One of the challenges for me so far has been talking loud enough in class for the students to hear me. I am not really a loud talker by nature and in China I am competing with 8 ceiling fans, freshmen military training (for the first two weeks of class), fireworks (because of Mid-Autumn Day and National Day), random chatter and noise from the students and the loud presentations of the professors in neighboring classes.
On Tuesday, when I teach for six hours, my voice gets really tired, not necessarily from talking a lot but because when I talk, I have to be loud. Some students came up to me after my last class and suggested that I use a microphone. That sounds a little ridiculous to me, but maybe I will have to resort to using it. Sean suggested that I just make them sit in all of the front rows instead of skulking off to the back of the class and I think this is an excellent idea.
Overall, I like the rooms where I am teaching. All the rooms have media and sound which means that I can use powerpoint for showing lots of pictures and the speakers for playing some music or audio clips. My only complaint is that the chairs/desks aren't movable which makes group work a little less comfortable, but whatever. The front of the class is on an elevated platform which means I trip about a thousand times during each class to the amusement of the students.
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