My Super Participation in Cultural Communication

By Tim @WIEChina

Being a teacher in a foreign country is much more than imparting knowledge on students in the classroom. It is about being part of the community. It is about being a representative of your home country. It is about sharing cultures to find similarities and comparing cultures to earn about differences.

The greatest thing a teacher can do to help his students is to relate an environment in which the student will love his subject. If a student enjoys his English lesson, if he laughs and jokes then that student will want to improve his English so that he can laugh and appreciate me. I try to make my classes fun and interactive so that students will view English as a part of life (something to be experienced) instead of a part of school (something to be memorized and worry about)

Talking about my home country, my home city, and my family and friends in America opens up the world to students. It helps them see the everyday life of an American that they can't see on TV or in movies. By comparing the things in our everyday lives the students not only learn about the U.S. but learn the colloquialisms that help them to talk about China.

I am well aware that each moment of each day whether in the class room, on the football pitch, or simply walking through my neighborhood, I represent America and that for many people I am the only real life American they will see. This is why I smile at children when they look at me on the metro, I say "nihao" to children and older people on the streets and compliment their English when they respond with "hello."    

Living and teaching in China is a two-way street. I hope to learn as much here as I am able to teach.