From UK to China
I taught English to children aged 3-11 over the course of four and a half weeks. For the younger students this involved basic games, songs and activities, requiring a great deal of energy and clarity consistently. Meanwhile, with the older students, more focus was placed on pronunciation and accuracy; therefore we used more complex materials and looked more into expressing extended phrases on more challenging topics.
Over the course of my time in China I developed my confidence a great deal, having often been placed outside of my comfort zone and relied upon by many colleagues. This was the case from the very first day, on which I was asked to amuse the children before their classes started for an hour – also allowing me to learn how to think on my feet! The experience has also taught me a lot about the profession of teaching and the qualities which a teacher needs to have. Since I enjoyed teaching so much I am now continuing to look into the profession, particularly abroad. Furthermore my time spent in China helped broaden my knowledge of languages and has led to a new found passion for Chinese culture; hence even now I’m reading Chinese novels in translation. As a language student the language of course fascinated me, thus I know I wish to study Mandarin when my current degree allows me to have the time.
I am extremely grateful for the scholarship fund since without it I wouldn’t have been able to have the incredibly enriching, unforgettable summer in China which I was so lucky to have had.