What helped you settle in China?

SUPPORT TEAM
The support from the support staff in Wuhan. They took care of us for the first few weeks and explained everything that was happening and that was going to happen. It’s a whole different way of doing things over there so it was good to have people there ease you into living in China. They took us through the visa process, the medical check, setting up the apartment, and getting our bank accounts. After they got us set up they were on call for any problems we had getting settled in.

TEACHERS
It was also good meeting other teachers in Wuhan. We were put in touch with other teachers who had been in Wuhan for a year or two. They took us to the best bars in the city and gave us a lot of good advice on living in China. They told us what to expect during the first year, what teaching would be like, and where we could go travelling in Hubei.

EASE OF ACCESS
A big part of how easy it was to get settled was just how easy and cheap it was to get around the city. In Wuhan, they are opening new metro systems and taxis are everywhere. The Metro costs around 40p to travel across the city, and taxis are no more than £5. When we first got to Wuhan, it was very cheap to get around and explore the city, find out where everything is, and visit the big attractions.


How did you approach your first class?

I taught in a kindergarten in Wuhan. I got some help from my teaching assistant for my first class. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to explain my lesson plan to the kids, so she showed me what the kids knew and what they didn’t know. She gave me some ideas for games that the kids knew how to play. I was very nervous for the first class so it was really good to have some help and guidance about what to do. The first class went really well in the end. The kids were so excited to have a new foreign teacher that I could get away with making mistakes.

For the first week or so I focused on working with my teaching assistant to get a basic structure for the classes. With that I could more easily plan my classes for time, make sure I was teaching the month’s required material, and try some different games and exercises.

The first month or so of teaching was pretty forgiving because the kids are all so excited to have a new foreign teacher, so it’s a good time to learn the basics of lesson planning.


What do you enjoy most about teaching in China?

LEARNING

I enjoyed the process of making great classes. I really enjoyed the chance to practice teaching several times a day. I could try things out and find a solution very quickly. It was a great opportunity to put a lot of ideas into practice and see what works.

I enjoyed the opportunity to be creative. They gave me a curriculum of words and sentences to teach, but I could teach them any way I wanted. Any time I wasn’t teaching I tried to plan my classes as much as possible. I was drawing my own flashcards, making stories, and setting up week-long competitions. Introducing new material is one thing, but the real challenge for me was the next stage – repeating the words until they remembered it. The challenge was to keep the class interesting while they recited the same 5 or 6 words. It was the best feeling when I got it right, and I made a game or a story that was teaching English in a fun, engaging, motivating way.

FOOD

The food in China is incredible. It’s all delicious, and it’s a lot healthier than I thought it would be. The variety on offer is staggering. I ate things I didn’t know existed before. On top of how good it is, it’s all really cheap. To go out for a nice dinner is no more than £10 per person maximum. Breakfast is around £1. Very cheap, pretty healthy, and very, very good.


What’s been the most challenging aspect about teaching in China?

EGO

The most challenging thing about China thing about teaching in China was trying not to coast on being a foreigner. You do get treated differently as a foreigner in China, and the challenge was to not let it go to my head.

In the school I had a few rough times where I coasted. After a while teaching, because the kids reacted so positively to me because I was a new foreigner, I put less effort into planning the lessons and making them engaging. When I assumed that my lessons would be great because the kids loved me, it didn’t take long before they got bored of my classes because I wasn’t putting in the effort.The challenge was reminding myself that preparation and creative lesson planning has to be the foundation of a good relationship with a class.

Outside of school the challenge was to not let all the attention and preferential treatment go to my head. For example, when a group of foreigners walks into a club in China, they are likely to be given a lot of free drinks. The first time it happened it was a nice surprise. After a while, it’s easy to expect it. Then, you walk into a bar and shout, “hey, where are my free drinks?!” Insane! Now that I am back in the UK, I’m just another guy walking around, so I’m glad I didn’t get too much of an ego about it. My attitude ended up being to accept it, enjoy it, and be grateful for it.

CHINESE

The language barrier was a big challenge. If you don’t speak Chinese, half of China is shut off to you. For example, in the take out restaurants, if you don’t speak Chinese, you just point to the pictures. But when the Chinese order, they get these amazing looking soups and dishes served in elaborate ceramic pots, that don’t appear on any of the pictures. Half the menu isn’t on the menu. You’ve got to do some research to get the really good stuff.

It’s a challenging language to learn anyway. It is so different from english, and if you’re not pronouncing it just right, it sounds like gibberish to the Chinese. But, after a few months of learning Chinese, tones became a lot easier and I was being understood a lot more.

Not being able to use Chinese websites was another issue, because it was difficult to find what you wanted. When you make Chinese friends, they are more than happy to help. I was trying to find a gym for months when I first got to China, but when I asked Chinese friend to look for one online, we found one in the hotel opposite my apartment. I would never have know it was there!


Is teaching in China what you expected it would be? What parts of the experience have surprised you?

TEACHING

It was very different to what I expected. I didn’t think it would be as challenging to teach. It took a while to realise that it takes consistent planning and changing strategies to be a good teacher. Before I came to China, I had heard that it takes a month or two to get the hang of teaching kindergarten. After that, you just change up your lesson plans a little each week, and you’re set for the year! Only one problem with that. The kids grow up! As they got bigger they got smarter. When they got smarter, they got bored of my games. It was a constant challenge to make the games challenging enough to make it fun, but not so difficult that it was beyond their ability. And I could only play a game three times before they started playing games with me! I wasn’t expecting the kids to be as sharp as they were. I always had to be a few steps ahead of them to stay in control of the class.

CHILDREN

I don’t think I expected to learn as much as I did about children. In my school I was a classroom assistant with my main class when I wasn’t teaching, so instead of having office hours I was with the kids all day. I wasn’t expecting that arrangement, but I’m glad it was like that, because I developed a much stronger relationships with my home room class than with the other one-off classes I taught. I learned how to look after kids, not just keep their attention for 30 minutes. That’s a skill I wasn’t expecting to learn, but one that will be invaluable to me in the future.


How has teaching English in China changed you?

TRAVEL

Teaching in China has changed my views on travelling. In the past I’ve just had holidays to another city for a few days. It feels like it’s not enough time, that I don’t get much out of it. Teaching in China was the first time I have ever lived in another country for more than a few weeks. It was a great opportunity to experience the depth of another culture, not just the breadth. It’s changed my views on travelling and inspired me to do more.

DISCIPLINE

Teaching has changed me a lot. It instilled a discipline of constant improvement in me. It took me a while, but I eventually realised that successful classes have to be earned and re-earned. When I didn’t put effort in my classes, I had bad classes and I felt bad. But I wanted to have great classes. I wanted classes where the kids were engaged, and I was engaged. Where they were laughing, and I was laughing. Where they were learning, and I was learning. To get that, I had to put in a lot of effort. I had to read about child development, motivation, game design, anything that I knew I had to improve on. I had to plan my classes in meticulous detail, prepare for all eventualities, and analyse my performance afterwards to take the right lessons from what I had just done. This discipline of planning, doing and reviewing has changed the way I think. Now, when I catch myself saying something like “it will be fine”, or “we’ll wing it”, alarm bells go off in my head. I now know that if I want something, I can’t assume it will happen. I know that I have to break down what I want and be proactive about getting it.

That discipline has changed the way I think for the better, and I can take those lessons I learned into everything I do.


By Ted Rayner