Finally, we are going to see the real classroom of teaching Chinese as a foreign language! First, we were divided into small groups according to the student number, and then went to the International Exchange College in the Southern District for a two-week teaching practice. This is probably the first time in my life that I have sat at the back of the classroom as a teacher, and the students are all foreigners, so I can't help but feel a little excited.

I remember when I was in elementary school, once I heard that there was going to be an open class, or that a teacher was going to come to listen to the class, the students sitting in the back rows by the corridor would be a little worried. Because the teachers who listen to the class will like to sit in those positions, so they can't do "small movements"! In order to make the open class more advanced, the teacher will arrange for us to give a lesson first, and then ask us to be able to "actively answer questions" when we go to the open class, even if we don't know, we have to raise our hands high. When I was in elementary school, everyone was still relatively innocent, and they all had a strong sense of collective honor, and it was a great honor to be able to attend an open class. In particular, the kind of open classes that are dedicated to the stage of the stadium and have the nature of a competition, it feels like an award ceremony, and everyone tries to put out their best side. Later, in junior high school and high school, everyone's study pressure became more and more intense, and the teachers and teaching and research groups who came to listen to the lectures were basically interns. The teacher no longer "rehearses" us, and just takes whatever class we should take, but we will be a little more serious, after all, there is a teacher sitting next to us. When we get to university, there is no such thing as "teachers listening to lectures" at all, as if we ourselves are more like teachers listening to lectures.

According to the notice given by the teacher, our group groped for a long time in the unfamiliar campus of the South District, and finally found the classroom. After all, it was the first time to listen to the class, and I didn't have much experience, so I took a brand new notebook, and then drew a gourd according to the way I remembered the previous teacher's lectures.

The first class was "Chinese Intermediate Advanced Intensive Reading", and we arrived at the designated classroom a few minutes earlier than the class time, but there were no international students for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that our professional teachers were waiting patiently on the podium, we would all start to think that we were in the wrong classroom. It wasn't until 10 minutes after the bell rang that several Asian students began to enter the classroom, and they all greeted us politely and then sat down in their seats. The phrase "Hello teacher" made me feel a little fluttery, and I began to imagine what it was like to give a lecture on the platform. But soon, the harsh reality made me kill the idea.

In the empty classroom, there were more of us attending the class than all the foreign students. When the teacher saw that he had already been taught, he began to start the class. Teaching is a labor process that requires care and patience, and Chinese as a foreign language is especially necessary. In class, the teacher speaks slowly when reading the text, but the pronunciation is clear. When we usually ask questions and talk about knowledge points, the speed of speech is one-third of what we usually speak, neither fast nor slow. The questions raised by the teacher are all step-by-step and guided. In order to make the students understand, the question is often repeated twice. These questions should be done in a familiar and practical language as much as possible. In the process of writing on the board, the teacher writes very clearly, whether it is important or not, he writes one stroke at a time in regular script, notes the Chinese pinyin on the necessary words, and then reads it promptly.

In addition, I also found that the teacher never said anything like "what did you say", "please say it again", "I didn't hear clearly", etc., which shows that the teacher is listening very carefully in teaching. It's a teaching attitude, and it's the most important thing we should learn.

I don't know if it's because of our presence or because everyone is not in good spirits in the morning, but I feel that the international students are not as enthusiastic as I imagined, and the atmosphere in the class is not very active. When the teacher asks about the means of transportation in various countries, it is often necessary to constantly remind and emphasize that international students will be reluctant to participate in teaching activities. It can be said that the word "embarrassing" is the most appropriate way to describe the whole process.

About half an hour after the start of the class, a few non-Asian international students came in, and there was not much time left until the end of the first class. They were a little surprised to see us sitting in the back row, but they quickly found a place to sit down, and did not take us "uninvited guests" seriously. I don't know what other students think, anyway, I've already started to complain: this international student is really "Buddhist" in class, I don't know what Chinese learning is like, but the essence of traditional Chinese culture is "Taoism and Nature", but I learned it well.

The bell rang for recess, and the students in class tacitly entered a state of relaxation. In the classroom, people of all colors of skin and hair of all colors began to communicate with each other. In the course of studying, the teacher mentioned to us that when international students communicate with each other outside of class, if they are of different nationalities, they will use English as the language of communication. During the lecture, I paid special attention to this issue. Whether it is a dialogue between Cambodian students from Europe and the United States, or a conversation between Korean and West Asian students, they all speak English, and their fluency far exceeds that of Chinese. I wonder if I had gone up and accosted them, and I wouldn't have been able to have a pleasant conversation.

According to the teacher's description and later learning from the classmates, being late has become the norm, and as we have seen, the attendance situation in this class is not very ideal. There may be problems with habits and management systems, but I think the enthusiasm for learning Chinese also plays a big role. The more influenced by the Chinese cultural circle, the higher the enthusiasm of international students to learn Chinese, coupled with the relationship between their home country and China, national economic factors and other additional factors, the higher the enthusiasm. This is just like the Korean and Cambodian students in the class.

The second time I listened to the course was "Elementary A Intensive Reading", and the attendance situation was relatively better, which may be related to the high enthusiasm for learning when I first came into contact with Chinese. But the late arrival was still similar to the first time. Although they are often late, the international students are still very serious about their studies, almost everyone has their own notes, and some Korean students often carry electronic dictionaries so that they can consult unfamiliar words at any time. If they don't understand, they will communicate with other students or ask the teacher, which shows that they still have a certain good impression of Chinese learning.

In the process of reading texts, the pronunciation of international students is often not in place. Although the Chinese language proficiency of East Asian students who are deeply influenced by the Chinese cultural circle is relatively high, we can still clearly find this problem when they speak, and the above voice is the most obvious, which is mentioned by the teacher when learning modern Chinese. And when they read the text, they often read it word by word, which seems stiff. Special speech phenomena such as child-like sound, clear voice, and weakened voice also need to be improved. But it's also because I look at it from the perspective of my mother tongue, and I don't speak as well as they speak.

Although the apprenticeship was not long, it had a great impact on me. It allowed me to understand the real classroom of Chinese as a foreign language and understand the major of Chinese as a foreign language, instead of just being curious. I learned a lot from the two lectures. I understood why we were asked to learn modern Chinese in the first place, why we wanted to study linguistics, and more importantly, I learned the qualities that a teacher of Chinese as a foreign language should have: patience, carefulness, seriousness, practicality, erudition and professionalism. I began to feel proud to be a student of Chinese as a foreign language. If we engage in the profession of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the future, we will not only be teachers, but also a bridge between China and the world. It's a pity that I didn't make one or two foreign friends this rare opportunity, and I didn't even have a group photo.

Otherwise, you can install a fork on Renren.com, and if you're lucky, you might be able to improve your spoken English.

Of course, this kind of teaching internship is not only for us to gain knowledge, but also for us to have a headache after the end of the 2,000-word internship report.