Post #92 27 March 2016

Gentlefolk,

Last night I did my first post for this semester.  I'm on a roll, so here's another one.

This post is about my teaching schedule; and also includes some photos from the end of last semester.

Alex's teaching schedule

The teaching load for foreign teachers is usually less in the second semester of the academic year. Not sure why, but that has been the case the last few years, and again this semester.

My teaching schedule is shown in the table below. I have seven classes a week (14 teaching hours) but four of those classes (Selected Readings) will end in Week 8. For the last two months of the semester I'll only have three classes a week (6 hours).

At present I have four different classes:

Double Major 1201 + 1202 (total 44 students). Their course is called "Selected Readings in English newspapers and journals".  I have them 4 times a week (Monday and Friday nights, and all Saturday afternoon).
Non Major 60. Their course is "English News".  60 students; 4.10 - 6pm Tuesdays.
Non Major 63. Oral English. 31 students (+ visitors); Tuesday nights.
Non Major 295. Oral English. 30 students (+ visitors); Wednesday nights.

Although I have four classes I have to compile six lesson plans a week (Oral x 1; News x 1; Selected Readings x 4).  Each the four weekly Selected Readings classes requires a new Lesson Plan.  I have managed to be "creative", but even so this semester has been pretty busy, and will continue to be until the Selected Readings course ends in Week 8 ... after that it should be cruisy.

A nice thing about my teaching schedule is that I don't have any 8am starts. I usually get up at 7.30am - way better than 6am for early classes - also means I can get to the gym comfortably by 9am three times a week.  Nice indeed.

The trade-off is that I have 4 night classes, 7 - 8.50pm.  Night classes can be tough: the students are usually tired after a long day and the classes must be lively and interesting to keep them engaged - a challenge.

Alex’s teaching schedule, March - June 2016

Time	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
2 – 3.50pm						DM1201/2 Selected Readings
4.10 – 6pm		NM60 English News				DM1201/2 Selected Readings
7 – 8.50pm	DM1201/2 Selected Readings	NM63 Oral	NM295 Oral		DM1201/2 Selected Readings

Notes:

DM1201 + 1202 =  Week 1 to Week 8 (last day 23 April 2016)

News & Oral English classes = Week 1 to Week 17 (last day 25 June 2016)

Double Major students

When I first saw my teaching schedule I thought DM1201/2 might be a problem, and that's how it turned out.  

These are Senior Students, in the last semester of their 4th (final) year.  Normally the last semester is 'light' - students are given plenty of time to focus on writing a thesis for their major which they have to pass before they can graduate.  They are also busy preparing for the future, either finding a job, or organising to do further study in China or overseas.

In the case of these students, they are Double Majors and so have to write two thesis papers to graduate, one for their main major and one for their English major.  

They were supposed to do the "Selected Readings" course last semester, but the teacher got sick and the course was postponed until this semester.  

So they have a lot on their minds, and you can imagine that they are less-than-enthused about spending 8 hours a week reading English articles with me! 

I decided to cut them some slack and said that to sit the final exam I expected them to turn up to at least 50% of my classes (the normal university requirement is 85% attendance).

We have just finished Week 4 - half-way through their course - so far so good.   Three or four of the students are not meeting the 50% rule, but I am confident they are all gainfully employed and will let them sit the final exam; it would not be fair to delay their graduation for the sake of a few English articles!

Final year students are assigned topics for their thesis papers by their teachers. They have to write 7 - 8,000 word essays; and then must defend their conclusions in a formal meeting with faculty staff before they can graduate.

Here are some examples of topics of students in DM1201/2:

"Translation of The Economist Style Guide"
"Translation of culture-loaded words in English subtitles of the popular TV series Mi Yue"
"Analyse the misuse of the definite and indefinite articles by Non Major students"
"Analyse The Color Purple (by Alice Walker) from the perspective of post-structuralism"
"American personal heroism exhibited in Marvel movies" (Iron Man; Captain America, etc)
"Translation of Science Dissemination using Open Access"
"Study the Mis-translation of Chinese film titles into English titles"
"Translation of History of Creation (by Bill Mesler)"
"A study of the American jury system based on the 1995 OJ Simpson trial"

Some of these are pretty esoteric subjects, don't you think?  Glad I don't have to write these essays. Of course, the thesis topics for their main major (eg Chemical Engineering; Geology; Financial management; etc) are more technical.


Here are some photos taken in January, at the end of the last semester.

8 January 2016 Graduation ceremony for the group from Sinopec (Zhong Shi Hua) Construction Company #10. They will build a petrochemical plant in Kuwait.  I'm sitting in the front row with all the company 'heavies'.  My speech encouraged them to find ways to keep up their new-found fluency in English.

Some of the students in the Sinopec Training Group. The class leader, David Li Cheng Kun (in the center of the photo), was a great help.    They were a nice group. I became quite close to several, including Frank Guo Qing Hai (third from right).

12 January 2016. The foreign teachers (from left: Michael, Gautier, Seven, Vera & I ) hosted a lunch for our "leader" in the International Office, Liu Li Na. She is going on maternity leave so we won't see her for a few months. 

Liu Li Na proposing a toast.  Foreign teachers come under the International Office and she was directly responsible for us.  She has been a wonderful 'boss', gentle and kind. We all wished her well for the new baby (a girl, born in February 2016).

Liu Lin Na with her husband Dr Sun Gang Yun and daughter Sun Xiao Qi (Si Si). 

Vera with her Saturday night private students: Shu Ming; Gavin; and Helen (Shu Ming's daughter).

Vera with Susie Zhu Shan.  Susie was my Liaison Teacher four years ago.  We became good friends, and still meet for lunch every week.  In 2013 Susie translated my book "It's all about the students"; it would not have been published without her help and encouragement.

Me with Albert Wang He, still the only student to get all the short questions right in my Western Culture exam.

...

We have just finished Week 4 - hard to believe that 25% of this semester is done - time flies when you're having fun.

I have a new Liaison Teacher this semester, Kathy Wu Qian.  She is lovely and very helpful, so I'm sure that everything will go smoothly.

...

Well folks, that's enough for this post.

The weather has finally warmed up - max of 20C today - it looks as if Spring is here at last.

Keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Sunday 27 March 2016

Post #91 26 March 2016

Gentlefolk,

It is almost the end of March 2016 and time I "put pen to paper" and did some posts on my blog.

This post will focus on our time in Hong Kong and Australia.

Hong Kong

With Andrew, Caroline and Little Eddie living in HK, we route our travel through that amazing city.

We were there 15 - 23 January, and then again on the return 21 - 26 February 2016.

It's often wet at this time of the year, and this was no exception.  But HK is such a vibrant and exciting city that our spirits were not dampened by the rain.

The highlight, of course, was spending time with Little Eddie. He was almost 2 years old - what a time of incredible development in both body and mind - we were enchanted by him.

Caught up with Stuart Valentine; we served in the Aussie Embassy in Beijing together in the mid-80s after which Stuart switched to a career in Law in HK. Also saw Don Hess, ex-Austrade, who likewise ended up practising law in HK.

 The big news is that Caroline has just launched her online furniture business, Reddie.com.au, in Australia - to see the website click HERE.  A fabulous achievement - she is amazing!

 Australia

We had 4 weeks in Australia, 24 January to 20 February 2016.

What a country, what a life-style.  Every time we go back we marvel at the wide, open spaces, the beautiful beaches, the big, clear, blue sky.

The emptiness of the countryside always comes as a shock after China, where every square inch is cultivated.  It's strange to drive for an hour or two and never see a person, just some farm houses and a few sheep or cattle.

Living and working in China has been a wonderful experience - we wouldn't trade it for the world - but it does put into sharper focus the great country "Down Under".  Sometimes being away from a place gives you a better appreciation of it.  We really are a Lucky Country.

 We started off in Noosa (caught up with old mate Will Costin, from Jakarta days 40+ years ago); then to Brisbane where we helped Jennifer celebrate her 40th birthday.  We always enjoy the drive down to Canberra via friends at Ocean Shores (Mills), Nambucca (Morrisons), and Sydney (Miltons).

Eight hectic days in good old Canberra, before we did it all again in reverse.

We got back to the campus in Qingdao on 26 February, just in time for the start of the new semester.

Here are some photos of Hong Kong and Australia.

Meeting Tarik, Michelle and David's new son. From left: David's mother, Vera, Little Eddie, Caroline, Marguerite Hess and Tarik, Andrew.

Always construction going on in Hong Kong. The city works very well.

Queen Victoria at entrance to the park named in her honour.

The impressive Hong Kong Central Library.

A church in a corner of Causeway Bay.

The pool on the roof of the Hong Kong Football Club, with the Leighton Hill Residences in the background (aka The Great Wall of HK).

Andrew changing Little Eddie.

Vera feeding Little Eddie.

Lunch at The Spirit House Thai Restaurant, Yandina, with the Roberts family. 

Noosa Beach. From left: Vera, Nate, Tom, Sid, and Jen.

Noosa Beach. The boys love the ocean, body-boarding and surfing for hours.

6am Kurt and others at swimming training in The Gap. Kurt made the District Swimming Comp this summer.

Jen's 40th birthday family celebration at lunch.  

Big party for Jen's 40th birthday. 

Everyone got into the spirit of the "80s" theme.

Jen got a stand-up paddle board for her birthday ... the boys couldn't wait ...

Jen doesn't look too bad for 40, does she? She is the complete package: daughter, wife, mother! Great cook, manager of  boy's  rugby, and can score cricket - what more would you want?

Father and daughter 39 years ago in Vancouver.  Jen has grown into a fine young woman.

With the "Three Terrors" Sid (6), Nate (8), and Kurt (10).  Good kids.

The boys all love playing cricket on weekends. Quintessentially Australian. 

Weekly assembly in the Hilder Road Primary School hall.  We were proud that Kurt received an award.

With Irene and Dennis in Tweed Heads.

With Shana and Greg at Ocean Shores.

With Bob and Siri in Nambucca Heads.

One of the beautiful beaches at Nambucca Heads.

Vera and my sister Aniko in Canberra.

Aniko & Peter, with their son Richard and his fiance Liz.

We love the "Two bridges lake walk" in Canberra. Dramatic sky.

Dinner with friends Sharon & Ian, and Christine & Logan.

Lunch with friends Paul, Christine, David, Noel, Neale, and Alex.

While working in China for the past few years we have been fortunate to go back to Australia every 6 months, during the long Winter and Summer holidays.  Always enjoyable to catch up with family and friends.

A interesting little incident occurred during our fleeting visit to Canberra.  My 5-year ACT driver's licence will expire in August 2016.  I wanted to have a current licence when we arrive back in Australia in mid-September, so decided to try to renew my licence early.

I went to the Motor Registry office in Dickson. The lady explained that, as I will be 70 next birthday, I had to do an eye test.  She asked me to read the middle line of the chart - I failed! She said that I had to get an expert opinion from an optomotrist before I could renew my licence.

But we were only in Canberra for two more days, so not enough time.  Not looking good.

That afternoon we happened to be in another suburb called Woden.  On the off-chance, I popped into the  Motor Registry office there.  Same procedure, but this time the lady asked me to read the top line. No problem - passed with flying colours!  Ten minutes later I walked out of there with a new 5-year licence. My lucky day!

Now we are back on campus in Qingdao, for our last semester teaching here.

I'll do another post tomorrow about teaching.

Keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Saturday 26 March 2016