Chapter 567 – First Class
So, Lu Xia calmed down and smiled at the students, saying, “Hello, students. I am your English teacher. My surname is Lu, you can call me Teacher Lu.”
Lu Xia gave a simple introduction, in both Chinese and English. The classroom erupted into enthusiastic applause.
Lu Xia smiled and didn’t start the lecture directly. Similar to Teacher Li at the beginning, she asked the students to introduce themselves briefly in English to assess their proficiency.
Since they were all freshmen, most of the students were a bit shy. After Lu Xia asked, no one volunteered. Just as she was about to call on someone directly, a handsome young man stood up.
Lu Xia raised an eyebrow at this and encouraged him, letting him go to the podium for a self-introduction.
“Hello, my name is Zhao Mingchao…”
As he introduced himself, Lu Xia matched his name. This person was named Zhao Mingchao, the class monitor, and his English was average, but it was evident that he had some prior learning. In this era, that was considered decent.
Although he couldn’t be compared to Chu Liangchen when they started school, with some proper practice, he could definitely improve.
After he finished speaking, Lu Xia applauded first and then praised him.
Perhaps because of his initiative, the subsequent students were quite eager to speak. Their levels varied, but overall, they were much better than the students in the previous year.
Their year was the first batch of college students after the restoration of the college entrance examination. The exam was a bit rushed, and many of them hadn’t even touched English before, just cramming a few phrases at the last minute.
But this new batch of freshmen clearly had some foundations.
Lu Xia was relieved to see this, as she wouldn’t have to start teaching from scratch.
After all the students had introduced themselves, Lu Xia finally began today’s lesson.
To improve everyone’s listening skills, her teaching style was similar to Teacher Li’s. She would first say something in English and then translate it into Chinese.
Lu Xia was fluent in English, with a rich vocabulary and a standard pronunciation.
The students were impressed by her English and showed a hundred percent enthusiasm for learning, listening attentively during the class.
Lu Xia was satisfied with how the class went, and she became more detailed and engaged in her teaching.
Even when the class ended, she still felt a bit reluctant.
When the bell for the end of the class rang, she felt like time had passed quickly.
Glancing at her watch, indeed, an hour had gone by.
She had a longer class, one hour per session, and she hadn’t expected it to go by so fast.
As she raised her head, she seemed to see someone leaving outside the classroom window.
She didn’t see who it was and didn’t pay much attention, just announcing the end of the class and leaving.
Back in the office, Teacher Li asked her how she felt about the first class.
Lu Xia smiled and said, “It was good. Thanks to Teacher Li for the teaching materials. I tried to adapt your teaching style, and it seems like the students can adjust to it.”
Teacher Li smiled and said, “You have good spoken English. Speak to them more. By the time they are in their third and fourth years, the classes will be in full English, and they’ll gradually understand.”
Lu Xia nodded. Their previous classes were like this. The most important aspect of learning a language is the context. They can’t mimic the language context of foreign life in their daily lives, so they do it in class.
“But these new students have a good foundation. I can save a lot of effort.”
“That’s good.”
In the afternoon, Lu Xia had another class for a different class.
Because she had already taught a class, she wasn’t nervous this time.
It went smoothly as well.
When it was time to leave, the head of the department came and praised her, saying she did well in class and didn’t seem like a new teacher.
Lu Xia understood then who the person she saw outside the window in the morning was.
Presumably, they had come to evaluate her. Fortunately, she did well.
They hadn’t told her about this earlier, but luckily, she seemed to have passed the test.
Lu Xia sighed with relief, exchanged a few humble words, and then left.
*
Chapter 568 – High Demands at Peking University
.
After returning home, Lu Xia still received Jiang Junmo’s concern.
Lu Xia immediately replied, “It’s fine, everything’s normal. I don’t have many classes, and I’m teaching freshmen, so it’s quite relaxed.”
Seeing her relaxed expression, Jiang Junmo felt relieved.
In just a few days, Lu Xia’s life as a teacher fell into a regular routine. She no longer felt nervous before each class.
The students liked her, and after each class, they would gather around her, asking questions they didn’t understand and seeking study tips. At Lu Xia’s suggestion, they even established an English corner to study English during their free time.
Their progress was significant.
Lu Xia was very satisfied with this and found her work becoming more and more comfortable.
Occasionally, when she was free and bored, she would help out at the magazine and take on some translation work.
The translations she did now were quite profound, and of course, the pay was substantial.
Moreover, she no longer needed Teacher Li to mediate her contact with the magazine. After such a long collaboration, the magazine and her had become familiar with each other.
When they learned that Lu Xia had become a university teacher, they mentioned that if there were good students, she could recommend them for work.
Lu Xia gladly agreed, as it was a great opportunity for them to gain valuable experience.
However, the regret was that the current students in the classes were slightly below the minimum standard, so she had to wait for a while.
Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Lu Xia had completely adapted to her current life.
The class monitor was no exception. As a counselor, he started to get busy, and now he was gradually settling into the routine. He would occasionally exchange thoughts on the students’ academic performance with Lu Xia.
Similarly, Lu Xia had gained recognition in her teaching from the department’s teachers. The department head had praised her several times.
In fact, Lu Xia was the only new teacher in the department this time, and being a graduate of Peking University, everyone had more confidence in her.
Given her excellent performance, no one was surprised. After all, they knew about her capabilities.
However, Lu Xia was a bit puzzled. It was evident that the department needed more teachers. Why didn’t they request to keep a few more teachers from the previous year or hire additional new teachers?
After asking Teacher Li about this, she heard her say, “Our department also wanted to hire more, but there are too few who meet the criteria. Peking University is the best university in China, and the requirements for a teacher’s competence are the highest. We’d rather have a shortage than lower the standards.
We evaluated many candidates before. Many wanted to come and teach at Peking University this year, and some were even recommended by the state, returning from studying abroad. However, out of all, only you passed this year. So you can understand how strict it is.”
Lu Xia was surprised to hear this. With so many candidates, they only chose her in the end. Frankly, she felt quite honored.
“Why weren’t those who studied abroad suitable? Their language skills should be good, right?”
“While that’s true, the university not only requires high competence but also examines various aspects of the candidates. If they didn’t stay, there must be various reasons.
You just need to understand that getting into our school isn’t that easy.”
Lu Xia nodded after listening, and that tiny regret of not becoming a diplomat faded away. She finally realized how difficult it was to stay at the university.
So, even though she had been rejected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the university had agreed to let her stay in such a short time, indicating how much they valued her.
The only way she could repay them was through hard work and not disappointing the school’s trust in her.
She assumed Teacher Li was trying to convey the same message to her through this conversation.
Anyway, Lu Xia was grateful for everything.
