A different teaching experience

On Monday night I was a guest teacher at a community college nearby my home. It is an adult class with more than 30 students in a Vietnamese school classroom. Those of you who have been to school in Asia may recognise the description. There are two doors - one for the teachers and one for the students. Two large blackboards and a raised dais for the teacher and the desk. The students sit in rows of long desks - some on forms and some on chairs.

4 of the students in this class come from Binh Chau town which is 80 kilometres drive away, and they do this 3 nights a week, then return home to work the next day. They are secondary teachers. The ages of the students range between early 20s and mid-late 40s. I enjoyed the experience very much - I hope that they did too.

The real value was that they do not often have the opportunity to speak with and listen to native English speakers, so there were lots of questions before we really got started on the lesson I'd prepared. Seeing that Valentine's Day has just passed, I made this and marriage the theme for the night. We started by discussing whether Valentine's Day is important to couples and lovers, who should give (men/women/both) and what the expectations are, including what the students would like to receive. Before the groups reported back I also asked them to poll who is married and single in their group, so that they could consider whether there is a difference in views. Nope - Vietnamese are very romantic people!