China is transcending into a new frontier of ESL education, and Nanjing is at the forefront of this radical shift. Schools are returning to the norm, yet a caveat presents itself; education can resume digitally or return to the traditional method of instruction.
This new way is not isolated to any school as most brick and mortar institutions are now implementing another option to learn. Parents are bestowed with the choice to enroll their child into a physical classroom or to continue through online learning portals.
This is undoubtedly an empowering choice for families across Nanjing. Parents can rest assured that their children will be safe due to the extensive testing requirements foreign educators must go through. Not only did the mandatory 14-day isolation quell the spread amongst foreigners, many have been required to get testing to ensure their physical health is optimal to return to teaching.
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For the most part, most schools are not requiring teachers to don a face mask during class, but a few outliers are. It is all up to the school and what they deem to be the safest course moving forward.
Some classrooms have taken extra precautions that limit physical contact between teachers and pupils, but these are extreme and rare cases. Wearing face masks during class has largely remained optional for teachers in some schools, so that they can provide that extra layer of comfort.
On the other hand, online portals are still active for many of the more popular schools, so children do have the ability to continue distance learning even if they are not currently residing in Nanjing. The dramatic shift in student numbers and attendance has, however, altered the ESL landscape. This continued method hopes to combat the loss in attendance while restoring faith in parents. It further enhances the ability for teachers to exercise a greater reach across Nanjing and wherever else students may be calling home.
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Moreover, some teachers have reported that a drop in classroom attendance is due to a higher volume of students staying outside of the country and learning abroad. This is not all that common, but is the case nonetheless for some schools. And a challenge that will need to be addressed as schools continue to reopen.
In hindsight, not only have student numbers fluctuated, but so have foreign teachers. Many decided to return to their home country upon news of the Covid-19 epidemic that swept across China earlier this year. Schools have effectively lost a prime resource and so efforts have been ramping up to bolster the city’s education force. Even though China has always had a constant need for teachers, ESL schools across Nanjing are now investing in a batch of new and returning educators for their fold.
It may take some time for things to return to what they once were; schools as well as educator are hopeful. In a matter of months, the city has made a massive turnaround to restore ESL to pre Covid-19 days, and success is likely to follow, considering what has now been deemed as the new norm.
