Christophe Chanrion

CHRISTOPHE CHANRION
French / English teacher=

United Ar= ab Emirates, 2011

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Differences in US a= nd British teaching

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Being a teacher trainee with the Cordell Hull foundation in 2003 enabled me to st= art my career as a proper French teacher and to become fluent in English. While in Minnesota for one year, I learned to teach while adapting my teaching style with the local culture. It enabled me to learn what = we can do and what we can’t do. I noticed that an American child needs formal activities and games within the same lesson.

I also worked for two summers in a language camp, learning how to teach with rustic materials and live without electricity! I arrived in America with ve= ry few words. Thanks to this Ame= rican experience, I learned English. It was challenging and often frustrating as = it was hard to understand people and to be understood. But with perseverance o= ver time, I’ve made it. The American experience gave= me confidence in my goal to establish a lifetime teaching profession. <= /p>

As I adapt myself easily to any pla= ce now, I enjoy what I do. I’ve spent six years in England and learned m= uch about the differentiation in teaching. In England, teachers identify the ne= eds of every pupil. Each pupil matters, and the teaching has to be the best for every= one, gifted or not. Classroom management in England is also a real challenge, but with time, we find ways to deal with all situations. I found American pupils much more focussed on their learning. They don’t argue as much with their teachers. They tend to fol= low advice whereas British pupils never listen to you.

We have to teach British student= s in a way which does not show them that they are learning. I would call it implic= it learning. I had to give up using a book and create interactive activit= ies in order to make them enjoy the language. I now only work with interactive whiteboards and I create all my resources myself. It takes time but the out= come is rewarding. I now think it is time for me to move on and experiment somet= hing new. I shall go and work in the Middle East in an International school in o= rder to face new challenges, where more than 60 nationalities are represented wi= thin the school. It will be be another challenge. I plan to = use Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) to adapt to the thr= ee following learning styles within one class: Kinestheti= c, Auditory and Visual.

Moving around the world broadens one’s skill sets, which no one can get when staying in their home cou= ntry because they become used to habitual patterns of daily living. Traveling and working abroad also gives opportunity t= o meet plenty of interesting people and friendships that last forever.<= /span>