Above: Natasha (left) and her fellow summer teachers Ciara, Lee and Adam on the Great Wall

Hi I’m Natasha and I have just spent 7 and a half weeks having a summer of a lifetime in China teaching, travelling, meeting new people and embracing the Chinese culture. I was based in Xuzhou, a developing city in Jiangsu Province and very little people spoke English.

What helped you settle in China?
I arrived in China on the Tuesday and I was met at the airport by one of the Chinese teachers who took me to my apartment and introduced me to my flat mate (one of the long term foreign teachers in Xuzhou). We didn’t start teaching until the following week which allowed us time to settle into our surroundings and our apartments, learn some key phrases, it gave us a chance to meet our bosses and colleagues (Chinese teachers and foreign teachers) and prepare for our lessons. Everyone was so friendly, even the locals would go out of their way to help you. We socialised a lot during the first week, going out for meals with our bosses and exploring the city. Talking to the other foreign teachers who were in China for a year really helped and made me feel more at ease about the following week at summer camp. The notes from Teach English In China were useful at giving you tips for travelling, what to bring and what not to bring.

How did you approach your first class?
My first class were 7 and 8 year olds and I taught them at summer camp at one of the local hotels in the city. As part of a team introduction us foreign teachers introduced ourselves, telling the children where we were from, our age and our hobbies. When we got to our classroom we played games such as go go stop and the evolution game for the children to get to know each other and so I could get to know the children names and learn about them on an individual basis. The children loved these games and it allowed them to break the ice and become friendly with one another. We also did a lot of singing and dancing during our first day so that they could learn some English dances and have fun.

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Above: First class at summer camp

What do you enjoy most about teaching in China?
Teaching in China is an amazing experience and it certainly makes you realise just how much of an expert you are in the subject when the children or Chinese teachers ask you a question or the meaning of something that seems so simple to you. The children are always keen to learn and they are always so bubbly and happy to be in class. The children in my class were full of personality yet they were all very different from one another. The children certainly made me feel welcome in the classroom as they would constantly be offering me their snacks, writing my name in Chinese and drawing me pictures during our break times. I loved how the children were so interested in my life and my family at home and they would love to look and comment on photographs I showed them. I developed some great relationships with the children and teachers in all of my classes, especially in the lessons outside the classroom. Parents were also really intrigued at me teaching their children and would love to take photographs of you with their child. The parents, teachers, and children were all very welcoming and made the experience unforgettable.

What’s been the most challenging aspect about teaching in China?
I would say, without a doubt the most challenging aspect of teaching English in China is the language barrier between yourself and the children and the local people and although their English is better than my Chinese, it was hard to communicate outside of lessons with the children as they didn’t know what I was asking them. This would also happen when the children would excitedly approach me in class with a question or a statement and I wouldn’t know what they had said and the Chinese teacher would have to translate. Outside the classroom it was always an experience ordering food through pointing to pictures and getting directions somewhere because you would never know what you would end up eating or where you would end up. This was all part of the adventure though and one of the reasons we all laughed so much on the trip and made so many memories.

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Above: Foreign Teachers and Chinese Teachers at the school

Is teaching in China what you expected it would be? What parts of the experience have surprised you?
When I arrived in China I did not know what to expect and I remember being on the flight not knowing what I had got myself into as I didn’t have any information about the children in my classes, or how advanced the English would be that I would be teaching. I felt so unprepared even though I had read the notes. I was expecting to teach classes of 30+ children but I was shocked to find that the classes were actually smaller than classes in England.
Teaching English in China is so much easier than I expected because I was basically teaching something I am an expert in from speaking this language my whole life. I was expecting to have to spend lots of time planning and marking whilst in China and not be able to enjoy other aspects of being in the country, i.e making new friends and visiting new places. But in reality, we had a great work life balance and plenty of time to explore and live like the locals.
We had time to plan lessons during one afternoon per week with the Chinese teachers and prepare resources for our classes which was really helpful and saved a lot of time. However, the Chinese Teachers were in charge of the layout and content of the lessons so it would have been nice to have a little bit more input with this. They did listen to suggestions I made about seating arrangements or what we should do in following lessons though.
Everyone was so welcoming and they made you feel like a celebrity as they would always be taking your photo or asking for a photo with you no matter where you were. They would even take them when they thought you weren’t looking. We even managed to star in a Chinese film because we were white and British. I now know what celebrities must feel like on the red carpet.
One thing I have learnt is that you have to go with the flow as things can change all the time and you have to be open to anything happening no matter how random it is.

How has teaching English in China changed you?
Teaching and travelling in China has been an unforgettable experience and I’ve come away with 3 really close friends who have seen me at my best and worst and that I will stay in touch with for a long time. It has given me the travel bug to look into and book my next teaching internship for next summer and the summers after that. I can’t decide where in the world I want to visit the most. It also made me realise how different Asia is compared to the rest of the world. I noticed during my time in China that I love to embrace new cultures and societies and meet new people from all over the globe. But it also opened my eyes and taught me a lot about what we take for granted in the UK and it made me so much more grateful for my own life and how good I have it compared to some people in other parts of the world.

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Above: Celebrating a birthday in class