I went along to one of my Dad's English classes today here at Zhangzhou Institute of Technology. This particular class is a beginners one, so the students English skills are quite poor compared to a lot of the other classes. All of the students in this class are about 18-20 years old.
My Dad started off by introducing me to the class and writing my name on the black board. Then he asked them if they had any questions for me. There was a sea of shy smiling faces, but no one wanted to ask a question. Sometimes it can take a while to coax them to speak because they are all very shy and afraid of making a mistake with their English.
One by one they all asked me their questions in timid little voices. The funniest question was from a boy: "What do you like look for in man?" he asked, looking at the floor and smiling. I just replied with "A man who is nice and who is funny!" and everyone in the class giggled and clapped. I had to make sure I spoke slowly and clearly
for them, otherwise they wouldn't understand, being a beginners
class. They asked me other questions like "what is your favorite sport to play?", "what are your hobbies" and "do you like Chinese food?" they were all such adorable kids.
It's amazing how patient you become when your in another country. I honestly thought I'd get annoyed talking so slowly to everyone, but I haven't so far.
When someone really wants to try communicating with you, it makes you do anything you can to be able to communicate back. It's so endearing (and strange!) to have complete strangers want to know everything about you and to be so fascinated with your culture and country. It's very humbling to learn and teach at the same time. It really makes you realise that before we are Australia or Chinese or British or Italian...we are all HUMAN! There are so many similarities between cultures, even when there is a language barrier.
I'm hoping that after I've gone to a few more classes with Dad, I will feel more comfortable teaching a few of my own classes. It's a new experience for me so I'm nervous, but I can't let that stop me from doing it. I'll never have this oppitunity again.
