Simon relaxing with some of his language students

Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong; Simon with Union President Sara Lindsay who went out on a visit; new year celebrations in the city

Simon Duff, who graduated last July, has been working in Hong Kong as an English language teacher; he shares below some thoughts from his time there.

“On June 4th I left my friends, family and pretty little Omagh in the County of Tyrone, knowing that I wouldn’t see them all again for many, many months. After spending two months working at a summer camp in America, I started employment with a charitable organisation in Hong Kong, China, teaching English.  Although initially the cultural transition was challenging (language barriers as well as the bureaucratic nature of China were my main hurdles), I have not regretted it for a single second! 
   
I teach in the Institute of Vocational Education in Tuen Mun, in the New Terrortories of Hong Kong.  It is the equivalent of our Further Education sector and my pupils are aged between 16 and 25, with a vast range of abilities, including some with Special Educational Needs.

I love my job.  The students are so eager to learn and my colleagues are really supportive. My main role is to focus on building English speaking confidence, which is low amongst HK students, as well as oral development – although of course where the opportunities to build on vocabulary and grammar arise they are capitalised upon also!  The TEFL qualification that I obtained through Stranmillis has given me many ideas to build upon the creative freedom in my job.  I have developed many classes to optimise speaking opportunities, which has been a lot of fun for both myself and the students!
As far as Hong Kong goes – I am in love with it also!  I always describe it as a place with great variety – I am only ever 45 minutes from a beach, mountains or skyscrapers!!!  There is always something for me to do every night and weekend!  Although it is heavily overpopulated which can become stressful on public transport, the people are very shy but friendly.  There is no such thing as violent crime here and it feels so safe.  Chinese culture is also very interesting to explore and as a base for travelling it is ideal: for Christmas I was in Thailand, I am just back from The Philippines for Chinese New Year, at Easter I will be in Japan and I hope to squeeze in Bejing and Taiwan before I go home (which might be via the Oriental Express!)”.

Simon finishes by encouraging current Stran students to broaden their horizons:

“So I would encourage you to make the most of the opportunities that the college offers you – be it Erasmus, international placements or the many international job offers that come through the college.  The competitive employment market within education in Northern Ireland make ‘experience’ an essential rather than a desirable attribute – and what an experience I have gained here!  Plus it will be a long time until retirement and the amount that you will learn about other cultures, as well as yourself, is immeasurable.  So make the most of the opportunity, and do not be afraid to go international!!”