Hello,

I am so incredibly excited to have been given the amazing opportunity to work here at Tanghu Elementary School. I have spent one day within the school and I already know that I am going to like being a part of this thriving place!

I arrived within China two weeks ago now and have seen many culture differences which have been so exciting to get to know! Now having arrived in this area just yesterday it has been really interesting to see how, although there are differences in the classroom, we still have the same amazing opportunity. Whether its here or in the United Kingdom, we can raise up a new band of young people who will be successful, not just academically, but socially, personally and internally. Children knowing that they are loved and treasured creates an innate sense of worth that has the ability to carry them through many of life's trials. Whether this is found in a parent's love or a teacher having a kind word, we get the privilege of setting a student up for success.

Having sat within a few classes today I have seen the necessity of ensuring that there is order within the classroom, with class sizes almost double what they are in the UK, the noise invariably does the same! But in order to have the maximum capacity for learning, this is something that I will be aiming for, and I was able to witness really good techniques within English teacher Celia's class that I hope to implement! I have noticed that the students respond best when given something that they have to react to - like clapping a pattern, witnessed in Nina's class or vocal response in Lindsay's class, or a physical practise in response to a vocal command as witnessed in Celia's class.

I liked that the students were placed into teams and the motivational factor that it brings to the lessons, this is not something that I have personally experienced in the UK so it will be interesting to see how it works and the differences between the student's attitudes here as opposed to the UK!

Finally, repetition, repetition, repetition. When the students repeat something over and over again then it has a greater chance of staying within their heads so that they can provide that information at a later date and it was so exciting to be able to see students who perhaps were unsure at the beginning of the lesson becoming confident in the words they were saying and in the language that they were expressing. I am excited for what will happen this coming term and all that the children will learn and what they can also teach me about Chinese culture! It is the beginning of an adventure we are going on together!