Student Feedback

This week I spent class time focused on working with my students to introduce themselves in a professional western conference, seminar or job/ university application interview.  Chinese students are not used to shaking hands or looking people in the eye.  I stood by my classroom door and greeted each of them with a handshake and eye contact as they entered my room.  We discussed the culture of China and the culture of the West in greeting people.  My Power Point slide covered the six things they would need to do as they introduced themselves to other students. It was a very simple basic presentation and class discussion with overwhelming student feedback. 

Making Introductions

1.  Firm hand shake

2.  Eye contact

3.  Greeting

4.  State your English name

5.  Tell three interesting things about you
6.  Conclusion

This is the letter I received in my email after class.  Pretty amazing!

Dear Professor Anderson,

It is even hard to make a greeting when I started to write this message. I will try to make myself clearly.

First of all, thanks for the wonderful class you brought today. I like the way you smile, the way you introduce your family, and the way you look at us. I think you are right, eyes are the window to one's heart. Maybe that's why I want to share the feeling with you.

English is not only a language for us, our generation.

Most of us started to learn English before we are able to think about why. Foreign language was equals to English before we went into college. It is a little sad, but I am not going to talk about this. The fact is, most of us have learned English more than ten years (or more). We have watched hundreds of movies and TV plays, like Forrest Gump, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Toy Story, Big Bang Theory and so on. Also hundreds of English songs in my music box. I can chat with you about this all night.

These things open a window for us, to another world. Different looks, different language and different culture, but not that strange. I can understand some of the lines, but I can never speak like that. I can watch movies without translated subtitles, but I feel really nervous chatting with an individual who is a native speaker. You know what, when you are speaking English, it seems like a movie star just came out from the screen, stand in front of me!

These things make me curious about the Western countries. I notice their behaviors, the place they live, even the bags they take from the market. I can see it, but I can never touch it. For all these years studying English, it seems like I have been used to the distance between us. Until the "movie star" stands there, looking at me with her beautiful eyes. No, these things are not just a scene out of the widow, not a TV show, they are exist.

I want to say thank you, for all the amazing things you brought. I am sure I will make the trip to the outside world someday.

Your student

Joyce