One of the things we do, every day, is serve in a learning center. It’s an English school with many students who range from junior high to middle-aged male and females. Our more adult students have left families, jobs, and children to pursue mastery of the English language. It’s amazing what they’ve given up for something that most of us for whom English is our first language, have taken for granted. The very English words we use casually (and carelessly) represent struggle and sacrifice for these English students.
Each day, members of our team are divided up into 4 groups and enter 4 classrooms. Each of these classrooms represent different level English classes: 4 being the lowest and 1 being the highest. The highest-level speakers are conversational and largely working on increasing vocabulary and working on pronunciation.
Every class has a different curriculum, but there are some similar characteristics for each class. First, what’s being worked on is “oral English”. They are not working on spelling or reading. Second, each day there is a different theme. Themes like: “how to go to the doctor” or “different types of transportation”. Students practice using new vocabulary and go through scenarios that require oral English skills such as using vocabulary and speaking in complete sentences.
That’s where our jobs take flight. We sit in groups, and pair up with students and work on vocabulary and help with pronunciation. With our low level English speakers, this requires extreme creativity and a lot of acting skills. With our more advanced students this requires speaking slowly as to help with their pronunciation.
Working in the English school may sound “easy”…but make no mistake, it’s not. It’s HIGHLY relational and demands a lot of patience. After 4 days here (is that all?) we have begun to make good connections with students and we are starting to remember each other's names. This has created a good environment in the school.
Tomorrow we are going with the school on a field trip to visit Beijing World Park. This is a real treat and we look forward to deepening our connections with these students. They are a great group, old and young, and we look forward to spending more time with them.
Would love for you to keep thinking of us. We need it!
Please keep us in your thoughts regarding:
-sickness. there’s a bug, and it’s going around: diarrhea and
headache. It seems to only last for a day or so….but we are doing everything we can to quarantine, keep water intake up among team members, wash hands, and remind each other to take naps and get good rest each night. This concerns us because it’s now affected 4 students and 1 leader over the course of the week. We want NO MORE SICKNESS.
- energy. today, energy levels seemed lower. We are helping people
take naps during our “self care” free hour and a half after lunch.
- team dynamics. As people get tired (and more comfortable with each other) frustrations come to the surface (think about the dynamics in any family).
Overall, things are going very well. We are debriefing every night, encouraging each other through written notes, and spending a lot of time finding ways to live up to our vision to “sacrifice and serve”.
We love you all very much. Thanks so much for thinking of us. It means A LOT to us.
Love,
CST2011
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