the abcs of teaching oral english

So it's the summer of 2006 and I'm at the Tianjin University of Science in Technology as part of a team teaching English for a couple of months. One day, after lunchtime and an afternoon siesta, I'm headed back to the classrooms to prepare for a group session using music as a teaching tool. As I walk toward the building, a late-thirty-something Chinese man dressed in business clothes who I've never seen before runs up to me.

"Excuse me," he stutters with the requisite East Asian deference, "but are you an English teacher?"

"Well... yes," I reply. I'm thinking to myself that I need to get to my classroom before my students start showing up.

"Oh, good!" he replies happily. "I have an interview with an English-speaking company in a few weeks and I need to practice my English. May I practice with you?"

"Um, sure," I answer, thinking about my schedule for the next few days. "When would you like to meet up?"

"Oh, I have a few minutes now," he smiles and says. "Just pretend you are interviewing me for a job. Ask me some questions." He then stands expectantly, smiling.

I stand dumbfounded. I do have a few minutes to spare before getting to my classroom to prepare, but I have no idea who this guy was or the for what kind of job he will be interviewing. Plus, at this point in my life I have barely been to any job interviews of my own, so I'm not exactly the best person to ask. That doesn't matter to this man, however, because I am A) American, B) white, and C) an English speaker.

"Well... OK...." I stammer. "Um... What kind of... experience... do you have in... this field?"

He begins, "Oh, yes, I have a degree in engineering plus three years working at [such-and-such company] and..." He goes on for and while and then stops. "...Was that good?" he hopefully asks.

"...Yes. Very good." I reply. He stands still and expectant again, with that same smile. "Well... where do you see yourself in five years?" I ask.

This question seems to catch him more off-guard. "Oh yes, very good question, very good," he mumbles, thinking for a moment. "Well, I hope to be in a secure career, growing as a worker, moving up..." He goes on with the standard stock answers and then stops again. "...How was that?" he urges.

"Well, good again. ...um, nice and confident," I answer, looking past him at the students beginning to head toward their afternoon English sessions. I sigh and say, "Look, I have a class I need to teach in about five minutes, and-"

"Oh, OK, OK, no problem, OK," he answers, nodding his head and effusing politeness. "Maybe can I give you my e-mail and we can set a time to talk again?"

Inwardly, I am incredibly frustrated. I have enough going as it is without giving freelance English lessons to random people on the street, but I figure I can just take the e-mail address and conveniently forget about it later. "Yeah, sure, maybe we can get together later this week," I offer with no intention of following up. (I promise that's not as mean as it sounds - in China, that's pretty much how you have to say no.)

So I take his e-mail address, he nods and smiles again and runs off, and I head on to my class. My co-facilitator is already waiting, wondering where I have been.

That evening I am checking my e-mails and I remember the gentleman I met that day. I'm about three seconds away from brushing it off forever, when I think about why I'm really about to do that.

I'm telling myself that I don't have the time. That's not true - I have two or three hours in the afternoon tomorrow. That man would only need maybe half an hour.

I'm telling myself that I need the chance to rest. That's true, but I have plenty of time for that - most afternoon I find myself sitting around bored for an hour or two. That excuse doesn't hold weight either.

Finally, I come to the heart of the issue. I'm telling myself that I'm not any good at teaching English anyway so I shouldn't even bother. I sigh and force myself to e-mail the guy and set a time - I can't take that kind of stuff from myself.

So a few days later I meet with the guy again and it ends up being a great conversation. I tell him more about American culture and work customs, and he tells me more about his dreams and aspirations. I end up really enjoying it. I e-mail him afterward to set up another time, but he doesn't get back to me before I leave for the US. This makes me really sad - something I would never have expected.

Our organization taught the English students a guiding principle called "The ABCs of Oral English." These are: Attack your limitations, Build your confidence, Commit yourself. I never expected that I, the teacher in China, would learn to use these principles as well.