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Deqing is a small picturesque town located just over an hour’s drive north of Hangzhou. Its current population sits around 87,000 but with the number of new apartments being built it seems this number is slowly growing.
Preferring the hustle and bustle of a city, I did get a little worried when we kept driving further and further away from the more densely populated city of Hangzhou to what I thought was the middle of nowhere. But after an hour and a half on the bus, Deqing appeared and tall apartment buildings sprang into view and I could see people everywhere; on mopeds, in trucks, cars, rickshaws and on foot weaving in and out and going about their daily business. That’s when I knew I was going to be fine. |
Experiencing "The Real China"
Driving into town on the bus I was struck by how green and beautiful the streets were. Trees lined the wide streets and small canals ran through the town with traditional arched bridges and red lanterns hanging along the walkways. The kind of thing you would see in a tourist brochure or an old movie. On the weekends, I often take my breakfast there and watch people do their early morning exercises, tai chi or dancing, each playing their own music from their radios.
My School
Deqing Foreign Language School
I'm currently teaching at Deqing Foreign Language School, a large public middle school consisting of grades 7-9, in the centre of town. It has boarding facilities that enables out of town students to live here during the week, and then go back home on the weekends to be with their families. Like the boarders, I also live at the school in my own apartment in the girl’s dormitory. Since I am right in the school premises it is super convenient for me to get to class, to the canteen for meals or back home in between classes if I need to. Otherwise, I also have a desk in one of the teacher’s offices and the newly built Foreign Teachers' Studio where students can come visit twice a day. This is quite a good idea since I am unable to teach all the grades myself, so it gives the other students an opportunity to meet and speak with me.
I teach all the classes in Grade 8 and these students range in age from 13-15 years old. Each class has approximately 45 students, and even though this is a lot, it's still a little less than the 50+ I was getting at my previous school. Lessons run for 45 minutes, but the advantage of having this many students is that time flies and before you know it bell rings signalling the end of the class. The basic aim is to totally immerse the students in the English so they can become familiar with the intonation, rhythm and pronunciation with the language. It gets them use to listening to a native speaker and gives them a break from the recordings they must listen to as part of their regular English classes with their Chinese teacher.
I teach all the classes in Grade 8 and these students range in age from 13-15 years old. Each class has approximately 45 students, and even though this is a lot, it's still a little less than the 50+ I was getting at my previous school. Lessons run for 45 minutes, but the advantage of having this many students is that time flies and before you know it bell rings signalling the end of the class. The basic aim is to totally immerse the students in the English so they can become familiar with the intonation, rhythm and pronunciation with the language. It gets them use to listening to a native speaker and gives them a break from the recordings they must listen to as part of their regular English classes with their Chinese teacher.
A Teacher's Take
Public schools can offer a lot of flexibility, allowing you free reign to teach any topic of interest, to be part of a community and have an abundance of free time. So they are especially great for those teachers keen to incorporate some traveling into schedules. But the best part would have to be the kids – there are some real characters out that never fail to make you smile and make this whole experience worthwhile!
About the Author
Leanne is a Tianjin based blogger, and has spent time teaching in Wenzhou, Deqing, and Tianjin. She can also be found blogging about her China teaching adventures here.
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