There is a scene in Die Hard 2, when Detective John McClane finds himself once again forced to save the day, and at Christmas no less. Although the scene involves swearing and talks about a basement and elevator, it nevertheless reflects the situation that is happening now. McClane looks around and says, “Oh man, I …
Category: Teaching
Miscommunication
This past week has seen a lot of depressing stories in the news. Brexit seems to be heading for catastrophe and the cliff edge, there is a new conservative supreme court judge in the US, and to cap it off, the earth is burning, and if we do not do something urgently, then we are …
This is a learning curve
“I think at last, we understand one another, Frodo Baggins”. Faramir said that towards the end of the second Lord of the Rings film. And so it is here too. My culture course has not gone quite as I imagined it would. My first class, the introduction, was fine, but that was really just who …
Find Somebody Who…
I have only taught my freshers once, and this was part of their first class. One class has three male students (out of a class of about 20 or 21), and the other has two male students (out of a similar sized class). They are all 'finding someone who', a classic English as a second …
Training sessions… or not
Now I am teaching the English major students, I was asked to attend a training session on Wednesday, about a new computer programme I can use with my speaking class. I asked if it was going to be in Chinese, and was told by our liaison teacher it probably would be (regardless of the fact …
Introductions (again)
Yesterday was my first class – the second-year culture class. For some reason, all students except freshers begin in week 1 of the semester. Freshers begin in week 2. Their classes will be pretty straight-forward I think; I intend just to do the same as what I did with my classes last year (the class …
Back to Beijing
I have returned back to Beijing, ready for the new semester to begin next week. There is always a little apprehension about leaving the UK, partly because I become comfortable in a routine, and partly because I am not sure what the next year will bring. It did not help, the fact that my flights …
