Are you a foreigner teaching English in China?  Do you find it Difficult?  Is it frustrating? Are you looking for ideas? If so, then maybe this article might help you a little.

It is an abbreviated form of a longer article, however, it is not meant to be a 'manual' to follow in order to be successful.  In order to be successful, a foreigner needs to be in China for a long time, and learn something of what makes students 'tick'.  As you will discover in reading this article, that however is not the 'be all and end all' of being successful.  The real problem is breaking through the Cultural Barrier that prevents students from entering into the spirit of learning. 

Take what you can from this article, apply it to your own style, technique and experience, and make it your own. Don't 'teach' it to your students. Let it flow from your heart as a sincere desire to assist your students reach their fullest potential.

The Chinese have little idea of how useless their grammar studies are until they arrive in a foreign country, and cannot communicate with native English Speakers.

I hope that this article might be of assistance to you.

I have already completed 5 years of teaching English in China, and like everyone else who teaches English, I find the Culture Barrier frustrating. Whilst I have developed my own rather successful approach to teaching, I realise at this point in my life, that I am tired of battling with students to get them to actually start talking in normal, natural ways. I have used many ways and means to reach the objective, but the battle to get them to arrive at a place where they are not only willing, but eager to speak, is tiring.

During Spring Break 2008, I decided (story here) that this would be my last semester in China. During the break however, I began to research, looking for anything to make my teaching life easier; by which I mean: 'that will relieve the stress'.

Having read a number of academic articles, I finally devised a "first lesson" introduction to Oral English Class, designed to break through the culture barrier without the usual need for confrontation. The material I used may be found at Monash University Website : Working With Students from China.

There were two things in particular that attracted my attention. The first was Should Chinese (Language) Be Banned (in the classroom) from which I will now quote:

However international their content, the disciplines we teach in Australian universities are conceived, elaborated and passed on in English. Their discourse is framed in English, and that is what we expect the students to acquire, use and contribute to - and what the students themselves expect to acquire and use.

• But we need to recognise that few if any students from mainland China arrive on our campuses with the level of English language skills they would need to work monolingually in English, and that even the best of them are likely to take at least half a semester (6 weeks) to develop facility in thinking in English.

The second important point I found at Obstacles to effective spoken expression,  points out that students don't know how to:

• enter a discussion

• add to the last speaker's turn

• express disagreement without offence

• pose a question politely

• hold the floor against an interruption

• refuse a turn to speak - gracefully

• deflect a question

• respond to a challenge

• use humour

• respond to humour

• express non-comprehension without looking foolish

• seek clarification without losing face

Motivated by what I found, and relying upon advice found on the Monash website at Facilitating interaction in class I designed a new 'Introductory Lesson' for my classes, in the hope that I might more easily slide them into the new cultural world they will experience in my classes.

At King's Calendar under the title: Conversational English: Breaking Through the Chinese Culture Barrier, I published a full length 'First Lesson' in the hope that it may help students, and Teachers, and from that I will present a few of the more important points here.

What Does Culture Have to do with Successfully Learning English?

Chinese culture has a lot to do with the success or failure in learning natural English, because English Language Culture is very different to Chinese Language Culture. China does not have 'one' culture, it has many competing ideological and social cultures.

1.Traditional Confucian Culture:

• Confucianism puts loyalty to family and friends first. Then comes "face", and finally compliance with the law. Even then, the law is seen as malleable rather than absolute. Dirty Dealing - The Economist - Business in China August 2, 2007

2. Communist Culture - In Communist Culture there are 3 main things to consider:

• Country   /     Country   /   Country

3. Each Province,  Town, and  Village can have a different culture.

4. Family culture too can vary from household to household.

• Some families are Muslim, some Christian, Buddhist,  Daoist or have no religion

• Some families are members of the Communist Party, and so they too have a different culture.

5. School culture

The current school culture is a mix of traditional confucian culture and communist thinking from the period of the cultural revolution. For example: Students get to report on the teachers, and so have power over them. This is not the traditional Chinese culture.

More importantly, the Chinese method of learning is by Memorization. The teacher talks, and the students write down what the Teacher says. The teacher tells them what to learn, and they memorize it. Unfortunately, this method of learning is not sufficient for learning effective and natural communication in English.

6. Class Culture

Students today live a different life to former generations. They colour their hair, wear western clothing, carry and use cell phones in class as well as MP3's and ipods to listen to music. This certainly is not the traditional culture or the Communist culture of China.

But more to the point, in some classes where most students are not really interested in English, there is a good learning environment and yet in others, where most students are interested in improving their English, there is a poor learning environment. Why is this?

Let me tell you why. Because one student, or a small group of students, control and rule class. Others are afraid of them, or do not know how to stop their bad behaviour. So everyone suffers, and little progress is made.

So you see, there are a lot of competing cultures at work in the classroom, but the one that is most responsible for their failure to quickly learn natural and effective English Speaking, is the Educational Culture. Let me explain why.
 

The Difference between Grammar and Language Culture.

In my 5 years in China, I have had so many boys tell me that I am very handsome and very sexy. But I have never had a girl tell me this. Why? Because in Chinese culture, it is O.K. for a man to tell another man that he is handsome and sexy. It is not O.K. for a woman to do this.

But in English Language Culture, if one man tells another man that he is handsome and sexy, it is usually because the speaker is tongxinglian (Gay). Men in the West do not normally run around telling each other that they are handsome and sexy. But when a woman says it to you, it is a compliment.

If I ask Chinese boys if they have 'Boy Friends', they will say: 'Yes of Course!' - And if I ask: 'Do you love them very much?' they will answer: 'Yes!' - And if I ask: 'Do you sometimes sleep with them?' they will say: 'Yes very often!'   But while in Grammar, these questions and answers may seem O.K., in English language culture, they demonstrate that the Chinese boys are gay and have 'boy lovers' and that they 'have sex' together. There is a difference between dictionary meaning of words, and how those words are used in conversation, and what those words mean.

Another Example:

The word 'laowai' is translated in the English language culture as 'foreigner'. 'Foreigner' is a descriptive word, but in China, people use it as a noun. 'That foreigner' - 'The foreigner'. It takes quite a bit of time to get used to your Chinese friends referring to you as 'the foreigner'. Why is this? Because to use the word this way in English, is politically incorrect. It is offensive! It is disrespectful! It is discriminatory!

There is no book of phrases that can explain all these things. These are part of language culture, and the only way to learn language culture, is to actually use the language. It is only when students are discussing freely in class, that the foreign teacher can really teach the 'how, when, and where' of using and not using certain expressions. (What is the Foreign Teacher's Job?)

The Foreign Teacher's Biggest Problem

One of the biggest problems that foreign teachers face, is hearing Teachers and students always saying: 'You should understand Chinese culture!'. The problem is, that it is because of Chinese culture, that most students cannot make progress in normal, natural and effective communication.  In order to be a successful teacher, the foreign teacher must get students to 'break through' those parts of Chinese culture which prevent them from being successful in the use of natural and effective English Language conversation. It is a difficult thing to do.

The article at King's Calendar is quite longwinded, but from it, a foreign teacher is able to draw something from which they can launch their own particular style of teaching in such a way as to break through the Cultural resistance. In that article I set out that my main focus is to teach skills. This is an important point for students, for many feel that they are not being 'trained', but only 'taught'.

The purpose of Conversational English Class is to provide students with 'SKILLS'.

• Skills do not come through theory or memorization. - They come through trial and error

• Thinking and expression skills are not demonstrated by reciting propaganda. This is not an expression of one's own thoughts. - Expression is always personal in nature and delivery.

• It is necessary to learn 'appropriate' discussion culture.

• It is necessary to use correct Grammar, pronunciation, and 'modern' English; to avoid ambiguities, chinglish, accidental idioms, and double entendres (something which has two meanings).

• It is necessary to learn to see the other side of the coin by putting yourself in someone else's shoes. - Hearing other perspectives.

• It is necessary to learn the Skill of Learning for oneself.

The Emphasis on there being just one teacher from whom each individual learns, means that few students pay attention when the foreign teacher speaks with one individual student in class. It is essential to demonstrate to students that they do in fact learn from other students.

In Conversation there are only good or bad communication skills

• Language is one tool of Communication

• Communication is not the repetition of propaganda or memorized passages

• Communication is the sharing of thoughts, words, opinions, feelings, beliefs and ideas of the speaker.

• To communicate well - one needs good skills.

• This class is about learning skills. It is not about right or wrong answers.

What is expected of students in Oral English Class?

In order for both teacher and students to make best use of the time available in the classroom, and to maximize learning potential, the following list shows what is expected of students in learning natural conversational English.

• 1.  Do not waste the Teacher's Time, other student's time, or your own time.

• 2.  Students must Learn from both the Teacher and other students

• 3.  Students will Learn by making mistakes.

• 4.  It is expected that most students will improve their hearing ability and it's speed, simply by listening carefully to every speaker in Class.

• 5.  It is expected that Students will correct their own speaking flaws, even before they get up to speak, because they will already have heard the teacher correct other students.

Question: Which Students fail to get high examination results / marks? 

Answer: Those with Wrong Attitudes of course!

Wrong Attitudes:

• 1. Letting Chinese Cultural Thinking prevent one from learning to communicate in English in a natural way.
• 2. Refusing to believe that a native English speaker knows better than a Chinese grammar teacher, how to speak English.
• 3. Relying on Memorization instead of Skill
• 4. Studying English only for the purpose of Reading and Writing
• 5. Expecting the teacher to tell students what to write,  think, and say.
• 6. Thinking that English Class is just another 'Playtime'..
• 7. Some Students are just 'killing time' until they can go to work.
• 8. Refusing to learn because you don't like the teacher.

How can you get very high examination results?   E-A-S-Y!!!

• Listen carefully to the instructions and do what is asked. Not what you think is better.

• Have a right attitude to learning in class.   ...Do the work you are asked to do.

• Listen all the time to everything said in English.

• Practice the 'skills' as much as you can.

• Learn to have your own opinion.   .........  Learn to express yourself in English.

• Don't be afraid of mistakes - they are the best learning tool.

• Don't be afraid to lose face. Students who are afraid to lose face never learn to communicate in English.

• Don't be silent in groups   ..........Ask lots of questions - especially if you don't understand something.

• Give informative answers when asked a question.

• Learn to 'interject' - to object by cutting people off.

Losing face!

This is a big problem for Chinese students, however, quite logically, it should not be a problem at all in the classroom. The classroom is a place of learning. It is expected that students will make mistakes. If a student was so good that they wouldn't make a mistake, then there would be no reason to have a foreign teacher.

When people train to fly airplanes or train to be surgeons who operate on people, they do a lot of practice in an 'artificial environment'. By this is meant that doctors first learn to operate by operating on dead bodies. (That way if they make a mistake - no one dies!) Pilots also first learn in 'simulators' so that if they crash - no one dies. And then when they finally do have to put their skills to the real life test, there is a qualified person with them to 'fix up' anything that they do wrong.

This is the foreign teachers job. The Student's job is to do the best they can in an 'artificial environment', so that when they start speaking English in the 'real world', they have been properly trained so that they will not make any serious mistakes.

If a person is afraid of losing face in class - then I seriously suggest that they never open their mouths in English in Public. Why do I say this? Because if they don't make their mistakes in the classroom, then they will make them in real life. And that such mistakes might offend people, make themselves look really foolish, cause them to lose a business contract, or cost them their job.

Make your mistakes in the classroom - Not in Real Life.
 

The Foreign Teachers Role in Discussions
(What is the Foreign Teacher's Job?)

The teachers role in relation to group discussion, is to teach the skills necessary for normal communication.

His/Her main role, either during or after the discussion, is to correct student's use of English, and in that way, to teach them 'English language culture'.

It is only by using English that one learns the language culture. Along the way, students will be corrected so that they can make their grammar, pronunciation and intonation, more natural. The teacher will also point out their use of ambiguities, chinglish, accidental idioms, double entendres, and outdated or inappropriate English ( Vowels, Consonants and Dirty Language)

Every time the foreign teacher corrects one student's error, his action is meant to correct all students. He should not have to individually correct every single student in the class. That is why students are expected to pay attention to everyone who is speaking English in class.

Now on Google Sites: October 2008:

•  English Lessons at Kingscalendar Google Sites
   
   Principles of Business at Kingscalendar Google Sites
   
   Advice from Chinese Students at Kingscalendar Google sites

I hope that this article has given you something to work with as you struggle to be a successful teacher.