TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Dear
Students and Friends: (October 2011)
Since I have recently moved (back) to
Xiamen, Vivian and I are once again surrounded by
new faces and new places. To me, coming to Xiamen was like "coming home"
because this was the first Chinese city I ever lived in. But little
remains of the spots that were so familiar to me back in 1985-87, when I
studied Chinese at the main Xiamen University campus. Vivian and I visited
this beautiful city twice in the past decade, so it was not difficult to
convince her to allow me to accept this teaching position!
I am currently teaching sophomores on the Zhangzhou campus of Xiamen
University (see the map below). Their major is International Economics and
Trade, and I'm helping them make progress in Oral English--a tool that
they will hopefully use often in their future careers.
But because so much is new (new students, new campus, new classes, new
friends, new church, new stores and restaurants to get used to, and the
new boat schedule that links us to Xiamen), there is little time to devote
to being a "webmaster." Thus, please pardon me when you find pages that
say we are in America (as we were in 2010-11) or in Kunming (2005-2010). I
may never find all of the out-of-date references! But I dare not delete
old pages, because I've found that many are useful to English-learners and
teachers far and wide.
If you are new to krigline.com,
look around!
There is plenty to see, even if some parts are out of date! For
example, I have a page listing many of the resources available for students and
teachers. On the
left of the Student Connections page (this page), my students (or
any English-learner) can find links to helpful resources.
You might also look at our
articles index or
FAQ
section (Frequently Asked Questions). Our photo
album is also popular. The site map has a
handy list of most pages.
If you are a "Zhangzhou campus" student (either
university!) and want to hear about
special opportunities to use English, please write to us (see below).
People often ask what I do in my spare time. I
usually say "grade papers or prepare for class!" When I have
spare time, I enjoy watching movies with my wife and working on this website
(I used to play the guitar too, but find little time for this now). Unfortunately, I do not have time for
private students or time to edit things written outside of my class
requirements. Vivian taught pronunciation at Northwestern Polytechnical
University, and she is willing to tutor a limited number of students--ask
us if you want to know the details. (Click to see more "frequently asked
questions.")
Another question people often ask is: "How can I improve my
English?" My usual answer is “USE your English as much as
possible!” (Click here for a longer answer!) Reading is very helpful, and if you want to write better,
then write! (My textbook can also help.)
You should also take advantage of informal gatherings (like the "English Corners" at
many schools).
If you are a foreign student in the US, join a hobby or interest-based club and/or attend a
church--you'll find lots of friendly people with whom to practice your
English. I also have Chinese friends (with great English) who says their secret is watching
movies in English! Do whatever works for you, but your English won’t get
better unless you DO something!
To help, I have provided a "learner
links page"
just for students, and my former students have written
descriptions for a number of their favorite
English-leaning websites. I’ve also posted my own
Study Guide. In addition, you can find good
examples of short
student essays; check them out! On our
"resources" page, a friend and former colleague shares some more
advice in his "English Corner
tip of the month." Finally, click in the box on the bottom of every
page of this website; it can take you to our most popular pages.
Do
you know about other helpful English- or Chinese-language learning
websites? Please tell me about them! Also visit my website often to see
what's new!
More about me and this website:
I wear two "university
pins"--one for Xiamen University and the other
for the University of Akron in Ohio (where I
taught in 2011, where my parents taught until retirement, and where my son
attends college now). Though I try to always use English around my students, I speak some
Chinese too, and "learning Chinese" is a life-long process. I have
formally studied Chinese for three years (at Xiamen
University, Yunnan Normal University and
Kunming College). I
also invested five years writing Successful
Writing for the Real World, an advanced writing textbook for use in
China (published March 2008 by Foreign
Language Teaching and Research Press; you can find out
more about the book by clicking here).
While I was writing my book, I
neglected
the daunting task of attending to the 150+ pages of this website (so, many
parts are out of date). Now, Microsoft no longer supports FrontPage
software (which this site was created with), so I'm thinking of trying to
convert the whole thing to Adobe
Dreamweaver (but of course this will take a huge amount of time, so if you
know someone interested in helping, please write me!).
As you can see, I'm kind of busy,
so don't expect a lot of regular changes to this website. But I'll try to
keep it working, for the sake of my own students and the many who "surf
here" to improve their English or learn more about China.
Michael
Krigline, M.A.
Xiamen University, International Economics and Trade
Department
(October 2011)
Our email address is on the
bottom of our Home page, as well as on our "Current
Update" page.
