Today’s class was PACKED again; more new students, more awkward roll calls, more examples of why getting them to point to the attendance sheet makes more sense. The class list has 27 students enrolled, but the actual class seats only 14 (all seats were full last night with 13 students absent). I wonder what we’ll do if they all show up one day, on the same day? Wait.. I wonder what *I’ll* do.
Today we went over Perfect Past (have/has) and Simple Past (did/do/does). Did you know it is now acceptable to write a sentence as “My boss’s gone skiing in the Swiss Alps”, instead of “My boss has been skiing…”. It’s acceptable to triple s it up, I had no idea. Thanks Will for being my phone a friend at break when I wanted to clarify it was NOT ok, but we could find no definite proof of right or wrong for either side. After class I asked the Director who said it is, in fact, acceptable now to apostrophe the left, AND the right of the s. Rivetting I know, but I was surprised!
So we move passed ’s', and ‘does’ ends up doing me in. A few students had trouble with do/does in terms of the correct pronouns. Explaining “does is the present third singular of do” to myself was hard enough, trying to explain it to an ESL class causes confusion with “slow down!” yelled out by Elena (who is very smitten with her looks and makes comments about coming into a lot of money and that’s why she looks like this…). It seems it really *is* Canadian to talk fast, and even faster when your flustered, I was happy I could illustrate this stereotype ;p
The rest of the class was a free for all, and I was happy that the students were speaking English and getting to know one another. At the end of class, I said goodbye, thanks for coming, and I’ll try and slow it down next time. Lisbeth (new student) asked if I was teaching again tomorrow, I said no, it will be another teacher, she said “oh no. I wish you were teaching both classes”. .
WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FINALLY!!! I always wanted to know if they liked me better lolol , it really *is* like high school all over again..
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
myPhone (from May)
I put a skin on the front and back, was enjoying the fruits of my nerdy labour: jail breaking, hacking, etc. I got myPhone to do everything in my adopted hands, as its biological siblings could do back home in the states. Then I noticed the skin was getting a bit worn, hmmm... kinda coming up at the corners. And so I did what everyone is tempted to do, peel it off. And I peeled the old skin of the front. Ooohhh...and peeled the old skin off the back so it was even. It was like a brand new phone again, so shiny and new. Hello you, I coo'd, so new..
It was garbage day 2 days later. I had a hoodie on. I had precious myPhone in the front pocket of the hoodie. I emptied the garbage, about to take it outside, and remembered i had to get the upstairs bathroom garbage too. So as I leaned over to grab the garbage can, the phone slipped out of the front pocket. Yes. Yes, it slipped out of the pocket and into. the. toilet.
(**sidenote**No, there was no business in the toilet, and yes that is how it actually ended up in there. Most people do the "ohh sure you were grabbing the garbage" but I assure you, I don’t want to hear someone peeing while I talk, nor do I inflict that on others).
SOOOOOo... as soon as I saw it sink beneath the surface of the water, in s l o w m o t i o n i panicked, and grabbed it out and CLUNG to it, PRAYING for its safe recovery. I immediately started googling, what to do, what not to do.. Short story made long, I saved it. It came back to me in full working order. And I rejoiced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This phone needs me as much as I need her!! We were made for each other!! It’s not giving up!!! myPhone and me were meant to be!!
2 days after that, it slipped out of my hands and fell on my tile floor. And spider webbed the screen. I put a skin on the front of it to keep it in tact, but its starting to bubble up and come apart. Oh life. . . what are you telling me??
*update* it was telling me to replace her with a newer myPhone. And buy a proper case. At least, thats what I did anyway..
It was garbage day 2 days later. I had a hoodie on. I had precious myPhone in the front pocket of the hoodie. I emptied the garbage, about to take it outside, and remembered i had to get the upstairs bathroom garbage too. So as I leaned over to grab the garbage can, the phone slipped out of the front pocket. Yes. Yes, it slipped out of the pocket and into. the. toilet.
(**sidenote**No, there was no business in the toilet, and yes that is how it actually ended up in there. Most people do the "ohh sure you were grabbing the garbage" but I assure you, I don’t want to hear someone peeing while I talk, nor do I inflict that on others).
SOOOOOo... as soon as I saw it sink beneath the surface of the water, in s l o w m o t i o n i panicked, and grabbed it out and CLUNG to it, PRAYING for its safe recovery. I immediately started googling, what to do, what not to do.. Short story made long, I saved it. It came back to me in full working order. And I rejoiced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This phone needs me as much as I need her!! We were made for each other!! It’s not giving up!!! myPhone and me were meant to be!!
2 days after that, it slipped out of my hands and fell on my tile floor. And spider webbed the screen. I put a skin on the front of it to keep it in tact, but its starting to bubble up and come apart. Oh life. . . what are you telling me??
*update* it was telling me to replace her with a newer myPhone. And buy a proper case. At least, thats what I did anyway..
teaching recklessly
OK, so today is not as bad as I thought, nor as bad as I worked it up to be. I know what my issue is...sometimes I cannot gauge the feel of the class. Do they understand? Are they enjoying it? I think this is a cultural thing and less a "me" thing; I do like that, I'll continue thinking most things are less "me" more "is".
Hector has found a new friend, Claudia. i have never seen anyone voluntarily talk to him, let alone spend a break with him. This term is starting off well it looks like, but I wonder why they are whispering..?
We are on break right now, I am going to talk to the students sitting in here instead of leaving them in silence..or silencio. Ah DM, you're always applicable.
I just tightened my ponytail and stretched. Oh a yawn, nice touch.. no comments to the class? nicely done English teacher, a month off really did you in..
Yep so... we are still sitting in silence.. I've not said anything..what am I waiting for? eye contact? jeeze.. its their first day, make it easy! C'mon..ask them where they are from, how long they've been here.. what they do. They are here to speak English after all... YES!!!!!!!!!!! Claudia made eye contact, here I go!
New students present today are: Deuse (Rwanda). He chose his sister as the person he admired. Fatima (Zimbabwe) chose her sister as well (fatima is also very funny). Claudia (Mexico) chose her son; Aura (Columbia) her daughter; Hector (Ecuador) his neice; Miguel (Mexico) his daughter; Carlos (Mexico) his daughter and Ali (Comoros) his wife. They were to come up with three adjectives to describe them, Ali came up with 1 for his wife ("she is very understanable"), when pressed for 2 more, he switched to his sister. LOL, I bet hsi wife has to be understanding.
I described "laidback" as no worries, and chilled out (they got that). I described "reckless" (in terms of driving) as "you don't care! you're swerving and speeding and breaking and owning the road! but not well lol".
Look at them.. working in pairs, talking.. wait.. Hector is back to Spanish with Aura who *just* mentioned she didn't like living in London Ontario because there were too many Columbians and she didnt' have a real chance to practice English.
"hey Hector..in English please.. thank you"
Hmm.. ok I think Deuse and Miquel are done...the rest of the class is still working.. ok I've given them part C to do: 3 adjectives about someone you admire in full sentences, for example I said "I admire my mom. She is very thoughtful, quite funny......hmm....and......um.... sporadically generous" hahahahahaha
wait a minute.. didn't we already do an exercise very simmilar to this not 30 mins ago? "excuse me Miss?", I look at Deuse.. "didn't we already do this?"
"yes.. but sometimes repitition is good!" aiya....
Hector has found a new friend, Claudia. i have never seen anyone voluntarily talk to him, let alone spend a break with him. This term is starting off well it looks like, but I wonder why they are whispering..?
We are on break right now, I am going to talk to the students sitting in here instead of leaving them in silence..or silencio. Ah DM, you're always applicable.
I just tightened my ponytail and stretched. Oh a yawn, nice touch.. no comments to the class? nicely done English teacher, a month off really did you in..
Yep so... we are still sitting in silence.. I've not said anything..what am I waiting for? eye contact? jeeze.. its their first day, make it easy! C'mon..ask them where they are from, how long they've been here.. what they do. They are here to speak English after all... YES!!!!!!!!!!! Claudia made eye contact, here I go!
New students present today are: Deuse (Rwanda). He chose his sister as the person he admired. Fatima (Zimbabwe) chose her sister as well (fatima is also very funny). Claudia (Mexico) chose her son; Aura (Columbia) her daughter; Hector (Ecuador) his neice; Miguel (Mexico) his daughter; Carlos (Mexico) his daughter and Ali (Comoros) his wife. They were to come up with three adjectives to describe them, Ali came up with 1 for his wife ("she is very understanable"), when pressed for 2 more, he switched to his sister. LOL, I bet hsi wife has to be understanding.
I described "laidback" as no worries, and chilled out (they got that). I described "reckless" (in terms of driving) as "you don't care! you're swerving and speeding and breaking and owning the road! but not well lol".
Look at them.. working in pairs, talking.. wait.. Hector is back to Spanish with Aura who *just* mentioned she didn't like living in London Ontario because there were too many Columbians and she didnt' have a real chance to practice English.
"hey Hector..in English please.. thank you"
Hmm.. ok I think Deuse and Miquel are done...the rest of the class is still working.. ok I've given them part C to do: 3 adjectives about someone you admire in full sentences, for example I said "I admire my mom. She is very thoughtful, quite funny......hmm....and......um.... sporadically generous" hahahahahaha
wait a minute.. didn't we already do an exercise very simmilar to this not 30 mins ago? "excuse me Miss?", I look at Deuse.. "didn't we already do this?"
"yes.. but sometimes repitition is good!" aiya....
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
come up for a coffee?
Tuesdays class was a class in confusion, a clash of cultures, and a great reminder.. things do not need to be complicated!
The lesson plan for the day was Phrasal Verbs (get away, get up, get lost, back up, step up etc) which got to be very confusing. Talkback is a phrasal verb, but backtalk isn't, which was hard to explain (also hard to explain the definition of talkback and backtalk, I asked if they knew what 'being lippy' meant, I felt like i was teaching too much slang). Then we came up with 'payback' which was somwhat difficult also. The phrasal definition is to pay sth or sb back (thats something, or somebody)but it also has the more popular "i'm gonna do something bad to you, because you did something bad to me". A few others we stumbled on was: setback, stick out, backup (the difference between figuratively and literally backing up). And then there was (duh duh duhnnn....) the relationship phrasal verbs: breakup, makeup, hangout, go out. This topic made me remember how simple things really are in the begining, not how complicated we begin to beleive they are.
Mohammed asked "when you use this term 'break up', it means never again right?", his question was prompted by an activity in the book that involved filling in the blanks, and then using those words in a puzzle to 'decode' the sentence at the bottom which was "Some couples like to break up because they think it's fun to make up and get back together!". What got me is how (pardon the pun) foreign this seemed to the class, that people would breakup, just to make up... but aren't we all human here, regardless of our language? isn't the language of love (and hate) universal? don't we all f*ck up and make up and do it again and again and again untill one of us taps out? Isn't this normal in all languages?? Mohammed said when he is going to use the words "break up", he has thought seriously about it, and he takes it very seriously, as does the girl he is going to say it to. And he would take it very seriously too. "break up is like divorce no?". Hmm.. all depends on who you are.
"Hang out" was also difficult to explain when Jane said 'so hanging out means to hold hands?" . I ended up just saying "its a general term to mean spending time together". "Go out" was easier for them to deduce it was a date, but Mohammed asked "if I ask a girl if she'd like to go out, get something to eat, see a movie, this is automatically a date?". I said no, not automatically, but it may depend on how you ask it, and how she takes it. I wanted to say yes, it is, but then stopped. No, not automatically a date, why can't we merely ask someone of the opposite sex to do something and be only interested in sharing that experience with them, not assume its a prelude to sharing more experiences with them? Bah! relationship talk was already getting me flustered, and this was just trying to define normal idioms we use everyday. But the more I thought about it, the more I don't wonder.. of course this chapter on relationships is confusing! Everyone has their own interpertations of phrasel verbs! This is why relationships are confusing! Someone who thinks hanging out means dating, and vice versa are going to run into trouble. One was taught something different, so how can we ever really know, without "jumping the gun" and clarifying it first? are we supposed to come across as cocky, "hey, i know you asked me to a movie, but just so you know, we're hangin out, not dating" and risk embarassment? but if we don't do that, aren't we risking certain awkwardness later? Again..i digress.
I would have much preferred my students to teach me what :break up" means, what 'hanging out", "going out" means. Maybe then I'd be better at?! lol
next week we go over "softening comments" and group work with the title "what should you consider when you choose a life partner?" I can;t WAIT to hear their answers!
The lesson plan for the day was Phrasal Verbs (get away, get up, get lost, back up, step up etc) which got to be very confusing. Talkback is a phrasal verb, but backtalk isn't, which was hard to explain (also hard to explain the definition of talkback and backtalk, I asked if they knew what 'being lippy' meant, I felt like i was teaching too much slang). Then we came up with 'payback' which was somwhat difficult also. The phrasal definition is to pay sth or sb back (thats something, or somebody)but it also has the more popular "i'm gonna do something bad to you, because you did something bad to me". A few others we stumbled on was: setback, stick out, backup (the difference between figuratively and literally backing up). And then there was (duh duh duhnnn....) the relationship phrasal verbs: breakup, makeup, hangout, go out. This topic made me remember how simple things really are in the begining, not how complicated we begin to beleive they are.
Mohammed asked "when you use this term 'break up', it means never again right?", his question was prompted by an activity in the book that involved filling in the blanks, and then using those words in a puzzle to 'decode' the sentence at the bottom which was "Some couples like to break up because they think it's fun to make up and get back together!". What got me is how (pardon the pun) foreign this seemed to the class, that people would breakup, just to make up... but aren't we all human here, regardless of our language? isn't the language of love (and hate) universal? don't we all f*ck up and make up and do it again and again and again untill one of us taps out? Isn't this normal in all languages?? Mohammed said when he is going to use the words "break up", he has thought seriously about it, and he takes it very seriously, as does the girl he is going to say it to. And he would take it very seriously too. "break up is like divorce no?". Hmm.. all depends on who you are.
"Hang out" was also difficult to explain when Jane said 'so hanging out means to hold hands?" . I ended up just saying "its a general term to mean spending time together". "Go out" was easier for them to deduce it was a date, but Mohammed asked "if I ask a girl if she'd like to go out, get something to eat, see a movie, this is automatically a date?". I said no, not automatically, but it may depend on how you ask it, and how she takes it. I wanted to say yes, it is, but then stopped. No, not automatically a date, why can't we merely ask someone of the opposite sex to do something and be only interested in sharing that experience with them, not assume its a prelude to sharing more experiences with them? Bah! relationship talk was already getting me flustered, and this was just trying to define normal idioms we use everyday. But the more I thought about it, the more I don't wonder.. of course this chapter on relationships is confusing! Everyone has their own interpertations of phrasel verbs! This is why relationships are confusing! Someone who thinks hanging out means dating, and vice versa are going to run into trouble. One was taught something different, so how can we ever really know, without "jumping the gun" and clarifying it first? are we supposed to come across as cocky, "hey, i know you asked me to a movie, but just so you know, we're hangin out, not dating" and risk embarassment? but if we don't do that, aren't we risking certain awkwardness later? Again..i digress.
I would have much preferred my students to teach me what :break up" means, what 'hanging out", "going out" means. Maybe then I'd be better at?! lol
next week we go over "softening comments" and group work with the title "what should you consider when you choose a life partner?" I can;t WAIT to hear their answers!
I will do... I am going to do.. Cocaine?
Last night's class got off to a fast and rocky start. After having an unpleasurable day, I was d r e a d i n g going to class, but Jen assured me "just go, it can only get better after class anyway". Once there we jumped right into the review of: verbs; used to/would and the simple past; using make and do; present continuous and simple present; countable and uncountable nouns, quantifiers; and ending phone conversations politely amongst other various things like amounts and containers (I have fewer cans of juice than I do cartons of milk)
I noticed many students had worked ahead, which can make it difficult bc I have to figure out how I can give the students who haven't already done the work time to do it, while still keeping the other students occupied. I find the best solution for this is pairing them up if they are done and discussing their answers, do they have any of the same answers? what other answers could you give? are those answers true for you, or are you just writing them out?
I was so off my game that I had to ask students to repeat themselves, something I never usually have to do. Ann, the woman from Vietnam with the cleft palate, I couldn't understand a thing this poor lady said yesterday except for coca-cola and ice cream. Even Dalavahn, she had to repeat that her cousin gets requests for dancing but he is so rude he is not asked back and does not make a lot of money doing this (this was her sentence when we wrote expressions using do or make about 6 family members, apparently he is a back up dancer for musicians, not sure if that's here or in Indonesia). Alma said her mother makes delicious bread but also makes a mess in the kitchen, and her sister like to do the housecleaning but makes trouble for Alma with her mother. Miguel's daughter makes beautiful art and will hopefully make a lot of money from it one day, and his other daughter like to do math and makes new problems for herself to solve. Dongping (new student I didn't see on the attendance list bc she's under 'Leanne'?) said her friend is a nurse and makes a lot of money but she is not happy, and her cousin is a welder who does not make a lot of money but is very happy.
When we did the exercise about simple present and continuous present, Iniat had problems with the difference between "will do" and "going to do" something. The example on the board was " I ______ (go) to the mall this afternoon", she had "I will go to the mall this afternoon", but the correct phrase was "I'm going" or "I am going to go". The class tried to help her, and we told her that "will" is like a possible plan, but "going to" is a definite, you've already made arrangements to do it. Poor Iniat just wasn't getting it, and when I asked if it makes sense, she just quietly said "its ok". AHHH, no! I did that all through math and science in school and look where that got me!! So I left a note for the Director that if she had time and saw Iniat, could she spare a few moments to explain to her the difference between "will do" and "going to do". In fairness, she had missed the class that covered that topic so I'm sure once she goes back she'll understand it.
We went round the room doing a lot of group work all together; while this cuts down on individuals talk time, it does create conversation that we can all add to and I find this is where a lot of laughs come from. We did an activity about food, 'I like bbq meat better than fried meat" was Alma's, and Muhammad said " I like cooking better than going out to eat" but with his accent, it sounded like something different, and Miguel from Mexico, and Hector from El Salvador both said "cho like coh-cain better!?!?!" and we all laughed and laughed. Muhammad was a very funny new addition to the class. When is was his turn to say "a little ____ every day is good for you", he said "a little wine every day is good for you", Hector disagreed vehemently, and Muhammad wouldn't budge, even going further to say he enjoys a glass of wine while he take candlelit baths. I also learned from Hector and Muhammad that Canadians eat A LOT of fast food and really like their burgers and fries... I was surprised it was a Canadian thing, but I guess I have the same impression of Americans, all they do is eat fast food and watch tv. LOL helloo stero-types!
As we worked I noticed the time goes way faster than it does outside of those walls. I wonder if that's because I'm enjoying myself, or if we get lost in the work we're doing and don't notice time? Either way I am definitely not complaining. This time I covered most of the lesson, and we went right to 8:00. We all said goodbye and my favorite part of the class has now become the end,when I hear "thank you teacher!!" "great class!" "have a wonderful night Teacher!", so great to hear they think i am doing a good job!.
In the end Jen was right, going to class definate made stresses and irritants melt away and got me back to my center!
I noticed many students had worked ahead, which can make it difficult bc I have to figure out how I can give the students who haven't already done the work time to do it, while still keeping the other students occupied. I find the best solution for this is pairing them up if they are done and discussing their answers, do they have any of the same answers? what other answers could you give? are those answers true for you, or are you just writing them out?
I was so off my game that I had to ask students to repeat themselves, something I never usually have to do. Ann, the woman from Vietnam with the cleft palate, I couldn't understand a thing this poor lady said yesterday except for coca-cola and ice cream. Even Dalavahn, she had to repeat that her cousin gets requests for dancing but he is so rude he is not asked back and does not make a lot of money doing this (this was her sentence when we wrote expressions using do or make about 6 family members, apparently he is a back up dancer for musicians, not sure if that's here or in Indonesia). Alma said her mother makes delicious bread but also makes a mess in the kitchen, and her sister like to do the housecleaning but makes trouble for Alma with her mother. Miguel's daughter makes beautiful art and will hopefully make a lot of money from it one day, and his other daughter like to do math and makes new problems for herself to solve. Dongping (new student I didn't see on the attendance list bc she's under 'Leanne'?) said her friend is a nurse and makes a lot of money but she is not happy, and her cousin is a welder who does not make a lot of money but is very happy.
When we did the exercise about simple present and continuous present, Iniat had problems with the difference between "will do" and "going to do" something. The example on the board was " I ______ (go) to the mall this afternoon", she had "I will go to the mall this afternoon", but the correct phrase was "I'm going" or "I am going to go". The class tried to help her, and we told her that "will" is like a possible plan, but "going to" is a definite, you've already made arrangements to do it. Poor Iniat just wasn't getting it, and when I asked if it makes sense, she just quietly said "its ok". AHHH, no! I did that all through math and science in school and look where that got me!! So I left a note for the Director that if she had time and saw Iniat, could she spare a few moments to explain to her the difference between "will do" and "going to do". In fairness, she had missed the class that covered that topic so I'm sure once she goes back she'll understand it.
We went round the room doing a lot of group work all together; while this cuts down on individuals talk time, it does create conversation that we can all add to and I find this is where a lot of laughs come from. We did an activity about food, 'I like bbq meat better than fried meat" was Alma's, and Muhammad said " I like cooking better than going out to eat" but with his accent, it sounded like something different, and Miguel from Mexico, and Hector from El Salvador both said "cho like coh-cain better!?!?!" and we all laughed and laughed. Muhammad was a very funny new addition to the class. When is was his turn to say "a little ____ every day is good for you", he said "a little wine every day is good for you", Hector disagreed vehemently, and Muhammad wouldn't budge, even going further to say he enjoys a glass of wine while he take candlelit baths. I also learned from Hector and Muhammad that Canadians eat A LOT of fast food and really like their burgers and fries... I was surprised it was a Canadian thing, but I guess I have the same impression of Americans, all they do is eat fast food and watch tv. LOL helloo stero-types!
As we worked I noticed the time goes way faster than it does outside of those walls. I wonder if that's because I'm enjoying myself, or if we get lost in the work we're doing and don't notice time? Either way I am definitely not complaining. This time I covered most of the lesson, and we went right to 8:00. We all said goodbye and my favorite part of the class has now become the end,when I hear "thank you teacher!!" "great class!" "have a wonderful night Teacher!", so great to hear they think i am doing a good job!.
In the end Jen was right, going to class definate made stresses and irritants melt away and got me back to my center!
ESL Take 3
Class was so boring yesterday!! I remember sitting there thinking... 'tick tock.tick.tock.tiiiicckkk.toooooccckkkkk". I'm also wholly aware I have no one to blame but me! Brutal!! I'm the one that was leading that snoozefest; although to soothe my Ego, the classrroom was intensely hot and i'm pretty sure by the time class ended we were all nearing heat stroke. There was a few changes to the regular group last night, I noticed when he walked in and I thought "whats this canadian looking guy doing in here?" He's Mike from Quebec. He's been "outside of Quebec" for 10 years and works mainly with french or spanish guys during the day at work, then comes home and his roommate is french too, so he never finds the need to use English. He decided to take this course to improve his conversational English, and he just moved to my class from Intermediate level 1. It was his first day yesterday, so I hope he finds the class enjoyable, so many of the students are funny and talkataive, i hope he ends up to be the same.
Another student, Ignace Jean Baptiste is from the Ivory Coast; he looks like Jermaine Dupri and talks like Michael Jackson. He has been away from my Tuesday class for 2 weeks, and it was nice to have him back. He had a lot to say on the topic of Cell phones. His cell phone is on 24/7, always on vibrate unless expecting an important call, he can call 74 countries for free, unlimited access to everything, but he doesn;t have a lot of phone numbers in his cell bc people call him instead of him calling them. Hmmm... I think i dated someone with similiar cell habits... no one asked what kind of business Ignace was handling.
We discussed cell phone ettiquette and home phone use. You'll be pleased to know it is not just a triat of north americans to screen calls, people all over the world are sucesptible to caller id paranoia!! Two students do not have answering machines nor caller ID; I said thats nice, then its always a surprise! Lien agree'd, except when it is a telemarketer, then she wonders why she got up. Hector does not own a cell nor answering machine, and does not have caller id. He says he doesn't like them bc people might not answer and they get picky and *fussy*. I think this might happen to Hector, so he doesn't like thinking his calls are the ones being screened... hey Hector, I wonder if I'm getting screened sometimes too buddy, it happens to the best of us my friend..
We talked about when you should not use a cell phone, Hector started talking about why some people need them. I am starting to see why Hector could occasionally be hard to *take*. We started talking about the youtube video with the cell phone at the gas pump and Jane mentioned you cannot use a microwave and a cell phone at the same time. She knows this bc she talks to her sister in Shanghai every morning for 2 hours, but her mom makes something in the microwave and she has to get off the phone bc it just shuts off.
Aside from that, there was nothing that really stuck out about last night. It was fun teaching them informal ways to say goodbye, and why we need to give reasons for ending conversations instead of just saying "ok. Goodbye". Its always a polite goodbye with an explanation; "ok, I've got to get going, dinners ready" ,"can I call you later, i'm just heading out the door" etc. Another social norm I didn't know was actually cultural. I taught them the phrase "catch you later". Only a few of them had heard this, and yes, some thought you literally would be *catching* them later.
Next week the topic is Relationships. fkn irony!!
Another student, Ignace Jean Baptiste is from the Ivory Coast; he looks like Jermaine Dupri and talks like Michael Jackson. He has been away from my Tuesday class for 2 weeks, and it was nice to have him back. He had a lot to say on the topic of Cell phones. His cell phone is on 24/7, always on vibrate unless expecting an important call, he can call 74 countries for free, unlimited access to everything, but he doesn;t have a lot of phone numbers in his cell bc people call him instead of him calling them. Hmmm... I think i dated someone with similiar cell habits... no one asked what kind of business Ignace was handling.
We discussed cell phone ettiquette and home phone use. You'll be pleased to know it is not just a triat of north americans to screen calls, people all over the world are sucesptible to caller id paranoia!! Two students do not have answering machines nor caller ID; I said thats nice, then its always a surprise! Lien agree'd, except when it is a telemarketer, then she wonders why she got up. Hector does not own a cell nor answering machine, and does not have caller id. He says he doesn't like them bc people might not answer and they get picky and *fussy*. I think this might happen to Hector, so he doesn't like thinking his calls are the ones being screened... hey Hector, I wonder if I'm getting screened sometimes too buddy, it happens to the best of us my friend..
We talked about when you should not use a cell phone, Hector started talking about why some people need them. I am starting to see why Hector could occasionally be hard to *take*. We started talking about the youtube video with the cell phone at the gas pump and Jane mentioned you cannot use a microwave and a cell phone at the same time. She knows this bc she talks to her sister in Shanghai every morning for 2 hours, but her mom makes something in the microwave and she has to get off the phone bc it just shuts off.
Aside from that, there was nothing that really stuck out about last night. It was fun teaching them informal ways to say goodbye, and why we need to give reasons for ending conversations instead of just saying "ok. Goodbye". Its always a polite goodbye with an explanation; "ok, I've got to get going, dinners ready" ,"can I call you later, i'm just heading out the door" etc. Another social norm I didn't know was actually cultural. I taught them the phrase "catch you later". Only a few of them had heard this, and yes, some thought you literally would be *catching* them later.
Next week the topic is Relationships. fkn irony!!
ni hao
Last night i taught my second class and I wasn't nearly as nervous, YAY! I was calm the whole day too, untill closer to the class where I think an excited energy started building as opposed to a scared energy. Makes me think that I've really found something i was intended to do, following my path even, because it just feels natural (of course there's still nerves etc, but i think i am seeing the difference between nerves and anxiety, where anxiety was kinda all i knew before).
the lesson this class was a large one and i had a feeling I wouldn't be getting through all of it. We were reveiwing future tenses and expressions with make and do but we didn't make it to that section. The first group discussion was answering 3 questions and we went round the room all taking turns: What are your future plans or goals? most of the students wanted to go to university, or wanted their children to go to university; Your hopes and dreams for your family? to bring relatives to canada, or to go back to their land and make life better for the people there. Istvahn wants to bring his brother here and open a Hungarian restaraunt (perfect timing since Praha burnt down), Patricia from Sierra Leone wants to go back to her country, buy a big house and fill it with all the children whose mothers have been beaten and killed and left on the side of the road. Holy heavy and extremely appreciative she felt comfortable enough to share that kind of story with us. I won't tell her whole story, but it made us all take a minute to be thankful for the opportunities we have, and for the lives we live; Yhe last question was 'what do you think the world will be like in 25 years?' We spent a lot of time on this question and most of the class *hoped* for no more war, poverty, sickness. Some ideas were: our cars would fly off solar power, we would be free to travel and live anywhere in the world, and we would all speak 1 language. Which, according to Jane, would be Mandarin, and she would teach everyone which would in turn fulfill her desire of having money to help her family travel the world. Miguel said there will be 1 king to rule the world and every country would concetrate on exporting the 1 thing they are excellent at producing (he said Mexico makes the best people and China makes the most people lol). The men were leaning towards more of a brave new world feel, and the women towards.. well, I guess the same but without the government control, more of a Utopia. Anyway, it was very interesting. The convo started to veer off into hypnosis, hypnotherapy, subliminal messaging and I thought I better get off this topic because soon enough we could be discussing Aliens and God and then we're in trouble! However, when teaching subliminal messages, I explained my Doves t-shirt, and while they weren't paying attention to it, their subconcious might make them download an album, or watch Purple Rain ;p. I was also able to teach the class what Utopia meant, and in a nod to PROW, what Elipsis points are. I asked the class if they knew Utopia and a lot of them nodded, and said Africa. I repeated Utopia.. and they said "yes, Africa" then I started thinking "fkk...well, they say we all origiated from Africa.. what if this is true? what if this is some Biblical thing.. " but it turns out they thought i was saying Ethiopia. *phew*.
We worked on more exercises and I had them reading aloud and talking more. All in all it was a great class, and I asked them how they felt it went, they all said it was great, liked the amount of talking and reading aloud so I was pleased with that. I even got a few "Thank you Miss.Brenna" and ""thank you for your teaching" and everyone said goodbye and have a nice night, I liked that.
Hector stayed behind packing his bag up and was talking to me as I was writing my notes to the Director. He said he really tries to learn english but grammer is hard for him, and and he's been here for 15 years but the only jobs ("yovs") he can get are labour and the schedule changes so often so maybe he can't come to class regularily, and that he doesn't want to clean buildings as his life's work. When he goes home, he only listens to english radio and tv programs, and really likes watching the news. I told Hector thats excellent ways to learn the language, and he's doing a really great job. Hell, he knows more English than i do Spanish, I'd consider him bilingual. I told him he should be very proud of himself, look how we are communicating right now, i know what he is saying, he knows what i am saying. He says when he has a job that allows him to come to class every day he feels more confident and hopeful for a better life for himself, his family and his country.
So even though I didn't finish all the material we were supposed to, I feel like we did a lot of work speaking, learning, and expressing things.
What a great class!
the lesson this class was a large one and i had a feeling I wouldn't be getting through all of it. We were reveiwing future tenses and expressions with make and do but we didn't make it to that section. The first group discussion was answering 3 questions and we went round the room all taking turns: What are your future plans or goals? most of the students wanted to go to university, or wanted their children to go to university; Your hopes and dreams for your family? to bring relatives to canada, or to go back to their land and make life better for the people there. Istvahn wants to bring his brother here and open a Hungarian restaraunt (perfect timing since Praha burnt down), Patricia from Sierra Leone wants to go back to her country, buy a big house and fill it with all the children whose mothers have been beaten and killed and left on the side of the road. Holy heavy and extremely appreciative she felt comfortable enough to share that kind of story with us. I won't tell her whole story, but it made us all take a minute to be thankful for the opportunities we have, and for the lives we live; Yhe last question was 'what do you think the world will be like in 25 years?' We spent a lot of time on this question and most of the class *hoped* for no more war, poverty, sickness. Some ideas were: our cars would fly off solar power, we would be free to travel and live anywhere in the world, and we would all speak 1 language. Which, according to Jane, would be Mandarin, and she would teach everyone which would in turn fulfill her desire of having money to help her family travel the world. Miguel said there will be 1 king to rule the world and every country would concetrate on exporting the 1 thing they are excellent at producing (he said Mexico makes the best people and China makes the most people lol). The men were leaning towards more of a brave new world feel, and the women towards.. well, I guess the same but without the government control, more of a Utopia. Anyway, it was very interesting. The convo started to veer off into hypnosis, hypnotherapy, subliminal messaging and I thought I better get off this topic because soon enough we could be discussing Aliens and God and then we're in trouble! However, when teaching subliminal messages, I explained my Doves t-shirt, and while they weren't paying attention to it, their subconcious might make them download an album, or watch Purple Rain ;p. I was also able to teach the class what Utopia meant, and in a nod to PROW, what Elipsis points are. I asked the class if they knew Utopia and a lot of them nodded, and said Africa. I repeated Utopia.. and they said "yes, Africa" then I started thinking "fkk...well, they say we all origiated from Africa.. what if this is true? what if this is some Biblical thing.. " but it turns out they thought i was saying Ethiopia. *phew*.
We worked on more exercises and I had them reading aloud and talking more. All in all it was a great class, and I asked them how they felt it went, they all said it was great, liked the amount of talking and reading aloud so I was pleased with that. I even got a few "Thank you Miss.Brenna" and ""thank you for your teaching" and everyone said goodbye and have a nice night, I liked that.
Hector stayed behind packing his bag up and was talking to me as I was writing my notes to the Director. He said he really tries to learn english but grammer is hard for him, and and he's been here for 15 years but the only jobs ("yovs") he can get are labour and the schedule changes so often so maybe he can't come to class regularily, and that he doesn't want to clean buildings as his life's work. When he goes home, he only listens to english radio and tv programs, and really likes watching the news. I told Hector thats excellent ways to learn the language, and he's doing a really great job. Hell, he knows more English than i do Spanish, I'd consider him bilingual. I told him he should be very proud of himself, look how we are communicating right now, i know what he is saying, he knows what i am saying. He says when he has a job that allows him to come to class every day he feels more confident and hopeful for a better life for himself, his family and his country.
So even though I didn't finish all the material we were supposed to, I feel like we did a lot of work speaking, learning, and expressing things.
What a great class!
Monday, July 6, 2009
"Welcome to the Jungle" - Miguel's parting words after class
Flight, fight or freeze....umm... is fumble also an option? because thats what I did yesterday. I was hotly nervous; I had the intense heat wave that makes your hair stick to the back of your neck and you're pretty sure you are going to combust its so fkn hot. I noticed there was a fan in the room.. and the blinds could be closed.. but i chose to wait it out, the point of sweating is to cool you off anyway. i'll let nature do its magic. Thankfully it did.
I started off with attendence, and instead of trying to pronounce the names (since i know how it feels to have your name butchered) i just asked their name and if i didn't understand, asked them to show me on the list. There are 17 students registered in the class; last night there were just nine, which worked out well. Itiat, Istavhan, Hector, Lein, Ann, Miguel, Jane, Dalanvahn, and Alma. The last four were very funny, very talktative and very open to speaking a lot and answering questions. We were going over "polite refusals" and "letting other people decide"; this was a tough lesson for me to teach because in essence, we are learning how not to make a decision. How many ways can you teach the same thing? "Either one is fine", "Whatever you're having", "either way is fine", "whichever is easier for you" and "whichever you prefer". It felt redundant, but i suppose thats what learning a new language is supposed to feel like. By the time we got to break, we'd already finished everything in the Student workbook, which meant either i was going too fast, or the class was just really strong. I asked them after we finished each activity if they had any questions, if this is making sense, is there anything they'd like to talk about in regards to this.. "can you guys read my writing on the board?" lol
The second half of the class i had them work in pairs, but was mindful that some students for whatever reason may not feel comfortable working in pairs, but everyone said this was ok. UNTILL i looked up when my name was called by Hector, who was sitting beside Lein (older lady from china) saying " i dunno, i don't think she likes me, doesn't want to work, don't know". Lein was holding up scrap paper in between her and Hector so she couldn't see his face. I asked Lein if she'd like to work with Ann, and Hector could work with Miguel, but she said no no no, fine fine, and then they worked together. In response to my follow up email to the Director this morning, I was told that some students don't like to work with Hector because "Hector is a tricky one, some students can get frustrated with him as he likes to talk but it doesn’t come out so smoothly". I found Hector to be no problem at all, in fact I thought he was really great at speaking and asking questions, not so much writing or figuring things out on his own though. Hector actually reminded me of me sometimes, trying really hard to figure something out, knowing the rest of the class is probably already finished, so we did more group work instead of individual and pairs after that. Then is was break time.
During break Ann was working ahead in the book and asked me what a few things meant: Easy-going and laid back (i described these as being comfortable and saying yes to things and activites); Throwing a wild party (I described New Years with firecrackers and food and many people that you invited to your house) and Hang Gliding (a human kite lol). I was also asked later by the class what "gosh" means, i found myself using the word when trying to figure out a definition "gosh... hmm.. what does gosh mean.. " I came up with gosh being more of an expression than an actual thing which is called a "Euphamism" , thanks PROW!!
Since the classwork was going quit swiftly, I asked them what was customary in their country, if they are offered something, can they refuse, or is it better to say yes and accept it? jane (from china) was funny, she asked how do you ask for more if you go for dinner to someones house and it was really good? The class answered it for her, "all canadians will ask you if you want more. Just finish your food, and they always ask if you want to have more". lol, I am happy to know Canadians really are polite as a whole. We also learned that north americans follow the "rule of 3" , we offer things in 3's and after you refuse the 3rd offer, it doesn't get offered again. This is something I know we were never taught, but must come naturally? I know i do it ..."want something to drink?" "you sure?" "can i get you anything at all?" "no? ok". I got them to try and make an offer to another student that was as appealing as they could make it, but it had to be politely refused. Jane described what she knew to be a delicious bowl of snake soup that costs $100 in Hong Kong to Dalanvahn and Dalanvahn said "if it is your treat I will take it!".
We finished 10 minutes early and talked about what everyone did on the weekend. Hector celebrated with his community the election of a new government after 25 years in El Salvador (i thought for sure he was filipino), he was very excited for the changes that are possible now. Istavhan moved from one apartment to another apartment which he likes (he was very very quiet). Itiat worked and slept, Alma worked and then had lebanese coffee with her friend all afternoon, Dalanvahn (who is very funny) tended her garden but said she has too many flowers, they are all around the house and its so much work. Jane worked, then watched her 2 kids, Miguel played basketball then went to a bbq. Ann cut out a pattern and went for coffee, and Lein cleaned, then bought groceries for the week.
In wrap up I asked the class if things were ok, what they would like more of, less of etc. I am thankful they answered truthfully, more reading and more talking, but other than that it was good. And we all clapped and said congratualtions we did it!
*phew*
I started off with attendence, and instead of trying to pronounce the names (since i know how it feels to have your name butchered) i just asked their name and if i didn't understand, asked them to show me on the list. There are 17 students registered in the class; last night there were just nine, which worked out well. Itiat, Istavhan, Hector, Lein, Ann, Miguel, Jane, Dalanvahn, and Alma. The last four were very funny, very talktative and very open to speaking a lot and answering questions. We were going over "polite refusals" and "letting other people decide"; this was a tough lesson for me to teach because in essence, we are learning how not to make a decision. How many ways can you teach the same thing? "Either one is fine", "Whatever you're having", "either way is fine", "whichever is easier for you" and "whichever you prefer". It felt redundant, but i suppose thats what learning a new language is supposed to feel like. By the time we got to break, we'd already finished everything in the Student workbook, which meant either i was going too fast, or the class was just really strong. I asked them after we finished each activity if they had any questions, if this is making sense, is there anything they'd like to talk about in regards to this.. "can you guys read my writing on the board?" lol
The second half of the class i had them work in pairs, but was mindful that some students for whatever reason may not feel comfortable working in pairs, but everyone said this was ok. UNTILL i looked up when my name was called by Hector, who was sitting beside Lein (older lady from china) saying " i dunno, i don't think she likes me, doesn't want to work, don't know". Lein was holding up scrap paper in between her and Hector so she couldn't see his face. I asked Lein if she'd like to work with Ann, and Hector could work with Miguel, but she said no no no, fine fine, and then they worked together. In response to my follow up email to the Director this morning, I was told that some students don't like to work with Hector because "Hector is a tricky one, some students can get frustrated with him as he likes to talk but it doesn’t come out so smoothly". I found Hector to be no problem at all, in fact I thought he was really great at speaking and asking questions, not so much writing or figuring things out on his own though. Hector actually reminded me of me sometimes, trying really hard to figure something out, knowing the rest of the class is probably already finished, so we did more group work instead of individual and pairs after that. Then is was break time.
During break Ann was working ahead in the book and asked me what a few things meant: Easy-going and laid back (i described these as being comfortable and saying yes to things and activites); Throwing a wild party (I described New Years with firecrackers and food and many people that you invited to your house) and Hang Gliding (a human kite lol). I was also asked later by the class what "gosh" means, i found myself using the word when trying to figure out a definition "gosh... hmm.. what does gosh mean.. " I came up with gosh being more of an expression than an actual thing which is called a "Euphamism" , thanks PROW!!
Since the classwork was going quit swiftly, I asked them what was customary in their country, if they are offered something, can they refuse, or is it better to say yes and accept it? jane (from china) was funny, she asked how do you ask for more if you go for dinner to someones house and it was really good? The class answered it for her, "all canadians will ask you if you want more. Just finish your food, and they always ask if you want to have more". lol, I am happy to know Canadians really are polite as a whole. We also learned that north americans follow the "rule of 3" , we offer things in 3's and after you refuse the 3rd offer, it doesn't get offered again. This is something I know we were never taught, but must come naturally? I know i do it ..."want something to drink?" "you sure?" "can i get you anything at all?" "no? ok". I got them to try and make an offer to another student that was as appealing as they could make it, but it had to be politely refused. Jane described what she knew to be a delicious bowl of snake soup that costs $100 in Hong Kong to Dalanvahn and Dalanvahn said "if it is your treat I will take it!".
We finished 10 minutes early and talked about what everyone did on the weekend. Hector celebrated with his community the election of a new government after 25 years in El Salvador (i thought for sure he was filipino), he was very excited for the changes that are possible now. Istavhan moved from one apartment to another apartment which he likes (he was very very quiet). Itiat worked and slept, Alma worked and then had lebanese coffee with her friend all afternoon, Dalanvahn (who is very funny) tended her garden but said she has too many flowers, they are all around the house and its so much work. Jane worked, then watched her 2 kids, Miguel played basketball then went to a bbq. Ann cut out a pattern and went for coffee, and Lein cleaned, then bought groceries for the week.
In wrap up I asked the class if things were ok, what they would like more of, less of etc. I am thankful they answered truthfully, more reading and more talking, but other than that it was good. And we all clapped and said congratualtions we did it!
*phew*
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