It was not hard for me to look back on China in 2008. All I had to do was peruse through my blog the ‘Vance Report’ to get a snapshot of 2008. It has been an amazing year for China and one that will go down into the history books as a bittersweet collection of [...]
Archive for December, 2008
Should I Go to My Girlfriend’s Hometown for Spring Festival?
Posted by Jean Chesterton on December 30th, 2008
Dear Jean,
My Chinese girlfriend (of 5 months) is asking me to go to her hometown for the Spring Festival. At first I thought it was a great idea but now I am not so sure. My best Chinese friend here tells me that going home with a girl during Spring Festival could send the wrong message to my [...]
Posted in Ask Jean about China 
Tags: Chinese girlfriend, Chinese New Year, live in China, Spring Festival 
6 Comments »Why Showing Movies in Your ESL Classroom is a Good Idea
Posted by Robert Vance on December 29th, 2008
Many of my fellow ESL teachers are afraid to show movies in their classroom.
“Why?” I ask.
“We weren’t hired to show movies,” they always say. “We are supposed to teach.”
They are right, of course. A television is no substitute for a teacher. Yet, my students with the best pronunciations and vocabulary tell me that they owe [...]
Dealing With Chinese University Students Who Expect a Grade for Nothing
Posted by Robert Vance on December 23rd, 2008
Tis’ the season to be jolly, falalala. It is also the season when students that I have never laid eyes on before start showing up to class and acting as I am their best friend. Here are just a few of the excuses that I have heard recently for why students did not show up [...]
Please Do Not Be Lonely on Christmas in China
Posted by Jean Chesterton on December 23rd, 2008
Dear Friends,
I am on Christmas vacation this week but I wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. For those of you who are not going home for the holidays, Christmas week can be a little bit lonely but it doesn’t have to be. These days, you can buy a Christmas tree for next [...]
The Adoption – Free Enjoy English ESL Lesson – Volume 1, Issue 7
Posted by Robert Vance on December 21st, 2008
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FIRST 4 EDITIONS OF ENJOY ENGLISH
If you enjoy using Enjoy English please consider making a small contribution to our bandwith costs. You can contribute as little or as much as you want. The transaction is fast and easy and you don’t even need to have a PayPal account!
Enjoy [...]
Posted in ESL Conversation Topics Tags: ee_1, ESL adoption, ESL Conversation Topics, ESL topics, free esl lessons, Teach ESL No Comments »How Does China Celebrate Christmas?
Posted by Robert Vance on December 18th, 2008
A headless angel and a missing ‘Baby Jesus’ were the casualties sustained by my nativity scene set after it was shown to nearly 1,000 Chinese students during Christmas a few years ago. Of course, what did I expect? I allowed students to ‘carefully’ handle the figurines because I wanted them to better understand the Christmas [...]
Can I Teach about Christmas in China?
Posted by Jean Chesterton on December 16th, 2008
Dear Jean,
I love this season of the year so much but I feel very homesick these days as I think about all of the Christmas festivities that are taking place in my hometown right now. The only way that I can ‘get past’ this homesickness is to talk about Christmas with other people here and [...]
The Mountain -Free Enjoy English ESL Lesson – Volume 1, Issue 6
Posted by Robert Vance on December 14th, 2008
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FIRST 4 EDITIONS OF ENJOY ENGLISH
If you enjoy using Enjoy English please consider making a small contribution to our bandwith costs. You can contribute as little or as much as you want. The transaction is fast and easy and you don’t even need to have a PayPal account!
Enjoy [...]
Are You a Foreign Teacher in China? We Need You!
Posted by Robert Vance on December 12th, 2008
The Teach Abroad China Alliance (TACA) is already up and running! We have members from all over China and the world who are coming together to share their ideas about teaching. Join this free support group for foreign teachers in China by signing up below. This support group is available by membership only. See you on [...]
