Santa's BIG RED HAT - a ppt for ESL, TEFL - Peace and Goodwill at Christmas

This is a PPT I created today for a presentation I am making to prospective new students to my Chinese School, Nanjing Dongshan Foreign Language School.  The PPT is basically about how wearing a Santa hat unifies people across the world whether they be Christian, Muslim, godless communists in China. In the West and the East we all wear the Santa Hat. This can be a symbol for the real message of Christmas which is Peace and Goodwill to all.  There are also two poems which the students can shout out loud as the words appear. I will also give red santa hats to the students who can name the countries on each individual slide. (Please note that I have used some images from google - if you own the copyright of these images please contact me as soon as possible and I will remove them - this PPT is for educational purposes only)

Santas Big Red Hat by Rob Burton

Teaching ESL in China. Lesson 1. How to keep them quiet. No. 1. The test.

Teaching ESL in China.

Lesson 1.

How to keep them quiet.  No. 1. The test.

My school, here in Nanjing China, insists that my classes are tested once a week. This is despite the fact that I only see these students for 3 x 45 minute lessons a week.  So I don't really stick to that regime. I probably do a test once every two weeks.  But along with regular homework the mums and dads will want to see the scores at the end of the semester - they generally only want the average score so the actual number of tests is not an issue.

What do my tests consist of? Of course it has to relate to what we have been doing in the classroom - the vocabulary learned. If you have been reading my blogs you will know that this semester I am meant to be teaching Oral English.  But to test 30 kids in one 45 minute session is impossible. So I have to give them a standard written test.  I will give them formal oral tests during the monthly, midterm and end of term exams when extra time is set aside for me to do that - they will also have a written exam - designed by me - at that time.

So this week we have been looking at Holidays and Vacations. So this is the vocabulary we have been studying.  I set written homework where they had to write 250 words about a dream holiday they have had or want in the future. Some of them have read their work out loud in class. I also practised the words and concepts taught in class prior to the test - and also taught content off my actual exam sheet that I had prepared earlier - so they would be prepared - if they were paying attention.

One of the main problems in the classroom is the less able students switching off and drifting away, looking out the window or trying to catch a crafty forty winks. ( I have seen, in some of the Chinese teachers classrooms, at least half a dozen students heads down fast asleep.) Others, despite being together 24 hours a day 5 days a week, still find they have something to say to each other even when I am trying to teach them something useful.

The test, however, does keep them quiet and engaged.

The test had to last about 45 minutes - 1 lesson, of course.

The first 10 questions were related to a video found online on an ESL website which I downloaded.  Before giving  them the paper I let them watch the short video first. Then I handed out the paper and played the video again. To use You Tube videos you can download them onto your computer - and then onto a USB stick using these free websites.

Clip converter  and convert2

Then they had some sentences to unscramble taken from this website -  Scrambled sentences 

I then tested their knowledge of English Articles that I had also covered using questions from this website

And finally a 20 word vacation related word search - word searches are useful - for the weaker student it helps with their vocabulary plus its an easy 20 marks that they can get. In a class of mixed ability such as I have the poor speakers/linguists can switch off and give up all too easily - so giving them something they can do in a test can help with their confidence plus they know they will generate some marks.

So that pretty much took up the whole 45 minutes, the better students finished it 5 or 10 minutes earlier.

Autumn Semester in a Chinese High School

This last few weeks at Nanjing Dongshan Foreign Language School has seen a flurry of activity - every thing from live music to the 100 meters dash.

Most High Schools in China are boarding schools and the school I work for is no exception. There are over 3000 students who stay here from Sunday midday to around 5pm on a Friday. Its a busy week for them. As I have mentioned elsewhere their day starts at around 6am when they get up for breakfast. They are in class at 7:10am and through until around 9pm with just the long 2hr lunch break giving them some relief.

But its not all work work work. The students have a full curriculum which includes music, sports and play. This last few weeks we have experienced them all.

 Keeping the red flag flying 

 Waiting for marching practice

The first I knew of a sports day was when I was told on Thursday that I had to go and rehearse for the opening ceremony Thursday evening. Sports day apparently was on Friday afternoon. I was also told  that my Friday afternoon classes were cancelled because of the sports day. Now one would have expected a 'sports day' to be quite a big thing in the school calendar what with all the organising and practising and stuff and that we might have been given a little more notice about the rehearsing and the cancelled classes.  For instance, I might have already made arrangements to be off campus on Thursday evening because I like to plan things in advance not spontaneously want to rehearse for a sports day opening.

This rehearsal (I did go of course) consisted of waiting around for about half an hour with other teachers, then marching as a group for 5 minutes and then being told that we had finished.

The sports field

So Friday afternoon, sports day happened. I did my five minutes of marching for the opening ceremony and then the obligatory flag raising, national anthem, school anthem and flag raising and speeches.

 The school enmass

Marching

 Superstar teacher (Blush)

And then the fun began all 3000 + kids were there running, jumping, watching - mainly watching in an organised Chinese fashion. There were no parents watching their little emperors and empresses do their thing unlike a British sports day - no egg and spoon race, no sack race. Here in China you have winners and losers. Its a competitive society and the winners take the prizes.

Running

 Jumping

 Watching

 Competition is fierce

 But a bit too much for some

 The rest - well they sort of watched

There were so many events that the Sports day was carried over to the Saturday. Of course I was then told that I would have to cover my 'missed' Friday class on Saturday. At the last minute of course. 'Too Late'! I told them. 'I have an appointment downtown on Saturday - you need to tell me these things earlier'. I didn't really I just had some vague plans that I would go downtown, but the principle was that 1. I didn't want to work Saturday - my day off, and 2, They should have told me earlier.


Anyway a week or two later I actually did go out for a Sunday lunch with some expat teacher friends in the Xianlin area of Nanjing. This is where around 12 or 13 universities are located and where I had my first job in China. We went through a Mall and chanced upon this talent contest. Interestingly some of the students competing were from that old college of mine. Nanjing College of Information Technology

 These are some reasons to be cheerful in China - dancing girls

 The bookshops are always busy in China with readers - no one stops them or shoo's them out.

 Han dynasty costume

 Getting ready for the dance

 Even the cops took part - who says this is a repressive dictatorship? 

So next up is Halloween, not that the school kids know much about it. Its just another Western (American) custom which is being taken on board, probably more for it potential for selling more junk , as it is in the West,

Traditional Halloween Dancing by the senior students 

The Juniors are more traditional - here singing a song

Some of my students

I think under all that there is one of my students - but you know, Im not really sure at all - its Japanese cos-play

Costumes

Food and drink was served

Elva - who is the Admin boss worked hard doing the food

Me

Me and Simon in full gore

Halloween started at 6:30 in the evening and the Foreign Language Department (not the whole school) had set the party up in the indoor basketball courts above the canteen. We were entertained with dancing and singing and general fun. Lots of the kids wore costumes some didn't - the seniors, of course, thought it was now beneath them to have fun.

Some of the students had organised a Ghost Walk around the campus. It was quite good as night had fallen and at certain spots they had kids jumping out in costume scaring the participants. Me and Simon were roped in to do some of the scaring.

I also had what I thought was a good idea. The poor High School students were still in their classrooms doing self study. So I went and barged into their classrooms scaring the bejesus out of them until one of the Chinese teachers asked me to leave.  I later heard that the School Headmaster had rung Elva our admin asking who it was in the classrooms, because that night some of the students couldn't sleep and had had nightmares. Oops - good job I was in disguise.  I heard this from Elva and I asked her to keep my secret. I haven't heard anything yet!!


Last Sunday we had a concert in the school theatre. One thing this school does it try to provide the students with access to different types of cultural events. This is a 'new agey' Australian Singer/Songwriter/Pianist. Karen Joy Hawkins look her up on Wikipedia.

Simon was roped in to be the MC for the afternoon

 I got to admit this wasn't my cup of tea - too plinky plonky with breathless vocals that I couldn't understand or hear, let alone a Chinese audience.

This is the view past the heads of my bosses. Although I had a VIP seat, they and their communist party cronies had the seats in front. The head to the left is my agency boss (PhD purchased in America - common knowledge - wifes MA? From Harvard? But she can't speak English? OH My! Wonder how much that cost? -  and on the right the school boss who has converted the staff accommodation on the top floor of my block for his own use - he turns up every morning and goes there - use your imagination guys....) 

 Actually in the interval we had a student play Chopin and after the main event had finished, other students, in a band, played for us. They were, in my view, better than the main event. (my phone had run out of power so no pics.)

You can tell the weather is getting a bit chilly now because the Chinese teachers are using blankets when they have their mid morning nap. (I also have the winter quilt on and the fluffy slippers)

So now its mid semester already - so its time for those pesky mid-semester exams!

Only for some they don't seem that important

 Sleepy and its only 8:30am

 And their parents are paying big money for this - so I don't let them sleep - these pictures will be for the parents if they ask why  little Do nt Giv Afook failed!

This is Albert - I don't even know why he's in my class. Apart from the fact his parents have paid the school.

I confiscated this from a boy during the exam - opened. And no he didn't have a pencil he needed sharpening.

So thats what the last few weeks have been like here in sunny Nanjing. There have also been trips out, trips downtown, trips to see the doctors as I have written about elsewhere. 

Heres a few more photos

 Snooky  Still fit and Healthy

 Me with some of my students - the school wanted a 'publicity shot' 

 The opticians girl - on the look out

 In the bookshop where the game is more interesting than the book

 Taking the birds for some air - locally

 Its orange season

 Our local BBQ

 The river close to me

 A local view - food is grown everywhere

 Vapour trails

 More publicity - I was entered into the 'Most popular teacher in Nanjing' competition.

 A local bike

 Scooter girl by my fruit and veg market.

I'll write about the actual teaching soon.