~Orientation

Preparing to Teach in China 06/01/2010 Welcome teachers traveling to China on programs organized by Council on China Exchange, 2010 ([|http://www.ccechina.com])

1. Packing information 2. Safety and security issues 3. Other related information 4. Teaching tips 5. Useful Chinese phrases

1. Packing information

Here are some suggestions about packing for your international travel to China, especially during the summer months when it is hot and humid.

China Eastern Airlines (MU) is your international carrier. If you fly to Shanghai (or continue on to Beijing) we strongly recommend you bring only one suitcase (under 50 lbs) to check in and a small one to carry on. Domestic flights are limited to 44 lbs. /checked bag if you are to transfer to Beijing. You can check in two pieces of luggage (50 lbs each), if flying directly to Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
 * a. Luggage requirements and limits** (China Eastern Airlines, international; domestic Chinese airlines):

Make sure that your suitcase has wheels and a lock (TSA ready lock available at Wal-Mart).

Don’t forget about the U.S. requirements that carry-on bags have limits on liquids (3 oz. bottles) and that liquids must be in a single, quart-sized zip lock or similar bag. Of course, no sharp objects can be in your carry-on bag. It goes without saying that no illegal drugs may be brought into China—penalties are extremely severe.


 * b. Recommendations for packing** (__clothing, personal items, teaching materials__): summer months in China are hot and humid, so dress accordingly, with cottons and silks to keep cool, and appropriately (see “c” below). Laundry is inexpensive to have done for you at a cleaners; it’s higher but reasonable in the hotel, too.

Average temperatures in Shanghai, Beijing, and Zhejiang during summer are around 90s or above. Bring comfortable clothing and shoes (sandals with back strips and tennis shoes are always fine).

__Toiletries:__ Although you can purchase virtually anything in China (shampoo, tooth paste, deodorant, soap, items for personal hygiene, over-the-counter medications, clothing, etc.) some prefer to bring these personal items from home. So it is your choice. It will be sunny so if you need it, bring **sun screen**; we also recommend some **mosquito repellent**. You will want to bring any **prescription medications in their drug store bottles.** Most hotels offer amenities such as comb and tooth brush, even shampoo and body lotion. Most likely you’ll have a hair dryer available so pack a small one that works on 220 volts (which is the standard in China). Plugs are different in China so bring a set (though many hotels have “universal” plugs, meaning they take the U.S. two-prong plug, but not all. So be sure you have **adapter plugs** (three prong, two round prongs, etc.). If you need to convert from 110 to 220 volts, you will also need a “**converter**” appropriate to the appliance-type.


 * Keep passports, health cards, plane tickets, luggage keys, contact and insurance information, money and phone cards with you—DO NOT PACK THESE ITEMS WITH YOUR CHECK IN LUGGAGE. Take $300 in cash** for spending money; you can use your ATM and credit card (for a small fee), as well.

We urge you to pack any __teaching materials__ you have in your carry-on. You certainly don’t want them to go missing or be delayed. Copying can be done at the teaching site for your classes.

__Important Items__ __Comfortable clothes__ __Medication__ __Other items__ __Personal Items__ __Teaching materials__
 * Below is a recommended packing item list for your reference:**
 * Passport/health and insurance cards
 * Plane tickets (E-ticket print out)
 * Luggage keys
 * Emergency contact information
 * Money (cash)
 * Credit/ATM cards
 * Phone cards if any
 * Walking shoes/sandals with back strips (no flip-flops in classroom)
 * Hats/visors
 * T-Shirts
 * Light weight shirts/pants
 * Shorts
 * Light weight dresses/skirts/blouses (women)
 * No sleeveless nor tank-tops in classrooms
 * Generic antibiotics
 * Airborne
 * **Imodium**
 * Mosquito repellant
 * Prescription meds
 * Cold/allergy pills
 * Pain meds (Tylenol…)
 * Flight meds/Motion bands/Band-Aids/pads
 * Medicine for stomach upset
 * Vitamins—especially Vitamin C
 * Contact lens solution
 * **Keep all medicine in their original packages**
 * Glasses/repair kit
 * Contacts
 * Sunglasses
 * Watch
 * Small flashlight
 * Travel clock with batteries
 * Small calendar
 * Address books
 * Camera/sufficient film/batteries
 * Stationary items (pens, note books…can be purchased in China also)
 * Deodorant
 * Sunscreen
 * Kleenex—small packs/or wipes
 * Hand sanitizers
 * Toothpaste
 * Clothes washing soap
 * Shaving/Make-up/Hair
 * Pack your class materials in carry-on**


 * Reminders to teachers about appropriate dress code in China** to ensure student, parental, and administrator respect.
 * As a general rule, Chinese are modest in their dress. Certainly, some young people wear more trendy westernized clothes but teachers are highly respected people in China and dress appropriately. No shorts or flip-flops in the classroom; no low cut, sleeveless, no tank top (males and females included).
 * If you are attending formal meetings and dinners, then avoid jeans and shorts, tank tops and sleeveless tops. Look nice and professional.
 * During your free time in town or on tours, you can wear comfortable and casual clothes in a public area.

2. Safety and security issues

By and large, Chinese cities and rural areas are safe. Nonetheless, tourists are always “fair game” so be careful with your belongings and be aware of what you are drinking and eating.


 * a. Insurance and immunization**: **You are __required__ to purchase travel insurance (or be sure your own insurance covers medical treatment abroad and includes medical evacuation and repatriation of remains).** You are highly unlikely to be in any areas or situations that require immunizations.


 * b. __Copy important documents__**__: Do make a copy of your passport and visa information and keep it separate from your passport. If you lose your original documents, the copy will allow the U.S. Consulate to expedite replacements. Also make copies of your credit/bank cards. Leave one set of copies home and take one set with you, packed separately from the original documents.__


 * c. Leave valuables at home**: Do not bring expensive jewelry or more than $500 in cash. Watch cameras, radios, money, etc., carefully.


 * d. US Consulate and Embassy contact information**: In the unlikely event you loose your passport or international airline tickets; you’ll need to visit the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai and Beijing or going to the airlines for new tickets (likely, you’ll pay for a new ticket). The Consulate addresses and phone numbers and the China Eastern Airlines contact information are as follows:

__Beijing____, American Embassy__: 2 Xiu Sui Dong Jie Beijing 10060 Phone 86-10-532-3831 X 249 during the day; 86-10-532-1910 after hours. Fax 86-10-532-3178.

__Shanghai, American Consulate__: 1469 Huai Hai Zhong Lu Shanghai 200031 Phone 86-21-433-6880 (day) and 86-21-433-3936 after hours. Fax 86-21-433-4122

__American Citizen Services:__ Westgate Mall 1038 West Nanjing Road, 8th Floor Shanghai Tel: (86-21) 3217-4650 ext. 2102,2103,2114 Fax: (86-21) 6217-2071 Regular Hours: 8:30am-11:30am and 1:30pm-3:30pm Monday to Friday. Closed on Tuesday afternoons After Hours Emergencies: (86-21) 6433-3936 E-mail: ShanghaiACS@state.go

__China__ __Eastern Airlines__ (be sure to reconfirm your return flight ASAP): Beijing, No. 12 Middle Street, Xin Yuan Xi Li, Chaoyang District. Phone 86-10-6468-1166; Fax 86-10-6468-1152; Shanghai, 200 West Yang An Road. Phone 86-21-6247-2255; Fax 86-21-6247-1152; California, 55 South Lake Ave., Suite 120, Pasadena, 91101. Phone 626-583-1500; Fax 626-583-1515.

In general In the hotel
 * e. Safety in general and safety in the hotel and on the tour**
 * Keep your passport with you and your airline tickets, as well, or keep them in a hotel safe.
 * Leave U.S. contact information with your group leader; be sure when you head out that you tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return. **Never go out alone.**
 * Have the hotel card with you in the event you need a cab back.
 * Drink moderately, if at all. Don’t fall prey to touts offering to take you to the bar scene.
 * Be sure you receive change in Chinese money (yuan) and not some other currency.
 * Be sure your credit card is returned when you use it.
 * Keep your hotel room door locked properly at night and when out of the room.
 * Be courteous to all hotel staff, other hotel guests; when checking out do not leave a mess! And you will be charged for missing or broken items.
 * It is great to leave a small tip for the cleaning staff, though not required, and you might want to leave it each day to be sure all staff handling your room get a bit. Maybe two yuan (25 cents) a day is a nice gesture, though not required or necessarily expected.
 * Stay in your assigned room (this is a legal formality). If you need to change rooms, do this via the group leader and hotel reception so you stay legal.
 * Be aware that standards of cleanliness in rooms and baths may not meet your exacting standards. China is very humid and mold on the caulking is common.
 * Enjoy the amenities of boiled water in a thermos or a hot pot in which you can boil water to drink and use for cleaning your teeth. Likely, you’ll receive one free bottle of water each day; bottled water is very cheap (two yuan [25 cents]) for a liter at the local grocery. We mean for you to be very careful when buying water from street vendors and habituate regular stores. - Check to make sure the seal is intact.
 * Don’t ask for ice—there is no guarantee it is made with pure water (unless, of course you are at a fancy hotel).


 * Bargain**: The vendors in China expect you to do so and will raise their prices as soon as they see your face. Do not feel sorry and be willing to walk away. It is usually not the practice to bargain in a government store.

Watch out: Do not buy liquor from street vendors. Do not feel compelled to buy anything when on tour in a silk, pearl or jade store. Watch out: Be careful when some one practices English with you and wants to invite you to their home. Watch out: Be careful when vendors are getting too close to you. Watch out: When strangers offer to take you to a bar. Watch out: **Do not exchange money with street vendors.** If buying things from street vendors, give out exact amount as the risk of getting fake money back is high.

3. Useful information
 * The exchange rate is around 6.82 yuan per 1 U.S. dollar. You can exchange money in hotels, airports or banks. However, avoid exchanging money at the airports if you can as it is more expensive.
 * China is 12 hours //ahead// Michigan time (so, 3 p.m. in MI is 3 a.m. the following day in China).
 * Bring $300 or so in cash to exchange. Most places (and all vendors) bargain. **Do not bring travelers checks as there are limited places to exchange**.
 * Credit cards and ATMs may be used; your bank and card issuer will charge fees.
 * If you plan to use your bank card or credit card in China, make sure you call the card issuers before departure to inform them of the timeframe in China that you will use the cards.**
 * Always carry small packs of Kleenex or toilet tissue (Some public restrooms, restaurant bathrooms, etc. do not have paper. NOTE: some toilets are not commodes; they are in-ground toilets.
 * It will be hot and humid during the day; thundershowers are possible so be prepared.
 * Do not drink tap water, even to rinse when brushing teeth. Used the supplied bottled or boiled water.
 * **Electrical current is 220** (not 110 as in the U.S.). Your personal appliances will need to be “dual voltage” or you will require the appropriate electrical converter. Also, plugs may differ from the U.S. and you will likely want to bring a set of travel plugs.

4. Teaching tips—in the classroom; as teacher In the classroom As teacher
 * **You are teaching oral English proficiency; your students have experience with reading, writing, and grammar but you need to help with oral skills through explaining and modeling**.
 * Print on the board in large letters; some students need glasses but don’t have them.
 * Wear your watch and be sure it’s correct (some classrooms do not have clocks).
 * Welcome visiting parents to your class.
 * Students may wish to erase your board at the end of class—let them, it is a sign of their respect for you as teacher.
 * When you call on students, they will stand (and they may not sit until your tell them to).
 * Electronic dictionaries may turn out to be video games so be on the look out.
 * **Don’t be surprised if boys lean/hang on each others, girls as well. Ditto with hand holding. And take a student’s hand if offered**.
 * Be sure to have students speak up, particularly girls.
 * Names: students may have selected names and these may or may not be English names but, rather, nouns. You can reassign as needed, noting that the name may follow them through college. Select simple names.
 * Don’t allow sleeping in your class.
 * Ask the available Chinese teacher to assist with translating words (to save class time).
 * Disciplinary problems need to be referred to the Chinese teachers (unlikely in the extreme, isn’t that good news).
 * **Change student seating every day or so in order than no one “hides” from view.**
 * When a student points to his/her nose, it’s a signal asking “do you mean me?” Respond appropriately.
 * **Mixed gender groups do not work well at the elementary and middle school levels.** Never more than four (4)/group.
 * **Given hair and dress, you may not always be sure if a student is a boy or girl; look for clues (such as the group selected, hand holding, etc.).**
 * Students will use Chinese in group work but you need to be sure they are on task.
 * Chinese students are taught to copy lengthy written works so don’t be surprised to receive copied work; but this is summer camp and you need to be gentle with students to as to increase their enjoyment and understanding of English.
 * Don’t apply rigid disciplinary procedures that may cause you or the student “to loose face.” Focus on fun while learning.
 * Never, never embarrass a student. Assist the student to achieve success.
 * **Don’t use slang**; remember to use simple sentences and to repeat them. Student faces are a good cue.
 * **Students won’t easily ask questions or raise their hands until you model such behavior and train them. Say several times/class and several ways what you expect, and repeat on ensuing days.** Chinese students often will not ask questions for fear the teacher will be embarrassed if he/she can’t answer the question.
 * Chinese is spoken using the back of the mouth so you may not be able to see the speaker—walk around and likely the chatting will stop.
 * Wait for quiet before talking to students.
 * Students have notebooks for autographs and will ask you to sign. Wait until the last day(s) unless you plan to sign the same book on a daily basis.
 * **Do not complement students or teachers about jewelry or other personal possessions—they will try to give it to you as a gift (even though they really wish to keep the item).**
 * If you have special needs, deal with the staff through your group leader. This way the group leader is informed and the local officials know who is the representative for the group.
 * **Students may wish to visit you in the teacher lounge between classes and during breaks—don’t encourage them or there will be a) a deluge of students and b) hard feelings when you belatedly ask them not to visit.**
 * Maybe most important, know that Chinese students have learned English by rote and expect only to repeat what you say. You’ll want to teach them to use different words to respond. For example, they may know “What is your name” but not understand “What should I call you”).
 * Smile often
 * Gauge student language ability early on and be prepared to add more to a lesson or to simplify. Talk with other teachers for ideas. Be incredibly flexible.
 * Use student names and learn to ID them as individuals.
 * PRINT in large letters on the board. Use pictures, too. Use colored chalk.
 * Speak slowly and avoid idioms and slang. This also means, speak simply (“What happened?” Rather than, “Who can tell me what happened?”).
 * You will need to speak loud as you will be in a large class. You are going to speak more slowly and simply.
 * Body language is welcome to assist you in being understood.
 * Don’t ask Yes/No questions unless you want Yes/No answers.
 * Be very very energetic; and move around the room, making eye contact with students.
 * Directions will require more than one explanation so be prepared to use different words (rather than repeat the ones that most don’t understand in the first place).
 * If you are asking for several steps, model them with the Chinese teacher.
 * **Wait until the second half of the camp before rewarding students with stickers or hard candy—they will be surprised and perk up.**
 * Ask lots of comprehension-check questions, again and again; students are likely to say they understand when they actually do not.
 * Don’t have students read everything they produce; instead encourage oral comprehension with review of vocabulary, etc.
 * Address as many learning styles as possible in your classes. Chinese students are used to visual-text-based work—reading and writing—and even some visual-graphic-based work (film, pictures, maps). They are unused to tactile (touching or kinesthetic (body language) emphasis or much aural-oral (listening-speaking) language learning. So, be sure to use the latter modes.
 * **A trick that can help with vowels is to use a large rubber band to illustrate short and long vowels.**
 * For the difficult TH sound, put your index finger to your lips to illustrate the aspirated sound (think versus the).
 * Avoid idioms, slang and contractions.
 * If you have transparencies with you, be sure the overhead project is clean (you may have to do it yourself); if the bulb blows, have someone get another. In the meantime, walk around the room with the graphic for students to see (and use the board).
 * Pace yourself—you are teaching a heavy load in a concentrated period. Save your voice and keep in good health.
 * As you are expected to teach for three weeks, please be very careful of your physical well-being.
 * **Gift exchange—it is a good idea to bring small, light gift items for exchange. For students: you can bring stickers, post cards. As a group, you may want to bring a few T-shirts/caps for administrators or Chinese teachers who usually shall be very nice to you.**

5. Useful Chinese phrases We are omitting the “tone” and supplying the “pinyin” spelling. The tones are flat, rising, dipping (down and back up), and lowering.


 * Numbers 1-10:** yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi

Hello; how are you? Ni hao Very well; good Hen hao (or simply, hao) Thank you Xie xie I am Wo shi I am hungry Wo eh le thirsty ke le cold leng Hot Re unwell bu shu fu; bing le happy gao xing My pleasure Bu ke qi How much is it? What’s the price? Duo shao qian It’s too expensive Tai gui le Sorry; beg your pardon Dui bu qi I like it Wo xi huan I do not want it Wo bu yao I do not want to buy it Wo bu mai I want Wo yao Water shui Food fan Dumpling jiao zi Beer pi jiu A taxi chu zu che Where is X? X zai na li? I want to go to Wo yao qu An hotel bin guan A restaurant fan guan The toilet ce suo The railway huo che zhan The bus station qi che zhan The airport ji chang What time is it? Ji dian le? Teacher Lao shi I do not know Wo bu ji dao My friend Wo de peng you Good bye Zai jian Chinese currency Yuan, broken down into smaller units “jiao” and “fen”; prices may be cited In RMB (=yuan) China Zhong guo Chinese (people) Zhong guo ren Chinese (language) Zhong wen English (language) Ying wen American (U.S.A.) Mei guo American Mei guo ren

Any good guide book will have additional useful phrases, names for food items, etc.


 * GOOD LUCK!!! **


 * BON VOYAGE!!! **