The Little Red Book
Teaching ESL in China
by
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The Little Red Book: Teaching ESL in China
Who’s Who in the Chinese Classroom?
From the Son of Heaven down the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
- Confucius
The Teacher According to Students
According to 1,156 grade one, two and three senior middle school students in China, a teacher, whether Chinese or foreign, should be kind above all else. The students filled in a graphic organizer to express their ideas of what the best teacher should be and the results generated these descriptors. Grade one, two and three senior middle school students are equivalent in age to Grade 10, 11 and 12 high school students in Canada. According to the students, the best teacher has the following uncomplicated characteristics: beautiful, funny, kind, pleasant, strong and wonderful. Below are student revelations about their best teacher.
The Monitor
The classroom in China is firmly controlled by the communist system and follows the communist philosophy of obligation. One of the system’s strongest advocates of duty and teacher support is the classroom Monitor. Meet classroom Monitor Yue Yu, a grade two student in a senior middle school in Yichang, Hubei province. Grade two in China can be compared to grade eleven in Canada. Yue Yu’s duty as Monitor is to observe and report the overall conduct of the students to the Head Teacher. The Monitor is also responsible for reporting on the conduct of the teacher, English or otherwise. Yue Yu dutifully reports student and teacher absence, misbehaviour, inappropriate language, inappropriate topics, late arrival, unfinished homework and homework not handed in. Yue Yu takes her duties as Monitor very seriously.
“The Head Teacher chose me as Monitor because I have high marks in every subject.”
Yue Yu’s English is a band score of 4 IELTS.
IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. It is a test of English language skills designed for students who want to study in the medium of English either at university, college or senior middle school. Yue Yu’s band score of four indicates that she is a limited user and that she has basic English language competence that is limited to familiar situations. Yue Yu has frequent problems in understanding and expression and is not able to use complex language. This is good news and bad news for the English teacher, because part of Yue Yu’s responsibility is to report your words and actions in the classroom to the Head Teacher and you want her to comprehend your meaning. It is common that you’re watched and reported on everywhere you go in China. Yue Yu is not wearing the distinctive burgundy armband worn by the street-corner observation representative in China, but in her role as classroom Monitor she might as well be. The duty of classroom Monitor is described by Peng Wen Juan, a Chinese English teacher, this way:
In my opinion, the job of the monitor in a class is to be a good example and a good guide, to lead the class to having a good attitude towards studying, and also help teachers to have good classes.
We are genuinely interested to hear your comments about The Little Red Book Teaching ESL in China You can contact us at lejjjar@gmail.com Best regards, Frank and Susan
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Book Details
About the Book
Susan and Frank Black provide you with their discovery about teaching English as a second language in China - mainly that communism is alive and well structured in the classroom and that's a good thing.
Classroom structure is something that anyone planning to teach in China, and everyone who is already doing it, should know about. Even the best designed lesson plan will not play if your students are not recognized for who they are: duty-driven, study-driven citizens of their Motherland.
Another critical fact revealed is contained in the chapter: 'Who's Who in the Chinese Classroom?'. You will learn the truth about the classroom Monitor and about his or her duty to serve you, the Foreign Expert. There are many students ready to assist you in the classroom and this book reveals who they are and how they can be of help to you. The chapter on 'Teaching Group Work in China' lays out a first-of-its-kind real-life lesson plan for both skeptics and adventurous types.
All the characters in this book are real, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is not coincidental. You will meet 'Midnight Runners' who sneak off into the night and Chinese English teachers who wish they could. You'll meet students who have a profound feeling of duty to their teachers and other students who don't. You will discover what some students believe about learning English as a second language and how their motives can help you facilitate a great class. The Little Red Book Teaching ESL in China is your official guide.
About the Author
Susan, born in Sudbury, Ontario, and Frank, born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
met and married in Port McNeill, a small town on North Vancouver Island.
Susan, the computer software trainer, and Frank, the town gardener for Port McNeill, spent their first year
on Frank's twelve metre sailboat. New dreams drove them to get TESOL certified through Global TESOL College.
To kick off teaching English as a second other language, they held classes at the local North Island College with a variety of students from all parts of the world.
They chose China as their first overseas destination. Both coming from varied backgrounds, adding one more adventure was an easy accomplishment.
Frank, a sketch artist, carver, amateur actor, and musician, used these talents to teach in China.
Susan, has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Information Systems and a Certificate in Adult Continuing Education. Her writing experience provided her the confidence to partner with her husband to develop this book. Susan and Frank Black live in Campbell River, British Columbia.