IUP

    *This post was edited on 9/02 to improve factual content.*

     In a previous post, I spoke at length about what I do in China.  While IELTS teaching is the lion’s share of what I do, there are also other duties, privileges and responsibilities that come with my job.

     I work for Jiangsu  Education Services for International Exchange or JESIE.  JESIE is a partner program with the Jiangsu Dept. of Education and has teachers working all throughout the province of Jiangsu.  I specifically teach in the International Universities Pathway or IUP Department which is a program designed for Chinese high schoolers wishing to study University abroad. 

     The IUP program was established just last year.  In the 2nd year of the program the feedback that came from the teachers in the first year, has shaped procedure for this year.  There are now 10 schools that run the IUP program, and what appears to be more to come, as a result of Jiangsu province’s push for students to study abroad.  

     With accreditation and quality control being monitored by our partner Universities:  Stanford University, University of London, University of Toronto, and University of Melbourne year 3 many students of our students will have the opportunity to attend university at the school of their qualification and choosing in the nations represented plus New Zealand.  As a teacher I expect that when these opportunities are realized, the IUP program will begin to take a fuller and more complete shape, but as for now the foundation teachers have been given a great opportunity (through the forward thinking of JS Dept. of Education and JESIE) to shape educational policy in not only their program, but possibly the whole of China; and also have a hand in helping international universities to further tap into the educational potential of young Chinese students. 

    Next semester around April, the next big stage for IUP arrives.  Our 2nd year students, 高二 gao1 er4, will begin to have almost all of their classes in English (Math, Science, Business, and the still evolving “other”).  At the end of the year, these students should attain an actual IELTS testing score of 5.5 to continue on in IUP and IELTS training at their high school.

     As an IUP teacher I am looking forward to the future of this program, and will continue to keep log of our progress.

Emirates Part 1

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times or so my over-dramatic mind wants to put it for this summers trip back home using Emirates Airlines.  A trip that started so promising, and ended a little flatter than I’d like.

        It started back in May of this year when I needed to book my ticket home.  While Emirates was about $100 cheaper than all other carriers for my flight during peak travel season in China (July and August), the one stop-over flight plan stopping once in Dubai after an 8 hour flight, then continuing onto Houston for 15 hours (after a 5 hour layover) seemed like a plan for raging jet-lag.   However;  after hearing rave reviews and realizing that being able to say I’ve technically made a circle across the globe (because I came from the west last time) would be a cool “bucket list” item.  i decided to Fly Emirates.

      Going:

        I can’t remember much about that first leg from Shanghai to Dubai, except that I listened to Jerry Seinfelds best of stand up routine, and that I slept pretty well in my bulkhead seat.  For the non-flyers out there, bulkhead are the seats in front of the cabin, but not first class.  The leg room is usually just a little bit more, slightly more suitable for my 6′5″ (195 cm)/240 lbs (110 kg) frame.

       What I do remember from going home was the heaven granted to me by what I guess must have been computer lottery: While checking into my flight from Dubai to Houston, my ticket was scanned and a piece of paper came out.  The checker congratulated me on being upgraded to business class.  I didn’t realize it then, but for the next 15 hours, I experienced what Heaven surely resembled Heaven with wings.  

1. For food and drink we had: champange at the start, 4 choices of food which usually were choices from the All-Stars of Asian food, and chocolate, always tons of chocolate.
2. For seating we had a seat that turned into a bed and fit 95% of me with width and length-a record for airplane seating.
3. All kinds of ac and usb outlets along with days of movies, and music on their monitor.

I tried not to feel entitled, but as a big guy who when sitting in mere mortals seats feels more trapped than a hand deep inside a pringles can, I deserved at least #2.  While in America, I preached Emirates like it was the gospel.   I was looking forward to the possibilities on return.

Going back to China.

On Friday August 20th, 2010, i will return to China to begin my 2nd year of work with Jiangsu Department of Education working as a IELTS teacher.  i’ll be going to the small town of Danyang in Zhenjiang prefecture.  With a population of 900,000 it will be the smallest Chinese city I’ve worked in.

People who know me know that i am an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher but always wonder what exactly IELTS is.  A year ago I would not have been able to exactly answer this question, but now with a little research and my year of teaching it, I can better inform the curious.

  iELTS stands for International English Language Testing System, and was established by British Council in 1989.  The test comprises of four sections: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  in the past it was considered a test for students to get into western universities not in the United States, but that has changed as now many US universities accept IELTS and TOEFL. 

  As an IELTS trainer, I take my students through many different exercises in the four sections of the exam.  Many are book generated, but in my job the ability to create activities based on the exercises is key to the students understanding and interest in the work.  I’ll save the post further explaining the different sections for a later time.

Many people do question my working for the Chinese government, but I have found it to be quite an enjoyable experience.  Many teaching jobs in China have not been set up legally so many foreigners go through pain with thoughts of school raids, deportation, and dreaded Hong Kong business visa runs (which do not make teaching in China legal and can be expensive).  I‘m most certain as long as i don’t get into too much trouble, visas and passport hassles are a thing of the past.     

Under Construction

Texinchina is back without Sarah Palin or supermodels.  Standby for the madness.