Teaching - Musings - Week Two

It's so strange to be getting into the swing of a full-time teaching career. We're both working 20 hours this week, with at least another 10-15 hours preparation time, plus travel time, which all adds up. I have two twelve-hour days in which I have to travel between the branches, which is tiring and a little frustrating. I much prefer being at Shilin, the northern branch, where the majority of my classes are. The vibe there is pleasant and the other teachers are really lovely.

Most of my classes are really fantastic. With my advanced students, I can choose any topic that I feel is relevant/interesting to both the students and I, and prepare material on it. The freedom on not having to work to mostly mediocre English language lessons is great; the more we find out about the students, the more "tailoring" can be done, and the more we enjoy it. Mostly, though, its the freedom to speak in a complex manner, explaining concepts and ideas, that we love. For example, yesterday my topic was 'job fulfillment' - instead, we ended up musing over definitions of "fulfillment" and "contentment" using Maslow's theory of hierarchical needs. Since most of the students are university-level psychology students, it was great!

We also have private students who we see either in small groups, or one-on-one. Twice a week I have a group of three housewives who are absolutely lovely, and we talk about children, child-rearing, parental expectations, and Taiwanese husbands! Fascinating stuff! Likewise, I have a class with a senior lawyer at one of Taiwan's biggest law firms. Talking about his expertise is also really interesting and keeps my brain ticking over.

I'm ranting a little from the fatigue of it tonight. I have one particular class in which I'm not sure how much the students are enjoying it. They seem fine, but really, it's so hard to know! Because they are intermediate English students, its takes more time to explain everything (which is a little tedious) and it generally takes more out of me. At this stage of their language learning, students require far more from their "role-model" and confidence-building exercises. Afterwards, I feel like crumbling into a heap from the sheer energy that it takes to muster these students into a comfortable space with their conversational English.

Also, I feel that the risk that the materials/exercises/games are too difficult for the students is much higher with the intermediate level. I'm told that at this level, students require a set structure of the class above all else. This makes me feel somewhat hesitant about trying new methods of engaging them - something I'll have to work on.

So it takes time. For the minute though, we'll keep taking deep breaths and throwing ourselves in head-first.