Friday’s lessons went well; in the morning, Carol and I taught our group about the organization of individual paragraphs by giving groups of 2 a paragraph each (from the essay we’ve been “recycling” since their diagnostic test, “The Deadly Noodle”), and then each group had to identify 1.) the paragraph’s topic sentence, 2.) its supporting details, and 3.) its conclusion. But, here’s what made it fun—we cut up each paragraph so that all they received were individual strips of sentences [bundled together]. So, first they had to unscramble the sentences and try to figure out which one was the first (and the topic sentence), the second, etc. This was fun to watch; each group worked furiously for a good half hour on this task, and then we had each group present their results to the rest of the class (classic jigsaw approach—my favorite!). We also had them define any words they did not know, and there were several in each paragraph. You wouldn’t think that a task so simple could take up over two hours of a lesson, but it certainly can and does when you are working with low intermediate students.
On Friday afternoon, we held another clinic (similar to the grammar clinic we did on Wednesday), but this time we did a pronunciation clinic. This wasn’t really true pronunciation practice though; as Dr. Folse would say, we emphasized fluency (practice with saying idioms that Dr. Hall taught them) over accuracy (focusing on individual sounds). This seemed to amuse them. We also taught them thought groups in sentences so that they could get some practice with the prosidy (i.e., rhythm) of English. And once again, simple though these activities may seem, they easily took up the 2 and a half hours we had with them in the afternoon.
Tomorrow (Monday) morning, we will receive the first drafts of their first writing assignment: a narrative. The prompt we used was once again based on the topic of “The Deadly Noodle:” Write about someone you know (it could even be yourself!) who got addicted to fast food and changed in some way because of it. I am very curious to see what my group comes up with.
I should mention before I write any more entries that I am very much an apprentice in this experience; although Carol, Dr. Hall, and Stephanie Dickey see me as a colleague, I am very much still a student learning from her teachers. Although I co-teach with Carol and contribute lesson ideas, I do not pretend for one minute that I’m a ringleader of any sort. But I like it this way, actually; I am learning so much from my colleagues, and I think that when I get another opportunity to teach abroad (hopefully for a much longer period of time, in which I can bring Stephen!), I will have no problem “running the show” then.
This weekend was exhausting, so I am going to bed soon. (We had to attend two ceremonies; one on Saturday afternoon in which we met with the WSU Provost, Dr. Stephen Angle, and all of the WSU college deans—this one celebrated the grand opening of the “Wright State Science and Technology Institute” building on Dalian Jiaotong University’s campus—and another one this morning, in which the entire university (including all 20,000+ students!) attended to welcome all of the “big guys” and praise various academic and government leaders for allowing a partnership with Wright State; although these were very enlightening experiences, they took up a lot of what would otherwise be our spare time.) Lots of exciting things are being proposed for WSU; the Dalian Jiaotong University president has pledged that in 3 years, he will have built an entire WSU campus (which will become an official branch of Wright State!). This is certainly good news for me; I’m sure that if I wanted to, a few years from now I could be an English teacher at this very university!
J. Rowe
Day 6 in Dalian (Thursday, June 16th, 2011)
I cannot believe that I have already been here in Dalian for one week; we have been so incredibly busy since we arrived that I scarcely have any time to myself. This first week was especially crazy since we really did not know what to expect when we arrived. Fortunately, Carol Cornett is a seasoned pro at establishing new courses, so we began with what we’ve all learned in TESOL: a needs assessment. On Monday, our first day of class, we tested all of the students (about 40 total) with both a writing diagnostic and the Michigan Language Test (100 multiple choice questions), which Carol already uses to place incoming LEAP students. (Even though these Chinese students have already been admitted into the LEAP program as “advanced,” we still had to figure out which ones were ready for level 4, the highest level, and which ones were actually more suited to level 3 or lower.) The whole testing process took about 2 hours Monday morning, and then we spent the rest of that day reviewing and rating their tests. This was exhausting work, but it was a great experience for me; I now have even more respect for Dr. Crusan and her stories of assessing hundreds of ESL students in the past. I’m telling you now: it ain’t as easy as it looks!
Even though we had tests to return to them on Tuesday morning, the four of us (Carol, Dr. Hall, Stephanie Dickey, and I) still had no idea what we were going to start with for these students. I learned when in doubt, play language-building games—that’s what Carol suggested, and since we only had the students for the morning session on Tuesday, that worked out really well. Honestly, we really did not teach them a true lesson until Wednesday, and even then we still did not really know where we were heading.
Today, we did not teach at all because on Thursdays most of the students (many of whom are graduates) still have classes to take and projects to finish. However, that didn’t mean that we got any sort of break; ironically, we ended up working harder today than any other day we’ve been here so far! Between 10 a.m. and about 6 p.m., stopping only for lunch and dinner, we hashed out our syllabus (finally) and figured out exactly what we’re going to do for tomorrow and next week. It’s been crazy so far, but already I have learned a lot.
Since I have not written all week, I’ll give you some background information about our living situation and whatnot (for those of you who are curious):
The area where we are staying and teaching in Dalian is called the Lushun Economic Zone. When I heard this for the first time, I pictured something very different from what we actually have. This area is truly beautiful; we are surrounded by quiet streets, tall apartment complexes, and flora EVERYWHERE. Apparently fruits, vegetables, and flowers grow well here in Dalian because of the cool ocean breezes; all of our neighbors (who live in permanent apartments) have small gardens by their front entrances, and they grow a range of things: chives, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, roses, and much more. It is very peaceful here; compared to all the other places in China I have been, this is by far the nicest and most enjoyable. There’s a beach just a five minute walk away from our apartments, and we found out just last night that there’s a splendid night market every evening (also just a five minute walk away). We live right next to the campus we teach at, Dalian Jiao’tong University, so there are a lot of college students who frequent the streets and local shops. It’s pretty amazing, actually; a couple of days ago we watched as all of the street food vendors pulled up in their rigged motor bikes at exactly the same time, right around 5 p.m. (when all of the students get out of class). Carol had remarked that they know their audience well.
The weather has been great here (around 65 to 70 degrees everyday, always accompanied by cool ocean breezes), but perhaps the best thing about this trip is the way we are treated. We are definitely esteemed guests here; the students are extremely respectful to us (they gave us a standing ovation when we entered the Wright State Classroom for the first time), and our program coordinators/aides are extremely accommodating, perhaps too much so at times. Best of all, we have not had to pay for a single meal yet; since we arrived at the start of a weekend, we were wined and dined by the VP of the university, and we ate well (a local Dalian feast at a 5-star restaurant on Saturday, and then a massive dinner at a Japanese restaurant in downtown Dalian), AND we are fed 3 times every day, Monday through Friday, by an esteemed chef who works for the university. I have not touched a fork since I arrived, so I’ve gotten pretty good at using chopsticks with every meal. The food here is great, but you definitely have to be a somewhat adventurous eater. Here in China, they don’t bother with cutting off the heads of things before serving them, so I’ve eaten several fresh fish that were staring back at me (and just tonight for supper, we had big whole shrimp—heads, legs, and all—that we had to pick apart ourselves). Still, the effort (and occasional squeamishness) is definitely worth it; almost everything I’ve had here tastes and looks great, and I haven’t had the slightest bit of illness. I feel very healthy here, even on days like today when we don’t go outside at all because we’re so busy with lesson planning.
Well, I think I’ve shared enough for now, and my bedtime’s quickly approaching (I’ve been going to bed really early since breakfast is served promptly at 7:20 every morning and we teach at 8:30). I hope this first entry does not seem too rushed; I just wanted to make sure to share as much as possible to make up for not being more gradual with my updates. This should change in the near future.
Take care all,
J. Rowe
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