Following an exciting May week I, along with Ryan, Millie and Hannah, began to make the final preparations for our trip to China to begin the Shijiazhuang foreign language education group (SFLEG) internship. This was an immensely exciting opportunity and after touching down in Beijing we were thrust into one of the busiest cities into the world. Jinduo, whom we had been in contact with over the previous months, welcomed us upon arrival and skilfully led us through the bustling capital. This first day was characterised by a trip on the bullet train which, to my admittedly jetlagged mind, at first seemed rather unremarkable – not so different from the ones which weave across the UK. However, as the journey began, we quickly accelerated up to 300kmph past endless skyscrapers and construction projects whose individual features became vague at such high speeds. I endeavoured to include some aspect of this experience in my lesson plan. After about an hour of travel we stopped in Shijiazhuang, the regional capital of Hebei province and the location of the school in which we were to spend the next two weeks.
The following days were mainly featured a spree of introductions and tours to help us get our bearings. One of the most memorable introductions was with a group of Canadian teachers who would be teaching in classrooms beneath ours. We also began creating our lesson plans, aimed at a group of approximately ten students in grade 9 (14 years old). To align with my background in physics while acknowledging the difficulty of translating more technical language, I decided to focus my lesson plan on earthquakes. I hoped this topic would be familiar to students as China lies in a tectonically active region and would help to ease the language barrier. Starting with a basic introduction to the origins of earthquakes, I would then transition onto methods to reduce their impact. I decided to illustrate these later principles through the creation of ‘earthquake-proof’ building using marshmallows and spaghetti.
Fortunately, Shijiazhuang itself only rarely experiences earthquakes and it is the extreme southwest of China, near to the Himalayas, which experiences stronger seismic activity. This was apparent in the architecture of the city where tall residential towers dominated the skyline and two large malls acted as important social hubs – both seemingly unscarred by natural disaster. However, on a later visit to an ancient Buddhist temple our guide pointed out areas of raised foundation that encased wooden support beams, these features were described as ‘ancient earthquake defences’ and were an interesting example to explore how countermeasures have evolved over time.
After creating several iterations of my lesson plan with the help of the Chinese teachers we began to present to classes of summer school students. This was a very rewarding experience and the small groups allowed us to form close connections with the students and offer individual support to those that were struggling. During a small break from normal scheduling, we were also able to introduce some students to rugby and organise some touch-rugby matches. However, my favourite part of this ‘teaching section’ of the trip was watching students grow in confidence over the course of the summer school. This growth culminated in a series of final day presentations. The other Pembroke students and I acted as a panel of judges to review student performances. The effort shown in these presentations was highly commendable and students showed an impressive ‘physical intuition’, showing that they had well absorbed the concepts I had discussed in my lesson.
While the teaching aspect of the internship dominated the mornings of our time in Shijiazhuang, the afternoons were spent on trips to various cultural sites and attractions. Some of my favourites were a visit to a traditional hot spring (perfect to relax after the morning of teaching) and the old town. Another highlight was going to watch Shijiazhuang FC play in the 2nd division of the Chinese football league which taught us some more colourful Chinese phrases. We were also invited for a meal at some of the students’ homes. This was a great experience and I spent the evening with Cathy and her family – enjoying many delicious dishes and great conversation. I also had the chance to play basketball and badminton with Tom which I thoroughly enjoyed despite the heat of the Chinese summer!
After 11 days in Shijiazhuang, we said goodbye to both the students and teachers of SFLEG and spent the final two days of the trip exploring Beijing. Sites of immense cultural importance such as the Forbidden City and Summer palace exhibited impressive grandeur. However, they were surpassed by a visit to the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China which had some of the most impressive views I have ever seen. It fully justified its designation as one of the wonders of the modern world. Overall, this internship was an amazing experience and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone keen explore teaching as a career option or interested in visiting China itself. This program provides a unique perspective into Chinese culture and allows you to connect with people on a level hard to attain as a normal tourist. The quality of care and activities was also very high and importantly placed alongside periods in which we could explore on our own (with greater confidence given our earlier experiences).
Finally, I’d like to once again thank the teachers and students of SFLEG for being such caring hosts (in particular, Principal Li, Jinduo and Frank) and to thank both SFLEG and the Pembroke Leap program for facilitating this internship. I hope the bond between our two institutions continues to grow in the coming years.
