English corner

Oh, so this is why I am here...

The mission of the Peace Corps is to promote world peace and friendship by: 

     1. Helping people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women 

     2. Helping promote better understanding of Americans on the part of peoples served 

     3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans 

Goal #1 is straight forward enough.  I teach English.  This past week, I struggled with writing a speech and debate semester plan that is both substantial in college content and appropriate for English language learners.  Then I had one of those rare flashes of clarity.  What I'm really doing is Goal #2, I'm sharing information about me and my life, American ways of teaching, American ways of learning, and American culture.  The course content is less important than how I present it and how the students engage in the class.  Suddenly the semester plan became much more manageable.  

On Saturday morning, I made the 45 minute bus trip to the huge, new public library in my district, Sha Ping Ba, for an English Corner.   English corners are held all over China for people who want to get together to practice English.  Part of working for the PC is doing secondary projects at the university or in the community.  PC expects us to be helpful in any number of other ways, like giving lectures or presentations, establishing an English resource room, teaching at a primary school, starting an English book club or movie night, or any other project that interest us.

center of attention, so unlike me

Another teacher told me about the library English corner, so I went to check it out, thinking about secondary project possibilities.  Did I hit the jackpot!  When I walked in, everyone stopped their conversation and, of course, stared.  Then, they pulled their chairs over to me as soon as I sat down.  I talked for 2 hours non-stop.  They have so many questions about life in America!  "What food do you eat?"  "How hard is it to go to university?"  "Why did you leave your sons?" ...on and on.  They have so many misconceptions!  "Americans don't care about international relations." "Do Americans study Chinese in school?"  "U.S. high school is easy."  

many different ages come to English corners

the paper they have was the topic/activity for the session, but that ended with my arrival

I answered their questions, and they answered mine about China and Chongqing.  The library sent out the Chinese version of a tweet that I was there!  They begged me to come back next week, and I will go back.  It was only a brief time with a few people, but we understand each other a little bit more.