These are images of Cherry Blossom trees in China. Here are some interesting facts: "Native to Japan, Korea and China, the cherry blossom flower has become a celebrated symbol of both life and death. This is due to the fact that they burst forth in early spring, then fall to the ground within a week. In China they are thought to be the ultimate symbol for feminine beauty, sensuality and strength."- found this info at http://flowerinfo.org/cherry-blossom-flowers The reason I wanted to start out this blog with a beautiful picture (off the internet) of a Cherry Blossom tree, is because I have always thought they were incredibly beautiful in that they are a tree, so they are strong and solid, but they have these tiny, delicate pink and white flowers. It's interesting to see the contrast of these two things- being both strong, and fragile, at the same time. I hope that in my time in China, from June 27th to July 21st of 2010, I will learn this balance- this feminine "beauty, sensuality and strength" that the Chinese believe is such a strong symbol apparent in the Cherry Blossom tree.
Now that I've gotten my poetic spirit out of the way, let me tell you the purpose of this blog. This is my official blog for my English teaching trip to China. I am very excited for this opportunity to go to Pinghu Middle School and teach English at their English Summer Camp. I think it's going to be an amazing experience, and I hope that I am able to teach the children a lot. They are actually middle schoolers going into high school, and so, instead of children, they are really "young adults". Anyways, I'm not sure what it will be like, and how they will respond to me as their teacher! I hope that they welcome me with open arms, and that I am able to form relationships with them, as well as teach them all they need to know for the level they're at in English speaking.
I think most of them have taken three years of English, so they still have a lot to learn. But, more than anything, it's practicing speaking that is what they need most. They will need to learn to be confident in their speaking ability. Confidence is what will automatically make them better speakers. Confidence has the power to make anything better. If you hold your shoulders back and your head up, and walk into a room full of strangers with confidence, you will be respected more. These things seem like common sense to some, but these are things that I will be teaching my students. Even though, at times I am not that confident in myself. We all have moments where we are nervous and we hunch our shoulders and heads in, and don't sit or stand straight. The first day they will be doing introductions and getting to know each other by interviewing their friends- asking simple questions such as, "Where are you from?", "What is your favorite color?", "What is your favorite food?", etc. Then, on the last day, they will jump leap years ahead and do a three to five minute speech about themselves that will be graded, and there might even be a competition amongst all their peers in an auditorium (ahh! I'd be nervous speaking in front of 1,000 peers!) Anyways, I think they will gain a lot in this short time!
My students will be learning very basic vocabulary and phrases, and pronunciation. They will also be journaling to me on a weekly basis. I am most excited about reading their journal entries back at the hotel. I think that will be really fun! I hope that I can take some of these home with me. But, I'm not sure how that will work out. Maybe I will have them each just write me a simple letter and put it in an envelope addressed to: "Miss Audrey". That way I can read them all on the flight home!! And have them as keepsakes to cherish forever! Even though I'm not supposed to have them writing in Chinese, maybe they can just write my name or something short in Chinese characters!!! And draw pictures! I can't help but want them to do a BIT of art. I think maybe drawing some of the things we're talking about can help them have visuals to go along with their words, etc. But, I'm not sure.
I will have 60 kids in each class. And I'll have two classes, so 120 kids total. I think there are around 1,000 kids at the entire school. There are 9 American teachers from my "team" that will be at Pinghu Middle School, and we each have 120 kids. So, if you do the math- that's actually 1,080 kids!! WOW! That's twice the size of my school here in the states. It might be a little bit overwhelming. I'm not sure.
Well, I will write more later. Right now I'm going to be going over my lessons and trying to find resources online for English as a Second Language Teachers. :) Particularly, English Teachers in China!!! :) YAY!
Later~
Audrey "Lili"
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."-Albert Einstein
