Week 2: Teacher Song

Summary: I just completed my first week of classes! It's been a lot of work, but it's also been so rewarding. Just from the first week, I've gained an even deeper appreciation for my teachers. While preparing my lessons, I have been trying to remember how my favorite teachers have taught their classes so I can try to emulate them in mine.

On the Friday before the first week of classes, my supervisor told me, "This is Mongolia, so be prepared for any last minute changes." I wasn't sure what she meant by that until I got phone calls on Sunday - the night before our first day - informing me with a bunch of updates. Up until Sunday, I still hadn't received confirmation of my class schedule, but that night, I found out I would be teaching five classes, with two on Monday. I also found out all my classes would be online for the first two weeks; that meant having to set up a Google classroom, sending emails to notify all my students, and of course, changing my lesson plans to fit an online setting. I think I ended up going to bed at 2AM to make these changes, and it's a miracle that I woke up for my 7:40AM class.

My colleagues at the opening ceremony last week.

It was kind of crazy, but at the same time, adapting to the frantic, adrenaline-pumping changes were fun. This semester, I am teaching three transition level classes (transition means geared towards preparing students to study in a fully English-speaking university), 1 advanced level class, and 1 class on English for legal studies. Each class is 2 hours and 40 minutes long. My students are troopers for staying on that long (even if they might be watching a YouTube video on the side).

My students have been awesome, and their English abilities are already quite good. I do get the occasional "Mrs. Hesu" and "Teacher Jesus" in my emails, but it honestly makes my day. For their first homework, I've asked all my students to email me their motivations for studying English and also who their favorite music artist is. It's been fun responding to each of them and also figuring out the musical milieu here. Turns out that The Weeknd and Lana Del Rey have a very loyal fanbase in Mongolia. We might have to write to them to come perform here.

In front of the National Library

Getting students to participate can be difficult in any setting. I figured that I needed to develop good rapport with my students, to help them feel secure and safe with making mistakes in front of me and their peers, to encourage more

participation. So, I've been trying to make jokes here and there, invite people to introduce themselves through icebreakers, playing word games, and smiling a crazy amount. So far, I think it's working. As I have called on students to share their answer for an exercise, most have been willing to try, even if they don't completely know the answer. I've also learned that displaying patience is extremely important in getting students to feel comfortable with participating.

They've demolished our Building A and are replacing it for the 100th anniversary in 2024.

I'm still not getting used to being called Mr. or Teacher Song. I did give my students the option to call me Hesu, but I don't think that's happening anytime soon. I think as a teacher, you inevitably wonder if your students actually like you or not. I think the general consensus is positive. I've received very kind comments in my emails about how much students have already been learning in the first week. I have also had a couple students invite me to go clubbing with them on Friday nights. I'm not sure what the protocol is at the university for teacher-student interaction, but if it's for the sake of cultural exchange and developing friendships, I might take up their invitation.