applicable to technical courses like mathematics and sciences, where the subjects contain unbreakable rules and formulae; however, such a method is not applicable when it comes to teaching English as a foreign language. Despite having grammatical rules, so many exceptions exist such that the only way to master the subject is through constant exposure and usage. In addition, while any subject can be tested through pen and paper, English is tested every day through reading, writing, and conversation; in a way we are being tested at every waking moment when to comes to the English subject, assuming we are or plan on living in an English dominant environment. Teaching subjects like English may require a different approach compared to math and sciences, but there exist many similarities in the classroom. For example, when a professor asks a question in a lecture fall and receives complete silence, it may be due to a variety of reasons. As a student, I may not respond because I was shy despite knowing the solution, or I could not understand the question. I’ve seen a variety of responses to this awkward silence depending on the teacher and the class; the professor may maintain the silence for an extended period before answering the question himself, he/she may quickly rephrase the question, or in a smaller, more intimate class, call someone’s name in order to elicit a response. In the first case, the teacher believes that the students understand the question, but do not have enough time to process the problem. In the second case, the teacher believes that the students could not understand the question. In the last case, the teacher has enough confidence in a student to answer the question. Responding to this silence takes skill from the teacher regardless of the subject; such a scenario may be difficult for new teachers like me to deal with as I may not be able to identify the reason behind the silence instantly. I could remedy this by responding multiple times; first rephrase the question, then answering it myself if I still get no response, or calling a name followed by rephrasing the question. Ideally, through experience, I want to be able to identify the problem immediately and minimize the awkward silence in the classroom. One important skill to have in the classroom is observation; reading the body language of students can determine whether the lesson is being well received or not. For example, when I was a student and I wanted to avoid a question, I would put my head down pretending to write something. When I was confused I gave the professor a blank stare and a head tilt. When I understood everything I gave the professor a nod while maintaining eye contact with him or her. Good professors were able to read these expressions and respond accordingly; in the first case they would answer the question themselves, in the second case they would ask if what was said was understood and rephrase the question if not, and in the last case they would call me to answer the question if no one else responds. Now that I am on the side of observing, I cannot say that I am confident in reading the body language of others yet; this is expected as a student only pays attention to the teacher, while the teacher has to pay attention to all the students. I hope to improve this skill through experience, and the fact that I already know what to look for in students will aid me in this process. In summary, my fresh student experience has given me a new perspective on being a teacher. However what a student wants out of a teacher may be different from what a teacher wants out of their students; students may simply want to pass the course, while teachers need to promote good habits, teaching not just the curriculum but also teaching how to learn effectively. This is not to say that having the students’ perspective is negative, as there are many scenarios I’ve experienced a student that I might experience again as a teacher. I can expect scenarios like awkward silences and students expressing body language to occur frequently, and my student perspective can help me determine the causes behind these scenarios which helps to address the issues. All in all, I see this as a benefit to my career as a teacher, as it brings me closer to the students.