Over the past few years I became aware that I was a member of a minority of folks who still wear glasses. Contact lenses and lasik eye surgery seem to have put eye glasses on the shelf....but not in China. Glasses are a serious fashion statement in China. I have been surprised to see the number of young people wearing very stylish frames...with NO lens; just open space. Go figure. And the plethora of frame styles is eye popping (pun intended). I only saw a lot of people wearing sunglasses a lot on the "money" side of town.
Young gals wear funky, lens-less eye glass frames as an accessory much like belts, scarves and jewelry I've even seen a few guys who are into this kind of fashion statement. Makes people watching even more interesting.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Squat Stats
0 and 0
Blessed avoidance. Wouldn't mind it if there was toilet paper which there isn't (or soap or paper towels). It's strictly BYOTP in China, especially on campus. And the TP ain't flush-able. So you can only imagine the odoriferous experience as one passes by the WC. All hail the western throne.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
When It Rains It Pours
We got a call Tuesday afternoon from our Chinese co-teacher. The Foreign Language Department is starting 2 new English Writing classes for seniors next week...in the middle of the semester... and has asked us if we would teach them until the end of this semester. There will be 30 students in each class, which means 60 more Journals and 60 more Quick Writes to read and correct each week. They want us to use the lesson plans we've already created. We've never met anyone in charge and they've never met us, but for some reason there's a hole that needs filling and "they" think we're the ones to fill it.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Feeling Like a Rock Star
I recently discovered that all the hours and effort we have been putting into our work is paying off...big time! Last week we assigned a journal prompt based on PRIME the PUMP, an idiom we presented the first week of class showing 10 ways students could augment their exposure to English and enhance their English skills.
I'll let them "tell" you:
Seven said:
"First, I want to say I am honored to have such a wonderful foreign teacher. This is not flattering, it true. Every time when my journal was handed back, I found its mistakes were all pointed out and corrected. I can see the enthusiasm and passion you've put into my work. I really appreciate it. After getting my journal I looked through it again and again, especially focusing on my mistakes. I try to bear them in my mind and avoid repeating them again. I love committing mistakes. Writing becomes easier. It is not so boring any more. I'm making progress."
Vicky wrote: "In the past I was always afraid of writing in English. Writing seems difficult to me because I often don't know how to express my ideas and feelings exactly. But this semester, with the help of Mrs. Kuzmich and writing class, my attitude toward writing has been improved a lot.
Hermione wrote:
"Though I major in English translation in university, I was upset to find we didn't have any course related to translation and interpretation. The school dean finally realized this problem and set the course - English Writing for us sophomores. To my excitement, the teacher has an unusual, extraordinary teaching style which inspire the enthusiasm in the whole room.........Fortunately, the teacher helped us to distinguish the "a" and the "an" in terms of pronunciation of nouns, which mad it much easier to remember it, though it's still a very big problem......By the way, students in English major often showoff when writing, writing long and complicated sentences to indicate they are expert in English. However, that makes English native speakers confused to understand. After learning 'how to make your sentence *Better', I have learned to get rid of rambling sentence and make it clearly.....Reading journals from my classmates helps me to pat attention....The teacher has taught many idioms and famous sayings which makes writing colorful...I am very excited to find that I fall in love with pondering English writing and keep writing fluently. I owe my happiness to Mrs. Roslyn. p.s. I love your smile."
Cola wrote:
"At the TEM-4 (Test for English Major grade 4) last semester, the writing part accounted for 25 point and I only got 17 points. That's such a poor grade I knew that to write a good composition, I still have a long way to go. Luckily, this semester we have a really excellent English Writing teacher. She works hard and teaches very well. I really appreciate her help. In addition, I prime the pump after class in order to improve my writing skills."
Dora wrote:
"I can well remember that last year when I prepared for CCTV Cup English speech contest.....My teacher helped me with that and told me that when I became a sophomore, we could have a new course, WRITING, where I could learn how to write article systematically. Now, one year later, I have taken this course for nearly two months and I really learned so much from our writing course.....Three days ago, I wrote two article entitled: 'Australia With my Eyes" and My View on Social Networking" which both gained high praise from my teachers who said that my writing skills had improved quite a lot. I know that it is what I've learned from writing class."
Indigo wrote:
"Thanks to the constant writing practice, now I am able to express myself and write down my own words freely. Beside, 'mistakes are the portals of discovery'.** When I write, there are still some mistake, but now I am much more confident to accept my mistakes and correct them. To some extent, this may well be one of the most important improvements.....Two English websites our teacher gives us help me a lot."
Susan wrote:
"I had been always satisfied with my English Writing skills sine I learned English as a foreign language, for my composition had been read and appreciated among my classmates. But this changed after I took English Writing class this semester. Though I felt frustrated when my mistakes were picked up by my teacher, I realize that my composition needed to be better and then best."
* I taught them how to write good - Better - BEST sentences. They actually listen and apply !!
** This was one of the quotes I presented, we discussed and then used as a journal prompt the first week.
All the time reading and correcting every journal entry and every quick write is worth the effort when you see the dramatic improvement in their writing in just 2 months.
I'll let them "tell" you:
Seven said:
"First, I want to say I am honored to have such a wonderful foreign teacher. This is not flattering, it true. Every time when my journal was handed back, I found its mistakes were all pointed out and corrected. I can see the enthusiasm and passion you've put into my work. I really appreciate it. After getting my journal I looked through it again and again, especially focusing on my mistakes. I try to bear them in my mind and avoid repeating them again. I love committing mistakes. Writing becomes easier. It is not so boring any more. I'm making progress."
Vicky wrote: "In the past I was always afraid of writing in English. Writing seems difficult to me because I often don't know how to express my ideas and feelings exactly. But this semester, with the help of Mrs. Kuzmich and writing class, my attitude toward writing has been improved a lot.
Hermione wrote:
"Though I major in English translation in university, I was upset to find we didn't have any course related to translation and interpretation. The school dean finally realized this problem and set the course - English Writing for us sophomores. To my excitement, the teacher has an unusual, extraordinary teaching style which inspire the enthusiasm in the whole room.........Fortunately, the teacher helped us to distinguish the "a" and the "an" in terms of pronunciation of nouns, which mad it much easier to remember it, though it's still a very big problem......By the way, students in English major often showoff when writing, writing long and complicated sentences to indicate they are expert in English. However, that makes English native speakers confused to understand. After learning 'how to make your sentence *Better', I have learned to get rid of rambling sentence and make it clearly.....Reading journals from my classmates helps me to pat attention....The teacher has taught many idioms and famous sayings which makes writing colorful...I am very excited to find that I fall in love with pondering English writing and keep writing fluently. I owe my happiness to Mrs. Roslyn. p.s. I love your smile."
Cola wrote:
"At the TEM-4 (Test for English Major grade 4) last semester, the writing part accounted for 25 point and I only got 17 points. That's such a poor grade I knew that to write a good composition, I still have a long way to go. Luckily, this semester we have a really excellent English Writing teacher. She works hard and teaches very well. I really appreciate her help. In addition, I prime the pump after class in order to improve my writing skills."
Dora wrote:
"I can well remember that last year when I prepared for CCTV Cup English speech contest.....My teacher helped me with that and told me that when I became a sophomore, we could have a new course, WRITING, where I could learn how to write article systematically. Now, one year later, I have taken this course for nearly two months and I really learned so much from our writing course.....Three days ago, I wrote two article entitled: 'Australia With my Eyes" and My View on Social Networking" which both gained high praise from my teachers who said that my writing skills had improved quite a lot. I know that it is what I've learned from writing class."
Indigo wrote:
"Thanks to the constant writing practice, now I am able to express myself and write down my own words freely. Beside, 'mistakes are the portals of discovery'.** When I write, there are still some mistake, but now I am much more confident to accept my mistakes and correct them. To some extent, this may well be one of the most important improvements.....Two English websites our teacher gives us help me a lot."
Susan wrote:
"I had been always satisfied with my English Writing skills sine I learned English as a foreign language, for my composition had been read and appreciated among my classmates. But this changed after I took English Writing class this semester. Though I felt frustrated when my mistakes were picked up by my teacher, I realize that my composition needed to be better and then best."
* I taught them how to write good - Better - BEST sentences. They actually listen and apply !!
** This was one of the quotes I presented, we discussed and then used as a journal prompt the first week.
All the time reading and correcting every journal entry and every quick write is worth the effort when you see the dramatic improvement in their writing in just 2 months.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Speech Contest Judges
John and I were asked to be part of a panel of 6 judges for the 18th China Daily "21st Century Coca-Cola Cup" National English Speaking Competition. This was the qualifying round held on the old campus of Shandong University. The theme this year is "My view on social networking." The 16 speakers took about 3 hours to compete.
Each speaker had to give a 3 minute prepared speech...then give an impromptu speech for 2 minutes on a random topic given to them on stage...and then give some kind of performance in English for no longer than 3 minutes which included singing, film dubbing or poetry reading.
We were asked to judge the speakers on speech content, language quality and general impression for a maximum of 100 points.
WOW!!!!
These freshmen, sophomores and juniors put their whole heart and soul into their incredible efforts. I was blown away.
Afterward we had a chance to meet some of the students. One was a sophomore who switched her major from philosophy to law and now, as a sophomore, must catch up with the other law students so she is taking 20 classes. Her speech was strong and but so was her accent, lacking the necessary linking, pauses and inflections common in English speech. In spite of her herculean effort she did not place among the winners and had a polite brave mask over her disappointment. As she walked away I had the strongest feeling to call after her and invite her to dinner with us and Dongxin, another of the judges.
WOW!!!!
Note to self: ALWAYS follow that voice! What a delightful and profound encounter. I wish you could meet a Jing Ming: humble, confident, extremely hardworking, interesting to talk to and she's got to have an IQ close to 160. She was one of those high school students who tested high enough to be accepted into a top high school which required that she live in a dormitory because it was too far from her home. Also, the course work in this particular high school was so demanding that those students never had summer of winter breaks off to be home with family.
BTW I found out later this evening that the grand prize winner was one of my sophomore writing students.
Each speaker had to give a 3 minute prepared speech...then give an impromptu speech for 2 minutes on a random topic given to them on stage...and then give some kind of performance in English for no longer than 3 minutes which included singing, film dubbing or poetry reading.
We were asked to judge the speakers on speech content, language quality and general impression for a maximum of 100 points.
WOW!!!!
These freshmen, sophomores and juniors put their whole heart and soul into their incredible efforts. I was blown away.
Afterward we had a chance to meet some of the students. One was a sophomore who switched her major from philosophy to law and now, as a sophomore, must catch up with the other law students so she is taking 20 classes. Her speech was strong and but so was her accent, lacking the necessary linking, pauses and inflections common in English speech. In spite of her herculean effort she did not place among the winners and had a polite brave mask over her disappointment. As she walked away I had the strongest feeling to call after her and invite her to dinner with us and Dongxin, another of the judges.
WOW!!!!
Note to self: ALWAYS follow that voice! What a delightful and profound encounter. I wish you could meet a Jing Ming: humble, confident, extremely hardworking, interesting to talk to and she's got to have an IQ close to 160. She was one of those high school students who tested high enough to be accepted into a top high school which required that she live in a dormitory because it was too far from her home. Also, the course work in this particular high school was so demanding that those students never had summer of winter breaks off to be home with family.
BTW I found out later this evening that the grand prize winner was one of my sophomore writing students.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Can't pull anything past this teacher!
I have 2 Oral English classes and John has 2 Oral English classes. But, John and I have decided to team-teach all four of our Oral English classes since none of them conflict with each other. This way we can give the students a "stereo" English experience. It makes more work for both of us but so what. The students get a chuckle out of our repartee.
Our Oral English classes are all freshmen level and each class has a student monitor for whom the class voted. The monitors are very helpful especially the first few class sessions when there are still bugs to work out. They help us establish a seating chart for each class so we can get to know each student better.
In one class we have 3 young men who are fast friends and one is the class monitor. To get students seated in their assigned seats, I numbered the alphabetized class list and told the class monitor to call out their names while I showed them their seat and gave them an information card to fill out. Things were going smoothly until they weren't and in my confusion I asked the monitor for the list he was holding. Snakeola! Those 3 boys had "adjusted" the alphabetized list so that they were all sitting together. OMGosh! They were actuallysurprised? to see the push-over, old American lady take control of the list, and set things right...with "fireworks."
A momentary diversion. 'Twas brillig.
Our Oral English classes are all freshmen level and each class has a student monitor for whom the class voted. The monitors are very helpful especially the first few class sessions when there are still bugs to work out. They help us establish a seating chart for each class so we can get to know each student better.
In one class we have 3 young men who are fast friends and one is the class monitor. To get students seated in their assigned seats, I numbered the alphabetized class list and told the class monitor to call out their names while I showed them their seat and gave them an information card to fill out. Things were going smoothly until they weren't and in my confusion I asked the monitor for the list he was holding. Snakeola! Those 3 boys had "adjusted" the alphabetized list so that they were all sitting together. OMGosh! They were actuallysurprised? to see the push-over, old American lady take control of the list, and set things right...with "fireworks."
A momentary diversion. 'Twas brillig.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Back to work
Whew! time is flying by and we just finished "climbing" a mountain of work we created for ourselves. Our trip along the ancient Silk Road was so refreshing and informative. I almost canceled going on the trip because of all the work we had to do. That would have been a BIG mistake. As it was, I ended up taking several hundred pieces of paper to grade tests, quick writes and homework. That's what I did on the bus trips and plane rides.
Last week some Chinese plumbers did a lot of very noisy work on the plumbing in our apartment building. The water was shut off for 2 days.
I happened to be home on the day they began work but I had NO idea who they were or what they wanted to do. I had to laugh when one man realized I couldn't understand anything he said no matter how many different ways he said it; so he got a piece of paper and WROTE IT IN CHINESE so I could better understand what he was trying to say! Most Chinese workers I've meet have not had much interaction with anyone who doesn't speak their language, so they continue speaking to me figuring that maybe I'll understand them if they reword what they just said. Very helpful of them.
Last week some Chinese plumbers did a lot of very noisy work on the plumbing in our apartment building. The water was shut off for 2 days.
I happened to be home on the day they began work but I had NO idea who they were or what they wanted to do. I had to laugh when one man realized I couldn't understand anything he said no matter how many different ways he said it; so he got a piece of paper and WROTE IT IN CHINESE so I could better understand what he was trying to say! Most Chinese workers I've meet have not had much interaction with anyone who doesn't speak their language, so they continue speaking to me figuring that maybe I'll understand them if they reword what they just said. Very helpful of them.
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