Teacher Han Makes English Learning Fun!

Teacher Han is a 25-year-old from our Send A Volunteer Teacher Program. Since September of last year, she has been teaching 45 second-grade students. She shares her experiences with us in her own words:

 

 

“Good morning, boys and girls. I’m your new English teacher. You can call me ‘Miss Han.'”

I stood at the podium of Erma Qian’aimu Primary School, smiling as I introduced myself. The children’s eyes sparkled with curiosity and shyness, their attention fully on me.

During the first class, I taught the students the most basic classroom greetings, such as:
“Stand up! Good morning, Miss Han!”
“Good morning, boys and girls! Sit down, please!”

The children were astonished as a completely new language entered their minds, their faces drew a mixture of bewilderment and wonder.

Knowing this marked the beginning of their journey in learning English, I want the experience to be both fun and unforgettable. I decided to start with the alphabet song.

“Today, I’m going to teach you a super fun alphabet song,” I said, carefully writing all 26 letters on the blackboard. Their eyes followed every movement of the chalk as if the letters were something magical.

First, I played the alphabet song, pointing to each corresponding letter as the music played. The cheerful melody echoed through the quiet classroom, bringing smiles to their faces. Then, I taught them to sing it one line at a time:
“A – B – C – D – E – F – G…”

The children followed along earnestly, their concentration and enthusiasm lighting up the room. Their pronunciation was imperfect and childlike, but their passion for learning filled the classroom with warmth.
After singing the song several times, I introduced a letter recognition game. I would randomly point to a letter, and the children would try to identify it. Initially, they hesitated, taking time to respond, but as the game progressed, their confidence grew, and they became quicker.

Next, we tried the “train game.” A student would stand up to read out the letters in order. The first boy to stand up was nervous, his voice soft and unclear, but with encouragement from his classmates, he became more confident, reading several letters in a row with increasing volume and certainty.

The classroom atmosphere became livelier. Students whispered among themselves, helping one another practice. To reinforce the sequence of letters, I organized group competitions. Each team collaborated, calling out the letters one by one. The classroom buzzed with the rising and falling sounds of letter pronunciations. Faster learners even helped their peers, creating a collaborative and supportive environment.

As the class neared its end, we sang the alphabet song one more time to review the lesson. The children’s growing confidence and excitement about learning English filled me with joy. They sang the song loudly, their voices full of pride.

This first English lesson was more than just teaching the alphabet—it opened a window to a broader world for these children. In the days ahead, there will be more knowledge and joy waiting for us to explore and share together.”

 

 

Teacher Han Mingzu is still teaching kids, broadening their horizons by opening up their minds to a new language. As they say, to learn a new language is to learn a new culture! These cultures are what makes us understand what it’s like to be human.

These children are ultimately privileged to have a teacher like Han Mingzu so passionate about holding their little hands to this whole new world.