Post #90 18 January 2016

Gentlefolk,

This post contains Indexes of my blog posts in 2014, 2015, and 2016 (1 - 18 January 2016).

The blog is a good record of our lives in China from February 2014 until January 2016; while the focus is on living and teaching in Qingdao, other subjects are covered as well.

Favorite posts

My favorite posts are:

Post #13  Olah Family history - a snapshot
Post #14  The world's most prolific inventor, Australian Kia Silverbrook
Post #30   Memories of the Australian Embassy Beijing, 1984-86
Post #34   Love poems with an international trade theme
Post #58   Have World Expos reached their use-by date?
Post #79   Why have so few Chinese been awarded the Nobel prize?

Visits

I consciously tried to keep the focus on teaching and students, and not make the blog a "travelogue". But of course it has descriptions of places we visited, such as:

2014: Beijing (April); Chengdu (May); Dalian (October).
2015: Qufu (April); Xian (May); Nanjing (May); Shanghai (July); Suzhou (July); Zoucheng (October); Rizhao (November).

We usually visit Australia twice a year (via Hong Kong), in the long university breaks: "winter" (mainly February) and "summer" (mainly August).

TV program

In December 2014 Qingdao TV produced a series of programs describing foreigners living and working in Qingdao.  One of the programs was about two foreign teachers at universities in Huangdao, Dr Laxmisha Rai and me; it goes for about 25 minutes, alternating between the two of us.  To view on YouTube click HERE

Index of Posts

Alex Olah’s blog:  alexolah.blogspot.com

Describing the lives of Alex & Vera Olah as English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong Province.

Table 1: Index for 2014 (Post # 01 – Post #39)

Post number & date	Events described
Post #1 15 February 2014 In Kuala Lumpur	Andrew helped me set up this blog when we visited Caroline and him in Kuala Lumpur in February 2014.  He convinced me that a blog is the best way to keep family and friends informed of our activities teaching in China. The first post includes: ·         photos of our family holiday in Hawaii in January 2014 ·         photos of the cruise of the Hawaiian Islands by Vera and me ·         photos with Caroline and Andrew in KL (Caroline was 8 months pregnant)
Post #2 8 March 2014 In Qingdao	Teaching at China University of Petroleum, Qingdao (UPC) Terrorist attack in Kunming Ukraine crisis Kevin Rudd’s new position Meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing China’s defence budget Assessing students Missing flight MH370
Post #3 16 Mar 2014	About Fu Ying, China’s ambassador to Australia 10 years ago Student ‘news’ Welcome to Eddie, our new grandson, born 14 March 2014 Medical & dental issues The mystery of MH370 Ukraine crisis
Post #4 23 Mar 2014	Mystery of flight MH370 Visit to China by Michelle Obama, her daughters and mother Grandkids – photos of Eddie in KL and Kurt, Nate & Sid in Brisbane World’s most expensive cities World’s biggest economies Doctor – patient stress in China Has Spring arrived?
Post #5 28 Mar 2014	Description of China University of Petroleum, Qingdao www.upc.edu.cn My teaching schedule this semester (March – July 2014) Summaries of my classes Weekly class timetable for Double Major students My teaching approach
Post #6 30 Mar 2014	News summary for March 2014 (from China Daily) PM Abbott’s re-introduction of British honours Flight MH370 Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle Vanessa Mae, renowned violinist and now Olympic skier
Post #7 6 April 2014	Flight MH370 Changes in the Cuban economy The Qing Ming Festival Poetry Student opinions on recent issues Fast Eddie
Post #8 13 April 2014	Sun, where art thou? Award for ‘favorite foreign teacher’ Coming of age – new 5 star hotels in Huangdao A mystery – China’s property market Student comments on high school and university
Post #9 20 April 2014	Student comments about college The F-word dilemma Australia comes to town – huge business delegation My public lecture; and question "were you a spy"? Visit to Ling Shan Island Shandong Educational TV Flash Eddie
Post #10 29 April 2014	Trip to Beijing for the Favorite Teacher Award Building activity around Huangdao Ranking of cities
Post #11 6 May 2014	News summary for April 2014 Operations of China’s 4 biggest banks Time Magazine’s 2014 List of 100 Most Influential People The Wen Zhang affair Disappearance of Flight MH370 Crisis in Ukraine
Post #12 8 May 2014	Our visit to Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Post #13 18 May 2014	Olah Family history ·         Photos of my mother ·         Messages from Angie and Aniko Blast from the past – Burton & Garran Hall’s 50th anniversary celebrations Student ‘Super One’
Post #14 25 May 2014	Compiling exam papers Model teacher Five year rule for foreign teachers in Shandong My new phone APEC comes to town (Heath McMichael) Nobel Prize List of Prolific Inventors; Kia Silverbrook and Paul Lapstun Photo with UPC President Peter’s Ice Cream goes French Vale, Reg Gasnier
Post #15 2 June 2014	Duan Wu (Dragon Boat) Festival Footy Adventurer extraordinaire Fedor Konyukhov The China – Vietnam dispute Jack Brabham, RIP News summary for May 2014
Post #16 7 June 2014	Graduating class Steve’s birthday Student opinions on recent events Feedback on the semester from Double Major students China’s leading ladies: Peng Li Yuan and Cheng Hong Eddie goes to Paris
Post #17 14 June 2014	Big month of Sport: World Cup starts in Brazil; NBA Championships won by San Antonio Spurs; French Open won by Nadal and Sharapova Which part of American Culture did you find most interesting? Teaching the CNOOC group Students selling belongings Our seniors bus passes The dreaded Gao Kao The world’s most popular woman (Yao Chen) Grandkids
Post #18 22 June 2014	Campus news: ·         CCTV English News channel ·         The godfather of UPC ·         Culture exam ·         Farewell to Mashine ·         Homeward bound The Queen meets the Premier One of the best World Cup goals ever? Spurs beat Heat to win NBA Championships News summary for first half of June 2014 A bit of nostalgia (Jakarta 1972) Photo of Caroline and Eddie
Post #19 27 June 2014	In Kuala Lumpur Index of Posts #1 to  #18 Disappearance of Flight MH370 Ukraine crisis Angie & Rotary Club of Narooma
Post #20 14 September 2014	Mid Autumn Festival In Kuala Lumpur, photos with Eddie Time with the Roberts family in Brisbane Robertstour2014.wordpress.com Photos of our stay in Australia (July & August 2014) 2014-15 Academic Year: key dates
Post #21 21 Sept 2014	Photos of Kuala Lumpur UPC students:  living conditions Military training for Freshmen students Bill Clinton’s book “My life: the Presidential Years”
Post #22 27 Sept 2014	Move to our new apartment Military training – photos of final parade Qingdao Golden Beach Hilton Hotel
Post #23 1 October 2014	China’s National Day Photos of new apartment Meeting with Qingdao TV Vera with former student Zhang Ya Xuan Han Han (possibly the world’s most popular male blogger)
Post # 24 7 Oct 2014	Visit to Dalian and Lushun (Port Arthur), 2 – 6 October during the National Day holiday. Photos of Dalian and Lushun
Post #25 20 Oct 2014	Photos of bicycling Qingdao TV interviews and videos Our 41st wedding anniversary 17th Asian Games, Incheon, South Korea News summary for September 2014
Post #26 24 Oct 2014	My teaching schedule this semester, September to December 2014 Class summaries & explanations Weekly workload of class EM1301 Vale, Gough Whitlam
Post #27 31 Oct 2014	Photos of new apartment & Tang Dao Wan Bay An explanation of Chinese names Photo of Papa Andy with Hinamoana
Post #28 1 November 2014	House of Cards TV series Great Wall Drilling Company News summary for October 2014
Post #29 8 Nov 2014	Whitlam’s Memorial Service Western Sydney Wanderers win Asian Champions League Visit to Bin Hai University Photo with Fu Xiao Robertstour2014 Photos of Andrew, Caz & Eddie in Hong Kong
Post #30 16 Nov 2014	APEC & Bob Hawke Working at the Australian Embassy Beijing 1983-86, and memories of Beijing 30 years ago Pictures related to Channar Project Main actors: Paul Barratt; Kevin Rudd; Ross Garnaut; Richard Rigby; Denis Gastin; Jocelyn Chey.
Post #31 24 Nov 2014	Left-handedness in China Postscript
Post #32 1 December 2014	Recent photos (including visit to Qingdao Naval Museum) Breaking Bad TV series Turn-out rate at US elections
Post #33 4 Dec 2014	News summary for November 2014
Post #34 6 Dec 2014	Love poems with International Trade theme Students’ questions during the  Western Culture course Some suggested changes to the US political system The intrepid travellers – the Roberts family ‘turn left’
Post #35 11 Dec 2014	About Omi (3rd anniversary of her death)
Post #36 14 Dec 2014	Analysis of the Forbes 2014 “List of 72 Most Powerful People”
Post #37 24 Dec 2014	About UPC students: Class timetable Student workloads My teaching schedule University degrees
Post #38 27 Dec 2014	China’s development Comparison of college China/USA
Post #39 29 Dec 2014	Robin Williams, RIP

Table 2: Index for 2015 (Post # 40 - Post #84)

Post number & date	Events described
Post #40 2 January 2015	Olah family highlights of 2014 The South-North Water Diversion Project
Post #41 10 Jan 2015	News summary for December 2014
Post #42 13 Jan 2015	Description of Western Culture exam held 4 January 2015
Post #43 14 Jan 2015	Photos of last 3 weeks of semester (classes, dinners)
Post #44 15 Jan 2015 In Hong Kong	Comments on Hong Kong YouTube link to Qingdao TV program about Rai and me Index of blog posts #19 - #43
Post #45 23 Jan 2015	The billion dollar house (No. 75 Peak Road, Hong Kong)
Post #46 4 March 2015	Photos of our time in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Hong Kong
Post #47 21 March 2015	Teaching:  British Culture; English News Weather Our sojourn in China Brumbies Super Rugby team
Post #48 28 March 2015	Gym English News class Cricket World Cup Craigengower Cricket Club in HK
Post # 49 3 April 2015	News summary for March 2015
Post #50 12 April 2015	Visit to Qufu, Shandong Province (home town of Confucius)
Post #51 21 April 2015	Recent photos The fall of Bi Fu Jian (Lao Bi)
Post #52 30 April 2015	News summary for April 2015
Post #53 11 May 2015	Visit to Xian, Shaanxi Province  (terracotta warriors, etc)
Post #54 14 May 2015	Format of ‘English News’ class Examples of articles discussed in News class
Post #55 24 May 2015	Trip to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province
Post #56 3 June 2015	News summary for May 2015
Post #57 7 June 2015	Contract for 2015-16 academic year Gym Accident Exams Upcoming travel Recent photos
Post #58 8 June 2015	About the Bureau of International Expositions and World Expos
Post #59 28 June 2015	Recent photos: Golden Beach MIX-C mall in Qingdao Charles & family & apricot farm Fu Xiao
Post #60 28 June 2015	Photos of classes & students in the March – June 2015 semester Photos of campus; student market; graduating students
Post #61 6 July 2015	News summary for June 2015
Post #62 20 July 2015	Describes two written exams from this semester: Western Culture English News
Post #63 21 July 2015	Our visit to Shanghai, 8 – 17 July 2015
Post #64 23 July 2015	Our visit to Suzhou, 14 – 15 July 2015
Post #65 24 July 2015	Photos of our stay in Hong Kong, 17 – 24 July 2015
Post #66 2 September 2015	Photos of Sid & Nate playing rugby, and end-of-season presentations Hilder Road Primary School weekly assembly Brisbane’s South Bank
Post #67 3 Sept 2015	Photos of our visit to Australia in July & August 2015: Canberra Sydney   Hong Kong
Post #68 3 Sept 2015	Photos of UPC graduation ceremonies in July 2015 (in the UPC gymnasium and in the Yi Fu Center) Lunch with students
Post #69 3 October 2015	My teaching schedule for semester Sept – Dec 2015 New contract – increased salary Recent photos: Rugby 7s in Qingdao Carol’s wedding Freshmen’s military parade Eddie & Reddie
Post #70 10 Oct 2015	News summary for September 2015
Post #71 14 Oct 2015	Visit to Zoucheng, 28 Sept – 1 October 2015
Post #72 24 Oct 2015	Weather Swimming at Silver Beach Our 42nd wedding anniversary Trudeau, father & son Jung Chang’s book on Mao
Post #73 28 Oct 2015	Class schedules for EM1502 & IT1403 this semester Student comments on College life Student recollections of doing the Gao Kao (National College Entrance Exam)
Post #74 3 November 2015	News summary for October 2015
Post #75 8 Nov 2015	Weather Trip to Rizhao Carol Zhang Qi Sunday Fu Xiao Speech contest
Post #76 15 Nov 2015	Background on China University of Petroleum (UPC) Photos of Shandong, Qingdao, and UPC
Post #77 3 December 2015	English is crazy The little word UP A typical Tuesday Middle School day for Scarlett Liu Si Qi
Post #78 6 Dec 2015	News summary for November 2015
Post #79 13 Dec 2015	Tu You You, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for Medicine Student comments on “Why have so few Chinese won the Nobel Prize”? List of “Most Prolific Inventors”
Post #80 14 Dec 2015	Analysis of Forbes magazine’s 2015 List of 73 Most Powerful People
Post #81 16 Dec 2015	Our membership of the Gold Coast Gym Photos: Little Oliver Zhao Yin Xin Dinner with teachers
Post #82 22 Dec 2015	Tribute to Kobe Bryant
Post #83 23 Dec 2015	Our swimming pool Charles Yu Zhi Chao and Jessica Hinde First birthday of Zhang Zhi Jie Presenting book to Cristina Zhang Jia Min
Post #84 29 Dec 2015	How we spent Xmas Week 21 – 28 December 2015 Photos: Classes this semester Roberts boyz and Little Eddie

Table 3: Index for 2016 (Post #85 - Post #90)

Post number & date	Events described
Post #85 5 January 2016	Dispute about my Culture exam How we spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Recent photos (Tamara & Felix; Award for Outstanding Contribution; lunch at Blue Horizon; visit to Daniel and Hayley)
Post #86 7 Jan 2016	A comment on the Chinese stock market News summary for December 2015
Post #87 9 Jan 2016	Description of the Western Culture exam
Post #88 11 Jan 2016	English, with a twist: Sayings Definitions Prose
Post #89 17 Jan 2016	Freshman comments on College life and future job aspirations Non Major students feedback on my Oral English course
Post #90 18 Jan 2016	Index of blog posts: 2014 2015 2016 (Number of visits to my blog from 16 Feb 2014 to 18 Jan 2016: 8,720. Last three months quite a few from France and Russia - the Russian ones are probably fake!)

...

That's it for this post.

Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah (aka The Intrepid Duo)
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Monday 18 January 2016 
(posted in Hong Kong enroute to Australia)

Post #89 17 January 2016

Gentlefolk,

What do young Chinese students think of their lives, and what are their aspirations?

This post looks at Freshmen attitudes to College Life and their hopes for the future; also feedback on my Oral English course by Non Major students.

Freshmen opinions

This past semester I had two Freshman English Major classes - EM1502 and EM1503 - both for Oral English (the '15' shows that they started college at the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year).

I enjoyed those classes. They were relatively small in number (16 & 11 students respectively); the students were young (most were 18 or 19, but some were still 17); they were all girls; they were Freshmen so new to college life; for most of them it was the first time they had travelled away from home, and the first time they had direct contact with a foreigner; there were so many and varied changes to their lives.

EM1502, from left: Kelly; Ivana (partly obscured); Carol; Sylvia; me; Aurora; Penny; Leighton; Alyssa; Sabrina; Iris; Chany; Alice; Violet; Jasmine; Sally.

EM1503, from left: Sunny; Inky; Evelyn; Me; Lucy; Vincy (partly obscured); Claire; Julie (obscured); Heidi; Lena; Becky.

The students were lovely, fresh and innocent and keen to learn. I kept lessons very informal and simple. I wanted to draw them out, and make them realise that they can communicate in spoken English.

Several of them were nervous and shy at the beginning, but they quickly adjusted to this 'foreign devil' with his big nose and blue eyes, and we had a fun time.  Within a short time we were all chatting like old friends.

What do you think of College life?

Back in October 2015, just after our classes started, I asked students in EM1502 and EM1503 what they thought of their lives at UPC? 

See Post #73 of 28 October 2015 for comments on College Life by ten students.

It was clear from their comments at that time that they were in a state of shock.  Their lives had changed completely. They were now far from home, sharing a small dormitory with 5 strangers; the food was different, as was the climate.  Their first three weeks on campus were dominated by the mandatory ‘military training’ all Freshmen, boys and girls, must do.  Then, finally, their study courses began, and again were very different from High School.

I was curious to see how their attitudes had changed, so in December 2015 (after 10 weeks of study) I asked them for their opinions again.

Table 1 shows the responses of selected students. It was obvious that they were much more settled and confident now. 

Table 1: What are your opinions of College life now (December 2015)? Selected students in EM1502 and EM1503. They started College in September 2015, but actual study started in October 2015.

Alice	Study is busy, but not much homework; I have to make a lot more decisions every day (in High School everything was arranged); although I don’t really like being squeezed into a small dormitory I really like my dorm-mates, they are like sisters to me.
Chany	This is my first experience of being a class monitor. It seemed daunting at first, having to keep my classmates informed (and in line) every day, but now life has settled down and it is manageable. I am now a much more organised person.
Sabrina	I still seem to be rushing from one thing to another – I must improve my time management skills.  You are the first foreigner I have ever met, I was scared at the beginning, but now feel more comfortable with you.
Leighton	I love my dorm-mates; I am meeting lots of interesting new people and making new friends from all over China; I play the guitar and some of us are thinking of forming a rock band; I met a nice boy recently, but he was too serious and wanted a “forever relationship"  - I’m not ready for that yet.
Jasmine	I have really enjoyed my optional class, which is ‘Multi-media’ and involves learning things like Photoshop and video editing; I get up late every morning and rush to the first class – must  change that habit; I was surprised to get so many presents on my birthday recently and realise that I have made great new friends and dorm-mates.
Alyssa	I love the university library – so many great books; I’m teaching myself German; the main negative is that our dorm is cold.
Ivana	Life is not easy, but it is fulfilling; I’m doing a Double Major: English and Accounting, so lots of classes; I joined the Student Union, but don’t find it very interesting.
Carol	I feel that we are in a completely new society, totally different from our lives in High School; communication is important and knowing how to get on with others; I joined the student association which works on college media – they asked me to write long article for the newspaper about a recent event – it was difficult but I’m glad I did it.
Penny	Yesterday I dropped my phone into some water – feel lost without my smartphone; for a while I was pretty sick with a cold; our dorm is on the 5th floor and it’s a pain climbing up and down several times a day; but I have made many new friends in my dorm and on the whole floor; I like doing jazz dance for PE. I play the drums and some of us hope to form a rock band.
Kelly	I joined the student's Singing Club and am enjoying that activity; if we form a band I will be the singer; campus food lacks variety and is too salty; I like being able to sleep in on weekends.
Sylvia	My college life has settled into a routine and is now a little dull and predictable; I rode a bike to Golden Beach to see the sunrise; I love my dorm-mates; we try to speak English in our dorm, to practice our spoken English; I will go to Oxford for two weeks during the winter holidays.
Sally	Although I still don’t like college much, I’ve decided that I had better make the most of my time here. I don’t dislike English as much as before, thanks at least in part to your classes.
Lena	Life has settled down - it all seemed terribly busy and confusing before but now OK; I have  time to do many things I'm interested in, which is very different from my life in High School where every minute was occupied and planned.
Evelyn	Our text book for English Reading is “Stories from the Bible”; it’s so boring, and many of the words and names are really difficult; although I have a lot of spare time, I always seem busy. Next semester will be different - much busier - when we start our second major, Law.
Inky	The food in campus canteens is not good – so different from the food I’m used to in Hunan Province; I have made friends with some foreign students to practise English; I broke up with my boyfriend from High School – he is at a college in Shanghai and I’m here, so it seemed silly to stay together; my dorm is good – we are lucky because we have our own bathroom; basically, I’m satisfied with my college life now.

Aspirations?

I asked them what their job aspirations (dreams) were for the future, when they graduate in 4 years? Table 2 shows responses of selected students in EM1502 and EM1503.

 Table 2: What are your aspirations for the future? Selected students in EM1502 & 1503.

Name	Aspiration
Iris	I am interested in both English and Korean, so would like to get a job which involves those two languages.
Sylvia	I love photography, so would like to be a travel writer. My second choice would be to work as a tour guide for foreigners.
Kelly	I am studying accountancy as well as English.  My dream is to do post-graduate study (Masters) overseas, and then get a job in a foreign company in China.
Aurora	My parents want me to become a teacher after college. But at this stage I would prefer to be a tour guide – life would be more interesting and less predictable.
Penny	If my English is good enough, I’d like to be an English/Chinese interpreter.  But what I really want to do is form a rock band (I like playing drums) and to run a bar where the band would perform.
Carol	I will study law as well as English. Finally, I see myself as a legal adviser in a large company.
Ivana	I study accountancy and English. After graduating I would like to be an accountant in a foreign company. I enjoy writing, so in my spare time I might have a blog and do some other writing online.
Alyssa	Eventually, I’d like to run my own trading company, but first I will have to get a job in a company to learn about business.
Leighton	I will major in accounting and English. I’d like to do post-graduate study in the UK and then start a business of my own – not sure what field yet.
Jasmine	My dream is to become a journalist covering wars and other crises.  But it is more likely that I’ll just end up working for a legal company.
Evelyn	Many of us will start Law next semester – our study regime will be much busier then as we will be doing two majors (English and Law). At this stage I’m not sure what I’ll do after graduating -  lawyer, translator, interpreter? Several options.
Sunny	After graduating I’d like to be a primary school teacher in Jinan, close to my parents so I can look after them.
Heidi	My dream job would be to teach English in a college or university. Standards are rising all the time, so I’ll have to do post-graduate study, at least a Masters but probably also a PhD.
Julie	I am the only one in this class (EM1503) who will not study Law as well as English next semester. I would prefer to focus on English.  I see myself teaching English in a Middle School after graduating, probably in my home town.
Sabrina	I’m interested in marketing, and would love to work in the advertising industry after graduating. But I've noticed that my hearing is not too good - I'll have to get that checked out first.

The students told me that they will have nine exams at the end of this semester, as follows.

Table 3: Freshmen English Major end-of-semester exams, January 2016.

Listening English #1

Listening English #2

PE (dance, Tai chi; yoga; tennis; etc)

Reading (text book is Stories from the Bible)

Conversation (in pairs)

Communicative English

Chinese history & philosophy

Computing

Military history & theory

...

Feedback

In the last class, I always ask students for 'feedback' on the course so that I can see what worked, and what didn't.  Table 4 has feedback comments from two Non Major classes on my Oral English course.

Table 4: Feedback from Non Major Oral English Classes (NM284 & NM145)

Name	Feedback
Steve	Good class, very different in format and tone to classes run by Chinese teachers. Perhaps you could try working in small groups to give us more speaking time.
Francis	I enjoyed all the activities but especially commenting on current issues.  I would like you to give us advice on our pronunciation, so that we can improve.
Sunny	I liked the “Hot seat” activity and suggest you do that twice in a semester.  The debates were good too, but too structured; suggest you allow more time for free debate.
Henry	I think the activities were all very good.  My spoken English certainly improved. You made us stand in front of the class and express our opinions.  It was scary at first, but now I feel much more confident.
Mandy	I think we could work in small groups, to give us more time to speak, but you would need to split up friends or we will talk in Chinese. I liked that you made us speak spontaneously, without much time to prepare.  It was difficult, but I learned a lot.
Anna	I liked the Guessing game and Hot Seat.  You create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I still feel nervous speaking English, but it is not as scary as before. Maybe you could let the students choose “issues” to discuss?
Chen	I liked ‘News’ and ‘Comments’ best.  Definitely feel that my spoken English has improved. I would have liked you to give us more information on aspects of Western Culture.
Nan	Good range of activities - I looked forward to this class every week.  Personally, I would have liked more on ‘local language’ or slang.  Also, students could nominate topics for discussion.
Cristina	I liked ‘Comments’ best.  Also enjoyed the songs, but maybe you could choose more contemporary songs? What about watching bits of a movie and then students have to act out the scene using their own dialogue?
Daniel	I really enjoyed doing the little plays, but suggest that happens earlier in the semester. We are all from different majors and it is a good way to get to meet other students, and helps the class to bond.
Evan	I loved this course.  It is the first opportunity I have ever had to express my ideas on various social issues. I would prefer more warning about debate topics, so that we can be better prepared.
Heaven	I liked when we talked about 'News' and also the little play we had to perform. During the class, it might be better to call students randomly, rather than go down the class list; that way we stay alert and interested. We could also try dubbing scenes of a movie.
Bruce	As an ice-breaker, we could start the class by a student showing their favourite video (max 5 minutes) and then the class discussing it.
The Doctor	The “Guessing” activity became boring.  It would be more interesting to get students to talk about “personal experiences”.

Some good suggestions, which I will try to incorporate into my teaching next semester.

...

So ended another semester.

All the marking / grading has been finished and provided to my Liaison Teacher to input into the University system.  At some universities the foreign teachers have to do the inputting of results, but we are lucky at UPC and our Liaison Teacher does that task.

Actually, there was one little hiccup during grading.

I happened to compare notes with the foreign teacher who had the other Freshman English Major class for Oral English (EM1501).  I mentioned that for EM1502 and EM1503, about two-thirds of students scored 75% and one-third scored 80%.  He told me that the lowest score in EM1501 was 88% and most of the students got over 90%.

It turned out that we had very different approaches to assessing students' oral English skills.  During the exam his starting point was 100% and he subtracted marks for errors of grammar or pronunciation or fluency. In contrast, my assessment was based on 60% = reasonable oral skills; 70% = good; 80% = very good; 90% = excellent (native speaker level).

The problem is that students compete for scholarships and my students would be disadvantaged.

In the end I decided to increase the scores of my students by 5% each, bringing them up to between 80% and 85%. His students still had an advantage, but at least the difference was narrowed.

The obvious solution is to have one teacher assess all the classes in a whole grade, so the scores are comparable. Let's hope the university takes that into account when allocating teaching in future.

...

It's quite a while since I compiled an index of my blog posts.  I hope to do that tomorrow.  That should be my last post for the next few weeks, while we are travelling during the winter holidays.

...

Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Sunday 17 January 2016

Post #88 11 January 2016

Gentlefolk,

It's time for a little frivolity.

Let's have some fun with English.

Here are some sayings and definitions I found on the web - still considering if/when/how to discuss these with my English Major classes next semester ...

Enjoy!

Sayings, with a twist

My favorite is the first one, but the others are pretty good too:

Before you criticise someone, you should walk a kilometer in their shoes ... that way, when you criticise them, you're a km away and you have their shoes.

Always remember you’re unique … just like everyone else.

If at first you don’t succeed … skydiving is not for you.

No one is listening … until you fart.

Don’t worry …  it only seems kinky the first time.

If you think nobody cares whether you’re alive or dead … try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

If you lend someone $20 and never see them again … it was probably well worth it.

Some days you are the bug … some days you are the windscreen.

There are two theories about arguing with women … neither works.

Sex is like air … it’s not important unless you aren’t getting any.

Never … take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead; do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow; do not walk beside me for the path is narrow … in fact, just piss off and leave me alone!

Good judgement comes from bad experience … and most of that comes from bad judgement.

and related,

Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.

Definitions, with a twist

ADULT:  A person who has stopped growing at both ends, and is now growing in the middle.

 BEAUTY PARLOUR:  A place .. where women curl up and dye.

CHICKENS:  The only animals you eat ... before they are born and after they are dead.

COMMITTEE:  A body that ... keeps minutes and wastes hours.

DUST:  Mud with .. the juice squeezed out.

EGOTIST:  Someone ... who is usually me-deep in conversation.

HANDKERCHIEF:  Cold Storage.

INFLATION:  Cutting money in half ... without damaging the paper.

MOSQUITO:  An insect ... that makes you like flies better.

RAISIN:  A grape ... with a sunburn.

SECRET:  Something you tell ... to one person at a time.

SKELETON:  A bunch of bones ... with the person scraped off.

TOOTHACHE:   The pain ... that drives you to extraction.

TOMORROW:  One of the ... greatest labour-saving devices of today.

YAWN:  An honest opinion ... openly expressed.

 

WRINKLES:  Something other people have ... that are similar to my character lines.

Prose, with a twist

Every year English teachers across the USA collect analogies, similes and metaphors found in high school essays. Here are some examples ...

Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Texas beef.

She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

 The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 pm instead of 7:30.

 Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

 The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

 They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

 John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

 He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

I laughed so hard tears flowed, like Atlas peeing into the Red Sea.


Isn't English a wonderful, crazy, fabulous language!!!!

...

That's it for this post.

Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah (aka The Intrepid Duo)
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Monday, 11 January 2016