我在中国工作和生活了三年，学到了很多我没有想到的关于中国劳动力和教育的东西。在中国教英语之前，我希望知道以下10件事。
我在中国工作生活了三年，了解了很多我从来没有想过的中国劳动和教育。在中国教英语之前，我希望我知道以下10件事。
1.午睡非常重要
1.午睡时间非常重要
中国人非常重视午睡时间。这意味着，大多数办公室将有12:00-1:00的午餐，然后1:00-2:00的可选午睡在你的办公桌上。这很好，因为你不会因为小睡而受到惩罚，但这也意味着如果你想在下午1:00开会，祝你好运。我有很多学生说他们有空，然后忘记和我见面，因为他们睡着了。
中国人非常重视午睡时间。这意味着大多数办公室的午餐时间将为12:00-1:00，随后是可选的午睡时间1:00-2:00。这很好，因为你不会因为午睡而受到惩罚，但如果你想在下午1点开会，这也意味着好运。我的很多学生都说有空，但是因为睡着了，都忘了来见我。
2.你的学生可能处于任何水平
2.你的学生可以处于任何水平
在中国教学时，你可能会和甚至不懂英语的学生或英语相当流利的学生一起工作。如果你从来没有和一个一点英语都不会说的6岁小孩说过话，那就够了。他们只是勉强掌握他们的母语，然后被期望开始学习你的。
当你在中国教书的时候，你可能会和那些甚至不懂英语或者英语相当流利的学生一起工作。如果你从未和一个连英语都不会说的6岁孩子说过话.很难。他们只是勉强掌握自己的母语，然后期望开始学习你的。
孩子们是信息吸收者，所以他们学得很快，但是当他们用中文回答而你不知道如何帮助时，或者当他们不太明白你的意思时，即使有世界上所有的手势和道具，这也是令人困惑的。
孩子是信息吸收器，所以他们学得很快，但是当他们用中文回答问题时，你不知道如何帮助他们，或者即使有世界上所有的手势和道具，他们也不能完全理解你的意思，你会感到沮丧。
3.你的学生可能比你大
3.你的学生可能比你大
当你第一次到中国时，你可能知道你在教谁，但是如果你不一直做同样的工作，或者在一个尽可能吸引更多学生的培训中心工作，你可能最终会教2或3岁的孩子，或者出于商业原因，从事试图提高他们英语水平的职业。
当你刚到中国时，你可能已经知道你在教谁，但如果你不能保持同样的工作或在一个能吸引尽可能多的学生的培训中心工作，你可能最终只能教2到3岁的孩子或出于商业原因而工作。
试图提高他们英语的专业人士。Many people are evenhired to teach English at local universities, where the studentswould be quite fluent already. This means the content and style inwhich you teach may vary wildly. The vocabulary your student needs,and their interests, may very quickly surpass “what’syour favorite color” and you may find yourself gettingquestions about anything from technical business terms, to how todate a foreigner.
许多人甚至被雇佣到当地的大学教英语，那里的学生已经相当流利了。这意味着你所教授的内容和风格可能会大相径庭。你的学生所需要的词汇量和他们的兴趣可能会很快超过“你最喜欢的颜色”，你可能会发现自己被问到从技术性商业术语到如何与外国人约会的任何问题。
4.Student-Teacher relationships are different
4. 师生关系是不同的
People often statethat student-teacher relationships are different because there is aunique respect that Chinese students have for teachers. I’d saythis is generally true, but depending on your exact job, yourrelationship with your students might be more complex.
人们常说师生关系是不同的，因为中国学生对老师有一种独特的尊重。我想说这通常是对的，但是根据你的具体工作，你和你的学生的关系可能会更复杂。
If you work withadults, they may ask you to grab dinner as a kind gesture, or go outfor drinks! Parents of your young students may do this too. If you’reteaching smaller classes especially, finding friendship in teachersis something students may hope for, especially if their exposure toother native English speakers is limited.
如果你和成年人一起工作，他们可能会邀请你去吃晚餐作为一种友好的姿态，或者出去喝一杯！你年轻学生的父母也可能这样做。如果你特别是在小班教学，学生可能希望在老师身上找到友谊，尤其是在他们接触其他母语为英语的人受到限制的情况下。
5. Most of theirteachers haven’t taught in English
他们的大多数老师都没有用英语授课
This one threw mefor a loop. If you meet a student who has studied English for years,you may be surprised by some of the seeming entry-level mistakes. Oryou may be shocked when you read their writing, not sure how it camefrom the same student who stutters over every word.
这件事让我大吃一惊。如果你遇到一个学了多年英语的学生，你可能会对一些看似入门级的错误感到惊讶。或者，当你读到他们的文章时，你可能会感到震惊，不知道他们的作品是怎么来自同一个每个单词都结结巴巴的学生。
This is becauselocal English teachers drill vocabulary and then teach grammar mostlyin Chinese. Students rarely have verbal English conversation,instead just memorizing and presenting speeches. This means theirwriting tends to be stronger than their speaking, almost in allcases. It also means it isn’t uncommon that when you meet theirEnglish teacher, you’re surprised that their verbal English isquite poor too.
这是因为当地的英语老师训练词汇，然后主要用汉语教语法。学生们很少进行口头英语对话，而只是记忆和演讲。这意味着几乎在所有情况下，他们的写作能力往往比说话能力更强。这也意味着，当你见到他们的英语老师时，你会惊讶地发现他们的英语口语也很差。
6. Culture shockisn’t what I thought it was
6. 文化冲击并不是我想象的那样
My impression ofwhat culture shock would be like was really skewed. I neverthought about the small minutiae of everyday life or the purefrustration that starting up in a new place could bring.
我对文化冲击会是什么样子的印象是扭曲的。我从来没有想过日常生活中的小细节，也没有想过在一个新地方开始新生活会带来的纯粹的挫折感。
Because Ididn’t expect this kind of culture shock, I didn’treally realize or understand why I was constantly frustrated andstressed out in my first few months, whether it was setting up Wi-Fi,or any time I had to deal with the bank. Not knowing the language wasfrustrating, but being run around to apartments I hated at prices Ifelt were unreasonable was uncomfortable.
因为我没有预料到这种文化冲击，我没有真正意识到或理解为什么我在最初的几个月里总是感到沮丧和压力很大，不管是在设置Wi-Fi，还是在我不得不与银行打交道的任何时候。不懂这种语言是令人沮丧的，但是以我认为不合理的价格跑来跑去令我讨厌的公寓是令人不舒服的。
I learned I had tobe both patient and stubborn, and that I could learn the system, atleast a little, and get what I needed. For example, after 4 or 5rounds of apartment hunting over 3 years, I think I finally managedto figure out how to haggle for rent prices, find apartments with theamenities I desired, and not settle too much.
我明白了我必须要有耐心和固执，我可以学习这个系统，至少一点点，并得到我需要的东西。例如，在三年里四五次寻找公寓之后，我想我终于找到了如何讨价还价的方法，找到了我想要的舒适的公寓，而不是过多地定居下来。
7. If I can getaway with not knowing Chinese… I will
7.如果我不懂中文也没关系的话…我会
This is more of apersonal one, but I think it may be relevant. If you don’tknow any Chinese ahead of time, and are stressed and busy whenyou first move, you most likely will have to learn how to get alongwithout it.
这更像是一个私人问题，但我认为它可能是相关的。如果你事先不懂中文，而且刚搬家的时候又紧张又忙，那么你很可能不得不学习如何在没有中文的情况下生活。
For my first year ortwo, I could say “this” and “that” and I knewmy numbers, but not much else. And I survived. Which was good andbad. This made me super unmotivated to learn, and my busy schedulejust reinforced my laziness.
在我的第一年或第二年，我可以说“这个”和“那个”，我知道我的数字，但没有什么别的。我活了下来。这是好事也是坏事。这让我没有动力去学习，我繁忙的日程安排更加强了我的懒惰。
It took a lot ofeffort, but I’m finally learning. I hired a private tutor (wehad tutors offered at our company, but they kept quitting, and I keptgetting the same intro to pinyin lesson for about 3 months beforegiving up).
我付出了很多努力，但我终于开始学习了。我聘请了一位私人教师(我们公司曾提供过家教，但他们不断辞职，而且在我放弃之前的3个月里，我一直在上同样的拼音入门课)。
Now I’m (kindof) conversational and really motivated to learn more, even afterleaving China. I continue to practice daily and have hopes of takingthe HSK4 exam next year.
现在我很健谈，甚至在离开中国之后，我也很想学习更多的东西。我继续每天练习，希望明年能参加HSK4考试。
8. TeachingEnglish is a real job
8. 教英语是一份真正的工作
This is something Ihonestly expected more of on my trips back home over the years. Butstill, it did seem that many people back home thought I wasn’tdoing a real job, or that my time in China was a gap-year, more forfun and travel than anything else.
这些年来，在我回家的旅途中，我真心希望能有更多这样的经历。但是，似乎还是有很多人认为我没有做一份真正的工作，或者我在中国的时间是一个空挡年，更多的是为了娱乐和旅行。
A lot of people weregenuinely shocked when I told them I was staying longer, and when Imentioned how much I actually worked (which was a lot). People tendto have a very specific impression of working abroad, especiallyteaching English, and over time I learned to ignore the potentialjudgment. This is my life. I work hard, pay bills, savemoney. Teaching English in China is also respected bylocals because you are bringing value skills to them.
当我告诉许多人我要待得更久时，当我提到我实际上工作了多少时，许多人真的很震惊。人们往往对在国外工作有一个非常具体的印象，尤其是教英语，随着时间的推移，我学会了忽略潜在的判断。这就是我的生活。我努力工作，付账单，存钱。在中国教英语也受到当地人的尊重，因为你给他们带来了有价值的技能。
The thing that Ifelt was often hardest for people to grasp is that it’s not apause, it is three actual years of my real life that I’ve spentworking hard. But for some, real life is settling down in thesuburbs, not living as far away from your friends and family asphysically possible.
我觉得人们最难理解的是，这不是暂停，而是我真实生活中的三年，我一直在努力工作。但是对于一些人来说，现实生活是在郊区安顿下来，尽可能远离你的朋友和家人。
Honestly, I seewhere they are coming from. I don’t think I knew what my timeteaching and living in China would mean to me when I left. Now Iconsider those years a part of a journey that hasn’tended. Traveling and working abroad is probably somethingthat will always be a part of my life.
说实话，我知道他们是从哪里来的。当我离开中国的时候，我不知道我在中国教书和生活的时间对我意味着什么。现在我认为那些年是旅程的一部分，而且还没有结束。出国旅行和工作可能永远是我生活的一部分。
9. You can’tlearn teaching through TEFL
9. 你不能通过英语教学来学习教学
I needed a TEFLcertification to get my visa because I was less than two yearsout of college and had no formal teacher training. Most companieswill pay you to get yours when you arrive.
我需要一个TEFL认证才能拿到签证，因为我大学毕业还不到两年，没有接受过正式的教师培训。大多数公司会付钱让你在入境时拿到你的证件。
But honestly, aone-week crash course on teaching only gets you so far. In my case,my job was a bit off-center of teaching, though it was in education,so the TEFL experience wasn’t particularly useful. I found thatit was a good bonding experience with the co-worker I went to thetraining with, but other than that I found little value.
但说实话，一个为期一周的教学速成班只能让你到此为止。就我而言，我的工作有点偏离了教学的中心，尽管是在教育领域，所以英语教学的经验并不是特别有用。我发现这是一次很好的与我一起参加培训的同事建立联系的经历，但除此之外，我发现它没有什么价值。
I think any job youmay have in China, teaching included, will be one that you learn alot about on the job. Even if you have teaching experience, the waythat teaching centers and schools work will be different from whatyou’re used to, so don’t expect all of your training andexperience to easily transfer.
我认为你在中国的任何工作，包括教书，都会让你在工作中学到很多东西。即使你有教学经验，教学中心和学校的工作方式将与你习惯的方式不同，所以不要指望你所有的培训和经验都能轻易转移。
10. MajorHolidays are crazy times to travel
10.重大节日对于旅行来说是疯狂的时刻
I guess this is sortof true everywhere, but it seems even more true in China.
我想这在任何地方都是正确的，但在中国似乎更是如此。
The Mid AutumnFestival and The Spring Festival will likely award you at least aweek off of work. You, and the entire rest of the country. If you’relucky, you’ll get even more time for Spring Festival since mostschools are closed.
中秋节和春节可能会给你至少一周的假期。你和整个国家的其他人。如果你幸运的话，你会有更多的时间过春节，因为大多数学校都关门了。
This means a lot ofpeople are traveling. Some areas are super busy and crowded, andothers are ghost towns. Newer cities aren’t really “home”to as many families, so those cities tend to empty out and don’treally have many holiday celebrations.
这意味着很多人都在旅行。一些地区超级繁忙和拥挤，另一些是鬼城。较新的城市并不是很多家庭真正的“家”，所以这些城市往往空无一人，也没有很多节日庆祝活动。
Older cities can beincredibly packed, and traveling to nearby destinations in SoutheastAsia are also very popular. No matter what, flights and hotels aremore expensive at these times, so have fun with your holiday time,but book early!
老城可以令人难以置信地拥挤，而且前往东南亚附近的目的地旅游也非常受欢迎。无论如何，这些时候的机票和酒店都比较贵，所以尽情享受你的假期吧，但是要早点预订！
A rewardingexperience
一次有益的经历
Working in China asa teacher was an incredibly unique and rewarding experience. Whilethere are some insights, I wish I knew before-hand, this was a partof the valuable process of being an expat in China, even when thelessons were tough.
作为一名教师在中国工作是一个难以置信的独特和有益的经验。虽然有些见解我希望事先知道，但这是作为一名外籍人士在中国的宝贵过程的一部分，即使是在课程很艰难的时候。
