Master your social life in China [Living]

Written by Abraham @ Worlda

Dear ESL teachers,

Living in China could be a total different life experience for you. For some people, it seems not so easy, especially when they come to a new world, trying to figure out things all by themselves in their old fashion; however for some other people, living in China could be an unique and fascinating life experience, they could get many new friends, new life experience, gain competence for the future career. What makes this difference could be: how well you manage your social life in China.

We --- Worlda, as a leading international education company in China with more than 13 years of experience in intercultural communication, will try to help make it easier for you to have a better social life in China. Now we would recommend 3 tips at this round in the following:

♠   Have Chinese friends

In China, a lot of things could be different for you. In internet there are instructions, tips for living in China, which could improve your life here, however, a real Chinese friend should not be substituted by abstract information.

Chinese friends could not only help you way much sooner and easier to figure things out, solve problems, get useful information, which you probably could not find by yourself, but also make your life happier, as anywhere else when you have wonderful friends.

So, don’t stay alone or only make friends with your countrymen in China, open yourself, make the first move (a lot of Chinese are too shy for initial contact), then it could be not difficult to have Chinese friends.

♠   Join groups or events

A lot of Chinese people would hang out in groups. Social circle is important in China, it is not so usual to get to know someone in 1 to 1 situation at the very beginning, as in Western, like in clubs. So join some groups, make friends there, or some regular events, which could help you enlarge your social circle, make more friends.

If you choose to live in big cities in China, it could be much easier to join groups or events, there are so many options in big cities. Check in internet, find some groups or events in your city, you don’t have to be very picky before going there, go there first, make some friends there, and let these friends become you social circle, let your social circle grows by being introduced or invited to other people or events. Once you have people in your social circle in abundance, consider with whom you would spend more time.

If you live in small towns, learn Chinese language and join local events, be friendly, always initiate something, take the first step.

♠   Learn Chinese language 

China is becoming more and more international, more and more Chinese could speak and understand other languages (especially English), as a foreigner, however, the urge to learn Chinese language could never be faded away if you decide to live here.

First we have to admit, Chinese is not easy to learn. But if you want to improve your life in China without being limited only in big cities; if you want to know deep about China and Chinese people, their mentality or lifestyle; if you want to enhance your competence in your future career in China or even anywhere else, leaning Chinese is strongly recommended, plus it makes fun if you make it so.

So, now how to learn Chinese?

There are tons of advice in internet, please check it and try some tips, find the way that suits you; also take Chinese class, especially at the beginning, getting systematic and regular support from a language class could help you take off on this journey; learn Chinese by using it in your everyday life, as you were in your homeland.       

So we’ve finished the suggestion part, wish you a great time in China. More tips and suggestions for a better living in China will follow soon, please stay tuned!

Thank you for reading our blog！

Discover more fun sharing about teaching in China:

Blogspot: http://guangzhouworlda.blogspot.com

Worldpress: https://guangzhouworlda.wordpress.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFYHPxZhMWB1QVpEKmxAvcg

Find more about WORLDA:

Job-hunting: http://www.findworkinchina.org/

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Apartment hunting tips for who work and teach in China [Accommodation]

Written by Luke @Worlda

Almost every newcomer to Guangzhou has faced a problem that is how to find somewhere nice to live in this crowded megapolis. Guangzhou is a very busy city, its population is 13.5 million, the 6^th largest in China and its GDP is 1810 billion Rmb, which is the 3^rd largest in China. Although there are a lot of jobs oppurtunites, competition and pressure are also intense, in order to survive in this city, people need to work really hard and you are likely to be really tired after work, considering this, it is very important for people to have a comfortable place to stay and have a good rest after finishing their job. Normally in Guangzhou, outcomers are not able to purchase real estate due to extremely high prices, so the next best choices for them would be renting an apartment. The apartments leasing business is big in Guangzhou and becoming larger as more newcomers reside in the city. There are many different kinds of apartments and the qualities have a large range. So for those who are going to be an ESL teacher in Guangzhou, I am going to talk about some basic knowledge of renting.

       For almost every apartment in Guangzhou, furnitures are included; here is a list for some basic items:

Bedroom

◎A double bed                        ◎Air conditioner

◎A mattress                          ◎Wardrobe

◎Curtains

Kitchen

◎Gas nob

/ Induction cooker                          

◎Sink                             

◎Cupboards                       

◎Refrigerator                                 

Living room

◎Table and chairs

◎Sofa

◎Adequate lighting

Bathroom

◎Toilet

◎Shower

◎Washing Machine

4 common ways to find a leasing apartment

♠ go straight to an agency because they have a lot of resources, agencies tent to do things properly that you don’t need to worry about lies and traps, but the bad part is agencies ask for a quite amount of money (usually as much as half month rent) for doing their job.

♣ you can walk around the city and look for apartments with phone numbers writing on their wall or a board in front of the building, this way saves you many money and it takes more time and stamina.

♥ more and more people start using on-line local forum for searching because it is easy and quick, but put in mind, internet is a place full of traps and fraud information.

♦ you may know some friends who can share information with you, or they even manage to find you somewhere nice.

Next step, you should be considering the price problems, in Guangzhou, the closer an apartment is from downtown, the more expensive the apartment is, so you need to pick a location and investigate the leasing price of the district.

From Experienced ESL Teachers, in order to give you more details about the actual situation, we did an interview with a current ESL teacher in Guangzhou, here is the Q&A:

Q: How long have you lived in China?

A: I have lived in China since Febuary 2016, so it has been 8 months.

Q: How do you find your current apartment?

A: Currently I live in a studio my company WORLDA helped me to find.

Q: Are you satisfied with your current stay?

A: Yes. It is big enough and really cheap.

Q: what are your advices for the new teachers?

A: My advice is to look on Guangzhou stuff on facebook, and find a housemate who has already lived here, they can show you around and it is more fun and cheaper. The subway system runs well so you will usually be able to get to work on time.

These are some tips for Guangzhou’s new teachers on house renting. Thanks for taking your time reading my article. I hope you all can settle down well and nicely in the city and have a good fortune on work and life.

Thank you for reading our blog！

Discover more fun sharing about teaching in China:

Blogspot: http://guangzhouworlda.blogspot.com

Worldpress: https://guangzhouworlda.wordpress.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFYHPxZhMWB1QVpEKmxAvcg

Find more about WORLDA:

Job-hunting: http://www.findworkinchina.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guangzhouworldaedu/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuangzhouWorlda

ESL Teacher in China Triple Roles Experience [Life]

Written by Issac, @ Worlda

Have you ever wondered what you would be if you are not doing your current job? Will you seize a chance to experience a different occupation, to become a different person in the society? Tim Perry, a talented ESL international teacher in China had his first try in cross-occupation experience.

It was Oct. 6^th, 2016.

Two officers had already been waiting for us at the gate of Guangzhou Traffic Controlling and Management Center. God bless it was not too late when we stepped out of taxi. “Nice to meet you.” Said Ms Huang from the Guangzhou Immigration Bureau, shaking hands with Tim and me. “Thank you for coming to help.” said Officer Ren, from the TCM Center.

There was a commercial filming for Guangzhou Security Bureau in the Center. And Tim was going to star an international expert in cooperating with Chinese officers. I came to help with translation and anything makes the filming smoothly.

Being led in and walking pass a shady stone path, we went into a large white building. In the main controlling hall there were screens all over the wall. Some were cameras showing the live situation on the street, some were maps displaying the police force distribution, and the others had various data on the real-time traffic. Tim was very curious on the police force around his home and I was shocked that they really could zoom in to see the number of cars parking randomly on the street. Every day, emergent calls for accidents and traffic data from street floods into this center and from here orders and solutions are given out. Standing under the vault, one can be easily overwhelmed and feels the weight of the responsibility for taking such power.    

         
















        

          After meeting the director and faculty and taking self-fie in the center, all characters were in position and the filming was going to start soon. The process was simple but not easy for acting. The story was: Tim being the expert newly came to the center greeted by the Chinese officers who showed him around. But a simple scene such as shaking hands could be filmed many times in order to capture a perfect moment. Let along shooting from different angles. It was a new and special experience for Tim, standing under the spotlight, ignoring the staring camera, diving himself into an international police character. He was totally into the character already. Stroked firm, shacked strong, stared seriously. Suddenly, an “accident” occurred. Two officers and Tim leaned close to a monitor. Every one held their breath only leaving the camera moved slowly. It gave a close up to Tim’s calmn but concerned eyes

       















       


        The filming was very successful.
        Isn’t it a very rare experience to play a totally different role in another realm? Who can imagine an ordinary teacher could star an international police someday? This is the amazing part of life. You never know what is waiting for you to discover. Tim is a great teacher and actor. In some points of teaching, acting skill is required when you are in front of kids. Teachers need to act to show an example, to play a demo, to be someone else. All are for getting students to figure out themselves willingly and easily. That is why Tim dived into the character so easily. I respect his everlasting effort and confidence in all kinds of situations, and I like his humor.

        





















         

        When we finished and started heading back, Tim tempted me and said “Next stop: Hollywood!”Thank you for reading our blog！ 

Discover more fun sharing about teaching in China:

Blogspot:http://guangzhouworlda.blogspot.com
Worldpress:https://guangzhouworlda.wordpress.com/
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFYHPxZhMWB1QVpEKmxAvcg 

Find more about WORLDA:

Job-hunting:http://www.findworkinchina.org/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/guangzhouworldaedu/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/GuangzhouWorlda

Integrated Teaching for ESL Teachers [Teaching]

Written by Fidelio @ Worlda

      It’s a helpless suffering for an ESL kid to get stuck in a tough circle filled with routine blocks announced by the teacher’s tedious orders: “Let’s learn some new words first”, “Here comes the patterns”, “Now we need to make some practice for the sentences” ... These iron fences somehow destroy both the students’ and the teacher’s appetite for a new lesson: just successfully dragging themselves to the end of the class.

     Thus the methods on integrated teaching are urged to get used in a vivid learning environment, which is definitely not attempting to leave out some necessary procedures but combine their strengths together in a global setting.

This passage here is going to talk briefly about several limitations in conventional ESL classes and provide some references on integrated meaningful teaching.

The Gap Between Words and Sentences

  We’re commonly convinced that language is a complex integrity and it generates and conveys meaning in specific situations. Unfortunately, a pile of vocabulary usually comes ahead separately of sentences or conversation patterns, simply like getting scattered on two isolated islands, later then the ESL teacher tries hard but often vainly to tie them tightly, with the gap remaining so clear: the students probably fail to activate the dull learnt words and make use of the sentences in other circumstances.

  We hold that words and sentences (patterns filled in with both new and old words) are supposed to be better acquired in a concrete situation in which every step of students’ activities gets implemented. So each point of the lesson should be presented at the very beginning of the class and put into comprehension and application during kinds of coming interaction that together lead to the accomplishment of teaching objectives.

More Chances for Input and Practice

As sentence is the smallest linguistic unit in social communication, it ought to be the production of highest levels in an ESL class. How stressful must the students feel upon the patterns pushed to the second half of the class! What poor efficiency of class-running!

It’s recommended that sentences be first presented in the Warm-up part and remain continuously input and practiced until they can be autonomously put out.

There’s no doubt that well-created situations ideally serve language-learning but we often encounter inadequate equipment or insufficient time. Though, we still need a simplified context for students to listen more and speak more.

Here’s an extracted example from a unit of Longman Welcome to English 3A, with the content of some activities at a birthday party and Simple Future Tense indicated by the pattern be going to.

New Phrases

Play games, make some snacks, do some magic

Conversation Patterns

   - What are you / they going to do?

- We / they are going to ________.

   - What is he / she going to do?

- He / She is going to ________.

For this, we can show a table on PPT as follow with some relevant pictures around it, which illustrate the actions that the students are about to learn and have already learnt before. Particularly, the conversation patterns should be firmly kept on display during the interaction.

People Invited	Activities
Mom & Dad
Philip
John
Lily & Lucy
Alex
Aunt & Uncle

Then the teacher asks the student questions like these:” Just Guess! What are Mom and Dad going to do at the party?” (pointing to a picture) “Are they going to sing a song?” (pointing to another one) “Are they going to dance?” (shifting again) “Are they going to MAKE SOME SNAKES?” (going into the new phrase) “Who thinks Mom and Dad are going to MAKE SOME SNAKES?”

Now the teacher may help a kid or a group relatively better at English to complete the whole sentence with the new phrase and enter its synchronous practice process (by a game) with the conversation at least getting input for a few times. When the class finishes the phrase’s full practice, there comes the time to reveal the parents’ activity, with which the students must be so familiar, not necessarily the newly-learnt one.

It’s significant that the teacher should closely mind the rhythm of students’ learning. When the class reaches the second or the third row of the table, the students are likely to have been engaged smoothly in the practice round of the patterns (both the questions and the answers) because of the previous considerable amount of meaningful repetition. Similarly, the last two rows can be seen as a platform to trigger students to produce their own sentences.

Competitive System

Competition is absolutely not merely adding points. It’s basically a measure for class arrangement, aimed at drawing learners’ physical and mental attention. Meanwhile, according to Piaget, a renowned psychologist on constructivism, it makes a crucial contribution to knowledge construction for a learner to interact with the environment, including the interpersonal reality and objective existence. So positive and meaningful competitions (usually in the style of game and acing) are indispensable.

Still taking the former instance, the stickers can be designed as the ranges of activities that the students like to do: the more stickers, the wider range. And when they get awarded, they’re encouraged to interact with the teacher or other peers, making use of the patterns as well as old and new words. What’s more, a chess-like mechanism is another choice.

Actually, there’s surely not just a single way. Inspiration comes form real action. What we manage to do is to let our kids and ourselves try more, think more and gain more.

Thank you for reading our blog！

Discover more fun sharing about teaching in China:

Blogspot: http://guangzhouworlda.blogspot.com

Worldpress: https://guangzhouworlda.wordpress.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFYHPxZhMWB1QVpEKmxAvcg

Find more about WORLDA:

Job-hunting: http://www.findworkinchina.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guangzhouworldaedu/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuangzhouWorlda