Blogs by Nicholas McKay
Helping Chinese students with oral presentations
Teaching strategies
November 29, 2020
Do your Chinese students need help with oral presentations? Whether you’re teaching English in China, or you’re teaching Chinese students in your country, sooner or later, your students will need to do an oral presentation. This is...
My experience teaching in an international school program in China
Personal stories
December 30, 2019
In my one and a half years of being in China, teaching in an international school program has proven to be the most fruitful professional experience I’ve had so far. That said, it isn’t always a cakewalk, and I’ll touch on that b...
How to motivate your students in China
Teaching strategies
May 27, 2019
Fact: unless we’re inspired to do something, it probably won’t get done. As a TEFL teacher in China, we’re often required to not only bring an enthusiasm for teaching, but to bring enough motivation for all of our students too....
Cultural misunderstandings I’ve experienced in China
Personal stories
March 22, 2019
A lot of people talk about culture shock when coming to China. Though yes, the focus is often on us foreigners experiencing the ‘shocks’, that does not mean it doesn’t go both ways. You might be wondering, ‘what does Ni...
Why is it hard to make Chinese friends?
Opinion
January 09, 2019
You always hear how friendly Chinese people are. Teachers who worked in China before me praised Chinese people for being so welcoming. While I’ve found this to be true, it doesn’t mean that making friends with Chinese people, and sp...
Having diarrhea in China (and how you can beat it)
Daily life
October 24, 2018
Having diarrhea in China is probably the most unusual thing I’ve written about. Before you navigate away from the page, however, let me tell you that this blog may actually help you (and only partly gross you out). By the end, you’l...
Chinese dating dilemmas
Personal stories
August 31, 2018
So, you're interested in Chinese dating? You’re single, and ready to mingle, as some might say. Maybe you’re a ‘rice chaser’? Or, to put it another way, perhaps you have ‘yellow fever’? You may have he...
Whoosh away your English classroom problems!
Teaching strategies
July 20, 2018
Has the title of this article gone ‘whoosh’ right over your head? Don’t worry, the same thing happened to me when I first heard the concept of a ‘Whoosh!’ exercise. Imagine you are teaching students a text, whether...
Using a Guttman Chart to help your students in China
Teaching strategies
July 22, 2017
I swear by using a Guttman Chart when teaching large classes. It's a tool designed to ascertain a student’s 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD), otherwise referred to as 'what they are ready to learn next'. There will...
How to help students with academic difficulties
Teaching strategies
July 08, 2017
Experiencing difficulty with the content is the main reason behind why students act inappropriately. Fortunately, however, there are some strategies you can use with students experiencing such difficulties. These strategies may help you...
