Buckland Weekly #30 - Differences in Chinese and Western Techniques Part 3

Quite some time ago I started a series of articles about various topics that had come up in conversation with a Chinese colleague – all linked by the fact that his opinions and mine on effective teaching techniques were frequently vastly at odds. He’s a good friend and a good teacher and he was only repeating what most teachers here do and believe but the essence of it all was totally different to the way we see language teaching in the west.

Other things interrupted me and I never completed the series so I’ll do so now. 

First let me list the things I intended to discuss in the articles.

Learning long word lists is an effective strategy for vocabulary acquisition.

Reading a dictionary is an effective strategy for vocabulary acquisition.

Reading aloud is a useful tool in learning a language.

Rote memorisation of text passages is a useful tool in language learning

Students who do not wish to learn should be ignored as long as they are not disruptive.

Punishment is an effective way to correct mistakes.

Solitary learning is preferable to group activity.

Some students cannot or will not learn.

Passing an Exam means your English is good.

If your English is good you will pass your exam.

In a fast paced lesson students will be forced to learn.

I had covered the first four so now let’s take a look at the next one

Students who do not wish to learn should be ignored as long as they are not disruptive.

This was possibly the one where we had the most fundamental disagreement. My friend has a fondness for idioms and he said “let sleeping students lie”. I’ve heard the same idea from both Chinese and foreign teachers expressed either in those words or others. The principle is that you should teach the ones who show an interest in learning and as for the others – as long as they cause no trouble in class – let them be. I couldn’t disagree more. I have two problems with it – an ideological one and a practical one. Ideologically it goes against everything I believe. I am in the classroom to try to teach everybody. Writing a student off without trying feels lazy, disrespectful and wrong. I can’t bring myself to do it. Off course I know that I won’t always be successful. There will sometimes be students that I can’t reach no matter how I try. The difference is that I don’t believe that it gives me a license not to try. Also, I have had many occasions where a student that other teachers consider difficult has started out with a bad attitude in my class but finished up by joining in and progressing. I’m not pretending this is always true. I have a student this year who has spent ninety per cent of every lesson asleep. When I wake him, he scowls at me and immediately puts his head down again. The other teachers tell me he is like this in every lesson and that they confidently expect him to fail everything. He won’t, they tell me, be bothered. He is in school because he has to be and will, as soon as he can, leave to go work on his family farm. He doesn’t think he needs to learn anything so no one has been able to motivate him to try.

Of course there is also the practical problem. As oral English teachers much of the work we do is in pairs or groups. A non-participating student doesn’t just affect himself he spoils the task for his whole group. If you are a keen and eager student and you are partnered in a speaking task with a student who won’t even wake up then you aren’t able to learn either. You know when you have such a student because when you include him or her in a group the others always complain. There is not much you can do. Limitations on time and the logistics of the classroom layout make it hard or even impossible to just move people about so you just have to try on a week by week basis to organize the groups in such a way that everyone who wants to at least gets a chance to work with different people.

So what’s the answer? Well I once observed a teacher who took the wrong answer to an extreme. In the lesson I watched he interacted with no more than half a dozen students from a class of about seventy. When I asked him about it he said that he was only going to teach the ones who wanted to learn – and by that he meant the few who volunteered answers to his questions. That wasn’t just ignoring the ones who didn’t want to work but also the majority of those who did but who couldn’t – for whatever reason – offer an answer. In my lessons I always make an effort to include everyone. I wake up the sleepers and ask them questions. People gazing out of the window can also be sure they will draw my attention and get asked. In groups I will either try to make the reluctant students lead the group or, if their English isn’t strong enough for that, tell the group leader that they can help them in Chinese if they have to. Students who seem to just be struggling get easier questions and more time so that they can build their confidence until they join in more freely.

The bottom line is that “let sleeping students lie” may be a common philosophy here but that doesn’t make it a good one. You should try to reach everyone – accept that maybe you will be unsuccessful but you have to try.

Buckland Weekly #29: The Last Minute

Christmas is coming.

And like every year it will be here on the 25^th December. A much harder question is when will you finish your teaching? This is one of the tricky things when teaching – or for that matter living – here in China. You will rarely be given much, if any, notice of when things will happen. I’ll give you a couple of examples – one from school life and one from my social life. The school one first. At the end of the first semester of my third year teaching in Baiyin I was informed of the date of my last lesson two days AFTER it had actually taken place. It came about because on my schedule for that semester I had no lessons on Wednesdays. On the Thursday morning I was just about to leave my apartment to go to school when my phone rang. It wasn’t my administrator and it wasn’t the head – or anyone else – in my department. It was a friend from another department who was ringing to ask if anyone had told me that lessons had actually finished on Wednesday and I was now officially on vacation. I checked with my administrator who after a moment of considering said she would check with the school. A few minutes later she rang me back to tell me that this was true but the Chinese teachers had only been informed yesterday when I wasn’t there.

That’s an extreme case but even now, as I type this on the 4^th December, I have been told that my junior classes will probably finish on the 14^th but no one in the school, so they say, knows when the senior classes will finish. It could be anywhere between 16^th December and 6^th January. Literally no one has been able to find out for me. I wanted to go visit my friends in Baiyin for Christmas but until I know for sure when the term ends I can’t book a flight or a hotel. I might not be able to go at all.

The other example was at this same time of year. In my first year here I had to work on our New Year’s Eve, 31^st December. I was living in a city with just two other foreign teachers and beyond a very vague arrangement that we might meet for a drink later I had no fixed plans for celebrating. Well at least up until three O’clock I had no fixed plans. Between three and six I received no fewer than five further invitations to do something. Teachers in my department had decide to take me to dinner and had booked a restaurant without checking with me first – just assuming that I was free. A friend from a school I had previously worked at invited me to KTV. One of the other foreign teachers was invited by her colleagues to a different KTV. My administrator called me up and invited me out to dinner and finally, as I was getting ready for the dinner with my colleagues (which I felt obliged to go to as they had already booked it) my next door neighbour’s ten year old son knocked on my door to ask if I wanted to eat with them.

This last minute attitude is just something you have to get used to. Chinese colleagues always express total astonishment when I tell them that in any western school the schedule for the whole year – start and end dates, exam dates, holidays and all – is known by the teachers from the start of the first term and that the office will almost certainly have at least an outline schedule for two or three years. Barring the occasional snow day closure we know exactly when we will or will not be there.

As for social events I have told many of my friends that if I plan a dinner party – whether at home or in a restaurant – I will start asking the people who are coming at least a few weeks early so that they can arrange their schedule accordingly. No one ever seems to believe me. No one ever seems to think it possible to arrange anything more than a day or so in advance

There is nothing that you can do about it except learn to adapt to it.

Anyway, whether you have your finish date or not let me wish you, 21 days early, a very happy Christmas in whichever part of China you find yourself. 

Buckland Weekly #28: The Act of Being Polite

All views expressed are the author's own etc.

It’s getting to the time of year when Buckland start recruiting for the February Orientation and so I intend to post a few articles about living and teaching in China here. You can find my previous articles by scrolling back and following the links.

So let’s talk about one of the differences between Chinese culture and western culture, British culture in particular – the whole business of “please”, “thank you”, “excuse me and so on and the related subject of rewarding someone for doing something good for you.

I remember when I first arrived in China and went to the city of Baiyin in the north. On my first few trips to the supermarket I noticed that the cashiers seemed highly amused whenever I was paying for my goods and I couldn’t work out what they thought was so funny. Eventually I asked a Chinese friend about it and we worked out that it was the ridiculous number of times an Englishman at a supermarket checkout says “thank you”. Saying “please” and “thank you” and all the other little politeness words is something we do all the time and it’s such an ingrained part of British culture that until someone points it out we don’t even notice that we are doing it. So at the checkout the exchange would go something like this.

Cashier scans an item. I say “thank you” and put it in my bag.

Cashier scans another item. I say “thank you” and put it in my bag.

Same happens with every item, no matter how many there are.

Cashier rings up the total and tells me how much. I say “thank you” and hand over the money.

Cashier hands me my change. I say “thank you”.

As I walk away I say “thank you”.

Once I realized I wasn’t surprised that people found it weird and amusing. I still catch myself doing it from time to time but I am slowly getting better.

It would be completely wrong to let this give you the idea that Chinese culture isn’t polite. It’s simply that the politeness takes other forms. When out for a meal if someone is pouring drinks they will almost never pour their own until all the others have been poured. Also at meals people will sometimes select food from the dishes and place it onto your plate for you. In large gatherings it’s extremely common for someone to stand up and individually toast every member of the group. When everyone decides to do this the toasting can last a very long time. If people are doing this you should do it to, watch they way they go about it and copy it.

Another illustration of how it can be difficult to thank and reward someone – even when they have done something really beyond what you might expect back home – is the story of my lost camera.,.

I was living in Baiyin and I had slipped on some ice and injured my leg so that I was in plaster from ankle to thigh. Nevertheless I had still been teaching, from a chair at the front of the class on one particular day had to go to a meeting at another location. I took a taxi there and back and on the return journey I heaved myself with difficulty out of the cab, paid the driver and, two seconds after he had driven off, realised that my camera, which had been in my pocket, had fallen out in the cab. I called my Chinese friends to help and we tried all sorts of ways to find it but I didn't know the cab company and in the end I gave up. Two weeks later I got a call from my school administrator. A passenger had found the camera and given it to the driver. The driver had looked through the pictures and realised it belonged to his only foreign passenger of the day. Among the other pictures was a picture of the school I taught at. His son went to a different school but had friends at my school so his son called one of his friends who was at my school but not in my class. The friend took the camera to his class teacher. The class teacher took it to the head of my department. The head of my department called my administrator and she called me and returned the camera.

I wanted to give the cab driver a reward but was told that this would be a serious loss of face for him as it would look as if I felt that he only did it because he expected a reward. He didn't expect to be rewarded for doing the right thing and would be offended if I offered one.

Nevertheless I wanted to something to show my appreciation so my administrator suggested that I could give some school books and supplies tor his son – not as a reward but as a gift from a friend. That’s what I did and so I had my camera back and had shown my appreciation indirectly and everyone was happy.

It is often these tiny cultural differences that we have trouble coming to grips with and if you are getting things wrong it’s extremely unlikely that anyone will point it out directly. After all that would be impolite.

Lesson Plan: Bonfire Night Senior Version

Lesson Level:  Senior    Duration:  45 Minutes

Lesson Title:     Bonfire Night Senior Version                  

Grammar and Vocabulary

Bonfire, Barrel, Gunpowder, Bomb, Guy Fawkes, Guy, Penny for the Guy, Baked Potato, Sausage, Marshmallow, Treason, Plot, Effigy

 .

Lesson Objectives

 Students will learn about the British tradition of Bonfire Night

Students will practice pronunciation.

Students will discuss historical festivals.

Images of Vocabulary items

Blutac or some other method to pin pictures to the board.

Preparation

Prepare images. They must EITHER be large enough to pin to the board OR provided on a handout with enough handouts for one per two students.

Prepare the listening text.

Procedure

1

Write “Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night” on the board.

Elicit from students any prior knowledge that they might have about it.

2

Put class into groups of four to six students.

Go through new vocabulary using pictures where available.

Elicit and explain the meanings.

3

Put these questions on the board

.

When do we celebrate Bonfire Night?

What do we do to celebrate?

What is the traditional way to raise money to buy fireworks?

What do we say to ask for the money?

Why do we ask for so little?

How do we cook the food that we eat?

What do we burn during the celebration.

What did Guy Fawkes and his friends want to do?

How did they intend to do it?

Why did they fail?

What happened to them afterwards?

4

Read the text twice. Groups must write the answers.

Ask the questions after the second reading.

Get feedback from the groups and write the answers on the board.

5.

Put new questions on board for group discussion.

Do you think this is a good thing to celebrate? Why?

Does your country have any festivals that celebrate historical events?

Is it a good way to remember our history?

Students in groups discuss their ideas and feedback

6

In groups.

Choose a traditional festival in your country.

Make a list of the things that you do for the festival including how you celebrate, any special foods that you eat, when the festival takes place and why you celebrate this festival.

Some Chinese festivals you might choose are

            Chinese New Year

            Lantern Festival

            Qingming  (Tomb Sweeping Day)

            Dragon Boat Festival

            Mid Autumn Day

If you know any others you can choose them.

7

Notes

Listening Text

There is a traditional festival that is only celebrated in England. It is celebrated every Fifth of November and is called Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night.

The way that we celebrate is by building big fires in our gardens and parks and burning the effigy of a man. It represents Guy Fawkes. We also eat lots of food that we cook in the fire and have lots of fireworks. To get money for the fireworks we make the effigy, which we call the “Guy”, a week or two before the festival. Then we ask people to give us money. The better the guy the more money they might give us. We ask for money by saying “penny for the guy”. A penny is a very small amount of money but the festival has happened for hundreds of years and when it started a penny was worth much more than it is now.

So that’s the celebration but why do we do it? Who was Guy Fawkes?

Guy Fawkes was one of a group of people who did not like King James or his Government and they made a plot to kill him. They were going to do this by putting a big bomb made from barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Government on a day when the King was going to visit.

It might have worked but they were betrayed and the King found out about the plot. His guards searched the cellars and found the bomb. The Plotters were arrested and the King and Government were saved. The plotters were tried for treason and executed by hanging.

Every year since then we have celebrated the way that the King was saved by having parties all over England. Almost every family will have a bonfire and fireworks. In England it is far more important than Halloween.

Lesson Plan: Bonfire Night Junior Version

Lesson Level:    Junior                    Duration:  40

Lesson Title:     Bonfire Night

Grammar and Vocabulary

Bonfire, Barrel, Gunpowder, Bomb, Guy Fawkes, Guy, Penny for the Guy, Baked Potato, Sausage, Marshmallow

Lesson Objectives

 Students will learn about the British tradition of Bonfire Night

Students will practice pronunciation.

Materials Required

Images of Vocabulary items

Blutac or some other method to pin pictures to the board.

Preparation

Prepare images. They must EITHER be large enough to pin to the board OR provided on a handout with enough handouts for one per two students.

Prepare the listening text.

Procedure

1

Write the title “Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night” on the board.

Ask if anyone knows what it is. (They probably won’t)

2

Put class into groups of four.

3

Tell class that soon you will tell them that it is an English Festival that no other country in the world has.

Explain new vocabulary.

Put pictures on the board one by one.

Elicit / explain the new words, write them on the board under the pictures.

Practice repeating each word.

4

Write these questions on the board.

            When is Bonfire Night?

            When do we make our Guy?

            How do we get money?

            Why do we want money?

            What do we do on Bonfire Night?

            What do we like to eat?

            What did Guy Fawkes want to do?

            How did he want to do it?

            Did he do it? Why?

5.

Read the text twice. Groups must write the answers.

Ask the questions after the second reading.

Get feedback from the groups and write the answers on the board.

6

Put new questions on board and check understanding.

What festivals do you have in your country?

When do you have fireworks?

Would you like to have a bonfire party?

Why?

7

Give new instructions.

Your group is going to have a bonfire party.

What food will you eat? Make a menu.

Remember the food must be…

                                                Something you can cook in the fire.

                                                Something everyone will like.

                                                Something to eat outside.

                                                Something you can eat standing up.

Assist the groups in making their menus, get feedback from various groups about what they would like to cook for their party.

Extension Task

Teach students the nursery Rhyme

            Remember, remember!

    The fifth of November,

    The Gunpowder treason and plot;

    I know of no reason

    Why the Gunpowder treason

    Should ever be forgot!

Notes

1.

Text for listening exercise.

Every year in England on November the fifth there is a festival that everyone celebrates.

We make a man from old clothes and newspaper. This is called the Guy. We do this one week before Bonfire Night. Then we take it from house to house and say “Penny for the Guy”. We want people to give us a little money. If we make a good Guy people give more money.

We use the money to buy fireworks.

On Bonfire Night we build big fires in our gardens. We burn the Guy on the fire.

We eat potatoes and sausages and marshmallows cooked in the fire.

We have lots of fireworks.

Why do we do this?

Many years ago a man named Guy Fawkes didn’t like the king and wanted to kill him.

They planned to kill him with a big bomb made from barrels of gunpowder.

Luckily the King found out about the plot and Guy Fawkes and his friends were caught and the King was safe.

So every year we celebrate this on November the Fifth

2. Pictures can be obtained from the internet.

Buckland Weekly #28: Working For Buckland

I have been asked to write about my own experience of working for Buckland.

As always, everything here - other than purely factual details such as who does what in the office - is my own opinion.

This entry can also be found on the Buckland website.

You read a lot of things on the internet about why you should never use agencies when you are planning to teach abroad. Some of it is true, some of it is exaggerated, some of it is personal opinion and some of it is nonsense.

Of course some agencies are better to work with than others and even within a single agency some teachers will find their experience is good and others won't. Everything here reflects my own personal experience. I am currently within my sixth year with them and that in itself should tell you a lot. I wouldn't still be here after all this time unless I was happy with them. So let me start by describing what normally happens when you arrive in China.

The Orientation Period

Every new teacher is met at the airport and Buckland staff drive the new teacher to the offices where accommodation of a good standard is provided. Depending on which days the orientation course is running for a small fee a very good lunch is also provided.

The orientation is, at the moment, mostly done by me. It consists of sessions about living in China, working in a Chinese public school, teaching in general, teaching in China and lesson preparation. There is also a session on basic Chinese which is not given by me – even after all this time my Chinese is terrible. A good teacher isn't necessarily a good student.

The orientation takes about five days in total and also includes a short teaching practice (to real students) and your medical exam. You pay for the medical exam but it is the only real expense that you have in this period.

The orientation period actually isn't very stressful – depending on when it is you might get taken out to dinner, taken out for a nice swim in a secluded pool on the Yulong river, taken for a beer or an Indian meal by me or taken for a stroll around Yangshuo. When it's all over you will have a chat with Jennifer who will give you all the information about the school where you should be teaching.

You might need to pay for your transport to the school but that money should be reimbursed by the school.

And the next thing that happens is that you start teaching!

The Buckland Office

The Buckland offices are based in Yangshuo, where the orientation takes place. You may want to visit Yangshuo later as it is a beautiful part of China and during the orientation you may be too busy to see much of it. If you need to contact the office there are various people you should get to know.

For questions or issues about your visa or documentation you should contact Jasmine who will help you find your way with all the tricky Chinese bureaucracy.

Your point of contact about salary questions is Sue who sends out an email shortly before your salary is due to be paid to check if you have had any time off and to make sure that you get paid promptly.

For general issues about your school and life in China you can contact Yuki or me. anything you send to me that I can't answer I will pass on to the right person for you, so if you aren't sure who you need for your particular question just let me know.

Jennifer deals with recruitment and placement and will give you all the details about your school before you go.

The manager, based in Xi-An, is Frank. He's responsible for all the teachers in that area but from time to time the office will also consult with him on matters concerning other teachers.

Also, not based in the office, there is Ping who deals with initial applications and is the person you have probably dealt with when you sent your CV.

Finally there is me. If you have questions about your teaching – about text books, or lesson plans, or dealing with your classes – I'll be here to help you resolve them.

All the staff are friendly and approachable and everyone does their best to help with any issues and make sure that your stay in China and your work at the school go smoothly and comfortably.

Things to expect at your school

You won't be paid until the end of the first month so you should bring enough money with you to last – remembering that it is also the most expensive month as you will want to buy things for your apartment. So let me go on now to talk about apartments.

The apartment may not be what you are used to back home. Kitchens and bathrooms are always smaller than we typically have. Bathrooms are almost always of the wetroom-shower type and rarely have baths. The furnishing may also, as is often the case in China, be quite sparse compared with the usual British or American apartment. However you will see from the contract that all the necessities should be provided. If anything is missing then a word with your FAO (your administrator and school liaison) should get it sorted out quickly. My experience is that schools try very hard to accommodate your needs. If there is anything you feel is wrong then an email to me or to the office will usually sort it out quickly. One of the definite advantages of working with Buckland is that once the office is aware of an issue they will try to sort it out for you.

Documentation And Paperwork

Another advantage is in dealing with documentation and paperwork. This is China. There is a lot of documentation and paperwork and it varies from province to province and city to city. I have always found them to be very good at helping to get it done. Of course individuals may have problems because of local requirements and if you had to sort them out alone it could be difficult. This is, for me at least, the biggest advantage of having an agency. They understand the things that can happen and how to deal with them. In my time here I have had the occasional bureaucratic snarl-up but with Buckland's help it has always been sorted out.

There isn't much more that needs to be said about working for Buckland other than that they have, in all that time, always paid me on time, always been prepared to help me with any problems at my school and always listened when I've needed them to. And now they also have me as a first point of contact for any teaching issues that might arise.

There are a few other things I can say about living and working in China.

Where you will be based

Buckland places teachers in schools all over China. This means that you may not be based centrally in a large city. You could be in a smaller city without many other foreigners about. You need to be prepared for this. If you are expecting to be placed in the centre of Beijing or Shanghai you are likely to be disappointed. However it's my experience that if you try to make local friends and to enjoy the experience smaller cities can be very rewarding. People, especially your colleagues, are always friendly but you need to make a little effort for yourself too. Sometimes you will have other Buckland teachers at the same school or at nearby schools, but not always. On the other hand staying in touch using wechat is free and very easy so you can provide support for each other if it's needed.

Living and Working In China

Even if you are an experienced teacher you might, at first, find things very different here. To begin with you could have up to eighty students in your class. It isn't as daunting as it sounds and methods for dealing with it are covered in depth in the orientations. Also, if you were already an English teacher you probably taught the full range of skills – speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, spelling – but here your main focus is to teach speaking and listening. You will, incidentally, need a little of the other things to support your main role but that job is taken care of primarily by their Chinese teachers.

What can you expect of your classes?

On the whole, they are well-behaved and attentive but children are children all over the world and you may get individuals or sometimes classes that are more troublesome but in my time here I haven't come across anything in class that I couldn't handle and the other teachers at the school are always willing to help and advise you if you need it. Dealing with any problems is also covered in the orientation but it's largely a matter of common sense and not being afraid to ask for help if you need it.

What can you expect of your location?

You may not have everything you would like but you will certainly have everything you need. Even smaller cities usually have all the shops to buy essentials – after all other people live there too – and everywhere has restaurants and coffee shops and bars because eating out and socializing is a very large part of Chinese culture. If, on the other hand, you are looking for western food or western style entertainment such as movies in English, night clubs or even just bookshops with English books, you are less likely to find them. You might in some places but usually not. Often you will only be a bus ride away from a larger city where you might find some of those things but again this isn't always the case. You need to be flexible and adaptable. And that brings me to the final point. What you need to do to enjoy your time teaching in China.

Making the most of it

Teaching in China, especially with all the support Buckland provide, can be a very rewarding experience and very enjoyable. people come for six months and stay for six years. But it all depends on you. Above all you need to be flexible and to be open to new experiences and other cultures. You need to understand that many things, especially bureaucracy and paperwork work differently here and not to get angry or frustrated when things seem to be taking a long time or becoming more difficult than you expected. Patience is one of the keys to thriving here. Once you learn that things are the way they are and that you aren't going to be able to change them then you can relax and enjoy your experience. I would say that the key things you need to bring to your role are patience, professionalism, flexibility and an openness to new experiences.

My Experience

I will finish with a few words about my experience of schools here. I taught in Baiyin for three years at various schools – Middle Schools 8, 10 and 11 and Experimental School. In all of them I found the teachers to be helpful and friendly – I still have friends at those schools that I meet up with whenever I visit the city. Things like administration and school events varied from school to school but I always found that by making myself an active part of the school life I got along fine. Classes also vary, of course, but if you have the help and support of the local teachers it goes a long way to sorting out any problems you come across.

Since I moved to Yangshuo I have taught Juniors and Middle-Schoolers at Yangshuo Middle School and again love the school and find that the teachers are really happy to help.

Both in Baiyin and here I have joined in with school sports days, judged school speech and drama competitions, helped organize student performances and a host of other things. I have had a great time and I hope that you all find it equally rewarding.

Good luck, and enjoy your stay.

*For new teachers who start late and miss the orientation period, one of two things happen. If they have time to come to Yangshuo I give a one-to-one reduced version of it taking one day. IF they go straight to their school and don't come to Yangshuo the information will be sent be email.

**Not a typo – there are a couple of good Iindian restaurants in Yangshuo and I always take advantage of the orientation periods to pay a visit.

Lesson Plan: Halloween (Senior Version)

Lesson Level:    Senior                   Duration:  45

Lesson Title:     Halloween

Grammar and Vocabulary

Cowboy, Doctor, Nurse, Witch, Vampire, Clown, Skeleton, Werewolf, Black Cat, Pirate, Devil, Monster, Superhero .

Lesson Objectives

To practice discussion and pronunciation

Materials Required

A4 size pictures of all the vocabulary items. ¹

 Magnets or tape to put pictures on board

Preparation

Prepare all materials.

Procedure

1

Ask class “What day is it today. (Or What day was it/will it be… if Halloween is near but not actually today.)

They will probably answer “Monday” (or whatever day is the right answer)

Ask “But what about the date?”

Elicit 31^st October. and add to the board.

Ask “Is there anything special about that date?”

Elicit “Halloween” and add to the board.

2

Ask class what we do for Halloween.

Elicit or explain Halloween traditions. It doesn’t matter which ones but must include Trick or Treat and Dressing Up.

Discuss with groups what each of these traditions is.

3

Put class in groups of six.

Tell groups they must dress up to go trick or treating. Each person in the group must dress up as something different.

Give them two minutes to decide what they will dress up as.

Ask a few students around the class for their ideas.

4

Put the pictures on the board one by one and elicit and add the vocabulary items.

Check if groups have chosen the things from the pictures

5.

Tell the students they must now create their own Halloween story.

They must choose a location and at least two of the characters from the board. Suggest some locations.

They must create a story using that location and those characters.

6

Give students about ten minutes to do this.

Monitor and assist as required.

7

Choose some groups to tell their story to the class..

Notes

1. I use cartoons traced onto paper from the internet.

Lesson Plan: Halloween (Junior Version)

Lesson Level:    Junior                    Duration:  40

Lesson Title:     Halloween

Grammar and Vocabulary

Cowboy, Doctor, Nurse, Witch, Vampire, Clown, Skeleton, Wolfman, Black Cat, Pirate, Devil, Monster, Superhero .

Lesson Objectives

To practice discussion and pronunciation

Materials Required

Printed lyric sheets for the song. (At least enough for one per four students)

A4 size pictures of all the vocabulary items. ¹

 Magnets or tape to put pictures on board

Preparation

Prepare all materials.

Procedure

1

Ask class “What day is it today. (Or What day was it/will it be… if Halloween is near but not actually today.)

They will probably answer “Monday” (or whatever day is the right answer)

Ask “But what about the date?”

Elicit 31^st October. and add to the board.

Ask “Is there anything special about that date?”

Elicit “Halloween” and add to the board.

2

Ask class what we do for Halloween.

Elicit or explain simple Halloween traditions. It doesn’t matter which ones but must include Trick or Treat and Dressing Up.

3

Put class in groups of six.

Tell groups they must dress up to go trick or treating. Each person in the group must dress up as something different.

Give them two minutes to decide what they will dress up as.

Ask a few students around the class for their ideas.

4

Put the pictures on the board one by one and elicit and add the vocabulary items.²

Practice the vocabulary items.

5.

Tell the students we will now sing a song about Halloween.

Hand out the lyric sheets.³

6

You sing a line, the students copy.

Do this for the whole song. (Verses may be omitted if class is overrunning)

7

Ask students to look for words they don’t know in the song.

Explain any new words.

Notes

1. I use cartoons traced onto paper from the internet.

2. I really go overboard for this, howling like a wolf, cackling like a witch, stomping around the room repeating “Brains” for the zombie etc.

3. (Sing to whatever tune you like, just keep it quite slow.)

We’re going out to trick or treat

With all the people in our street

We’re all dressed up in fancy dress

We know our costumes will impress

We’re going out to trick or treat

With all the people in our street

I’m a skeleton made of bones

Hear my moans and hear my groans (Make groaning noises)

I have no flesh as you can see

You can, you see, see right through me.

I’m a skeleton all made of bones

Hear my moans and hear my groans

I’m a wolfman, oh so hairy,

In the moonlight very scary

Hear me roar and hear me growling (make roaring and growling noises)

You can even hear me howling (make loud wolf howl)

I’m a wolfman, oh so hairy,

In the moonlight very scary

I’m a pirate - sword  in my hand

Taking treasure’s all that I planned (Say Arrrrr, like a pirate)

I will make you walk the plank now

Into the water dark and dank now

I’m a pirate - sword  in my hand

Taking treasure’s all that I planned

I’m a vampire, drinking your blood

Hear me whisper, “Give me more blood” (Use stereotypical vampire accent)

But before I can begin

You must invite me to come in

I’m a vampire, drinking your blood

Hear me shouting, “Give me more blood”

I’m a scarecrow who has come alive

I’ll scare you on the count of five

Hear me count, “one two three, four”

On five I’ll shout. “Boo” at your door. (Shout Boo very loud)

I’m a scarecrow who has come alive

I’ll scare you on the count of five

I’m a zombie, I walk slowly

My body is all weak and holey

Hear me saying, “Brains, brains, brains” (use a groaning zombie voice and shuffle towards students)

Then hear me say the same again.

I’m a zombie, I walk slowly

My body is all weak and holey

I’m a witch, with pointy hat

A broomstick and a little cat

Hear me laughing, hear me cackle (Make high-pitched cackling laugh)

Hear my fire burn and crackle

I’m a witch, with pointy hat

A broomstick and a little cat

We’re going out to trick or treat

With all the people in our street

We’re all dressed up in fancy dress

We know our costumes will impress

We’re going out to trick or treat

With all the people in our street

Lesson Plan: The Return of the Aliens

Lesson Plan: The Return of The Aliens

This is a sequel to the junior version of the “Aliens Stole My Family Lesson”

It should be done the following year with classes that have previously seen that lesson.

Lesson Level: Junior 1 and 2 (Grades 7 and 8) Duration: 45 Minutes

Grammar and Vocabulary

Asking and answering questions.

Lesson Objectives

To encourage group discussion.

Materials Required

Photographs of your family members. (Photographs to represent your family members will do but classes respond better to the real thing.)

Magnets.

A cut out spaceship about a ten inches wide.

Preparation

Prepare materials.

Before class draw an alien on the board.¹

Procedure

1

Draw an alien and a spaceship

Ask class if they remember the lesson where the Aliens took my grandmother away.

Elicit everything they can remember about that lesson.

Tell them any details that they have forgotten.

Elicit/describe the words.

Alien/Outer Space/Spaceship/Homeworld

2

Put students in groups of six.

Tell students they will need paper and pen.

Copy this to the board.

Name of Alien Planet:

Names of the Aliens:

On my planet we eat:

On my planet we like to:

On my planet we play:

On my planet the weather is:

We took Bob’s family because:

On my planet we have:

On my planet we don’t have:

This is what we look like:

Get each group of students to make a copy of the table on the board.

Fill it in (in a different colour) – either with details of Earth or with details made up for another planet. Ides for this can be elicited from the class.

3.

Each group completes a table of their details.

4.

When complete demonstrate asking questions by asking for one question to each group.

Choose one person from each group.

Send chosen person to another group with BLANK paper. The paper with the created details stays with the original group.

5.

In the new group the visitor finds out as much information as he can and writes it down.

6.

Return students to original group and give time to share the information.

7. Ball toss to ask students about their own group and about the group they interviewed.

8. Extension Activity

Write these questions on the board.

Would you like to live with the aliens?

Why?

Do you think the aliens like Earth/China?

Why?

If you want to show the aliens around Yangshuo, what will you show them?

Give groups 2 minutes thinking time then ask the questions using ball toss to select students to answer.