Final day of teacher training and English camp

 

Shoshannah presents her teacher/students with their certificate of completion.

 

Agnes and her home room primary students take a bow for their final day performance.

 

Anne passes our the camp newspaper that our middle school students wrote.

Susie receives a gift from her teachers/students.  Presenting gifts is a very important part of the Chinese culture.

Leaving China

It is almost midnight and the team has landed in Hong Kong, to the Booth Lodge after a very long day.  As we process the final day's events we'll post to the blog.

A note about the blog

This is the last day of the English camp. This is a bittersweet day as we say good bye to our Chinese friends and prepare for our trip home.

Please know that between our busy schedule and the fact that we cannot directly access and post to our blog from China, many parts of our story remains un-posted. Tonight we leave for Hong Kong and on Sunday we start our 24 hour journey home. Do not be shy about returning to the blog in the upcoming weeks. Additional postings will appear describing this amazing trip. Thanks to all for your thoughts and support!

Posted by Charlie

Games to help learn English

Greg plays a word game with students.

Parting photos of lunch

Teacher training is wrapping up

Shoshannah helps teachers with a presentation.

Susie has the teachers do group exercises

Jana explains an activity.

Teachers learn by doing

Nancy leads an activity for teachers. One way for teachers to learn new teaching activities is to have them become involved.

Post by Charlie

Free talk

Terry leads a "free talk" group. Teachers meet with our "native English speaking team" (NESTers) every day to practice their English.

Showing how . . .

Happy Birthday!

This evening was a night for birthdays! Above, in traditional Chinese fashion, Jumbo's wife Qi helps Audrey cut her birthday cake. The next photo shows my host's daughter Shelly getting ready to blow out her candles. She turned seven today!

Post by Charlie

Primary students - scavenger hunt

Today, all 68 primary students participated in a scavenger hunt. The students were divided into eight groups and each group had to find 48 items we had photographed for them. Here is Agnes with part of her group of boys and Sylvia (one of our helpers) with part of her group of girls. What fun everyone had!

Post by Greg

Cars everywhere

Parking on the sidewalk is common as the number of cars has grown in Doumen.

Converstations continue at lunch

Students and teachers alike enjoy practicing English with our team during breakfast and lunch. Valerie talks with students over rice and vegetables.

Motorbike still abound

I first visited Doumen five years ago and motor bikes were everywhere. Although the number of cars has exploded since my first visit, motor bikes are still popular.

Posted by Charlie

Weekend downtime

Last week was a blur of activities as 128+ primary and middle school children came to camp and we kicked off the activities.  We heard lots of shouting and laughter – and more and more English as the week went by.  We also had the chance for more and more good interaction with teachers and students.

 

The weekend was a chance to be together as a team with some of our hosts.  Saturday we went to the nearby city of Kaiping where we ate lunch and saw some architecture built largely by overseas Chinese; many went overseas for work, found their fortunes, and returned to China to build elaborate homes.  This building was built sometime before 1589.  To put that in historical perspective, that was less than 70 years after the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, 30 years before George Washington was born, and 200 years before the United States became a nation through the ratification of the Constitution!  China is a country with a long, long history!

 

We also had a great time river rafting.  Being together having fun with our hosts helps increase our friendships.  No pictures, sorry.  None of us had waterproof cameras.  I’m not sure we’ve have been allowed to put pictures on our website anyway.  We were all pretty bedraggled – like drowned rats – at the end of the trip.  “Homeless lady” was the term used to describe one of our female team members at the end of the trip.  (No slight intended to homeless ladies, incidentally.)

 

Sunday was, overall, a time to spend relaxing with our host families.  My family went out to a restaurant together.  Of course “family” included a couple of cousins and the family of a friend, so we had a good sized group.  Afterwards, we came home and I played ping pong with some of the college-aged family members.  No, I didn’t demonstrate American prowess at ping pong, though when my host, Tom, said “let’s play five more points,” I actually got three of them.  So I’m going to put that in my ‘win’ column.

 

As we begin our final week here, we appreciate your ongoing thoughts for our team.

 

Posted by Jeff

A trip to Kaiping

It is not uncommon we experience a bit of a cultural exchange on the weekend prior to the final week of camp. On Saturday we boarded a bus and traveled 2-1/2 hours southwest from Doumen through the countryside to Kaiping. The architecture in Kaiping is unique because it reflects the influence of the West. One claim to fame for the city is that many residents moved to the United States in the mid to late 1800s. Some of these folks became successful and about the end of World War I a few returned to Kaiping. Their life in the West influenced the streets of Kaiping. Luke noted that most Chinese in Chicago can trace their ancestors to Kaiping. Another bit of trivia about Kaiping, film star Jackie Chan has made several movies in Kaiping.

Post by Charlie

Chinese food is full of surprises

Add camel to the list of exotic meats I've had the pleasure of trying in China! Donkey, eel, and water buffalo are a few others, but those were in years past. Last night our host's childhood friend invited us to a traditional Guangdong meal of rice congee hot pot. There's a big pot of boiling rice porridge in the middle of the table, and they bring raw meats and vegetables to dip in it and cook. We enjoyed camel, fish, goose, and mushrooms in our congee. We're having some wonderful experiences with our hosts, and we continue to form deeper and deeper friendships with our colleagues here. What a great trip!

Post by Valerie

First week fun!

This first week with the students has been both good and challenging. I have the youngest group of primary students for my homeroom. I enjoy the task of trying to find activities that are appropriate for their age and level of English competency. One of their favorite games so far is charades. They have to pull out a verb from one bowl and then another with emotions. They then have to act out BOTH. It can get really funny sometimes! One young boy had to act out "angry" and "putting on clothes." The whole class busted out laughing as he attempted to get his group to shout out the answer! Working with kids brings me so much joy!

Post by Joy.

Huntington North High School and the Doumen Experimental School

Shoshannah talks with a group of students at the Experimental School in Doumen. An offshoot of our activity in Doumen is an initiative that will start this fall between Huntington North High School and the Doumen Experimental School. Shoshannah will be teaching Mandarin at Huntington North, and Huntington students will have an opportunity to contact English students at the Doumen school in China.

Post by Charlie

Lunchtime

Agnes enjoys lunch with one of the teachers attending our teacher training. Notice the umbrella? They are very common as this has been a very wet summer in Doumen. It has rained everyday. The team wishes we could send some of this rain home to Indiana.

Post by Charlie

Jumbo, Adam and I agree that Monday was the best start we've ever had to the second week of camp. That's the day that we added a whole lot of little bodies to our very sweaty and happy group. I traveled over to Yung Wing School yesterday (Tuesday) to see Donna, Ruth and Jenaya. It was good to catch up with them during their last week at Yung Wing. They will be going down to Macau this weekend and then coming up to Doumen on Monday. Yesterday, I had some business matters to discuss with the English Department officials at Yung Wing School. We had a candid conversation that will hopefully produce good results. This afternoon, Shoshannah, Jumbo and I will be going over to the Doumen Experimental Junior Middle School. Shoshannah will begin teaching Chinese this fall at Huntington North High School, and her students will have the very cool opportunity to connect electronically with students from the Experimental School. Jumbo helped Greg and me line up this partnership in January. So, today, Shoshannah will be introduced to English teachers and students from the Experimental School.

I am often amazed at the quality of folks that have come together to make this project a success. Everyone is doing a great job!

Luke

Student helpers are very important

Chinese college students are valuable assets in the English Camp. Right to left, Luke talks with Tom and Shower at lunch. These students are English majors and help with student activities in the English Camp. They are eager to help and learn from the American teachers.

Post by Charlie

Student activities

Greg with a group of primary students playing "Where's Waldo." Chinese students love learning English through games and activities. This group is no exception. Yesterday, we played Nerf Basketball. Sorry, no picture of that activity.

Post by Greg

In the market

Terry and Agnes successfully ordering a smoothie. The heat and humidity make such skills essential.

Post by Greg

The Doumen Camp newspaper

Middle school students put together a camp newspaper. Students interview American teachers for our paper and everyone in the camp will receive a copy on the last day.

Posted by Charlie

Lunch is a great time to practice English

Students talk with Terry during lunch. Although it is near 90, hot soup is always part of our meal. Today we had a surprise for lunch, chicken feet!

Post by Charlie

The academic team presents sample lessons for the Chinese teachers

Following a morning opening for teachers and students, members of our academic team present a sample lesson for the Chinese teachers. Here you see as Shoshannah begins her morning lesson.

Primary students start the day

Each day primary school students begin their day in homeroom. Anne leads an activity for students.

Opening for middle school

Each morning we start middle school activities with singing. Bridger leads the group in our morning song.

Post by Charlie

Alumni visit

It is great to visit with English Camp alumni. Mandy (left) and Cindy (right) attended the English Camp and now have moved on to high school. Mandy is attending the number high school one school in Doumen and Cindy attends the number one high school in Zhuhai. Both ladies worked on our camp newspaper and Cindy recently was a reporter for her school to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting in South China. It is good to see former English Camp reporters move on to bigger and better things.

Post by Charlie (middle)

Breakfast

Luke (Greg in the back) talk with students during breakfast. We all enjoy breakfast and lunch. These meals provide time for visiting with students and teachers.

Post by Charlie

Starting Week Two - The Children Invade!

I woke up this morning to the calm, cool sounds of my neighborhood.  Roosters were crowing (I live kind of on the edge of town and many people have gardens and keep chickens) and I could hear the sounds of a few neighbors starting to stir as they prepared to go to work.

 

But all of that is going to change in a little over an hour as THE KIDS COME!  As Luke mentioned yesterday, we had initially planned for a little under 100 primary and middle school students.  As of yesterday afternoon (Sunday for us), there were 128!  Various people with influence had heard about the camp (remember, it was on TV and in the paper!) and had called asking to get their children into the camp.  That means we go from about 13 students per group (in Middle School) to about 21.  It will be a zoo!  A squirmy, fun, smiley, loud zoo – but still a zoo.  The energy level will be high and it is going to be a lot of fun.  Personally, I’m not convinced that there won’t be a few more last minute additions – but we’ll see.  It will all work out.

 

So I’m going to read from my Book, commit the day to the father, and head out shortly.  All of us hope that you, too, will be remembering us as we start today.

 

Jeff Sherlock

Schedules for Camp are reviewed

Luke and Adam (one of the Chinese administrators) review our schedule for students.

Post by Charlie

English Camp Planning

Joy works on material for Monday's start of English Camp.

Week one done!

We have finished the first week of training.  It went very smoothly.  Everyone on the team is doing a great job.  Folks seem generally healthy except for a few minor digestive things generally associated with international travel. 

Since arriving, we found out that they had a difficult time controlling the number of kids enrolling in the camp beginning next week.  Lots of officials have asked for their children to have a place in the camp.  So, instead of the 96 students that we planned for, we will have 128!  A challenge, but not really a problem.  I appreciate everyone's positive and flexible spirit.

Some of the Chinese teachers seem very intimidated to teach in front of their colleagues and the American trainers.  By the end of the day yesterday, everyone seemed to be embracing the challenge, but there were a few stressful moments for folks along the way.

Bridger and Bronwen will join us in Doumen this evening.  Charlie is on his way and will arrive in Doumen at 11:00 AM on Sunday.  On Sunday afternoon, the whole Doumen team will meet at the training school to prepare the rooms for Weeks two and three.

Greg will be golfing this afternoon with Mr. Li, a very important official in the Doumen government.  We hope they will enjoy fruitful conversation about future expanded opportunities on the golf course.

Post from Luke.

What's wrong with me, Doctor

"Doctors" meet with "patients" to ask about "symptoms" and write notes and "treatments" on their "charts." Jana shows the teachers how to work with large classes. She can quickly get an idea of student's progress by looking at the charts.
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Publicity

As the camp has gotten under way, the news media has shown up. Early in the week, Luke was interviewed on TV. On Wednesday, the local paper came. Yesterday, a TV reporter attended our afternoon free talk.

In this picture, a group of teachers discusses moral lessons from the story, "Hans the Shepherd Boy.". The caption says something like, "American Professor comes to teach English."

(posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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How many students are in your class?

Many Chinese teachers teach classes that are unimaginably large by North American standards. In this picture, Jana Hoobler talks to two teachers. One teacher has about 70 students; the other has 64. Teacher's aides? Nope. This was Jana's introduction to her lesson, "Challenge #1: Managing a Large Class." a quotable Jana-ism from her lecture: "It's brutal out there."
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Ni Hao!

Hey there!

My time here so far has been wonderful! The host family they connected me with is awesome! They love to laugh! Sometimes we sit around the table at night laughing hysterically about four different things (because of the language barrier)! AND I LOVE IT! They are such good hostesses. They have helped me feel right at home.

The teachers camp has been going very well. We have "Free Talks" everyday so that the teachers have an opportunity to speak and practice their fluency. My group becomes more and more comfortable speaking in English.  In some ways, I feel honored that they feel safe around me and the rest of the group to step outside of what might feel comfortable to them. I thoroughly enjoy hearing about their lives and families.
 
(posted by Joy Hersey)

Using the textbook effectively

Like American teachers, Chinese teachers have proscribed textbooks - and very important tests for which they must prepare their students. Val talks about how to plan activities that help students manage their class time for effectiveness.

(posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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Family Coat of Arms

My family has...
My family is...
My family enjoys...
My family goes to...

Susie leads the teachers in an activity called "Family Coat of Arms." The activity helps students enhance learning through visual, aural and spatial involvement. That's what Susie said, at least.

(posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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