Volunteer Stories  |  Lorraine

My volunteer project was for 4 weeks in Mian Yang Experimental Primary School. I gave oral lessons to students in Grades 3-6, 32 lessons in total. In a day there would usually be 2-4 classes, lasting for about 40 minutes each. When I first arrived in Mian Yang, I had the chance to observe how classes were conducted for several days. I realized that half the school was studying in temporary classrooms since the old school buildings were deemed unsafe after the earthquake and needed to be torn down and rebuilt. During my observation days, I also learnt more about their English curriculum and the students’ level of English which helped me in planning my lessons.

Over the few weeks that I conducted my lessons, I was able to improve on the lesson set for each Grade as I adapted more to their level while also discussing with the teachers about the students’ range of vocabulary. We played a lot of games in the classes (eg. Chinese Whisper, Hangman, an improvised version of Tic Tac Toe, Guess What Am I?) and sang some nursery rhymes (eg. This Little Piggy, I’m a Little Teapot) although due to the size of each class (60-70 students each), it was hard to keep the noise level down and control the students’ excitement. Nevertheless I think both the students and I enjoyed ourselves very much during the lessons.

The facilities were bare minimal. There was no computer nor projector screen in the classes. I found that having my own laptop was very useful, as I would use it to show students pictures in my computer for my “Show and Tell” sessions. For these sessions, I tried to reinforce the things students learnt in their normal classes, but used it as a way to correct their pronunciation and grammar. For example in Grade 4, since the students have just learnt about London, I focused on telling them about the time I studied in London, while for Grade 5, I told them a couple of places I went to in the past to reinforce the students’ usage of the past tense. The students were awed by my past experience studying in a foreign country and living in so many places, and it was a fun way for them to learn. Sometimes some students asked me to translate into Chinese, which even though I could, I would try not to. I tried my best to explain several times in English, while giving more vivid facial expressions and actions, and failing that, only then do I give a simple translation. Usually when I rephrase the sentences to simpler structures and use easier words, students will understand by the second or third time. The only exception to that would be to explain how to play a game (although students usually understand how to play once they’ve seen a demo).

Towards the end of my stint, I lost my voice. That was probably the worst thing that could happen to a teacher. Fortunately for those days I taught Grade 6 students, and I had already designed the Grade 6 class such that the students spoke more than I did via a dialogue about shopping. The students were also a lot quieter so I didn’t have to raise my voice to keep the class down.

I have also had the chance to visit some rural schools and other primary schools around Mian Yang where I observed how some English teachers conducted their English lessons, and gave them some of my comments on their teaching. While I am not a teacher by profession, and so teaching methods would be best left to the experts, I was able to correct them on their pronunciation as well as any grammar mistakes.

During my free time, the English teachers in my school would organize a lot of activities for me, including visiting Beichuan (where the earthquake destroyed an entire town), picnic at Fule Shan with some students, trip to the poet Li Bai’s house, witnessing the beautiful peach and pear blossoms on the mountains, karaoke, mountain biking, mahjong, etc.

Overall, I think that the project benefited both me and the schools here as it was a good exposure for all of us. But I think the ones who gained the most would have to be the teachers (who have been so hospitable throughout my stay), as they can finally have someone foreign to practice their English with and they learnt a couple more new and interesting ways to conduct their classes. This will mean that ultimately the standard of English would be improved in the classes themselves.