Chinese Story of Me and Baku

In Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, next to the Caspian Sea, there is a group of students who are in love with Chinese. They have not only warmed me with their enthusiasm when I was alone abroad, but also gave me a lot of strength which has made me a better version of myself.

In the fall semester of 2019, I took over a mixed-age class in which the youngest child was only six years old and had just entered the first grade. There were also twelve or thirteen-year-old children who had just entered junior high school. From the beginning of learning Chinese Pinyin "a, o, e" and "你好" to now, they can make up their own sentences to say "老师我很喜欢你", giving me too many surprises and touches.

Recently, our Confucius Institute has held the first online calligraphy competition. Although the students in the mixed-age class have only been learning Chinese for less than half a year, they were still very active in participating and competing with others in the competition. I felt pleased that besides the classroom, there is a platform for students to show themselves. This kind of competition, like a joyful classroom, is a beautiful landscape on their way of learning Chinese, helping them to go further all along.

Looking at these energetic students, I know that they are the representatives of this city and the hope of the country; I am also very convinced that they, who are working hard to learn Chinese at this moment, will become the successors of the future Sino-Azerbaijan cultural exchanges, the rising stars of the ancient Silk Road countries shining in the east.

My Teaching Experience and New Lifestyle during the Epidemic

Nearly one-half of 2020 having unknowingly passed, I have been quarantined at home in Azerbaijan for three months. In March, due to the impact of the epidemic, nationwide suspension of school was imposed. It lasted only one week at the beginning, but then it happened twice again with the second period longer than the first. Under such circumstances, I started a new teaching and lifestyle in Azerbaijan.

I first received a notice of online teaching in March. Although it was my first time to take a class online, after discussions with the students and a better familiarity with the zoom software, online teaching became less difficult. In addition to online classes, the Confucius Institute also organized online calligraphy competitions. I encouraged students to participate actively and also gave them some relevant guidance. After class, I also assigned some homework to students through WhatsApp, or shared Chinese songs or dance videos on Youtube for fun. In addition, I tried different teaching methods so that students could learn Chinese better at home.

During the home isolation, it was an annoying matter that how to get through every day apart from having normal classes. Since I couldn’t go out, I felt so bored that I realized my life was like the joke called “day trip at home” which prevailed during the domestic epidemic. In order to get rid of boredom, I tried some dishes that I have never cooked before, which also satisfied my stomach. I also exercised at home to avoid degeneration of my limbs and increase resistance. When there was no class, I read the books brought from China to supplement my knowledge.

Finally, I hope that the epidemic will end as soon as possible and we can return to a normal life. Someday we can go for a walk on the beach, watch seagulls and feel the sea breeze.

Continue Learning without Classes for Online Knowledge

At the beginning of March, the epidemic began to break out in Azerbaijan. After receiving an emergency suspension notice from the Ministry of Education, the Confucius Institute at the Azerbaijan Language University quickly took relevant measures and implemented the modes of “online teaching” and “online conferences”. From then on, the "online class era" for my students and I began.

However, everything was difficult at the beginning for the students and me who needed a short adjustment process for the first online class. In order to bring students a good class experience in the first class, I tried my best to make various preparations. In this way, my hanging heart finally relaxed when the class finished as planned.

In order to improve teaching efficiency, I sought for opinions from students and made improvements. After a period of running-in, we have gradually adapted to the mode of online teaching, and all teaching links such as pre-class review, class lectures, and homework have progressed smoothly.

To better supervise students' completion of homework after class, I checked their homework by asking them to send pictures and recordings. Accordingly, they cooperated in an active way and worked hard to complete their learning tasks.

"We still need to work hard when the epidemic is not over." Many challenges as there are in the online teaching, we are still confident to provide students with better quality Chinese online courses with our full preparation.

Thank you to all the Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute who are still fighting on the front line during the epidemic. I hope the epidemic will end soon, and we will meet again in the lovely Confucius Institute.