Become an international teacher
and learn about a new culture

Chinese Culture vs. Western Culture

Festival & Tradition

Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in both the United States (on the fourth Thursday of November) and Canada (on the second Monday of October). People travel to visit and celebrate the holiday with their families and friends, and the heart of the celebration is centered on the Thanksgiving meal, normally with a turkey as the main dish.

On the other hand, in China people celebrate the Spring Festival, which marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year. To celebrate this special occasion, Chinese people clean their houses in order to sweep out bad luck, make dumplings, and prepare red envelopes with money for kids.

Styles of communication

At the confluence of both ancient culture and many traditional practices, modern Chinese culture encourages one to be modest. People are encouraged to hide their feelings and emotions. In addition, it is not respectful to question one’s teachers or elders. In the West, many people are open about their feelings and emotions, and are willing to express themselves and make their voices heard. Moreover, teachers and professors in the West encourage students to question what they learn. Therefore, your encouragement and patience are the key for a great lesson.

Food & eating habits

Eating habits in China can vary quite a bit from those in the West. For many people in China, a formal dinner commences with cold dishes. Hot dishes or main courses are soon to follow, with soup usually served after. This is in comparison to the West where appetizers such as salad or soup come first, followed by an entree and dessert.

Meet Our Students

Jonathan
7-year-old Jonathan began his 51Talk journey in October 2015. At the beginning, he booked just one class per day, but as his passion for learning English grew, he began scheduling two daily classes. With hard work and determination, his English began to rapidly improve from level 1, all the way to level 4. His mother, proud of Jonathan’s impressive progress in learning English said: "He is now becoming much more confident at school and is much more outgoing. I want to say thank you to Jonathan’s teachers. They really made a difference in his life." Jonathan has been learning with 51Talk for almost a year, and is keen to continue his learning.
Yangyang
Like many 8-year old kids, Yangyang does not like sitting still in a classroom and listening to long lectures. At one point, he was having a hard time following his teachers at school, and even fell behind his peers in learning English. Turning to 51Talk for help, Yangyang’s mother decided it was time to make a change. In his first 25-minute class, Yangyang received more attention from our teachers than he ever had in his classroom, and has become more open than ever before to expressing his thoughts and feelings in English. His father told us: "I cannot believe he is sitting here and staying focused for more than 20 minutes - this is really beyond our expectations." As he continues his learning with 51Talk, Yangyang has become something of an assistant to his English teacher at school, and loves that he can assist his peers in learning English themselves.
Evan
Five months ago, Evan had no idea that there were 26 letters in the English alphabet. Now, however, he’s eager to speak English to anyone and everyone. His mother is more than satisfied with his learning. "He is so motivated to learn, and even told me that he and his teacher Miguel have become best friends. To my surprise, he won second place in an English-speaking competition. Many thanks to all the teachers who helped him along the way."
Sakina
Over the past 180 days, Sakina has been through a tough process. She used to be shy, and didn’t feel comfortable talking about herself. However, 25 days later, she began using complete sentences to answer her teacher’s questions. After 60 days, she was willing to use English to share stories about herself. Finally, 180 days later, Sakina began using fluent English to communicate with her teachers. On Teacher’s Day, she made a heartwarming thank-you note and shared it with her teacher when they had class. It read: "Happy Teacher’s Day - much love to you! Sakina."