For the first few months at the school，Crystal and I taught the Senior 1 students。As the main focus in English lessons in China tends to be on reading and writing，the areas where we believed we could contribute the most is in improving their oral skills and knowledge about British and Australian culture。By showing the students maps and pictures of our coutries，photographs of our families and by an-swering the questions that the students had，we hope that we have given the students a clear idea of what life is like in western countries，and also the opportunity for them to practise their spoken English and listening skills。I think the students have found these kind of lessons interesting and at times a little surprising。For example，there were many shocked faces when the students discovered that children in England start school every day at 8：30am and are finished by 3：30pm！
As the students spend most of their time in the classroom sitting at their desks，we have tried to make learning more fun by introducing activities such as word games，role plays and songs to help them learn。Although this type of teaching is perhaps not feasible for every lesson，it is definitely a good way to maitain the students’enthusiasm for the subject and has proved successful from my own experience in sec-ondary schools in England。The teaching course I attended before coming to China also empahasised the importance of active learning，an approach which can be used for teaching any subject。
Whilst I have been in China，I have been lucky enough to have my mother and grandmother visit me from England。At the beginning of December I met my family at the airport in Shanghai where we spent the weekend。We walked along the bund，went to the top of the jinmao tower and the oriental pearl tower，and visited the“Old City”and markets。My family then spent the week with me in Quzhou。Having had such a great time here，I was really excited about showing them the town，the school，and the people I have got to know。They watched some of my lessons in the Junior school where I am now teaching，and even took part by teaching the children some English songs！A highlight of the week was when we went with one of the teachers from the school，to visit his family in their village outside Quzhou。This was a new experience for me as well as my family，the chance to see a completely different way of life from the city and even more so from England。My mother and grandmother could only stay for one week，but it was really good to see them。They had a fantastic time in China，they loved the food，the scenery and the people who they thought were so welcoming and hospitable。A rare chance to see the“real”China，far better than a sight seeing tourist’s holiday。It was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the week，but I’m glad that I get to stay in China for longer。