ESL in China with Mr. Andrew
Although the epidemic is spreading all over the world and school has not started yet, the “foreign teachers into the campus” project team of the Education Bureau and our self-isolated foreign teacher Andrew in Suzhou, recorded a series of high-quality and creative English micro-classes for the students from Grade 4 to grade 6 in the primary school. Esl in China is always evolving.
Andrew created a Micro English lesson called “Staying safe” for the children based on current events. Through learning, children not only master a certain amount of English knowledge while broadening their English vocabulary, but also know how to do a good job staying safe in a quarantined world. This helped the kids understand the pandemic situation at a very young age. Their knowledge about the situation helped them cope with the current situation. ESL in China has helped develop the students.
Andrew also led the children to enjoy the beautiful scenery and special food in Suzhou in the following micro class. Students were using their textbooks they were guided to learn the English expressions of location in depth. Though there are challenges with online classes, the students were very engaged on the lessons being taught to them. Everyone was attentive and willing to participate during the online class. It was a great way to target creativity in terms of how the lesson would be delivered through online class. Different teaching strategies were used during the class to keep the students engaged. The lesson was presented through photos and videos. Students were also hearing English words while looking at the photos. They watched each micro-lecture carefully and made notes of the lecture. This is a great example of ESL in China – and how teachers work together with schools to continue teaching.
Although unable to communicate with foreign teachers face to face, but still able to hear the English, students have a very high learning enthusiasm. Many students even made English tabloids after the class. The tabloid contains all the lessons being discussed by the foreign teacher and they also added drawings. Students were creative with their tabloids highlighting important precautionary measures to contain the virus.
Many students also wrote letters to the foreign teachers to express their feelings after watching the micro class. They were grateful of the lessons they learned during the class and understood the safety measures to contain the virus. They even summarized all the things that they learned and how they’re going to follow those precautions. Teaching in China is always evolving but we hope to be back at school again soon.
