Skills

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Chinese Teaching Objective Passed!

19 Sep

Three Cheers! Woohoo! Yay!

Oops, sorry I got a little carried away – I’m teaching my students about leading by being the team’s cheerleader and got a little caught up in the chanting and cheering 😛

I recently accomplished a great triumph in my classroom here in China – a student raised her hand and asked me to repeat myself.

Yes, you heard that right. . . she raised her hand and spoke in class. (wipes away a tear) I’m just so proud.

One of the cultural differences I’ve found here in China as a teacher is that students respect their teachers almost to the point of worship. It’s both self-confidence-inspiring and terrifying. They have a general fear of speaking in front of other students due to the risk of sounding like an idiot (one I’m sure students around the world share), a problem compounded by their culturally-specific fear of asking the teacher a question. I rather suspect they expect the event to go something like this:

**************

S: Teacher, I am so incredibly sorry, and I know it’s my fault, you are oh so wise. But I’m utterly lost.

Me: Shock! Gasp! Horror! You are telling me I (a foreigner from a strange land speaking your third language) didn’t explain the concept of Kantian ethics precisely the first time for you to immediately grasp all nuances? How dare you! Fiend! Horrible creature! Someone call the class monitor and have this child fed to wolves immediately!

Class Monitor: Off with his head!

Classmates: Bwahahahahahaha, what a fool!

***************

And so forth.

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Tags: China, college, foreign teacher, Humor, Skills, Student, Teaching, TESOL

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Categories Teaching

Studying Abroad: A Résumé Builder

5 May

One of the Professors in Japan

If you are interested in Studying Abroad or if you have Studied Abroad in the past, now might be a good time to look at how it can help expand your Résumé.

Study Abroad

One of the simplest ways that you can use your Study Abroad experience in your Résumé is simply by listing it as part of your education. There are multiple ways you can benefit from this. First, if you are new to the career field, then your Résumé might be running a little thin on information; use the “Studying Abroad” experience as a filler/lengthener. Sounds silly/cheap, but everything counts in the job search. More importantly, if you list the foreign college that you studied under, it adds to the depth of your educational experience. It shows that you have studied under Professors coming from different backgrounds or ways of thought. It adds to the fact that you might bring in unique or different ideas to their work. For example, I have studied the Law in Civil Law nations and Common Law nations. That means that simply by stating that I studied in China and the United States, my interviewers can tell that I understand ways different people view the law and how it can be applied in alternative ways. It strengthens the fact that I stand out from the rest of their applicants.

One of the things you are going to need on both your Résumé and your Cover Letter are key terms, skills, and/or character traits. You will frequently be asked to name your strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. Or perhaps you just need to show them what you can offer their team. If you Study Abroad, there are many helpful terms that can now be applied to you. Some of those you might use include: Continue reading →