Last week, the powers that be at FCU decided to offer me another summer ESL class (they like me! yay!). The new class started yesterday and goes through the second week of August. It's another one of those 4 hour classes (actually, it's 4.5 hours!), but I'm welcome to take them on as many field trips as I can stand, so at least we don't have to sit in the classroom the whole time.
In this class, there are 15 students from China. They're all juniors and seniors at universities in China and are here for a one month intensive English conversation/culture class. As they've all been studying English for years*, they're all fairly fluent. However, they're still very tentative about conversing in English with native speakers and their speech is textbook perfect. Once of their goals for the summer is to learn American slang so that they can sound like "real Americans" (that phrase was repeated several times yesterday). They also want to become acquainted with current pop music and see as many Hollywood movies as possible (they've seen many movies already, but said most are censored, so they want to see the stuff the gov't wouldn't let them). They're all so sweet and eager to learn - I love them already!
For the rest of this week & next week, I'm also still teaching my Saudi ESL class* and the comp class at LC (cannot wait until that's over!). For the first time this summer, I'm teaching a class everyday - unfortunately, I'm still not earning what I get at full-time job, but it's better than nothing (or unemployment, which is only $350 p/week). It's also fun and great experience, so I won't complain (for once). :)
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*They were shocked to learn that students in public schools here rarely start studying another language until high school (if that). They were required to start studying English in elementary school.
**They're still so sweet and cute, but a few haven't quite grasped the need for deodorant. Intense heat + hairy men w/no deodorant = a sweaty man funk-filled classroom. Yuck!!
3 comments:
Congrats on getting another class. Sorry that the money situation is not that great.
Wow, that class sounds like fun! You get to take them to movies and concerts and fun stuff. Too bad the fun ones always pay the least, no? :(
I love the concept of giving them American slang and culture. The problem would be where to start...
neat challenge!
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