The golden rule of any language class is that you should speak the target language at all times. Many expats teaching English in China, therefore, forbid their students from speaking Mandarin. That’s all well and good, but until your students have the ability to confidently express themselves in English, you’ll probably hear quite a lot of the mother tongue in class.

 
Source: WabbitWanderer

Knowing what your students are saying can be very useful when deciding which activities to retain, modify, or discard for future lessons. If you understand some basic phrases, you can also enforce your English-only rule by correcting them with the relevant English translation.
Below are some Mandarin phrases I frequently hear while teaching English in China. It’s worth noting that students might put ‘hěn’ or ‘fēicháng’ before the adjective to give it extra emphasis (e.g., ‘hěn chǒu’ - very ugly) or add ‘bù’ to make it negative (e.g., ‘bù chǒu’ - not ugly).

☆ Lǎoshī – teacher (that’s you)

☆ Wàiguó rén – foreigner (that’s also you!)

☆ Lǎowài – literally meaning “old outsider”. Yep, you again!

☆ Kàn kàn lǎoshī – look at the teacher. If this is accompanied by laughter, check your zipper. It’s probably undone.

☆ Tīng lǎoshī – listen to the teacher. You might hear this from the studious kids while the others are messing around.

☆ Wǒ (bù) zhīdào – I (don't) know. Unfortunately, you’re most likely to hear this one in the negative. This will become simply “zhīdàole” if used in the positive.

☆ Wǒ (bù) xǐhuān – I (don’t) like. You’re likely to hear this if you ask your students if they like school.

☆ Hǎotīng – good to listen to/sounds good. Students might say this if they like a song you’ve just played. You can expect to hear the negative “bù” at the start if you try speaking Mandarin.

☆ Hǎokàn – good to watch/look at. You might hear this if they like a movie you’ve just played or your new haircut.

☆ Hǎowán(er) – good game/good fun. Note that even Chinese people in the south often use the northern ‘argh’ sound at the end of this phrase. I suppose everyone likes speaking like a pirate!

☆ Tīng (bù) dǒng – I (don’t) understand (what you said). The positive form would be simply “tīng dǒngle,” meaning “got it!”

☆ Shénme yìsi – what’s the meaning/what does that mean? You’ll hear this when your students have no idea what you’re talking about, often when you introduce a new activity or ask someone a question. It’s not usually said for your benefit but in the hope that a student who does understand will enlighten them.

☆ Huì – can. Unfortunately, you’re also likely to hear this more often in the negative, “bù huì.” When you hear this from your students, reassure them that they can, and explain again.

☆ Wǒ de tiān a! – my god! Your students have just seen or heard something very surprising or shocking. Or perhaps they’ve figured out that they’re great at English!

☆ Hěn chǒu – very ugly. My students usually say this when I draw something on the board.

☆ Wúliáo – boring. When students say this and seem disengaged during an activity, that’s a strong sign that you should either do it very differently next time or retire it completely. If they say this during bookwork or grammar drills, though, there’s not much you can do.

☆ Kàn bù dào/Kàn bù qīngchǔ – I can’t see! You’re either writing too small on the board or you’re blocking a student’s line of vision.

☆ Kànguòle! – I’ve already seen this. You’re likely to hear this if you show Mr. Bean in class, which you probably shouldn’t be doing given that there’s barely any speaking in it!

While the above covers only a fraction of everything you’ll hear from your students during a single class, hopefully it will be useful when trying to gauge the effectiveness of your lessons.
What other Chinese phrases do you hear in your classes? Drop them in the comments section below.

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Keywords: teaching English in China