English with Rompy

I taught Oral English for the second time yesterday. We had a birthday party for Rompy where we decorated the gym with balloons, "made" a cake, and sang Happy Birthday while dancing at our Bubble Dance Party. It could have quite possibly been the most fun I have ever had in a classroom before.

Oral English class at Romp N Roll Wuhan is usually filled with preview kids... meaning they have never been to Romp N Roll before. I thought this would pose to be a problem considering they may not behave and would not be able to follow along with the routine of the class. However, I am finding that the kids that come for English class are my favorite of all. The usually range in age from 3 to 5. There have been some older and some younger. Their parents seem to know a little more English than the majority of the parents who attend the other gym, art, and music classes. The kids themselves already know a little bit of English vocabulary and obtain simple skills like numbers, colors, and a few objects. One girl yesterday already knew the Happy Birthday song and 5 Little Monkeys perfectly. Many of the children yesterday new basic subtraction and were able to give me answers in English.

So class starts in Rompy's House where we welcome all of the kids and have them introduce themselves. Rompy asks each child, "What is your name?" and they respond, "My name is..." We read in our Oral English program book to see what kind of lesson we will be working on and then we go into the gym for an obstacle course and activity. Yesterday we went through one obstacle course so we could get to Rompy's house and then we went through the other obstacle course that we pretended was Rompy's house. In the second course the children used balloons (which was one of our vocabulary words) and paddles to decorate. We had some conversation as a class and went around to ask each person, "How old are you?" After gym we went to the music room to learn the Happy Birthday song and we reviewed some counting songs from last week. We also played a counting game to figure out how many children were in class. I was shocked by how well the children could count, add, and subtract in English and some were as young as three! I also liked that the children were really interacting with each other to play the game. In art we made birthday cakes (cake was another vocabulary word) and put enough candles on each cake to represent that child's age. We took our cakes and went to Rompy's birthday party in the gym where we threw balloons around and danced in bubbles.

I don't know how it would be possible to not love teaching. Watching a child learn something new maybe the most amazing thing in the world. To know that you gave the tiny human knowledge which they did not previously have is a feeling I cannot even explain. I have an assistant during class to translate for me but I told her I did not really want her to translate as much as she usually does. I love how even though we do not speak the same language, the children can still follow my direction and pick up on the objectives of the class. I think the best way for them to learn another language is through immersion. All of the translating is going to make it harder to learn to language. Because the parents stay in class with the kids it is important to have a translator. I also love having the extra help and another teacher to lean on during class.

I do not always feel like a teacher when I am working here... but I always leave feeling accomplished when I teach Oral English. Several parents even told my boss that I was a great teacher and they wanted to know more about me. This made me feel awesome! Before coming here I was always nervous when I had to deal with a parent... now that I work at Romp N Roll I am seeing how easy and comfortable it is to talk to parents. This will definitely come in handy when I get back to the states. I am truly seeing the full effects on children when their parents are made part of their learning. It is awesome to witness.

I am lucky to be here. I realize that now. I am one of a very limited amount of people who has the opportunity to live in another country and experience a life and culture different from my own. Not everyone gets to do this and I am grateful to be here. I know that I will be such a better teacher when I go home next year. I have been jealous and depressed and frustrated with not finding a job last year and not having a classroom of my own... but the thing is, I know I am way better off now than I ever would have been had I just started teaching in a classroom immediately. This experience is going to make me a stronger and more competent educator. To live in a world different than almost everything you know can do nothing but make you better. I am no longer worried about finding a job in the states. Any school will be lucky to have me and I know after working here that they will all see it that way.

By the way-- I am currently reading Water for Elephants and I would love for you all to read it with me and feel free to leave a review or discussion on my Beijing Book Club page. I have also selected (well, really Jessi selected) the next book that will be joining our club- The Help. So- go to the library and rent it, purchase it at Barnes & Noble, borrow it, or whatever you must do. I would love to have friends at home reading along with me!

And one more thing- Happy Birthday, AMERICA!!!! I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday! Enjoy the fireworks =) It is hard to believe that it was only a year ago that I sat on The Intrepid in NYC watching this fireworks show live:

Mandarin lesson:
Yīngwén 英文 (English)