8/4/2019 Teaching at Primary Schools

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Primary School Lessons / Events: Best Practices 

Before class:

-  Leave early to allow for traffic. Assume you won’t be able to find a taxi. 

o  Always collect receipts from taxis. You may be reimbursed for travel costs.

-  Don’t smoke in the school itself (even if other teachers or students are lighting up.) Smoke outside school gates.

-  Keep moving. You will be mobbed if you stand in any one spot for too long. 

o  Don’t hand out signatures or gifts unless you want tears and blood.

o  The best way to mitigate the cries of “老外！” is to teach students your name.

o  Report inappropriate behavior (punches or curses) to a local teacher.

-  Make nice with the class teacher. He or she can be invaluable in helping control unruly students.

-  Clearly explain your lesson to your assistant before class begins.

-  Prepare a totem that you can turn to if things get out of control. Mine is tea.

-  Exercise your voice. Talk loudly. If you go from nothing to yelling too often you will  lose your voice.

In class:

-  Keep the pace fast.

-  Split the class into groups and rewards groups with stars or smiles.

-  Favor drills, chants, and other activities where the entire class can participate.

-  Don’t let any one or two students dominate speech for too long. Try to get every student to talk at least once.

-  Use visual cues and body language whenever possible. Don’t strain your voice.

After class:

-  Remind students of your name. “I’m Renato from EF.” 

-  Give some face to any EF students you recognize. Hand them an extra balloon or prize in front of their friends.

Renato Ganoza for EF Zhengzhou, 2011