In general，I don’t cry very often，but in early August 2006，I did a lot of crying。All these tears were for one simple reason：I really，really didn’t want to leave China。But，I already had my plane ticket，and my work visa was about to expire，so I had no choice but to go back to America。
For a while，it was great to be home。I was excited to reunite with my family，my friends，and most importantly，my dog。I also enjoyed catching up on all the films，TV shows，and music I’d missed，and eating all my favorite foods again。I got a job at a coffeehouse in Red Wing until I decided what to do next。
Soon after I arrived home，I began talking with members of Red Wing’s Sister Cities Commission。I told them how I loved my stay in China，and how I hoped to come back one day。They said，“Maybe you can go again next year。”And now here I am，to spend one whole year teaching oral English at Quzhou No。2 Middle School。
My previous teaching experience gave me a wealth of knowledge that I am now putting to use，and I feel that this year I am running my class much differently than I did last year。I came to Quzhou in 2006 feeling terrified about whether or not I would be successful as a teacher。In fact，I found that teaching came fairly easily to me，but there was still plenty of room for improvement。While last year my only real goal was not to do badly in class，I now feel secure enough in my teaching abilities that I even have a teaching philosophy。My philosophy is one simple word：interact。
Putting my philosophy to use，however，is another matter entirely。While it seems that，for the most part，Chinese education is quite pas-sive-the teacher speaks；the students listen-this is simply not an option for me as an oral English teacher。When I thought back on my classes last year，I realized that I spoke too much。Now I try to emphasize the“oral”part of oral English，and make the students speak for much more of the class period。The concept of“saving face”can make this difficult，though；my students are usually so afraid of making a mis-take that they just will not speak。I try to counteract this with the constant refrain“Don’t be shy！”and reminding them that it’s okay to make a mistake，and that even in America nobody speaks perfectly all the time。For most of the students，this is still not enough to get them talking，but there are usually a handful of students in each class who truly like to speak。I tend to overlook any mistakes，as I feel that making oneself understood is most important when speaking，and I don’t want other students to feel that their language is going to be scrutinized every time they open their mouths。I feel that this would mostly just serve to discourage people from participating。To me，the time to be picky about grammar is when students feel very comfort-able speaking out。