Teach English in Xiaoyi Zhen - Shangluo Shi

While traveling my first time in Southeast Asia, I decided to extend my time in the area by volunteer teaching. When I first arrived, I thought of this as no more than just a way of staying away from home. However, I would come to learn that my help would mean a lot more than I thought it would and inspire me to reach for a life in teaching English abroad. My first couple of weeks volunteering were spent observing my coworkers and how they conducted their classes. I noticed many bouts of repetition, book work, classroom games and speaking tests. Out of this, I realized that this was going to require a lot of patience. Many of the students were performing at different levels, some exhibiting ultimate confidence and others refusing to speak even in a one on one setting. After giving my first speaking test, it appeared to me that it would also take patience and time to form a comfortable bond and learning environment. Establishing a rapport would involve a lot of hard work and smiling to ensure that being a new and foreign male teacher wouldn’t cause a boundary between my students and I. Bringing a solid confidence and positive energy to class was a large influencer on the students. I noticed better responses to teaching styles that were enthusiastic and understanding as opposed to those with predictable and rigid structures. Some of the more strict teachers would insist their shyest students stand up and participate in front of the class with little empathy and yield little results. I took this as a sign and decided instead to make small groups of two or more who could present together and separate from the rest of the class. At the end of the class I found those students willing to try a little more, speak a little louder, and take a bit more of a risk when they weren’t feeling as pressured to do so. However, patience and understanding was key when dealing with difficult or shy students and modifying the plans to suit these needs proved necessary and successful. Noticing these changes, seeing the students improving, and recognizing their improvements started making me feel great. I really enjoyed seeing their faces light up when they started putting sentences together, or started pushing to learn more on their own. I realized that I was doing more than just teaching them how to pronounce words or form correct grammar. I was helping open doors and creating more possibilities for these students. English would not only open them up to larger salary opportunities in their country but also provide opportunities outside of what they thought possible. The learning of a skill, like learning anything, does wonders for self confidence and if they continue their path they could certainly achieve any goals they set. Students can choose to become more integrated among local organizations and learning institutions or set out to for higher goals oversees. It gave me a great sense of pride knowing I was helping people forward themselves and their abilities, which is what inspired me to start out for a life in teaching abroad. Growing up as a native English speaker, I never thought about what it might be like to learn English as a second language. My learning experiences as a student were vastly different from the students I worked with while volunteering. Being able to recognize these differences and adapt to them was a big help in improving my teaching skills. Providing a solutions and inspiring learning was a very positive and eye opening experience for me. Not only did I realize the opportunities I had being a native English speaker, but I also found that I enjoyed using them to help others. I wanted my students to succeed and use their knowledge to ensure a better future for themselves and their families. It has inspired a passion for teaching I never knew I had which excites me about teaching and learning with students in the future.