Adventures in Asia

Longing to travel the world? Interested in teaching? Looking for a different, new adventure? It may have crossed your mind: What about teaching English in Asia…? Rural area of Zhejiang province You aren’t the only one. It’s incredibly easy to get a teaching job in several Asian countries, including China. All you need to apply is… -Be a native English speaker -Have a bachelor’s degree (any field) -Be willing to commit for a year -Have an “aptitude” for teaching (literally the wording they used on my first application) You do not have to speak the local language. You do not have to find your own housing. Your flight will be reimbursed upon the completion of your contract. You can literally just go. It’s the wanderlust dream of my generation. On top of that, many teaching jobs pay very well. Even if the salary doesn’t look like much in US dollars, it can go a long way in a place like China that has much lower living costs. I’ve been able to...

When I started dating a Chinese guy, and then got serious with that guy, some friends and family back home asked, usually in a hushed tone, “But how do you communicate ?” What does that mean, "someone who speaks your language"? With my dismal Chinese and his intermediate English, it was a legitimate question. The first few times we hung out, my now-husband kept a dictionary app open on his phone (despite having studied English in school for many years… but the effectiveness of language education is a different topic). We recently discussed the issue of the language barrier with some of our friends who are also in cross-cultural relationships. Some of the other couples are like us, where one partner uses their native language which is the other’s second (or third or fourth or fifth) language. This gives one person a natural advantage in communication. For some of the other couples, neither partner can speak the other’s first language, so they u...

I just finished my first semester of teaching English at a Chinese university, where my classes averaged 51.6 students EACH. Coming from a few years at children’s training schools, where 20 kids in a class was entirely too many, I was in a panic my first week of class. How in the world am I going to make my classes dynamic, communicative, or at least bearable? I quickly emailed one of my old TESOL professors, who sent me an article by Alan Seaman entitled “Responding to the Challenge of Large Mixed-Ability Classes in China.” It pretty much saved my life. Here are some of the techniques I used this semester, most of which were influenced by Dr. Seaman, or my wonderful, more-experienced colleagues. The first homework assignment I gave involved my students filling out an index card with their Chinese name (in Pinyin and characters), their English name (if they had one), and their interests / goals for the class. Apparently, all Chinese freshmen have several ID-style photos of...