On Teaching English as an ABC

It’s a state of constant shock. Often times I’m the first American Born Chinese (ABC) my students have ever met. In turn, I’m constantly astounded by simple truths that I understand just by interacting with my students.

For a lot of foreigners, teaching English is an easy way to make money. Come to China, find rich Chinese parents and rake in major cash for babysitting their kid for a couple hours. A lot of foreign teachers don’t even speak English as their first language.

But for me it’s different. I am Chinese. I see every one of them as long lost brothers, sisters and cousins. My students are trying to study in England so they can become teachers, engineers and to find a way to “make the sky blue again.”

I can’t scam them. I want all the same things that my students want. I want to help them achieve their dreams and see blue skies in China before my time is done.

In teaching, the biggest obstacle I’ve faced so far is the Chinese education system. It stresses rote learning and produces students that seem to be bound to operate within a certain system. They try to rehearse answers rather than to talk freely.

In every English lesson, I let them make mistakes and encourage them to express themselves however they want. From there I just correct grammar. It feels like I’m untying knots inside their mind.

My favorite thing to hear from my students is the expression, “Ohhhh.” I’m addicted to it. Just to see that knot untied in front of my eyes is an irreplaceable feeling.

Last week I had a student tell me, “Before I met you, I always used the Chinese way. But after you showed me a new way, I don’t want to go back to the Chinese way.”

They see me, a wildcard of a Chinese person and are exposed to a new possibility of being Chinese. In turn, I see myself in every one of my students. I see what my life could have been like if my family had never left. I see the possibilities of being Chinese and Asian beyond hipster, hip hop, gangsta, preppy, fob and white-washed.

Whatever lies in store for my future, I know I’m on the right path. Whether I become a successful writer or not, I feel like I can make a tangible difference in my students’ lives. For me, that’s enough. I think I’ll be a teacher when I grow up.