Teaching English

In China, command of English is an important prerequisite for education beyond junior middle school, and the lack of qualified English teachers is one important reason why it is difficult for students in poor or rural areas to compete in examinations for limited places at senior middle schools and universities. This lack of access to higher education and career opportunities, in turn, perpetuates a cycle of poverty in these areas. In order to address this problem, Amity introduced the Teachers Program,  a project through which people from around the world are recruited and sent to China to teach English. After a suitable orientation and training process, Amity places the teachers in colleges which prepare future middle school teachers. In these schools, Amity teachers most often teach oral skills courses and/or writing.

The Amity Teachers Program emphasizes Christian service, and encourages Christian participants to bear witness to their faith through their teaching work and through participation with Chinese churches. Teachers interact with Chinese teachers, students and Chinese people at large while they live in China.

Through an orientation process and teacher conferences, Amity provides help and support to the Amity teachers.

"Fishbowl" discussions of situations and problems that Amity teachers may encounter, and tips on how to deal with them, are an important part of the orientation process.

Teachers are also given an introduction to Chinese life and culture; in this photo they are getting some instruction in calligraphy.

In addition to serving as an Amity English teacher in Chinese colleges, Judy has supported the Teacher Program by assisting in the orientation and teacher conferences and providing worship leadership and pastoral counseling to Amity teachers. In this photo Judy is leading worship in the chapel of Nanjing Seminary, where she will be teaching English starting this fall.
 

For more information on teaching through the Amity Foundation, consult their web site. Also see Judy's journal entry for Aug. 20, 2006.

The Summer English Program provides an opportunity for Chinese middle school teachers to spend three weeks  improving their ability to teach English. Native English speaking volunteers work with the Chinese teachers to develop their oral communication skills, so that they in turn can do the same for their students. In 2007 about 60 volunteers worked with Chinese English teachers at 13 different sites in China; an estimated 1200 Chinese teachers participated in this program.

Working in small groups under the guidance of the Amity volunteer, the Chinese teachers practice speaking English to each other. This teaching site is at Sihong in Jiangsu Province.

In addition to oral communication, the Summer English Program is also about intercultural communication. It is about sharing our culture and learning about Chinese culture. It is about discovering common ground where before you may have only perceived differences.

In addition to teaching oral communication, and intercultural communication, the Summer English Program is also about touching lives. At the debriefing, one teacher said, "We went expecting to give. And give we did. But the Chinese reflect your giving back to you. They welcome you so openly and warmly that you wind up receiving far more than you give." Another SEP teacher received this in an e-mail from one of the Chinese teachers in his classes, "It was really a great experience for me to attend this summer English training programme in which I learned a lot from you. Not only in the way to teach and to learn English, but also the way to be a good person whose life is meaningful for the world like you. Your dedication moved me a lot, especially when I learned you all volunteer to teach in this programme and had paid for the fees all by yourselves. This is the most valuable experience I learned from you - to help people in need whenever I can."

You can read about the experiences of a team from First Baptist - Madison that taught in Jinan, Shandong Province on their website.