Saturday, March 9, 2013

Questions and answers from a soon to be hired teacher

I must say that I may not have answers for every question. I believe I am still learning everyday.
Every school district is different and every school has its own culture and ways of doing things. It's wise to ask the school and district before new teachers make any decisions. Search their website, find out what resources you can get. 

Few questions asked by a future immersion classroom teacher:

1. 在immersion教育中，您常用的軟件是那一些？如你的blog，lingt language，還有那一些我們可以開始研發的呢？我的blog是学区提供的。所以你必须先看学区有没有提供，先不要浪费你的精力和金钱。Lingt language是我自掏腰包的软体，可是你可以问问学校有没有经费，如果有，也可以帮你负担这个部分。 我另外使用了Voki, Arch Chinese. 好用，有用的，几个就行，否则你太累，容易厌倦的。
This future teacher wants to know what kind of software I use in my classroom and what else will I suggest. I use lingt, Archchinese, and Voki to assist parents to help their kids. I suggest that she check with school district first before she spends her own money or invest too much personal time on unnecessary things.

2. 請問一下猶他州的教材是不是跟著common core的路線呢？是的，犹他是跟着common core 走。你到学区应征工作可以先问，先了解，也好让他们知道你是设想周全的。
Is Utah following Common Core. Yes.

3. 您覺得第一年的老師來說，最重要的是什麼？我个人觉得最重要的是信念，相信自己和学生做得到。而且相信100%用中文教书是绝对可以做到的。我的学生是最好的证明。相信自己。一定要相信自己，可是也要相信自己需要他人的协助。
What is the most important thing to a first year teacher? I personally think "belief" is really important. A teacher needs to believe she/he and the students can reach the goal. Any Immersion teacher also needs to believe that teaching 100% in target language is doable. Many have tried and done it, no reason it won't work. Believe in oneself and ask for assistant when in need.

4. 作為一個新的老師，我有一些擔心classroom management的事情，雖然平時也用了很多方法來針對不同類型的學生。但是尤其是在language immersion program中，老師不能用英語，只能用中文。那一般要怎麼樣才能培養學生的routine和學習的system？您是否有好的一些文章可以介紹我們閱讀？如果您有時間的話，能否給我們介紹一下您的教學經驗呢？我正准备在msmartychen.com里解说一下我的方法。很多事情是没有一步登天的。每样事情都是有意义的故意安排。为什么做教案很重要，因为你在安排课程时，就可以想到该用什么样的文字和语言。就因为他们不了解，所以老师辛苦，可是也因为他们从零到有，让老师觉得一切值得。示范，示范，演练，演练，示范，示范，演练，演练。就是不断的循环，不断的加深印象。聪明的孩子了解了，马上要他们示范，说给其他小孩听。老师不能说英文，刚开始小孩没有被限制,所以可以利用他们当跳板，不过，在特定时间以后，小孩也不可以说英文了。在犹他州，一年级的小孩在一月中旬就不得再用英文。
The last question is the most common question-classroom management. Students can sense teachers' expectation and confidence level. A teacher walks into a classroom believing things will work out then most likely he/she will see a positive result. If one expects something negative then the result won't be surprising, it would be negative. To have a well behaved classroom is because you make them that way. You demonstrate desired behaviors and you let the students practice until they master the skills. How to start? Picture what kind of classroom you want then provide the skills to the students. Everything you say and demonstrate is planned and and meaningful. TPR, visual aides, body language, and facial expression can be so helpful. Allow students to help each other out. They can use English at the beginning when teachers can't.  First graders are expected to use Chinese only in class after January.