I have been teaching at a 3 year Community college in China for one year.
I am the only Foreign Teacher at this College.
The standard contract states that I hold English Corner every week.
My understanding, is that EC runs well when the students select activities and topics.
with the foreign teacher staying in the background.
The students at this college have in many cases never met a foreigner. Many students come from farms and small villages.
As we Foreign teaches in China know, the art of creative thinking is new to Chinese students.
The students at the college say the talk time is very boring, but they are not willing to come up with ideas .. Brain freeze is rampant.
I have tried interactive word games, songs, warm ups, breaking the large group into small jig saws. Finding topics that are of interest to this computer, QQ generation. such as sports , celebrities , finding a job, role playing. but we are not moving forward or feeling free to talk.
The Chinese English teachers have never attended our English Corner, which I understand is very common throughout China.
- The Chinese English Teachers mainly speak chinese to the students in class which is infuriating.
- Western movies are shown with Chinese language sub-titles which means the brain reads the words but does not listen to the English.
I feel for some of the students who are personally driven to try and improve their English skills , full knowing that they may find better jobs.
The Chinese English Teachers seem to view their jobs as strictly "Going by the Clock," and seem to have no interest in doing anything, but finishing the text book,(which is primarily written in Chinese), and completing the exam.
Any ideas for english corner .. I am staying one more year, becaus eI love the students and I feel I can in someway open the doors.